OCHEJA AMEH JOSHUA
Department of History and War Studies
Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna
&
A.O. AHMED, PhD
National Defence College, Abuja
Abstract
The Hizmet Movement has been committed in advancing the course of religious tolerance and peaceful co-existence through dialogue and education among other strategies. While dialogue as a part of Hizmet strategy has attracted the attention of scholars, the educational and healthcare services of the organisation in Nigeria have not been adequately interrogated by scholars. It is as a result of this neglect that it becomes necessary to analyse the educational and healthcare services of the organisation. The findings reveal that Hizmet Movementthrough the Nigeria Tulip International Colleges (NTIC) provides educational services to Nigeria. As part of its humanitarian efforts, the organisation equally hosts the Annual National Mathematical Competition (ANMC) and offers scholarship to selected Nigerians of which 140 Nigerians are currently benefitting from the scholarship. Thus, beneficiary of Hizmet Movement educational training become ambassadors and commit themselves to preaching good values, advocating religious tolerance and the need for dialogue in conflict management and resolution. The findings also show that the organisation through the Nizamiye hospital equally offers world class medical services to the Nigerian people. Similarly, in its humanitarian endeavours the organisation has offered free medical services to the people by conducting free cataract and heart surgeries among other medical assistances. Despite the challenges they encounter, these efforts of the organisation have shown its commitment to peace, welfare and development of Nigeria. The paper relies on primary and secondary sources and adopts the analytical method of historical research. It concludes that through the NTICs and the Nizamiye hospital Hizmet has contributed to the peace, welfare and development of Nigeria. Thus, setting the pace for humanitarianism as well as dialogue for peace, religious tolerance and peaceful co-existence in Nigeria.
Introduction Since the evolution and introduction of the Hizmet Movement in Nigeria, the movement has been devoted to ensuring the habitual peaceful coexistence of people irrespective of racial and religious differences. This ideology of Fetullah Gulen has inspired a global movement by adherents of the movement who through their activities, institutions, and services encourage people to serve humanity through education and intercultural and interfaith activities as well as through formal and institutionalised efforts and projects.[1] According
1Muhammed Cetin, Hizmet: Questions and Answers on the Gulen Movement, (New York: Blue Dome Press, 2014), 21.