July 27, 2011

Review of Literature on Economic Aspect of Gulen Movement

Taptuk Emre Erkoç

As with other community-based organizations and social movements, the financial resources raised and deployed by the Gülen Movement have been the subject of intense curiosity. However, neither in academic journals nor in newspapers have the economic aspects of the Movement been examined on the basis of evidence and consistently applied reasoning. Or, to say it in a straightforward way, the curiosity has not been of the best, disinterested kind. In this series of articles I will try to discuss the financial dimension of the Gülen Movement strictly on the basis of concrete findings and analysis (not speculation and ill-informed guesswork). By way of background for future articles, I will present here a very brief literature review. But first, a few reflections on the nature of the Movement, misconceptions about which are the reason for the unhealthy speculation about its finances will be touched upon here.