Sadly, I never had the privilege to meet Fethullah Gülen. However, I did have the opportunity to interact with many of the leaders of the movement Gülen created—the movement known as “Hizmet” (Service). These people, who deeply revered Gülen and his teachings, are among the finest people I know—kind, wise and endlessly giving—people who have devoted their lives to building a movement focused on his vision of peace and interfaith harmony with non-Muslims like me.

I am an American Jewish leader who has devoted the last 20 years to strengthening Muslim-Jewish communication and cooperation in the U.S. and around the world. In that pursuit, I have interacted with inspirational leaders of the Hizmet movement in Washington, New York, Denver, Los Angeles and other cities. In all these places and more, I have had the privilege of organizing wonderful dialogue and service events with Hizmet, through its various branches including Rumi Forum, Peace Islands, and Pacifica; events that have served to enhance Muslim-Jewish relations in those cities. Rumi Forum is a close ally of JAMAAT (Jews and Muslims and Allies Acting Together), a grass roots interfaith body in the Washington area dedicated to voicing our shared support for pluralism, democracy and religious freedom and opposition to bigotry, and its superb representatives, Ibrahim Anli and Vedat Samur, have served fruitfully on our Board.

Even in difficult periods, such as the past year, when Muslim-Jewish relations have been buffeted by the terrible Israel-Gaza conflict, leaders of Hizmet around the U.S. have continued to strengthen ties of friendship and trust with the Jewish community. For them, there is no turning back from Gülen’s vision of interfaith harmony as an essential element of a peaceful and humane world. Based on my interactions with Hizmet leaders over two decades, I can only conclude that Fethullah Gülen was a great spiritual leader whose influence will continue to expand exponentially for decades and centuries to come through the beautiful movement he built. There can be no more precious legacy for the long run.