Fethullah Gulen calls for ‘yes' on Sept. 12: The package includes crucial articles for nation

Today's Zaman

Fethullah Gulen

Well-respected Turkish intellectual and scholar Fethullah Gülen has said a constitutional reform package that is to be presented to a public vote on Sept. 12 contains crucial amendments for the future of Turkey, calling on everyone to vote “yes” in the referendum.

In his latest weekly speeches broadcast on the herkul.org website, Gülen responded to a question on the Sept. 12 referendum and explained why one should say “yes” in the public vote.

Fethullah Gulen: The most important figure of tolerance and dialogue

Orhan Akkurt

“Mr. Fethullah Gülen is the most influential representative of love, tolerance and dialogue in our world today. In the West, especially in the United States, an increasing number of scholars have discovered Gülen to be a man of love and tolerance and consider his teaching as a model of dialogue among religions, cultures and civilizations.”

These are the words of Dr. Heon C. Kim, a specialist in contemporary Islam. Highlighting the great need for dialogue in today’s world, Dr. Kim praises Gülen’s teachings of love, tolerance and dialogue, which have been practiced and spread worldwide by the Gülen movement, the fastest expanding Islamic movement around the globe. “It is appropriate and reasonable,” Dr. Kim states, “that a recent survey, ‘The 500 Most Influential Muslims,’ published by Georgetown University in 2009, placed Gülen as one of the top 50 influential Muslims today and introduced him as one who affects huge swathes of humanity and has gone on to become a global phenomenon.”

Dialogue instead of clash of civilizations: the contributions of the Australian Intercultural Society (2)

Çemen Polat

For the 10th anniversary celebrations at the Hotel Windsor, the Australian Intercultural Society (AIS) was privileged to have the contribution of an international Muslim scholar and author, Abdullah Aymaz, in the program.

As a person who has seen the fruits of dialogue and has been encouraging dialogue since 1995, Mr. Aymaz believes that we can solve common human problems and initiate many wonderful projects for humanity by putting our differences aside, and with mutual respect come together around universal human values and ethics.

Dialogue instead of clash of civilizations: the contributions of the Australian Intercultural Society(1)

Çemen Polat

Samuel Huntington’s theory of a “clash of civilizations,” a term initially proposed by Bernard Lewis, has been refuted by a large number of scholars on the international level -- particularly after the events of Sept. 11, which distorted the image of Islam.

Huntington’s theory concludes that Islam shares mutual detestation with other civilizations, particularly with the Western world, identifying the “bloody borders” between Muslims and non-Muslims. In response to this theory, scholarly works, seminars, conferences and educational awareness programs at all levels have been organized to attempt to eliminate or minimize inimical stereotypes, prejudices and iniquitous phobias proposed by some lobby groups, parties and individuals around the globe.

Fethullah Gulen awarded honorary doctorate by Leeds Metropolitan University

Today's Zaman

Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish Muslim scholar, educator and peace activist, has been awarded an honorary doctorate of education by Leeds Metropolitan University for his contribution to education, peace making and intercultural dialogue.

Özcan Keleş, executive director of the London-based Dialogue Society charity, accepted the honorary doctorate on Thursday on behalf of Gülen at the university’s summer graduation convocation. “Fethullah Gülen considers this award as recognition of the work and efforts of what is known among academic circles as the Gülen movement or what Gülen himself prefers to call a movement of volunteers,” Keleş said.

Plan to discredit civilian probe into colonel’s plot runs like clockwork

Betül Akkaya Demirbaş

It has been one year since the exposure of a suspected military plan to undermine the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the faith-based Gülen movement, which was hoped would lead to a coup d’état, and Turkey has witnessed many attempts -- not only from the military but also from the media and the judiciary -- to discredit an ongoing civilian probe into the plan.

On June 11, 2009, the liberal Taraf daily printed documents seized in the office of Serdar Öztürk, the lawyer of a retired colonel arrested last year on charges of membership in Ergenekon, a clandestine criminal organization charged with plotting to overthrow the government.

An honorary doctorate by Leeds Metropolitan at the University's Summer Graduation

Leeds Met

Turkish Muslim scholar, educator and peace activist, M. Fethullah Gülen, has been awarded an honorary doctorate by Leeds Metropolitan at the University's Summer Graduation celebrations for his contribution to education, peace making and intercultural dialogue.

