Alp Aslandogan, Ph.D., President, Alliance for Shared Values

Michael Pappas, Executive Director, SF Interfaith Council

Introduction by Bonnie Joy Kaslan, Honarary Consul General, the Republic of Turkey, San Francisco Bay Area

Dr. Aslandogan will focus on how the Turkish experience can be a guide to emerging democracies in the Middle East. He will also discuss how to prevent extremism and violence in the region. Aslandogan is inspired by the work of Fethullah Gülen, a controversial Muslim scholar whose followers promote interfaith cooperation and improving communities through service.