Call for Papers | Fethullah Gülen’s Thought and Practice

Conference Background

This conference aims to explore the intellectual legacy of Fethullah Gülen and the Hizmet Movement, focusing on their contributions to education, interfaith dialogue, peacebuilding, and identity formation in a modern and pluralistic world. By bringing together scholars from various disciplines, the event fosters critical engagement with Gülen’s thought and its relevance in today’s world.

Respect Graduate School (RGS) hosts this conference as part of its annual series. RGS specializes in Islamic Studies, offering a rigorous education rooted in traditional Islamic disciplines while embracing interdisciplinary and innovative approaches. The school is committed to preparing students to address contemporary social and intellectual challenges within a global context.

Peace Islands Institute (PII) is committed to promoting mutual respect, cooperation, and understanding among all peoples through dialogue, education, and outreach. Rooted in the belief that peace is possible through inclusive conversations and collaborative action, PII seeks to bring together communities of diverse backgrounds to work collectively toward global peace and social harmony.

Call for Papers

We invite scholars, researchers, and graduate students from diverse academic backgrounds, including the humanities, social sciences, and religious studies, to submit papers for this interdisciplinary conference. Submissions should engage with the general conference theme and address one of the following topics:

FETHULLAH GULEN’S THOUGHT AND PRACTICE: EDUCATION, DIALOGUE, PEACEBUILDING, AND IDENTITY FORMATION:

• Life, Influences, and Intellectual Foundations
• Intellectual Legacy
• Peacebuilding Through Dialogue
• Peacebuilding through Education
• Islam and Democracy
• Muslim Identity in the 21st Century
• Women’s Leadership and Agency
• Science and Spirituality in the Contemporary World

All presentations will be limited to 20 minutes in length.

Paper Submission Details

The conference will be held in person and online. The in-person event will take place in New Jersey, starting on the evening of Friday, October 3, and running until Sunday, October 5, 2025.

Abstracts (300–500 words) along with CVs should be submitted to the Conference Program Committee no later than May 30, 2025.

Publication Opportunity

Accepted papers will be considered for publication in a special volume edited by Respect Graduate School.

Notification of Acceptance

The Conference Committee will review all abstracts and notify applicants of acceptance, rejection, or the need for revisions between June 1–21, 2025.

Evaluations will be based on relevance to the conference theme, research impact, and overall scholarly quality.

Schedule for Full Paper Submissions for Conference Proceedings

Full Paper Submission:
Authors of accepted abstracts must submit full papers (5,000–15,000 words, excluding bibliography) by September 1, 2025.

Review Process:
The Program Committee will review all submissions and notify authors of acceptance, rejection, or required revisions between September 1–21, 2025.

Papers will be categorized as follows:

• Accepted – No Recommendations
• Accepted – See Recommendations
• Conditional Acceptance – See Recommendations
• Not Accepted

Conference Dates:
The conference will take place from October 3–5, 2025.

For more information, please contact [email protected].

Conference Proceedings Paper Submission Guidelines

Full Papers for possible publication in the conference proceedings should be submitted in English only as MS Word documents via the paper submissions page on the conference website.

The first page of the manuscript should contain:

• The title
• The name(s) and institutional affiliation(s) of the author(s)
• The address, telephone number, and e-mail address of the corresponding author
• An abstract of up to 300 – 500 words
• A short bio for each author, up to 250 words (PDF or Word document)
• Three to seven keywords

Manuscripts should be between 5,000 and 15,000 words, excluding the bibliography.

The organizing committee and external expert reviewers will peer-review the articles.

Style Guide for Contributors

Papers should follow the APA7 style.