European Muslims, Civility and Public Life: Perspectives on and From the Gülen Movement

Thu, 03 May 2012 18:00 in Discussion Forums

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Prof Paul Weller

Where: St Peter’s House, Precinct Centre, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9GH

Speakers: Prof Paul Weller, University of Derby
Dr Steve Wright, Leeds Metropolitan University

Reviewer: Revd Dr Terry Biddington, Chaplain Co-ordinator

Abstract

Paul Weller will provide an overview of key themes drawn from within the chapters of his new co-edited (together with Ihsan Yilmaz of Fatih University, Istanbul) book on European Muslims, Civility and Public Life: Perspectives on and From the Gülen Movement, that were written by a range of authors, including Professor Weller himself.

The book, overall, deals with the challenges and opportunities faced by Muslims and the wider society in Europe following the Madrid train bombings of 2004 and the London Transport attacks of 2005. Paul Weller's talk will highlight how the book's chapters explore the challenges to the concept and practice of civility in public life within a European context, together with the evidence presented and arguments made by the authors about how far the thought and practice of the global movement inspired by the Turkish Muslim scholar Fethullah Gülen can make a contribution in these matters.

Professor Weller's overview of the book will touch on key perspectives from Fethullah Gülen on Muslim identity and public life in Europe; on civility, co-existence and integration; on the movement's development in a variety of different European contexts, especially in the Netherlands, France, Germany and Northern Ireland, and on the movement's role in challenging terrorism. He will also provide some insight into the position adopted by Fethullah Gülen in relation to Turkey's possible future membership of the European Union.

Biography of Paul Weller

Paul Weller (Cert Ed, MA, MPhil, PhD, DLitt) is Professor of Inter-Religious Relations at the University of Derby and Head of Research and Commercial Development in its Faculty of Education, Health and Sciences; Visiting Fellow in the Oxford Centre for Christianity and Culture at Regent’s Park College, University of Oxford; and a Trustee of the Multi-Faith Centre at the University of Derby. His current research interests involve issues in the relationships between religion, state and society, and religion or belief, discrimination and equal opportunities, in relation to which he is heading up a national research project within the Religion and Society Research Programme on "Religion and Belief, Discrimination and Equality in England and Wales: Theory, Policy and Practice (2000-2010):" (see http://www.derby.ac.uk/religion-and-society).

His recent publications include:

Time for a Change: Reconfiguring Religion, State and Society ( London: T. & T. Clark, 2005)
Religious Diversity in the UK: Contours and Issues (London: Continuum, 2008)
A Mirror for our Times: 'The Rushdie Affair and the Future of Multiculturalism (London: Continuum, 2009)
He has previously also published on "Fethullah Gülen, Religions, Globalisation and Dialogue", in R. Hunt and Y. Aslandoğan (eds.), Muslim Citizens of the Globalized World: Contributions of the Gülen Movement (Somerset, NJ: The Light Inc. and IID Press, 2006).

Biography of Steve Wright

Dr Steve Wright studied at Manchester University, taking a BSc in Liberal Studies in Science. He went on to work for the Council, first as the Head of Manchester’s controversial Police Monitoring Unit, then later in the Chief Executive’s Department working on such diverse issues as Emergency Planning, Nuclear War and Accessible Public Transport. He co-founded the Omega Foundation in 1989 which is still based in the city today, working on tracking the supply of military, security and police equipment to repressive regimes. Today, he retains his link with the city through being a member of the board of the Mines Advisory Group which removes explosive remnants of war from battlefields, cities and villages all over the world.

Today he is a Reader and lecturer in the School of Applied Global Ethics at Leeds Metropolitan University, teaching a variety of courses on peace, conflict, state security and advanced surveillance. Steve lectures world-wide on these issues and apart from interfaith dialogue, his recent publications include work on climate change and border control, sub-lethal weapons; cities under siege and surveillance.

Biography of Terry Biddington

Revd Dr Terry Biddington is Co-ordinating Chaplain to the Manchester Higher Education Community which is the largest H.E. community in Europe. He is based at St Peter’s House where he co-ordinates a team of 23 chaplains from the major world faiths. He is Theological Associate to the joint Manchester-Liverpool AHRC-funded international Project on Multifaith Spaces, Symptoms or Agents of Change, Professional Adviser to the Muslim Chaplaincy Trust for the Manchester Universities and Chair of the Interfaith Chaplaincy Forum for the three Manchester HEIs.

Recent papers include: ‘Shared Religious Space and the HE Community: is there a theological imperative?’; ‘Religiously Motivated Multifaith Spaces;’ Towards a Theological Reading of Multifaith Spaces;’ ‘The impact of dialogue on increasing international understanding’ (with the British Muslim Heritage Centre, Manchester); and ‘Some contemporary expressions of shared religious space in the public realm in Macedonia’ which draws on his 2011 fieldwork in Macedonia on shared Muslim-Christian worship spaces.

His books include: Risk-shaped Discipleship: on going deeper into the life of God (2010); Recipes for Good Living: The Beginner’s Guide to Spirituality (2012) and Risk-shaped Preaching: The Space between Us (forthcoming).

He is much in demand as a theological educator and preacher and as a consultant to other university chaplaincies.