Editorial: Helping People Understand Each Other

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.