Mois : décembre 2008

Fethullah Güllen – Turkey

Linked with Islamic Revivalism in Muslim World, and with The Fethullah Gülen Movement in Thought and Practice.

Upcoming: The Fifth International Conference on Islam in the Contemporary World: The Gülen Movement in Thought and Practice, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.A. – March 6-7, 2009.

Fethullah Gülen is a Turkish writer, former Islamic preacher and the leader of the Gülen’s movement, one of the largest Islamic movements in Turkey. As the author of more than 60 books, Fethullah Gülen advocates tolerance, acceptance of others, and dialogue for peace. He sees the solution to many of the world’s problems in a return to religious faith, and advocates that in true Islam, terrorism is murder and is strictly forbidden. Gülen’s followers have formed more than 500 educational institutions in over 90 countries around the world (on Better World Heroes).

He says: « Today, people are talking about many things: the danger of war and frequent clashes, water and air pollution, hunger, the increasing erosion of moral values, and so on. As a result, many other concerns have come to the fore: peace, contentment, ecology, justice, tolerance, and dialogue. Unfortunately, despite certain promising precautions, those who should be tackling these problems tend to do so by seeking further ways to conquer and control nature and produce more letal weapons … and: interfaith dialogue is a must today, and the first step in establishing it is forgetting the past, ignoring polemical arguments, and giving precedence to common points, which far outnumber polemical ones … and: tolerance, a term which we sometimes use in place of the words respect, mercy, generosity, or forbearance, is the most essential element of moral systems; it is a very important source of spiritual discipline and a celestial virtue of perfected people … and: it is impossible for people who have given their heart to seeking forgiveness not to think of forgiving others. Just as they desire to be forgiven, they also desire to forgive … and: altruism is an exalted human feeling, and its source is love. Whoever has the greatest share in this love is the greatest hero of humanity; these people have been able to uproot any feelings of hatred and rancor in themselves … (see all quotes).

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Fethullah Güllen – Turkey

His official website.

Watch these videos on  YouTube:
Gülen seems a controversial figure for some secularists in Turkey. While his followers and a significant part of Turkish society respects him as a humanistic figure at the service of Islam, a large fraction of society perceives him as a significant threat who aims to transform the country’s secular system. On the other hand, some radical groups severely criticize his actions, especially interfaith dialog efforts, as a diversion from Islam. Controversies over Gülen are even enhanced by his interfaith dialog activities including meeting with the Pope John Paul II … (full text on wikipedia /controversies).

Gülen Movement Becomes Best-linked Muslim Network.

Who is the number one public intellectual in the world?  Umberto Eco?  Garry Kasparov?  Salman Rushdie, Vaclav Havel, Christopher Hitchens?  EO Wilson (I thought he went to the big anthill in the sky)? If you chose Fethullah Güllen, you’re not alone.  Prospect Magazine and Foreign Policy Magazine have published the results of their survey, and the Turkish Islamic religious leader topped the poll … (full text, 15 July 2008).

Find him on the spanish wikipedia.

The Turkish Islamist movement of Fethullah Gulen is one of the most interesting examples of liberal Islamist thinking in the Middle East. Gulen and his followers have tried to produce a religious-political movement favoring modernism, Turkish nationalism, tolerance, and democracy without sacrificing religious precepts. The structure and philosophy of this movement and its leader have been manifested in many groups and educational institutions. Part of the Turkish secularist elite views Gulen as a progressive development, though others see him as a threat in moderate garb … (full long text).

Find him and his publications on wordpress.com; on alibris; on wikipedia /works;
on Google Video-search (all in turkish language); on Google Book-search; on Google Scholar-search with one result; on Google Group-search; and on Google Blog-search.

NEW YORK: Two Indians now settled in the US — Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen and acclaimed journalist Fareed Zakaria — are among the top 20 intellectuals in the world today, according to a poll conducted by a US magazine … Fethullah Gullen, an Islamic scholar from Turkey with a global network of millions of followers, is at No.1 on the list and Nobel Prize-winning microfinancier Muhammad Yunus from Bangladesh is at No 2 … (full text).

