Gulen Movement's inclusiveness and benefits to wider society

fgulen.org

Is the Gülen Movement trying to build a separate, exclusive society?

The majority of people who participate in the services are introduced by friends.

The fact that it is not via relatives or through some kind of clan system shows that relationships in the Movement can be inclusive, transformative and lasting. Also, the fact that introduction to and participation in the Movement or service-projects occurs through acquaintances in everyday life and through work colleagues indicates that the cultural perspective or worldview of the Gülen Movement is regarded as legitimate and rational. The participation of individuals who did not grow up within the Gülen community or its networks is also significant: it indicates purely individual choices and a strong subjective identification; people make an active rationalizing and reckoning of the decision to participate in the collective action of the Movement.

How are participants in the Gülen Movement able to establish and retain their links with the wider public?

The dense, strong and multiple affiliations that individuals enjoy within project-networks inspire, motivate and commit them to the services the project yields.

But participants do not separate their private lives from those projects. Rather, they link their private lives to their public activities and their societal environment. This leads to harmonious and peaceful continuities rather than detachment, alienation, frustration and antagonism.

There are also a great number of individuals who are sympathetic to the collective action of the Movement but do not become active in it. This indicates that the Movement is not an isolated actor and is able to establish affective links with and among the wider public. Indeed, there is no expectation in the Movement that participants should sever previous social ties. They are expected to have other ties too, and to make new ties while ‘in’ the Movement. Such multiple affiliations are in principle and practice welcomed: loyalty centers upon effective delivery of service-projects and complementarity between them. It does not center upon the Movement as such. Solidarity among Gülen Movement participants ensues from sharing work effort and from shared experiences and memories; it is not pursued as a precondition of doing the work at all.

In what way are the Gülen Movement's networks beneficial to wider society?

The Gülen Movement has been mainly organized through informal, everyday life cutting across interpersonal relationships.

This links the participants of local communities to each other. Within these networks relationships are embedded in systems of relationships based on friendship, neighborhood, professions, and personal interests. Relationships range through social, cultural and religious, communitarian and humanitarian activities. The activities exceed by far the sphere of overt political activities and link across localities and generations. Participants have proven themselves capable of bridging ideological and social barriers through multiple participations, and capable of strengthening mutual trust.

Although they seem relatively simple, the networks play a significant counseling role that connects individuals to broader social dynamics and diverse SMOs. New potentials in the society that that might be drawn to conflict and violence are thus transformed into productive, collective and useful actions and constructive projects.