The chairman of the philosophy department at Texas Tech University, prominent sociologist Mark Webb, has said that the branding of Fethullah Gülen as a terrorist, is a “very alarming development.”
Webb, who recently spoke at the opening ceremony of the annual meeting of the National Association of Graduate Studies and Research in Social Sciences (ANPOCS) in Brazil, told the Cihan news agency, “I've known about the [Hizmet] movement for, since, well 2004, so that's what, 12 years now and I've never seen any reason to think that they have any kind of desire to take power, or desire to change anything.”
“They [those inspired by the Hizmet movement] just want to be free to do the service activities that they do,” said Webb, a specialist in the philosophy of religion. “So this turn of events is really surprising to us.”
The Hizmet movement, also known as the Gülen movement, is an international grassroots civil society organization inspired by the teachings of Islamic scholar Gülen. There are schools across the globe run by those who are sympathetic to Gülen's teachings that are known for providing an education to students in underdeveloped countries, often the most underprivileged.
Webb's statement comes days after the Ministry of the Interior launched a website with the names of the country's most-wanted terrorists and included Gülen on the list.
The ministry categorized the names on the list according to different colors, with those in the red category being the most dangerous. Gülen is in the red category alongside senior terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) operatives such as Murat Karayılan, Cemil Bayık, Fehman Hüseyin and Duran Kalkan.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government launched a self-declared war against the Hizmet movement after a corruption probe went public on Dec. 17, 2013.
The investigation incriminated senior members of the government, the sons of three now-former ministers and government-affiliated figures and family members of then-Prime Minister Erdoğan. Erdoğan accused the Hizmet movement of being behind the probe and attempting to overthrow his government; the movement has denied the allegations.
Published Today's Zaman, 4 November 2015, Wednesday
Related
Latest news, academic excerpts, commentary, book reviews and interviews on Fethullah Gulen and the Hizmet Movement (aka The Gulen Movement).
Search This Blog
Overview
Content from 164 countries/states
Categories
New Audio Podcast
Some Highlights
- Top Three Reasons Why Turkey’s President Erdogan is Obsessed with Gulen
- Turkish witch-hunt against the Gulen movement lacks one thing: Evidence
- Bill Clinton on Fethullah Gulen's contribution to the world
- Erdoğan’s war against Hizmet: Step by step
- Is Gulen Movement a religious order?
- Is the Gülen Movement a civil society initiative?
- Popular Islam – Hizmet-Gülen Movement and Fethullah Gülen
- Why do they lie about Fethullah Gülen?
- The Responsibility of the Hizmet movement
- Gülen movement is a chance for humanity, American professor says
- Gulen Movement: An attempt to represent Islam and Muslims positively
- Muslims Must Combat the Extremist Cancer
- The Place of the Gulen Movement in the intellectual history of Islam
- A Universal Islamic Phenomenon in Turkish Religious Practice: the Gülen Case
Suggested Readings
Disclaimer: Copyrights and ideas in the articles belong to their respective owners. Hizmet Movement (Gulen Movement) Blog may not be held liable from the content of articles nor their potential misuse by third parties. Articles shared are not necessarily endorsed. Links and images used in the blog posts may differ from those at their original source. Translated articles are solely intended for the convenience of the readers, and may include minor errors.