Continuer la lecture de « Fethullah Güllen – Turkey »

Landon Pearson – Canada

She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

Landon Carter (Lucy) Pearson, OC BA, MEd, LLD, DU (born November 16, 1930) is a former Canadian senator and a children’s rights advocate. She was appointed to the Senate in 1994 by Jean Chrétien and sat with the Liberal caucus. She retired from the Senate on November 16, 2005 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75 … // … In 1974 she cofounded Children Learning for Living, a prevention program in children’s mental health. It operated for 23 years through the Ottawa Board of Education until 1998. She was a school trustee in both Canada and India; and has been involved in community-based programs such as Mobile Creches for Working Mothers’ Children, a child care service for the children of nomadic construction workers in New Delhi and Bombay. In 1979, she was Vice-Chairperson of the Canadian Commission for the International Year of the Child and edited the Commission’s report, For Canada’s Children: National Agenda for Action … (full text).

She is named as Better World Heroe. Her Bio there.

Her website about her life and work.

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Landon Pearson – Canada

She works for the Canadian Council on Children and Youth, for the Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children, and for the Landon Pearson Resource Centre for the Study of Childhood and Children’s Rights LPRC (read: its official opening on on June 1 2006).

She says: « There can be no global security without respect for children. We have to be more than just observers of children’s suffering, we have to be partners with them in their struggles » … and: « We must pay attention to the millions of children of this generation who are caught up in armed conflicts. How can we protect them from the worst consequences of war? And when hostilities cease, how can we take the war out of them? By eliminating landmines, controlling the sale of small arms, raising the age of recruitment … are all essential measures. By reuniting children with their families and providing programs of physical and psychological rehabilitation » … and: « I’ve never ceased to be amazed at the survival skills of poor children. I’ve learned how much children can actually do for themselves if only we provide the necessary means. That part is up to us ». (Quotes on Better World Heroes).

… Now, at the start of a new century, Senator Landon Mackenzie Pearson sees a glimmer of hope-a dawning recognition that children too have human rights, including the right to be heard. Senator Pearson can trace the growth of this awareness in her own life. Born in Toronto in 1930, she grew up in a small Ontario town. There the sufferings of children registered in her awareness only in her grandmother’s exhortations to « remember the starving Armenians » when she wouldn’t finish her dinner … (full text).

She says also: … « I’ve never ceased to be amazed at the survival skills of poor children » … (full text).

… She has also made a substantial contribution to our understanding of child development through her writing, in particular her book, Children of Glasnost (1990), which gives an in-depth understanding of what it is like to grow up in the Soviet Union, and how that is changing as Russian society becomes more open. A second book, Letters from Moscow, was published in 2003 … (full text).

Find her and her publications; on inauthor Google-search; on Google Book-search; on Google Scholar-search; on Google Group-search; on Google Blog-search … and her bio on Foreign Affairs.

… although it is not the University’s mandate to develop social policy, it is the organization’s role to learn what is needed to inform policy.
The Landon Pearson Resource Centre will provide just this opportunity.Located in A735 Loeb, the resource centre will make Pearson’s documents available to students and faculty, and will promote and host activities that address issues relating to children, childhood and communities.  As Carleton’s newest adjunct professor, Pearson will also be available to meet with students and share her knowledge with members of the University community. She said the centre would provide an opportunity to engage the whole community and create the synergy needed to bring respect for children … (full text).
And: Campus news, Online exclusive: Senator Landon Pearson leaves legacy at Carleton, Creates resource centre for the study of children’s rights, Dec. 05, 2005. (full text).

Continuer la lecture de « Landon Pearson – Canada »

Naseeb Mohammad Shaikh – India

She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

Naseeb Mohammad Shaikh lost 11 members of the family she had married into, and 14 members of her parents’ families during the 2002 Gujarat riots. Since then, she has been a prime initiator of peace and communal harmony, leading the fight for rights for the minority communities in and around Gujarat’s Kalol region. At last count, she was fighting 37 cases of atrocities, including ones by the police. She comes from a well-off Muslim family of landowners.

Born in Delol village in Panchmahal, Gujarat, she married Mohammad-bhai of the same village in 1989. At the time of the Gujarat communal riots of 2002, she had a daughter of 13 and a son aged 11.

During the riots, 11 members of the family she married into, and 14 members of her parents’ families, were butchered, including her parents, her husband and her daughter, who was raped in front of her relatives before being killed. Naseeb escaped death only because she was in hospital undergoing a minor surgery. She was left with her son and ostracism from her village. She had to seek refuge in a rehabilitation colony in Kalol, which is where she has been since.

