Fethullah Gülen’s Writings on Tolerance and Dialogue
…Gülen defines tolerance as the following: “Tolerance does not mean being influenced by others and joining them; it means accepting others as they are and knowing how to get along with them (Gülen, 2004, p. 42).” He sees tolerance as a method to achieve coexistence with others. Tolerance is being able to live with others while maintaining your identity.
Gülen explains dialogue as the social extension of tolerance and it is an interactive, outwardly social activity. Gülen defines dialogue as “…two or more people [coming together to discuss certain issues and thus forming a bond…. In that respect, we can call dialogue an activity that has human beings at its axis” (Gülen, 2004, p. 50). For Gülen, dialogue is a tool for people to get closer, to know and learn from each other, which will prevent misconceptions of the other (Gülen, 2004a, p. 94). Healthy dialogue among people of different cultures and religions is not possible without practicing tolerance. Therefore, Gülen dedicates much of his writings to analyzing other moral values that are necessary for the practice of tolerance in the modern world.
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Tolerance and Forgiveness
…“We should have such tolerance that we are able to close our eyes to the faults of others, to have respect for different ideas, and to forgive everything that is forgivable” (Gülen, 2004, p. 16). Gülen implies that the practice of tolerance requires effort and is not necessarily something that may come easily:
The Qur’an strongly urges forgiveness and tolerance. In one verse, it says of pious people: They swallow their anger and forgive people. God loves those who do good. (Al-Imran 3:134) In other words, Muslims should not retaliate when verbally abused or attacked. If possible, as Yunus says, they should act as if they had no hand or tongue with which to respond and no heart with which to resent. They must swallow their anger and close their eyes to the faults of others. The words selected in the verse are very meaningful. Kazm, translated as swallowing, literally means swallowing something like a thorn, an object that actually cannot be swallowed; thus it denotes swallowing one’s wrath, no matter how difficult. (Gülen, 2004, pp. 61-2).Gülen’s commentary on practicing tolerance “no matter how difficult” it might be calls on the Islamic concept of jihad, which is commanded of each Muslim and is defined as the personal struggle to become a better Muslim, to better follow Islamic teachings for the purpose of drawing closer to God. For example Gülen writes, “Jihad gained a special characteristic with the advent of Islam: struggling in the path of God” (Gülen, 2004, p. 71). Therefore, by making the effort to practice tolerance in even the most difficult of circumstances, Muslims are in effect, practicing jihad and making themselves more holy in the eyes of God: “God loves those who do good” (Al-Imran 3:134).
Gülen considers forgiveness and tolerance to be basic principles of Islam. Tolerance and forgiveness, Gülen explains, are morals attributes of God (Gülen, 2004, p. 37), and true Muslims are those who practice these morals themselves. Gülen cites the Qur’an to support this idea:
The Qur’an always accepts forgiveness and tolerance as basic principles, so much so that “the servants of the All-Merciful” are introduced in the following manner: And the servants of (God) the All-Merciful are those who move on the Earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say: “Peace.” (Al-Furqan 25:63), when they meet hollow words or unseemly behavior, they pass them by with dignity. (Al-Furqan 25:72)Tolerance and Dialogue in Islam
Gülen cites the Qur’an to support his argument that forgiveness is crucial for the practice of tolerance, but he also makes it a point to address the tradition of tolerance and dialogue in Islam. The sources of knowledge in Islam are primarily the Qur’an itself, which is the divine revelation of God, and secondly, the Sunnah and Hadith, which are records of the Prophet Muhammad’s life and sayings (Gülen 2003, 3). Gülen supports his claim that the practice of tolerance has a long tradition in Islam by citing the Qur’an, Sunnah, and Hadith. Gülen provides extensive citations from the Qur’an, Sunnah, and Hadith in his writings to reveal that tolerance is a trait most loved by God and that it is fundamental to being a true Muslim, and thereby sheds light on the importance of tolerance in the Islamic identity. For example, he states:
The blessed life of the Pride of Humanity, peace and blessings be upon him, was interwoven with threads of peace and tolerance as if it were a beautiful piece of lace. To begin with, peace is fundamental to Islam. (Gülen, 2004 p. 176).In this statement, Gülen uses the concepts of peace and tolerance together; peace and tolerance are woven together like “a beautiful piece of lace.” The two are inseparable from the other, and thus Gülen underscores his point that the practice of tolerance is crucial for reaching peace. “Peace is fundamental to Islam,” and therefore, tolerance must be fundamental to the practice of the Islamic religion. Gülen supports this with additional description of the Prophet Muhammad taken from the Sunnah: “God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, was never angry with anybody because of what was done to him. Although extremely sensitive, he always showed forbearance towards everybody, whether friend or foe” (Gülen, 1996, p. 59). This emphasis on tolerance implies that Islam strives to build bridges and bring people together, thus pointing to practice of dialogue.
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Tolerance and Dialogue in History
Just as Gülen cites examples from Islamic teachings, he also reveals the extensive precedence of tolerance and dialogue in Islam by providing examples of their presence in history. Gülen, for example, frequently cites Ottoman history. The Ottoman Empire lasted for 634 years and at its height spanned across Europe, Asia and North Africa. It included many nations that kept their identity, culture and religion for more than 6 centuries. Therefore, by citing the Ottomans, Gülen shows his audience that there is precedence in Islamic history for the establishment of peace through tolerance and dialogue. Gülen states:
The secret of Ottoman magnificence that enabled the Ottomans to govern a huge, cosmopolitan population, of which only 1/20 was Turkish, in an area that stretched over three continents for many centuries and that enabled them to maintain security in the best possible way lies in the Ottoman’s tolerance of all faiths; that is, they practiced real laicism, as it is understood by some (Gülen, 2004a, p. 40).…Gülen entreats his audience to look at the Ottomans as an example of a people who were able to maintain peace through tolerance and dialogue. He calls upon today’s people to continue this tradition of practicing tolerance and dialogue for the sake of a modern peace:
The Ottomans were faithful both to their religion and to other values and, at the same time, they were a great nation that could get along with other world states. If the people of today, who are civilized, enlightened, and open to the world, are going to fall short of those who lived in that period, then this means they have not understood this age. In this respect, as individuals, as families and as a society, we have to speed up this process that has already begun. I personally believe that even the people who do not share our feelings and thoughts will soften when we go to see them. Thus, in the name of dialogue we can unite on common ground and shake hands with all. (Gülen, 2004, p. 43).…
(Cont'd at Part 2)
*Texas Pavement Preservation Center Research Assistant Professor, University of Texas
**Professor of Communication Studies, University of Texas
Excerpted from the authors’ paper “Tolerance and Dialogue in Fethullah Gülen’s Writings” presented at the conference "Islam in the Contemporary World: The Fethullah Gülen Movement in Thought and Practice", Rice University Boniuk Center for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance, 12-13 November, 2005, Houston
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