There has never been an era or time that should be free of people who dedicated their lives for the promotion of Islam and its progress as they had realized that this is the only system that can save the world of all its pains and miseries. This feeling was intensified after the decline of Islamic World started some 3-4 centuries back when they remained backward not only in the fields of commerce and science but their general moral conditions also deteriorated badly. Lack of education, poverty, social evils, societal divides and many other problems brought down a community on its knees that once used to rule the major part of the world and was regarded a sample to be followed.

But it is a natural fact that rise and fall of nations continue and Muslims, who magnificently ruled the most part of the world for many centuries, had to face this shameful decline. Although the system adopted by West was equally important but it only addressed the material needs and success of the human race and absolutely ignored the ethical and spiritual needs. It is the reason why, we see that the world has improved a lot but there exists the rule of ‘might is right’ and no power restrains the powerful from snatching the rights of the weak. Same formula applies in the economic and political grounds and today’s member of an advanced society is still frustrated and discontented and looks for a system that should not only ensure the material success but also heal its pains in the heart and soul.

People who dedicated themselves for the promotion of Islam developed this sense of responsibility after reading and understanding the teachings of it and thus they started their activities but they chose different ways. Some came to politics to come into power and practically implement its teachings. Some started preaching it by reaching to the common people while many others formed associations to achieve this objective. Without making comparison of the results of their efforts, such dedicated people are still present in different parts of the world and busy in their jobs but last few decades brought a great blow to the efforts of all these people. After the attack of 9-11, the word ‘Islam’ and ‘terrorism’ were shown to be synonymous to each other and in this regard, it would be better to blame ourselves more than the efforts of West-held media that worked hard to make this perception common.

There were many organizations that took the name of Islam and did such shameful acts that people started loathing the mere name of Islam and Muslims. In such circumstances, the sincere people absolutely quit their fields and the arena was left for those stupid who became the puppets in the hands of others or who used this sacred name for their personal gains. All these resulted in a number of shameful acts in the name of Islam; suicide attacks, bombs, killing, torture, brutality, attacking the mosques and other places of worship and many more and now is the condition that people living in different Non-Muslim countries feel ashamed to be called a ‘Muslim’ and word ‘Islam’ has become permanently associated with terror and barbarism.

But it is a strange paradox that actual teachings of Islam are absolutely opposite to what so many people are doing in the name of Islam. It presents itself as a religion of peace and was led by the Prophet (PBUH) who was concerned about the rights of Non-Muslims living in the Islamic states. Teachings of the Holy Book, Quran and sayings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) also show the same picture but then the question arises; what happened wrong here and why are these happening so? The answer to this question is not so easy. The biggest problem is our ignorance because we ignored the importance of education and knowledge and then we became ignorant of the true teachings of our religion as well. Majority of us have not studied the actual meanings of Quranic teachings and original sayings of our Holy Prophet (PBUH). There emerged some people in the costume of scholars and preachers (Mullah) and they explained the teachings according to their own benefits.

Majority of them were sponsored by some strong foreign hands that wanted the actual image of Islam to be destroyed and it should be showed as a religion that believes in brutality so that people should start hating it. It was done with such a nice planning that their efforts have started bearing fruit. Wonderful results have been achieved on all the different grounds and levels. Non-Muslims believe that this religion is nothing but a system that encourages its followers to commit suicide, kill people and show brutality in their daily lives and is a major threat to the world peace and progress. Islamic societies seem to be divided and frustrated as well; there are those who have turned to be secular due to the shameful acts of their Muslim brothers, many youngsters have turned towards atheism and are no more interested in any religion, while the ignorant part of the society is still under the strong influence of these so-called scholars and guides and believe that they have the responsibility to correct the world by hook or by the crook. It is the reason why, there are present a large number of people in our society who support terror and its perpetrators. While there is present a small minority group that still believes that actual teachings of Islam can save the world of all its miseries and they are also opposed to the brutality and bloodshed being undertaken in the name of Islam.

In such frustration and despair, there is present a person who appears as a perfect example in the present circumstances. He believes in service to humanity and world peace. He goes to churches and synagogues. He visited the Pope in the Vatican and he talks about the similarities between the different religions of the world. He is absolutely against any kind of conflict as he believes that conflict can never solve any kind of problem. He is not opposed to ‘Jihad’ but according to him, ‘Actual Jihad starts against the carnal desires of a person’ and he believes in dialogue as the most powerful weapon in doing the actual jihad. He believes that knowledge and understanding are the biggest assets of a Muslim that can help him understand his religion and adopt it practically in his life. It is the reason why, he asks Muslims to get more and more education and excel in the science and technology. He regards Islam as a code of conduct that should be used in daily life for making ourselves better humans and be of help to our society and people around us.

He believes in the service of humanity and never limits the benefits of Islam to the Muslims, which is the reason why, he directs his students to open schools and carry out charity services in different corners of the world, without any discrimination of religion, race, language or color as he regards it the spirit of a universal religion. At the same time, he is absolutely against any kind of hatred or terror as he regards love and cooperation more effective and powerful than these. His name is Muhammad Fethullah Gulen who has shown himself as the perfect example of loving peace and also practicing the true spirit of Islamic teachings. In this era of despair and tension, his message is of only love and peace and it seems to be the only way of doing service to humanity and our religion as well.