But unlike most refugees in the colony, Naseeb refused to let the magnitude of her loss overwhelm her into paralysis. Finding many widowed women and helpless children, she took it upon herself to help them. She started small, listening to their stories, taking them to hospital, filing papers for compensation, liaising with the relief agencies – she became pretty much a one-woman army as far as the refugees’ requirements were concerned … (1000peacewomen 1/2).

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Sorry, no downloadable photo found of Naseeb Mohammad Shaikh – India.

Naseeb Mohammad Shaikh did not allow her incalculable personal loss and grief to overwhelm her social conscience-if she lost her family to the 2002 Gujarat riots, so did thousands of others.

She works for Aman Samuday *.

(1000peacewomen 2/2): … After moving out of the rehabilitation colony with the help of local social workers, Naseeb shifted into a small house in Kalol with her son. There, she accepted a more substantial role as a social worker, becoming very active in highlighting legal cases and rehabilitation issues to various agencies and the media.

Soon after, Naseeb started work with SEWA. Naseeb was with the social organization for six months, during which time she traveled around the villages in the vicinity to work with riot-affected women and children. No constructive change in the lives of the people was possible for obvious reasons, and although Naseeb managed to make life easier for the people she met and interacted with, a limit soon imposed itself. In April 2003, she quit SEWA to join Aman Samuday, an organization trying to propel people towards peace and communal harmony through awareness. Naseeb fit neatly into the scheme of things.

She moved from village to village, spreading the message of peace, justice, communal harmony, and a common humanity. Her own experiences were the greatest example she placed in front of the affected: she plunged headlong into issues concerning the marginalized.

One of her first campaigns was against a local maulana, a Muslim cleric who ran a relief camp. The frisson began when the maulana was distributing handcarts to the affected, hoping that they would use the carts to start small businesses and become self-sufficient. When Naseeb approached the maulana for a cart, he abused her, charging her with conduct unbecoming of a Muslim widow. His position in the community ensured that he received more support than Naseeb did. She retaliated by mobilizing a small army of women to demand their rights.

When in Eral village, she was confronted with the age-old caste divide – Dalits were refused drinking water from the public handpumps. Negotiating with the local panchayat, Naseeb managed to get a handpump sanctioned only for the Dalit community. In Eral, she built a home for Pushpaben, an elderly Dalit woman who lacked shelter. Aman Samuday provided only the cost of materials; Naseeb herded together enough people from the community to build the house.

Continuer la lecture de « Naseeb Mohammad Shaikh – India »

Dorothea Christiane Erxleben alias Dorothea Chr. Leporin – Germany (1715 – 1762)

Dorothea Christiane Erxleben née Leporin (November 13, 1715 in Quedlinburg – June 13, 1762 in Quedlinburg) was the first female medical doctor in Germany. Erxleben was instructed in medicine by her father from an early age. The Italian scientist Laura Bassi’s university professorship inspired Erxleben to fight for her right to practise medicine, and in 1742 she published a tract arguing that women should be allowed to attend University. After being admitted to study by a dispensation – (see rather under the words: Casuistry and Derogation) – of Frederick the Great, Erxleben received her M.D. from the University of Halle in 1754. She went on to analyse the obstacles preventing women from studying, among them housekeeping and family. Dorothea was the mother of Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben … (wikipedia).

… Dorothea got in touch with the young Prussian king Friedrich the Great to ask him for his approval. Friedrich instructed the university of Halle not to hinder Dorothea’s studies. However, she did not intend to go by herself as she did not feel safe without her brother. But war broke out and her brother, who did not intend to join the army, had to flee Prussia to avoid being drafted. Dorothea also got married and thus her studies became even less probable. She married a widowed minister who brought 5 children into the marriage, and later they had 4 children of their own. All this time Dorothea visited ailing people and treated them with all her ability, which was always frowned upon by male colleagues, especially since she had people refer to her as Frau Doktor (Ms Doctor) – a title she always maintained she did not want people to use. When one of her elderly patients died of her ailment, three well-known medical doctors of Quedlinburg sent an official complaint about her to the Prussian court. Thereafter she applied again to gain a doctorate and was granted to do so at the university of Halle. She passed the test with flying flags in 1754 and continued to work in Quedlinburg until, in 1762, at the age of only 46, she died from a mysterious infection … (full text).

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Dorothea Christiane Erxleben alias Dorothea Chr. Leporin – Germany (1715 – 1762)

She said: ein jeder will gern ein verständiges Weib haben, aber die Mittel des Verstandes will man ihnen nicht zulassen / (my translation): every man wants a comprehending wife, but disallows her the right for reason (Zitate historicher Personen).

