Abstract
The chapter argues that the ethic of love is the inner core of the Hizmet movement which shapes its understanding and practicing of all the moral and intellectual virtues. Drawing on a comparison with the hospitality focused ethic of the community of Le Chambon, France during World War II, the chapter explores how the Hizmet movement developed a religiously inspired ethical orientation emphasizing communitarian service to others, both locally and internationally. In both communities, Christian and Islamic understandings of the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity (love) shaped the call to respond hospitably to persons in need of assistance. The Hizmet movement’s cosmopolitan service ethic is fundamentally shaped by a Sufi understanding of the love of God as manifest through humanitarian service to others. Interactions with members of the Hizmet movement disclose the movement as fundamentally a faith-inspired philanthropic service movement. The chapter ends by addressing three current challenges which must be addressed in ways consistent with the virtue orientation of the Hizmet movement.
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Conway, T.D. (2014). Love as the Ultimate Virtue. In: Cross-cultural Dialogue on the Virtues. SpringerBriefs in Religious Studies, vol 1. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07833-5_8
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