Sometimes we find God sends among us some of His servants as a blessing. The mere presence of such servants suffices to instill peace and trust, opening a door of hope in our souls. They are guardians of heart who teach goodness by being the way they are. Thomas Michel was one of those guardians. He was a man of wisdom which he derived from the depths of the Christian tradition and a man of elegance that embodied the conscience of all humanity.

I extend my condolences and prayers of patience to his family, friends, those who had the opportunity to meet him, and especially to the volunteers of the Hizmet Movement who feel his loss deeply.

Condolences to us all.

Meeting Fr. Michel for the first time brought an immediate sense of comfort. He taught not by speaking, but by listening. He approached not by authority, but by understanding. This is how he earned a special place in the hearts of all who crossed paths with him.

“What humanity needs most today is a climate of love,” our teacher Fethullah Gülen said many, many times. Thomas Michel was nourished in such a climate, and he carried it with him across the world as one of its architects. Those who sat with him would recognize his state of acquiescence when he listened; his careful choice of words not to hurt anyone’s heart; his deep respect for those from different faith traditions – all of these were manifestations of his sincere connection to God.

In his latest message from Chiang Rai, Thailand, he taught us another lesson with the humblest of words: “Like Muslims, we Christians are not afraid of death because we know we are returning to the God who loves us.”

What a submission – simple yet truthful and touching. It was not words of farewell, but an expression of the inner peace that comes with walking toward God; a peace that gave voice not to the carnal soul, but to his loving heart.

In a spirit of fidelity, Fr. Michel wrote the following in the same message: “I appreciate and am grateful for the many wonderful people that God has allowed me to know in Hizmet.” This was also a crystal-clear testimony to the dialogue he pursued with us, the Hizmet community. He loved us, understood us, and welcomed us with a big embrace. We loved him back. We saw in him the purity of a servant of God seeking his Lord and the Lord’s good pleasure.

Our dear friend Thomas Michel left behind an indelible mark in the heart of the Hizmet community. That mark is not only from his academic research, books, and conferences, but the result of a smile, a compliment, or comforting a heart that were to last a lifetime. He did not only voice his support to interfaith dialogue but made it his natural state of being. His talks were not only informative but urged his audience to think over what it meant to be human.

We learned from his example that differences can lead not to conflict but richness, that diversions can transform not to polarizations but to bridges of love. Thomas Michel reminded us that the Truth spoke to every person with a different language, that what really mattered was to listen to that language with respect. Once, he said the following:

“Faith is when a person can feel the love he or she has for God in the hearts of others.” This love was the yeast that made him who he was.

While there is now a void left in his absence, there is also a legacy that must be upheld: to carry on the subtle and challenging journey of dialogue without interruption, and to continue that journey with love, respect, and a humble heart.

May God help us to carry forward what we have learned from him: kindness, calmness, and humane warmth.

Today, we are seeing off a real friend, a representative of the community of love, a true architect of dialogue. But we also know that every good seed that falls to the earth grows. The seeds Fr. Michel sowed will continue to grow.

May his spirit be blessed.

One post in a social media account opened by his fans shows Fr. Thomas Michel lying on the ground with several stray dogs sitting around him. They are at peace being near him, just as kids in another photo who joyfully give hugs to this man of God. I saw him for the first time more than two decades ago in a symposium in Istanbul dedicated to research on the life and teachings of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (d. 1960), one of the leading Islamic scholars of the twentieth century. Now not surprising at all, he was giving hugs to all that came by, including myself with other youth reading Nursi.

We lost Fr. Michel recently (November 24, 2025). He was 84. A big loss for interfaith dialogue practitioners, Fr. Michel has left behind a legacy of true love on behalf of God, dedication to community work, and promoting dialogue among members of different faith traditions. He never abstained from praising good behavior and charitable work regardless of faith differences. He was so committed to education and dialogue that, despite his age and illness, he continued to work for a school in Thailand, where he passed away. One picture shows him happy as he stood in front of a girls’ dorm still under construction.

Even while suffering from health problems, he continued to deliver academic papers and lectures to the last minute – if the doctors had not disallowed him from travel, he would have flown from Thailand to the United States in September for a conference by Respect Graduate School to honor Fethullah Gülen’s life and service. I remember he had to stay in the US during the lockdown due to Covid. After it was over, he wrote to me he was buying a one-way ticket to Thailand to teach at a school, which he did until his last breath.