Through his teachings and work, Fethullah Gülen has initiated and inspired a transnational civil society movement to invest in education and dialogue which aims to contribute towards durable peace and greater understanding. Gülen has developed a readership and following amongst those of other backgrounds, religions and no religion, demonstrating that his teachings and work are received as universal.

Gülen, rooted in mainstream Islam, offers an inclusive and human-centred reading of Islam. He is committed to dialogue, the serving of all humanity and condemning any and every form of violence and terrorism that seeks to divide humankind.

Ozcan Keles, Executive Director of the Dialogue Society charity, accepted the honorary doctorate in Education on Gülen's behalf from the University's Innovation North Faculty. M. Fethullah Gülen lives in Pennsylvania, USA.

A news excerpt on Leeds Met, 15 July 2010, Thursday

Gülen movement raises a new renaissance generation

Kerim Balcı / Zeynep Yılmaz

In Gülen, you do not just find a dialogue between Gülen and Plato or Gülen and Confucius. Gülen is an intellectual that has been able to attribute this dialogue to the Muslim context.

There is a different dimension to Gülen that arouses excitement. Gülen’s words are turned into action in the practical world by a community of action,” says Dr. B. Jill Carroll. On a book-signing visit to Turkey for her new book about the Gülen movement titled, “A Dialogue of Civilizations: Gülen’s Islamic Ideals and Humanistic Discourse,” Carroll is pleased with the interest that her short 120-page book has aroused. She regards her book as a continuation of the dialogue initiated by Gülen himself. While explaining that she establishes a dialogue between an atheist like Sartre and a believer like Gülen on the basis of a sense of responsibility, Carroll states that this is just a text-based effort aiming to establish a dialogue which needs to take place in this world.

Carroll continues: “We today have atheists and believers, and we’re destined to share this planet together. How will atheists and believers live together? So, I didn’t want to finish that book without a textual dialogue between Gülen and an atheist.”

Turk Who Leads a Movement Has Advocates and Critics

Brian Knowlton

Fethullah Gulen

Saylorsburg — Here in northeastern Pennsylvania, where fertile farmlands yield suddenly to the hauntingly beautiful foothills of the Pocono Mountains, quietly resides one of the most influential men in Turkey.

And one of the most controversial.

Admirers describe Fethullah Gulen, 69, a soft-spoken Muslim preacher, author and teacher with a huge following, in reverential tones.

John L. Esposito, a Georgetown University professor who has studied Mr. Gulen, said that if he were to compare Mr. Gulen to another public figure it would be the Dalai Lama.

Skovoroda, Fethullah Gülen discussed in Kiev conference

Yunus Erdoğdu

Eighteenth century Ukrainian philosopher Grigory Savvich Skovoroda and Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen were discussed in a conference in the Ukrainian city of Kiev on Tuesday.

Titled “The currency of the tradition of humanism,” the conference was held by the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine and the İstanbul-based Dialogue Eurasia Platform (DA) and was attended by Turkish and Ukrainian academics.

The Gülen movement and the philosophy and pedagogical tradition of Ukraine were discussed in a roundtable gathering.

Why did Fethullah Gulen speak?

Aslı Aydıntaşbaş / Milliyet

Why did Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen feel the need to speak about the Gaza flotilla issue? How should this message from Pennsylvania, which came at a time when Turkey was unable to overcome the shock of the attack on the Mavi Marmara, be understood?

It seems to me that Gülen has noticed the psychological atmosphere that has been taking Turkey away from its mission as a “bridge between the East and the West” towards the corridors of the Arab world. An atmosphere that has been taking Turkey away from its identity as a “Western Muslim country” heading for the EU to a position as the protector of Hamas and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. And he wanted to say “stop” to that. The Gülen movement has the power of transcending Turkish borders with its schools and NGOs across the world. The movement, just like Turkey, gets its power from its ability to be a bridge between the East and the West and to make use of this with a dynamic workforce. The move of the spiritual leader of a movement with such a global aim at a point when he thinks Turkey’s interests are at stake is very understandable.