Find her and her publications on world cat.org; on Google Book-search; on Google Scholar-search; on Google Group-search; on Google Blog-search.

The Google download book: European Feminisms, 1700-1950, By Karen M. Offen, 2000, 554 pages.

Much more exists in german:

  • Sie schrieb: Die Verachtung der Gelehrsamkeit zeigt sich besonders darin, dass das weibliche Geschlecht vom Studieren abgehalten wird. Wenn etwas dem größten Teil der Menschheit vorenthalten wird, weil es nicht allen Menschen nötig und nützlich ist, sondern vielen zum Nachteil gereichen könnte, verdient es keine Wertschätzung, da es nicht von allgemeinem Nutzen sein kann. So führt der Ausschluss vieler von der Gelehrsamkeit zu ihrer Verachtung. Dieses Unrecht ist ebensogroß wie dasjenige, das den Frauen widerfährt, die dieses herrlichen und kostbaren Gegenstandes beraubt werden. (Gajo Simpatico).
  • Dorothea Christiane Erxleben;
  • Dorothea Christiane Erxleben (* 13. November 1715 in Quedlinburg; † 13. Juni 1762 ebenda; gebürtige Leporin) war die erste promovierte deutsche Ärztin … (ganzer Text);
  • … Dorothea Leporin wurde am 13. November 1715 als zweites von vier Kindern des Arztes Christian Polycarpus Leporin (1689–1747) und seiner Frau Anna Sophia (1680–1757), einer Pastorentochter, in Quedlinburg (Sachsen-Anhalt) geboren … Ihr Vater ließ sie am Unterricht ihres Bruders Christian Polycarp sowie an dessen Vorbereitung auf das Medizinstudium teilnehmen und nahm sie zu Hausbesuchen bei Patienten mit. 1724 schlug Christian Polycarp Leporin vor, in jeder Stadt sollten Akademien eingerichtet und Schüler, die den Unterricht nicht selbst bezahlen könnten, kostenlos unterrichtet werden. Außerdem sollten nicht nur Männer einen Zugang zu diesen Bildungseinrichtungen erhalten, sondern auch die Frauen. Seine Tochter Dorothea wurde vom Rektor und Konrektor des Gymnasiums Quedlinburg in privaten Lektionen mit dem Gymnasialstoff vertraut gemacht … (ganzer Text).
  • … Bei der Erbhuldigung des preußischen Königs Friedrich II. der Große (1712–1786) im November 1740 in Quedlinburg überreichte die 24-jährige Dorothea Erxleben dessen Bevollmächtigtem neben französischen Versen zum Regierungsantritt des Herrschers ein Gesuch mit der Bitte um Freilassung ihrer zum Militärdienst rekrutierten Brüder. Diese Bitte erklärte sie mit dem Kummer der Eltern und ihrer eigenen Hoffnung, gemeinsam mit ihrem Bruder an einer Universität die medizinischen Examen ablegen zu können … (ganzer Text).
  • Kleine Chronik großer Frauen, Band 2;
  • Die Ärztin aus Quedlinburg – Hörbuch;
  • Gleichstellungsbüro;
  • Meilensteine der Medizin;
  • Till Bergner’s Artikel: Dorothea Christiane Erxleben und ihre Gründliche Untersuchung der Ursachen, die das weibliche Geschlecht vom Studiren abhalten / (Throurough studies about the reasons which prevent the female gender from studying);
  • …  Gründliche Untersuchung der Ursachen, die das weibliche Geschlecht vom Studieren abhalten – (gescannter Text auf deutsch / as a scann of the historc document in german) – a tract arguing that women should be allowed to attend university, and she directly appealed to Friedrich the Great who gave her a dispensation. At age 39, after the birth of her fourth child, she successfully completed her exams in 1754 and received her Medical Degree. (full text);
  • … von Dorothea Chr. Leporin das Buch bei Amazon.

Continuer la lecture de « Dorothea Christiane Erxleben alias Dorothea Chr. Leporin – Germany (1715 – 1762) »

Abigail Smith Adams – USA (1744 – 1818)

Abigail Adams (née Smith) (November 11, 1744 – October 28, 1818) was the wife of John Adams, the second President of the United States, and mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth, and is regarded as the first Second Lady of the United States and the second First Lady of the United States though the terms were not coined until after her death. Continuer la lecture de « Abigail Smith Adams – USA (1744 – 1818) »

Chukwumuanya Igboekwu – Nigeria

Medical Activist Fighting HIV/AIDS – standing up for human rights

Linked with The Right to Health and Health Workforce Planning.

