The past few years Mary and I had read about the beauty of Turkey and had talked about one day wanting to visit this amazing place. Then this spring, out of the blue, the group “Institute for Interfaith Dialogue” (IID) offered us an all-expense paid trip to Turkey. We felt we had one some kind of lottery or sweepstakes.

Mary and I had learned about the IID through several interfaith events they sponsored. This is an interfaith group based in Houston but with branches throughout the U.S. Its organizers are mainly Turkish college students and professors who want to dialogue with other faiths, and want to educate others about the religion of Islam and about Turkish culture. One of the students of this organization, Fatih Ozcan, was kind enough to invite us to his home for a Turkish dinner. Earlier this year I was asked to speak about the importance of interfaith dialogue at an Iftar banquet sponsored by IID. It was after this that they invited Mary and I along with about 13 other religious leaders - all of the Abrahamic faiths on this wonderful trip.

It was during an orientation session before the trip that we were told about the secular government of Turkey. I thought to myself, “OK, the U.S. is a secular government” but little did I know what they meant. A better description of Turkey’s secular government might be that it is extremely secular, because although 99% of the population is Muslim, the government forbids the wearing of the Hijab (head scarf) by women in high school or college class rooms, in government jobs, or hospital jobs. Religious schools are also forbidden.

We landed in Istanbul the largest city in Turkey with a population of about 14 million - only slightly smaller than NYC. Istanbul is situated on an Isthmus consisting of two peninsulas of land that are each part of a larger land mass. This is separated by Bosphorus Sea which separates the Black Sea and the Mediterranean sea. The really amazing thing about Istanbul is that one half is on the European continent and the other half (and the rest of Turkey) is on the Asian continent.

Istanbul is a very cosmopolitan country. You see some women wearing the hijab, while others wearing western clothes. You also see some very orthodox Muslim women wearing not only the hijab, but covered - head to toe in black. As we traveled further east in Turkey we noticed that nearly all of the women wore the Hijab.

As you may know there are five pillars of Islam. They are:

1. There is only one God - called Allah and his prophet was Mohammad.

2. You must pray 5 times a day.

3. You must fast during Ramadan.

4. You must give to charity

5. Once in your life you must go on the Hajja to Mecca

Five times a day we would hear from the minarets of the many mosques in every city, the Iman recite the Adan - or call to prayer. It starts each day before sunrise - and is repeated four more times throughout the day ending at sundown. Each time you could hear it echoing throughout the city from one mosque to the next. A reminder for all Muslims to pray. But for Mary and me it was a reminder to stop and connect with the sacred in that moment. It is really a wonderful tradition - especially in such a secular country.

We visited many important holy sites such as the cave were Abraham was born and the house that supposedly the Virgin Mary lived out her final days. In Konya we visited the tomb of the Sufi mystic Rumi and many roman ruins.

But most impressive were the many private non-profit “peace schools” that we visited. These private non-profit schools were inspired by a modern-day hero - a sort of Gandhi or Martin Luther King to the Turkish people and his name is Fethullah Gulen. He is a writer, poet, speaker and author of over 30 books. He is truly a visionary. In the 80’s and 90’s he spoke at every opportunity about his vision. He would speak anywhere he was invited, even in the coffeehouses throughout Turkey. This began a movement in Turkey. Gulen preached the importance of love, peace, interfaith dialogue and education. He felt (similar to John F. Kennedy) that Turkey’s children were it’s best resource and it’s best hope for the future. So he encouraged individuals to invest in and build better schools. He felt that through education they could help spread the importance of peace, interfaith dialogue as well as educate young people to be responsible adults.

The movement’s belief is that only through education, a better future for humanity can be established. Change in the modern world will have to come via participation of moral and successful individuals in the media, business, and -most importantly- education systems, not by confrontation and revolution. Education of the new generation is of paramount importance. Knowledge is key.

I agree with Gulen and believe interfaith dialogue is critically needed today more than ever. Globally dangerous tensions exist, not only between religions, but even within religions. And the rapid rise of fundamentalism among many faiths threatens the religious freedom of all of us. In addition, we are also facing increasing environmental, personal and social crises. The environment crisis are too many to mention - but I encourage you to see Al Gore’s movie “An Incovenient Truth.” There are personal crisis of addiction, cravings, greed and materialism. Social crisis of violence in our society along with the problems of racism, classism, sexism, a rising class of the poor. Our own citizens - including many who are children are hungry.

Like Gulen I believe a big part of the answer is through individuals who care enough to make a difference. So today I am asking each one of you to make a commitment to make a difference. On the cards and envelopes being passed out I want you to write a commitment to yourself to make a difference in one of three crises facing us today. 1. Personal Crisis - such as cutting your own consumerism. 2. Societal Crisis - it could be helping in a shelter one day a week. And 3. Environmental Crisis - it could be joining a group to pick up litter along the highway or to begin recycling. It is up to you. But write on the card one commitment you are willing to make today. On the envelope I want you to address it to yourself. When you are finished I want you to seal the card in the envelope. I won’t see what you have written. Then one month from today I will mail the card to you. When you receive and open it I want you to think about what you have done to fulfill the goal you wrote to yourself one month ago.