Published on Today's Zaman, 08 June 2010

Related Articles:

• The intra-Turkish debate on the Mavi Marmara
• Gülen expresses condolences over slain peace activists
• Gülen sends condolences to martyrs, criticizes method
• Reclusive Turkish Imam Criticizes Gaza Flotilla

Fethullah Gulen sends condolences to martyrs, criticizes method

Abdülhamit Bilici

Fethullah Gulen

The Wall Street Journal published an interview with Fethullah Gülen yesterday. In this interview, Gülen reveals a perspective that is different from those expressed by the Turkish public opinion about the latest Gaza incident.

The interview comprises many other topics in addition to Gülen’s approach to the matter at hand. The section dealing with Gaza can be assessed from three angles: First, concerning the method followed prior to the horrible attack on the ship carrying humanitarian aid volunteers, he criticizes it, saying diplomatic channels should have been exhausted. Second, he criticizes the manner in which Israeli soldiers interfered, saying that it was ugly. Third, he expresses regret for our citizens who died in the attack, to whose families he offered his condolences.

Fethullah Gülen expresses condolences over slain peace activists

Today's Zaman

Fethullah Gulen

In the wake of the killings of at least nine peace activists on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, prominent Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has expressed his regret for the tragic incident and extended his deepest condolences to the families of the slain activists as well as the Turkish nation and all of humanity.

In his message on Friday, Gülen noted that the activists were attacked as they were sailing to end the human tragedy in Gaza.

“I wish God's mercy upon our people who set sail with the intention of putting an end to the human tragedy in Gaza and who were martyred in the unfortunate attack they suffered, and I convey my condolences to their families, our nation and to humanity,” the message read.

Reclusive Turkish Imam Criticizes Gaza Flotilla

Joe Lauria

Fethullah Gulen

Saylorsburg, PA.- Fethullah Gülen, a controversial and reclusive U.S. resident who is considered Turkey's most influential religious leader, criticized a Turkish-led flotilla for trying to deliver aid without Israel's consent.

Speaking in his first interview with a U.S. news organization, Mr. Gülen spoke of watching news coverage of Monday's deadly confrontation between Israeli commandos and Turkish aid group members as its flotilla approached Israel's sea blockade of Gaza. "What I saw was not pretty," he said. "It was ugly."

Mr. Gülen said organizers' failure to seek accord with Israel before attempting to deliver aid "is a sign of defying authority, and will not lead to fruitful matters."

Dr. Ergil answers 100 questions about Fethullah Gülen and his movement

Murat Tokay

Professor Doğu Ergil, a distinguished political scientist, has completed his two-and-a-half-year study on the volunteers movement inspired by Fethullah Gülen.

Titled “100 Soruda Fethullah Gülen ve Hareketi” (Fethullah Gülen and His Movement in 100 Questions) (Timaş Publishing House), Ergil’s book dissects the movement from a social science perspective and based on the answers Gülen gave.

“Fethullah Gülen seeks a Turkish renaissance. ... The Gülen movement is currently Turkey’s most important export asset. ... The key to the success of the Gülen movement is that they believe in their cause.”

How Turkey Tamed its Army

Ali Aslan

Fifty years after the country's most infamous military coup, Turkey finally appears to be strenghening its democratic institutions.

On May 27, 1960, Turkish military officers arrested democratically elected Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, and members of his cabinet. Menderes was placed on a trial before a military-orchestrated special court on charges of treason, and was subsequently hanged. For the last half century, Turkey has been struggling to overcome this original sin in civil-military relations.

Finally, there are some encouraging signs that Turkey has made progress in forging a stable democratic system. Turkish militarists are increasingly the subjects of legal and societal scrutiny -- despite their best attempts to turn back the clock on Turkey's democracy.

Contrary to the views of some Turkish and Western analysts, the primary struggle within Turkey is not between Islam and secularism, but rather between a militaristic pseudo-autocracy and liberal democracy.

Islam, pluralism, human rights

İhsan Yılmaz

I am in Rome for a two-day conference organized by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and several civil society institutions.

Participants, who include ministers, ambassadors, academics, practitioners and religious leaders from all traditions and faiths, discussed over two days if humanity could agree on shared values on human rights, pluralism, diversity, democracy and empathy. I was asked to look at these issues from an Islamic perspective.

What I tried show in my presentation was that the religion “Islam” does not have a political agenda, has respect for diversity and acknowledges the rights of women and minority rights and one can show examples of this in history. But it should also be added that from time to time patriarchal, intolerant, traditional attitudes stemming from particular cultures or societies, not religion, were also observed. Muslims were not able to interpret their religion from a benevolent, humanistic, tolerant and universalist perspective. But these roots in the original sources can always be revisited and reinterpreted if the intention exists.

