How is the relation of education and altruism understood in the Gülen Movement?
Fethullah Gülen has always seen education as being at the center of social, economic and political modernization, progress and welfare. Individuals and society can only be respectful to the supremacy and rule of law, democratic and human rights, and diversity and cultures if they receive sound education. A higher sense of identity, social justice, and sufficient understanding and tolerance to secure respect for the rights of others, all depend on the provision of an adequate and appropriate universal education. So education is the supreme remedy for the ills afflicting society and humanity in general.
As a great many people are unable to afford such an education, they need to be supported by charitable trusts. For these trusts to function well requires the right human resources, that is, dedicated volunteers who enter and then stay in the field of service. The volunteers should not be making a gesture (however worthwhile) but a commitment rooted in sincere intention; their motivation should have no part in it of racial or tribal preferences, and their effort should be both patient and persevering and always lawful. Equity, social justice and peace in one’s own society, and in the world in general, can only be achieved by enlightened people with sound morality through altruistic activism.
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