====== Dialogue ======

  * “**Dialogue** is opening. It is to open the mind and the heart. It leads to openness, understanding, and learning together. **Dialogue** is a way of getting rid of prejudices and bigotry. Those who engage in a sincere **dialogue** pay [[attention|attention]], care, listen, seek to understand, and contribute. Mutual understanding and contribution lead to deepening. It gets deeper and deeper, just like the parallel mirrors have infinite images. 

  * The word ‘**dialogue**’ consists of the Greek affixes ‘dia’ and ‘logos.’ ‘Dia’ means ‘through’ and ‘logos’ means ‘word,’ ‘discourse,’ or ‘reason’ In **dialogue**, the meaning flows mutually like a river. This flow has a dynamic nature. It constantly changes and evolves. Sometimes a common meaning pool is filled, i.e. reconciliation appears. However, the main goal of a **dialogue** is not to compromise, but to try to understand and [[tolerance|tolerate]] even if there are disagreements. **Dialogue** is different from argument and debate. **Dialogue** is not defending, defeating, or silencing, but discovering, learning, and understanding together.((Peter Senge, //The Fifth Discipline//, New York: Currency Doubleday, 1990, p. 12.))

  *  The following qualities are necessary for an effective **dialogue**:

  -  [[sincerity|Sincerity]]
  -  Humility
  -  Curiosity”((Yusuf Alan, “Niçin Diyalog?”, //Sızıntı//, March 1999.))

  * “... it is possible to observe a magnanimous treatment and acts of making oneself known, which suggest a deep affection and an elevated sense of [[compassion|compassion]]; it is possible to see friendly **dialogue** with the tongue of disposition and a [[compassion|compassionate]] response to prayers.”((Bediüzzaman Said Nursi, //The Rays//, New Jersey: Tughra Books, 2010, p. 92.))

  * “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.”((M. Fethullah Gülen, //The Necessity of Interfaith Dialogue: A Muslim Perspective//, New Jersey: The Light, 2004.))

  * “... our globalizing world badly needs such an interaction, because we can prevent disagreements and irreconcilable differences only through mutual contact and cultural exchange; thus we can build an atmosphere of [[peace|peace]] to cover the whole of humanity. If such bridges of **dialogue** are not formed between different cultures and [[civilization|civilizations]], differences and conflicts might drift humanity toward irrevocable fights and wars... At a period when understanding and reconciliation are seriously needed, such **dialogue** is a crucial service, done for the sake of humanity.”((M. Fethullah Gülen, //Endeavor for Renewal//, New Jersey: Tughra Books, 2015, p. 11.))

  * “Going to the four corners of the world in the name of **dialogue**, restoring broken relations between countries, constantly generating such plans, and developing effective projects is very important in terms of preventing possible conflicts, wars, and disorders. The most important means of struggling against conflict and discord is [[education|education]]. That is, you will bring up perfect individuals in terms of virtues and universal values, values such as [[peace|peace]], [[peace|tolerance]], and **dialogue**.”((Ibid., p. 27.))

  * “You can never build good relations with an attitude of total disregard for their values. On the contrary, it is possible to build a warm relationship through **dialogue**, [[tolerance|tolerance]], respecting everybody’s position, recognizing their being honored with the best pattern of creation, and acknowledging that every one of them is a bright mirror to the Divine, with respect to their essence and potentials... People who live in different cultural regions of our time can only rid themselves of prejudices through such interaction and **dialogue**.”((Ibid., pp. 115–116.))

  * “... those who criticize the volunteers do not pay attention to their religious [[devotion|devotion]] but only see their efforts for **dialogue** with others from a narrow-minded perspective. However, in our time when the world is full of antagonism and weapons of mass destruction, **dialogue** activities centered around [[love|love]], [[respect|respect]], [[compassion|compassion]], and tolerance are very important.”((Ibid., p. 235.))

  * “People who do not think like you might be very sincere and beneficial, so do not oppose every idea that seems contradictory and scare them off. Seek ways to benefit from their opinions, and strike up a **dialogue** with them.”((M. Fethullah Gülen, //Pearls of Wisdom//, New Jersey: Tughra Books, 2013, p. 91.))

  * “What we try to do through **dialogue** is to contribute to the dominance of peace and harmony in the world by eliminating the negativities such as violence, hostility, radicalism, terrorism, and war, and to eliminate the obstacles preventing people from recognizing and benefiting from the values of different religions and cultures.”((M. Fethullah Gülen, [[https://herkul.org/kirik-testi/hizmetin-baska-ekollerle-kiyaslanmasi/|“Hizmetin Başka Ekollerle Kıyaslanması”]], Kırık Testi, 19 Aralık 2021.))

===== See Also =====

  * [[civilization|Civilization]]
  * [[respect|Respect]]
  * [[tolerance|Tolerance]]

===== Further Reading =====

  * Ahmet Kurucan, Mustafa Kasim Erol, //[[https://www.antstores.com/products/dialogue-in-islam-quran-sunnah-history|Dialogue in Islam : Qur’an-Sunnah-History]]//
  * Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka, Nazif Muhtaroglu, Detlev Quintern, //[[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19365073-islamic-philosophy-and-occidental-phenomenology-in-dialogue|Islamic Philosophy and Occidental Phenomenology in Dialogue: The Logos of Life and Cultural Interlacing]]//
  *  B. Jill Carroll, //[[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/722309.A_Dialogue_of_Civilizations|A Dialogue of Civilizations: Gülen’s Islamic Ideals and Humanistic Discourse]]//
  * David Bohm, //[[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/204526.On_Dialogue|On Dialogue]]//
  * M. Fethullah Gülen, //[[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/532185.The_Necessity_of_Interfaith_Dialogue|The Necessity of Interfaith Dialogue: A Muslim Perspective]]//
  * Maurice S. Friedman, //[[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2247977.Martin_Buber|Martin Buber: The Life of Dialogue]]//

===== Other Languages =====

  * [[https://nl.hizmetpedia.org/doku.php?id=dialoog|Nederlands]]
  * [[https://tr.hizmetpedia.org/doku.php?id=diyalog|Türkçe]]

===== Footnotes =====