The CHP, the community and the AK Party

Hüseyin Gülerce

During the press conference he held to declare his resignation from the leadership of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), Deniz Baykal surprisingly disclosed that he believed in the sincerity of the message Mr. Fethullah Gülen had sent him.

But, during the same conference he also hurled severe, though unfounded, accusations at the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the prime minister. This double act of fairness and unfairness was enough to foment a cauldron of provocation and mischief. Some have claimed that “the CHP is coming to terms with the Gülen community while sowing the seeds of dissension between the AK Party and the community, as the two have not been on good terms with each other for some time.”

Gulen: They won’t believe

Ahmet Kurucan*

“They won’t believe,” Fethullah Gulen said. “They won’t believe that we work for peace and the salvation of humanity. They won’t believe that we endeavor to create an island of peace where all of humanity can live in brotherhood. They won’t believe that you do not have expectations for this world or the next. They won’t believe that you do not want anything other than securing God’s contentment.”

As Gulen said this, his body was extremely tired and his voice so low that only a few people near him could hear, but his logic and reasoning was, as can be understood from the integrity of what Gulen said, quite solid and whole, and his determination and commitment were, as usual, apparent with their customary calm, and his spirits and enthusiasm were as fervent as what would be expected from a young person.

Gulen then turned and asked, with an air of self-questioning: “Why don’t they believe? Why do they, inside and outside, enter a process that can explained only with reference to the psychological disease called paranoia? Why can’t they get rid of their doubts and qualms? What has been said and done is evident, and despite there being nothing adding substance to their suspicions, why do they still look suspiciously at us?”

Muslim radical lives in the Poconos -- but it's not what you think

Dan Berrett

For more than a decade, one of the world's most influential and controversial Muslim leaders has been convalescing on 26 acres in the Pocono Mountains.

In Ross Township — not far from the Blue Ridge flea market, a giant corn maze dubbed Mazezilla and a go-kart speedway — you will find a small metal sign bearing the name of the Golden Generation Worship and Retreat Center.

It is here that Fethullah Gülen, 68, lives.

Gülen is an ailing Turkish cleric whose vision of an Islam that embraces science, education and interfaith dialogue has earned him millions of followers — and the suspicion of many in Turkey's secular establishment.

To his supporters, Gülen is the face of a more contemporary and tolerant Islam. But his critics perceive Gülen's benign face as a mask — one disguising an Islamist wolf in a moderate sheep's clothing.

Annan praises Gülen Institute for its community building

Today's Zaman

Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has praised the efforts of civil society institutions such as the Gülen Institute to bring people from all walks of life together and make them feel that they are working to achieve the same goals.

Annan said it is important to have institutions like the Gülen Institute that gather people from different backgrounds and remind us of the fact that we are all in the same boat. His remarks came during a gathering organized earlier this week by the Gülen Institute at the Hyatt Regency Houston hotel.

Indicating that he is working on serious problems the world faces such as human rights, education and solidarity, Annan said the Gülen Institute has similar ideals.

Muslim Missionary: The Preacher and His Teachers

Pelin Turgut

Fethullah Gulen

October, 1992. the Soviet Union has disbanded and chaos reigns in its former territories. Three times a week, a rattly Russian charter plane filled with young Muslim devotees flies east from Istanbul across barren, low-lying steppes to the capitals of Central Asia. The men are clean-cut, sharply dressed in dark suits and ties, trim of mustache and purposeful. It is the first foray out of their hometown for most, let alone on a plane, but such is their faith in Fethullah Gulen, the Turkish Muslim imam they revere. "Fly like swallows," Gulen exhorted, "to these countries that are newly free, as an expression of our brotherhood."

Fly they did. Hundreds of volunteer teachers fanned out across five Central Asian republics. It was the start of a global movement that is now one of the largest and most powerful competing for the future of Islam around the world. There are an estimated 1,000 Gulen-affiliated schools in 100 countries — from Malawi to the U.S. — offering a blend of religious faith and largely Western curriculum. All are inspired by Gulen, an enigmatic retired preacher who oversees the schools — and a multibillion-dollar business empire — from the unlikeliest of locales: rural Pennsylvania.

