November 3, 2011

Dr. Esposito: The Gulen Movement Introduces Turkey to the World

Ayten Çiftçi

Dr. John L. Esposito, a professor of Islam at Georgetown University in the United States said that the Gülen Movement has brought a major contribution to the recognition of Turkey in the world. Dr. Esposito who came to Turkey for the workshop entitled 'Transition from dictatorship to democracy', which was organized by the Turkish Prime Ministry's Office of Public Diplomacy and the Georgetown University the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, stated, "The whole world should benefit from the services performed by the Gülen movement.” Esposito told the Zaman newspaper that the movement has a big mission not only in Turkey but in the world, and further added, "They have neither political nor ideological efforts. They have one goal. That is to enlighten the world with education. This is why we need the Gülen Movement in this age.” Stating that he wrote a book about the Gülen movement in 2003, Esposito said that he did not want to meet Fethullah Gulen only to be objective about him. Esposito noted that Gülen's house was very close to his house, "One day I could have visited him, but I was afraid that those around me would doubt my objectivity if they thought I was friends with Gulen".