Another picture shows a dog on guard where the remains of Fr. Michel is kept. As one enters the premise, one can see an epitaph by Fr. Michel himself, which summarizes his life work: “Helping people understand each other is worth spending a lifetime on.” There are thousands of friends he had over the years from around the world who would firmly testify that Uncle Tom lived such a life.

In this issue, Abdullah Aymaz’s eulogy for Uncle Tom is worth reading.

The truly great and legendary among us don’t need tributes, for their eminence and legacy is celebrated and revered, regardless of whether they’re still with us in this world or they’ve moved on to the next.

Indeed, no words can totally encapsulate the impact that they leave in our lives; the best that they can do is to provide a fleeting snapshot.

Still, I am pretty sure that if not for the Islamic prohibition on displaying the likenesses of people, I can safely say that many, myself included, would have lobbied and went to great lengths to erect statues, gardens, and edifices in his name all over the world. After all, he has touched the lives of millions of people through his social, education, interfaith, and cultural initiatives.

Speaking of admiring greatness, I want to pay a humble tribute to a person who loved and cared for others in the same way one would take care of their family, even though he never saw them at all.

Now, in the place where I live, we have just started to reap the fruits of peace and prosperity. Many of us thought that these two words were nothing but the keywords of an impossible-to-reach algorithm; others even thought that Mindanao would forever be a thrice-cursed land, marred by rivers of blood and endless violence.

I live in a city called Zamboanga, a major commercial city in Southern Philippines known for its sardines and barter trade as well as the only place in Asia where a Spanish creole, called Chavacano, is spoken. Population-wise, it has more or less the same population as Edmonton in Canada or Cologne in Germany. Today, if you were to walk around the city, you will admire the small-town vibes that the city exudes by day. At night, everyone talks about the latest hangout or neighborhood gossip while drinking a nice, warm cup of coffee, just like any other normal neighborhood elsewhere in the world. It’s a nice, cozy sight, no?

Those who live in the region know very well it wasn’t always like this. To put it shortly, conflict was so pervasive to the point that it spilled into everyone’s daily lives and relationships: It would not be far-fetched to say that trust was in short supply.

As a former student who was lucky to earn a scholarship at Filipino-Turkish Tolerance School, I got to see first-hand that Christians and Muslims can actually live together in harmony, share the same interests, and forge strong relationships.

I was lucky to experience that culture of peace and positive diversity that was made possible through the educational vision of Hocaefendi and the unrelenting, hard work of our teachers, all of whom shared the same ideas and aspirations.

Through his educational vision, we gained the chance to learn and embrace sustainability, inclusivity, and multiculturalism long before they became the buzzwords that we see today on our smartphones and LED screens.

Most importantly, we have learned to live for others. 

We all know that there are many stories about Mr. Gülen, whom we also call Hocaefendi (Esteemed Teacher): I also have one, one that shows his kindness and affection to people who he never met in person – as well as his personal effort to create stronger bonds of friendship between two cultures.

When he heard about the existence of Taluksangay Mosque, a historical center for worship built by Zamboanga’s Muslim clans in 1886 and visited by representatives of the Ottoman Sheikh-ul Islam in 1914, he didn’t hesitate to find a way to make the people of Taluksangay feel that they are a part of the greater world around them.

Without delay, he immediately raised funds to procure a chandelier to serve as a concrete and shining token of friendship between Turkey and the Philippines. If one visits the mosque today, one can see the chandelier prominently hung under the main ceiling.

Think of it: Someone just heard about a place that has a small connection to Islam and Turkish Muslim history – and immediately takes steps to strengthen those ties even without knowing who those people are. It takes sagacity, courage, and kindness to execute this step, and these are the very qualities that make Hocaefendi the person that he is.

Yes, he showed us how to be brothers to people we don’t know – and we might never see even once in our lives. While he never got the chance to visit Taluksangay, the chandelier will remain as a symbol of cordial ties between the people of Turkey and the Philippines for many, many years to come.

I am personally and eternally thankful for the kindness, the warmth, and the concern that he displayed for us here in the Philippines, despite the fact that it is literally halfway around the world.

Deep in my heart, I wished for a chance to meet him and say thank you personally. Alas, it will not come to pass, as Hocaefendi has already traveled to the presence of our Creator. Even as I write these words, my heart is still down in the dumps – as if hit by a sledgehammer.

Goodbye, Esteemed Teacher. We proudly and boldly attest that we knew you as a good person in this life, and we look forward to seeing you in the abode where existence is eternal, and happiness is abundant!