Hope Message Sent by African Peace Conference

fethullah-gulen.org

The Cape of Good Hope lived up to its name as nearby Cape Town played host to a conference on the potential contributions of the Gulen movement’s ideas and practices to reconciliation in South Africa.
The dialogue-based philosophy of Fethullah Gulen, which has already gained traction in America, Europe and Asia, has lately been discussed by important thinkers from almost every walk of life in Africa. A volunteer movement inspired by Gulen that carries out events around the world in the name of peace brought together members of the South African community, which continues to struggle with racism, at a conference titled “Potential Contributions of the Gulen Movement’s Ideas and Practices Toward Reconciliation of South African Society” at Cape Town’s Westin Grand Hotel. Despite ending of the apartheid system and holding democratic elections for the first time in 1994, bringing Nelson Mandela power, total societal reconciliation has still not been achieved in South Africa.

Gulen’s Condolences for People of the Russian Federation

M. Fethullah Gülen

Fethullah Gulen

No matter the reason or aim, terrorism can never be approved of. Terrorism, which threatens a value as sacred as human life and which eliminates societal security, is an action so degenerate that it cannot be approved of by any religion, understanding or viewpoint.

According to religion, life is one of the basic values that must be protected. For this reason, terrorism cannot be employed as a means, whether it is the context of a struggle for independence or an effort to realize a religious goal. A true Muslim, who is a representative of peace and serenity, can never be a terrorist, and a terrorist cannot be a Muslim.

South African peace conference sends messages of hope

Türkmen Terzi


The Cape of Good Hope lived up to its name as nearby Cape Town played host to a conference on the potential contributions of the Gülen movement’s ideas and practices to reconciliation in South Africa.

The dialogue-based philosophy of Fethullah Gülen, which has already gained traction in America, Europe and Asia, has lately been discussed by important thinkers from almost every walk of life in Africa. A volunteer movement inspired by Gülen that carries out events around the world in the name of peace brought together members of the South African community, which continues to struggle with racism, at a conference titled “Potential Contributions of the Gülen Movement’s Ideas and Practices Toward Reconciliation of South African Society” at Cape Town’s Westin Grand Hotel. Despite ending of the apartheid system and holding democratic elections for the first time in 1994, bringing Nelson Mandela power, total societal reconciliation has still not been achieved in South Africa.

Fethullah Gülen and the philosophy of happiness

Serdar Turgut

After I saw the schools founded by the Gülen community abroad, I thought about the major mistakes that have occurred in the history of our republic once again.

A person can’t help but wonder if the republican regime or secular civil society organizations could have done what the community has done when they had the chance to. People keep talking about the Gülen community’s financial resources. Didn’t the republican regime and secular forces have any money? Couldn’t big businessmen who were devoted to the republic and the secular system have been encouraged to lead these kinds of educational activities? Didn’t it occur to the state, government or political parties at all? Now that the community is doing this as a voluntary civil movement, they are getting upset. The main issue that is hardest to grasp is why this kind of system, which is so beneficial for Turkey, was not thought of and carried out by another group during the republican period. If one community has the means to do this, then most likely the Turkish state does, too. But undertaking this kind of tremendous task was not thought of or desired. The problem isn’t money; it’s the mentality.

Published on Today's Zaman, "Turkish Press Review" AKŞAM, 3/26/2010

Ottoman Dreaming: The Turks have new ambitions for trade and influence in Africa

Kinshasa & Yaounde

Mbombo Ibrahim Moubarak, an Islamic cleric who runs Cameroon’s Islamic humanitarian-assistance programme, has a dream. “Turkey must reclaim its mantle as leader of the Islamic world,” he said on March 17th, as Abdullah Gul became the first Turkish president to visit Cameroon and Congo. Mr Moubarak believes that Turkey’s brand of moderate Islam, which embraces Western-style democracy and the free market, offers a model for Africa’s Muslims. He sees nothing sinister about the mosques, madrassas and schools built, restored or run by Sunni Turks across the continent.

Quotes about Fethullah Gulen : By Michael David Graskemper from Harvard University, USA

Due to the spread and popularity of Gülen-inspired schools, the Gulen movement has become more than just a faith-based movement battling localized issues. It has instead become a world-wide educational movement that seeks to build a more peaceful world through dialogue and cooperation.