As a doctor working in Nigeria’s remote Niger province, Chukwumuanya Igboekwu confronted the reality of AIDS in rural Africa: In 2003 an estimated 99.5% of the estimated 22,000 people with HIV/AIDS could not afford anti-retroviral medications. He began a local campaign to secure a significant increase in health funds in the provincial budget. The four-hour drive from Igboekwu’s home in rural Sahon-rami to the state capital became a regular one. After many visits, he met with the Deputy Governor, the Commissioner of Health, key parliamentarians and other officials. Igboekwu and his coalition made a strong case for the government to take responsibility for providing clinical care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS. In 2005, the government announced it would provide life-saving antiretroviral drugs to 1,000 people. The grave situation in 2003 has been reversed as majority of PLWHAs in Niger province now have access to antiretroviral medicines … // … Chukwumuanya is an Oxfam International Youth Partnerships action member. Oxfam International Youth Partnerships is a global network of young people working with their communities to create positive, equitable and sustainable change. (full text).

His bio.

He writes: … my name is Chukwumuanya Igboekwu, I male and 25. I am a young medical doctor from Nigeria. I have just finnished my one year youth service corps serviceand cuurrently working in a rural hospital in kontagora, Niger state ,north central region of Nigeria. I am currently a member of the Oxfam International Youth Parliament,OIYP, based in Sydney Australia. I am currently involved in a project aimed at reducing the burden of HIV/AIDS among rural youth in Niger state. I am also the program manager of a grassroot youth serving organisation,the Young Corps for Social Responsibility(YCSR), based in Niger state Nigeria … (full text, May 21, 2005).

… As a medical doctor volunteering in the rural community, he has also been involved in establishing an HIV/AIDS treatment centre within the community where he’s working. Chukwumuanya is also strategically campaigning and lobbying the Niger State Government, with the aim of increasing the budgetary allocation to health and HIV/AIDS programming activities, especially with regards to the procurement of essential medicines and technologies for people living with HIV/AIDS in his community. Less than 5% of those requiring ARV’s and other medicines actually have access to them … (full text).

He is also member of Taking It Global.

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Chukwumuanya Igboekwu – Nigeria

Law and Health Initiative Sponsors Health and Human Rights Activists from Nigeria and Russia, December 1, 2006.

Preventing Childhood Malaria Deaths in Mashegu: This project provides families with malaria prevention education, life-saving medicines and insecticide treated bednets to protect 20,000 children from malaria related deaths in rural Mashegu … (full text):

  • 11-09-2008 – Field update from Tunga-magaji, Maisara and Nassarawa;
  • 05-27-2008 – Updates from the field;
  • 03-31-2008 – Malaria Prevention Project Outreach at Faje Community in rural Mashegu.
  • More Information About this Project: Project Needs and Beneficiaries In this region, malaria accounts for 30% of deaths for children under 5 (UNICEF/FGN 2004). PSJ estimates that about 70% of outpatient visits for children under 5 and 50% of hospital admissions are due to malaria in areas where we work. This project seeks to significantly reduce the high death rate resulting from malaria among children in rural Mashegu through community-wide malaria prevention education and distribution of ITNs to families with children under 5 … (full text).

Comment by Novartis, November 2006.

… Chukwumuanya hopes to work with various stakeholders within his region at the conclusion of the training to bring affordable, effective and safe generic versions of ARV medicines into the Niger state. To do this he hopes to work with the Federal Ministry of Commerce, the National Action Committee on AIDS (NACA), Care People International, the Niger State Chamber of Commerce, Mines and Agriculture and the Nigerian Parliamentary Committee on HIV/AIDS … (full text 10 pdf-pages).

… The VCHI is an integrated rural community based health intervention project aimed at making high quality health care delivery services available and accessible to the rural people at affordable costs. The project uniquely focuses on the pivotal role of grass-root community based health care delivery strategy in bringing affordable health care services nearer to the people. Our service delivery approach is an integrated model, which combines all aspects of primary health care including both curative and preventive aspects, which are administered as a combined package. We also have a simple team made up of only 3 persons ? The Primary Care Physician, a Community Health Extension Worker CHEW and a junior community Health Worker who serves as Nursing Aid … (full text).

Continuer la lecture de « Chukwumuanya Igboekwu – Nigeria »