Quotes about Fethullah Gulen: By Prof. Paul Weller from University of Derby, Derby, UK

Prof. Paul Weller

It is precisely at this time of transition in the particular corner of the world that Fethullah Gülen's teaching can play such an important role. This is because Gülen is one “who knows how to argue the case on Islamic grounds” and thus to have the possibility to “redirect the religious fervour of hot-headed young men” from violent and near Manichean confrontationalism towards a self-critical renewal. Gülen's teaching is not ‘modernist’, and so it cannot, with integrity, be denounced as a ‘sell-out’ to secularism. Nor is it “reformist” in the sense that many mean by this.

Quotes about Fethullah Gulen: By Maria Maigre from London School of Economics, London, UK

Fethullah Gülen's cultural and religious influence on both the business and political classes within the Gulen movement has driven the moderation of political Islam and opened the way toward the integration into the new reality of globalization where the frontier between religion and business are blurred and those notions are brought together within a new conception of Culture.

Growing pains of Turkish democracy

Aydoğan Vatandaş

In a recent op-ed piece, “Turkey’s Republic of Fear” (March 4, 2010), Soner Çağaptay, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), hurled cheap and unsubstantiated shots at Turkey’s current ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the moderate, pro-democracy Fethullah Gülen movement.

Gülen movement is a chance for humanity, American professor says

Today's Zaman


Prof. Jill Carroll

The Fethullah Gülen movement is a chance for humanity, Rice University Professor Jill Carroll said while speaking at a high-level conference in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius on Saturday.

The Baltic Turkish Culture Academy and Vilnius Pedagogical University jointly organized a conference on Gülen and the Gülen movement’s ideas on dialogue and tolerance. Speaking during the conference, Carroll, who is the author of a book called “A Dialogue of Civilizations: Gulen’s Islamic Ideals and Humanistic Discourse,” said the Gülen movement is open to innovation and that dialogue has become part of the movement’s life. “The Gülen movement is a chance for humanity,” Carroll stressed.

Bangladeshi scholar publishes book on Fethullah Gulen

İbrahim Sağır

A ceremony celebrating the publication of a book called “Introducing Fethullah Gülen to the Bengal and Beyond” by Professor Maimul Ahsan Khan was held at the Turkish Cultural Center in Dhaka on Saturday.

Focused on the life, ideas and work of Gülen, who was selected as the world’s top intellectual by the Foreign Policy journal in 2008, Khan’s new book was published both in English and Bengali. Leading academicians, reporters and respected invitees from all walks of life attended the ceremony.

Stating that they are greatly impressed by Gülen's ideas, participants discussed Gülen and the newly published book. Issues such as dialogue, tolerance, contribution to world peace and efforts to advance education were mentioned during the speeches.

The protocols of the learned elders of Fethullah Gülen

Mustafa Akyol

If you have the chance to talk to a staunchly secular Turk these days and want to hear something mind-boggling, just ask him a simple question: “What the hell is this Gülen movement?”


Fethullah Gulen

It is very likely that you will then listen to a chilling conspiracy theory about how this evil cadre of “Islamists” is taking over Turkey step by step. You will learn how they have “infiltrated” every state institution, from the police to the judiciary, and now are defusing the power of the military, the last bastion of secularism. You might even hear that the 69-year-old Mr. Fethullah Gülen, who has lived in the United States since 1999, is similar to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in the sense that he will soon come back to bless an “Islamic revolution” prepared by his disciples.

No central authority in the Gulen Movement

Prof. Pim Valkenberg

Which term should we use to denote the supporters of Fethullah Gülen, if we stop using the convenient but theologically problematic term “Gülen Movement”? The only term that should certainly be included, would be the term “service”, derived from the Turkish word hizmet, and used by Fethullah Gülen himself.

Blessed Disconsolation

Bernadette Skubik

In the depths
of our nothingness- Yokluğumuzun derinliklerinde

The bringing forth
out of nothing- Hiçbir şeyden birşeyler getirmek

Is being reiterated
in the heart- Kalblerimizde zikrediliyor

Oh heart, heart
become my own- Ey kalb bana ait ol

Be broken in
holy longing- Bu kutsal özlemde bu yolda kırıl (boyun bük)

Oh heart, heart
become His own- Ey kalb O'nun ol

Be embraced within
His enthronement- O'nun kürsüsüyle kuşatıl

Be the praise
of His creation- Ve O'nun yaratıklarının gıptayla baktığı varlık ol

Inspired by the Hizmet Movement this poem was written by a follower of this blog

"What is Hizmet Movement?"

Karen A. and Michael J. Fontenot

"The Hizmet (Service) movement associated with the Turkish theologian M. Fethullah Gülen is probably the most powerful Islamic reform movement operating in the world today. Promoting religiously inspired modernization, it offers a revitalized form of mysticism that is wedded simultaneously to traditional Muslim practice and to the scientific and technical methods that have so clearly lifted the material level of Western society.

While business people and students form the core of the movement, Gülen also appeals to a much wider audience within Turkey. Fethullah Gulen promotes a particularly sophisticated view of Turkish identity, claiming it was forged in pre-Anatolian times, then shaped and honed by the Ottomans into a multi-national, multi-cultural civilization of extraordinary cosmopolitanism. That interpretation, which satisfies ethnic pride while avoiding a narrow nationalistic definition, resonates with many Turks.

Furthermore, he has taken a very strong stand against the use of terror; moderate Turks who are unsympathetic to Islamic extremism and secular republicanism find Gülen's positions very attractive.

The Hizmet movement has also attracted numerous non-Muslim supporters. It is difficult to estimate how many people are involved, but supporters are active in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East."

An excerpt from the article entitled, "M. Fethullah Gülen as a Transformational Leader: Exemplar for the “Golden Generation”" by Karen A. Fontenot and Michael J. Fontenot as presented at the recent Gulen Conference titled East and West Encounters: The Gulen Movement

Related Video:

Dr. Fontenot: There is so much to write about Hizmet Movement

What is behind Çağaptay’s aggression from the other side of the Atlantic? (2)

İdris Bal*

Why are Mr. Soner Çağaptay and the like trying to cast doubt on coup attempts and preparations in Turkey?

And why do they deliberately ignore clear evidence, recorded conversations, seized weapons and ammunition, confessions and the statements of so many anonymous witnesses? Has Turkey never suffered through military coups staged for this reason or that? Who launched the military coups of 1960, 1971 and 1980 and the postmodern military interventions many years later? Who unjustly executed Prime Minister Adnan Menderes and two ministers of a democratically elected government? While even primary school children know the truth about these facts today in Turkey, should we not take even the slightest sign of a coup very seriously? Or is this callous behavior and turning a blind eye to these events and even distortion of the truth the exact mentality of the coup hawks?

What is behind Çağaptay’s aggression from the other side of the Atlantic? (1)

İdris Bal*

The impact of the Turkish struggle for democracy has already surpassed the boundaries of Turkey. Now all trump cards have been played.

On one side of the game are those who advocate a real democracy similar to that in Western European countries and the United States and the universal values of human rights, equality and justice for all to be established in Turkey. Today, the common people, whose importance has until now been downplayed, want to be on an equal footing with everyone else. They want to get rid of the ridiculously degrading humiliations of the elite; firmly establish the real rule of law in the country; stop the unsolved murders, the number of which has reached thousands; make the statesmen realize their role of serving the public through an embracing collaboration; and ensure harmony between all organs of the state. Whereas on the other side of the game, the unmitigated conformists are thrashing about to protect their own interests in the status quo and are disconnected from the general public, where both the civilian and military bureaucrats are disobeying rulers representing the common people and governmental, legislative and judicial powers are not properly separated and where the legal structure is more defiled than at any time before.

And now, the plot [against the Gulen movement and AKP] is proven…

Mustafa Akyol

Something very important happened last Monday. A short statement from the Turkish General Staff noted that its investigators had gathered “evidence that might prove the existence of the document in question."

“The document in question” was quite a terrible one. It was a military plan to overthrow the AKP government and suppress the popular Islamic movement led by Fethullah Gülen, a retired preacher who lives in the U.S. One idea was to “find” weapons in the homes of people from the Gülen Movement by planting them there first and thus portraying the peaceful community as a terrorist group.

Peace curriculum includes Fethullah Gulen

Ebru Tv

The Peace Learning Center in Eagle Creek, Illinois has been teaching thousands of young people about how to be a peacemaker using the examples of leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Eleanor Roosevelt and Martin Luther King.


Fethullah Gulen

Now the Peace Center has added Fethullah Gulen to the curriculum and Executive Director Tim Nation says Gulen's work to promote interfaith dialogue and community service makes him an excellent peacemaker.

"By reading Fethullah Gulen’s work and seeing that he is been able to help start over fifteen hundred schools around the world that is so inspirational because I know and I am committed to education my self. If you can educate a child and I really love the theory that we need to is raise and enlighten generation of young people. Young people who are tolerant of difference and that is the muslim of peace learning center and that is who we thought Fethullah Gulen will made an excellent peacemaker" said Tim Nation.

The Crisis in Turkey?

John L. Esposito

In the past week, several alarmist pieces, including Soner Cagaptay's "What's Really Behind Turkey's Coup Arrests?' and Daniel Pipes' "Crisis in Turkey," have warned of a mortal crisis that threatens Turkey's future and its relationship with Europe and the US. Both are particularly exasperated by the continued arrest and indictment of senior military for conspiring to commit acts of terrorism in a plot to overthrow the government and what they see as an alliance between the ruling AK party and Fethullah Gulen's movement. As Pipes puts it at his most alarming hyperbolic best: "The arrest and indictment of top military figures in Turkey last week precipitated potentially the most severe crisis since Atatürk founded the republic in 1923. The weeks ahead will probably indicate whether the country continues its slide toward Islamism or reverts to its traditional secularism. The denouement has major implications for Muslims everywhere." Not to be outdone, Soner Cagaptay warns: "All signs point to Fethullah Gülen, whose shadowy Islamist movement is rapidly extending its tentacles into all aspects of Turkish political life."

“Fethullah Gülen's Grand Ambition”: A Biased, Selective, Misleading, Misrepresentative and Miscalculated Article

Doğan Koç

Rachel Sharon-Krespin’s article titled “Fethullah Gülen's Grand Ambition: Turkey’s Islamist Danger” published in the Middle East Quarterly’s 2009 winter issue was brought to my attention by a colleague due to its citation of an article which I co-authored with Helen Rose Ebaugh. In her article Sharon-Krespin states:

He (Fethullah Gülen) is a financial heavyweight, controlling an unregulated and opaque budget estimated at $25 billion (p56).

She gives our article as the source of the above information, citing it in the footnotes as Helen Rose Ebaugh and Dogan Koç, “Funding Gülen-Inspired Good Works: Demonstrating and Generating Commitment to the Movement,” fgulen.com, Oct. 27, 2007.

It appears as if Sharon-Krespin was using Ebaugh and Koç (2007) as a source for her statement. It is unclear, however, just which part of her statement she attributes to our article. Regardless, her statement misquotes what we presented in the article.

Foreign Policy rankings and Fethullah Gulen

Muhammed Cetin

Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish Islamic scholar, has come in first on a list of the top 100 living public intellectuals in a survey organized by the British magazine Prospect and Foreign Policy, a US publication.

The results apparently surprised the organizers: The top 10 individuals in the poll were all Muslim intellectuals, two of whom were Turkish citizens. The rankings are already generating discussion and their implications are relevant to many people from different backgrounds, cultures and societies, whether they are Muslim or not. Here we should acknowledge the editors of the journals and those who conducted the survey for permitting the selection of these nominees, for not interfering with the voting process and for sharing its results with the whole world.

East and West Encounters: The Gulen Movement or 'Hizmet'

Muhammed Cetin

The conference titled "East and West Encounters: The Gulen Movement" held on Dec. 4-6 at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, indicated that Turkey and its people have much to offer all humanity.

Academics discussed the socio-cultural, political and spiritual services provided by people and institutions inspired by Gulen. Interestingly, most non-Turkish academics used the name "hizmet" for the services provided by movement participants.

Welcome to Our Blog

Hizmet Movement Blog

Welcome to our blog. Here, you will find articles including news stories, academic works, commentary, book reviews, and interviews on the Hizmet Movement (a.k.a. The Gulen Movement), and Fethullah Gulen.

Inspired by M. Fethullah Gulen, millions of people around the world, gather locally and act collectively to institute schools, universities, dialogue centers and charitable organizations. This volunteers' movement has been named as Hizmet Movement by academics in a conference titled "East and West Encounters: The Gulen Movement".