Fethullah Gülen

M. Fethullah Gulen is an Islamic scholar and thinker, a prolific writer and poet. He is trained in the religious sciences by several Muslim scholars and also studied the principals and theories of social and physical sciences. His supporters hail him as an important Islamic scholar with liberal ideas, while detractors accuse him of illegal activities aimed at undermining the secular republic and replacing it with an Islamic state. His followers refer themselves as "Hizmet Insani" ("those devoted to service to others").

Mr. Gulen is known as an idealogue of dialogue (especially interfaith dialogue) among different communities, cultures and nations, tolerance, and appreciation of diversity versus crash of civilization. Mr. Gulen's influence through his ideas extends over much of Central Asia, Caucasus and recently over Europe and United States. He has written over 30 books and many articles published in different journals and magazines written on different themes from social to religious issues, and from art and science to music, sports and politics. He is fluent in Arabic and Persian and can communicate in English and French. He has never been married.

Biography

Born in Erzurum, in eastern Turkey, in 1938. He did not have a formal education, completed primary education at home, and instead focused on an Islamic education [1]. In 1959 was awarded a state preacher’s license (in Edirne). In 1966 he was moved to a post in Izmir. It was here that Gülen's recurring themes began to crystallize and his audience base began to expand. He also traveled around the provinces in Anatolia and gave sermons mosques, town meetings and coffee houses among other places. From Izmir on, he placed a special emphasis on promulgating his ideas to high school and college students and recruiting them for the movement he was heading.

The range of his speeches was more versatile than that of other Islamic preachers; he talked about education, science, Darwinism, the economy and social justice. More broadly, he envisoned a society of devout Muslims who nevertheless would adopt methods and technical knowledge that led to West's superiority over the Muslim world. As such, he succedded in recruiting large sections of the society who felt alienated by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's reforms at the founding of the Turkish Republic. His popularity was aided by the emotional intensity of his sermons; at the climax he would display great emotion, often burst into tears. His sermons were taped and distributed by a network of followers at a time when Islamic activities were viewed with suspicion and proved instrumental in raising money for the movement[2].

He was a founder of the Journalists' and Writers' Foundation, a group that promotes dialogue and tolerance among all social strata. He regularly visits and receives leading Turkish and international figures: the Vatican's Ambassador to Turkey, the Patriarch of the Turkish Orthodox community, the Patriarch of the Turkish Armenian community, the Chief Rabbi of the Turkish Jewish community, as well as leading journalists, columnists, television and film stars, and thinkers of varying views.

In 1971 he was convicted to 3 years for his pro-Islamic activities [3]. Gülen retired from formal preaching duties in 1981. Later, between 1988 and 1991, he gave a series of sermons in popular mosques of major cities. His long career had made him a well know figure in Islamic circles, and in particular, within the Nurcu movement, however, it was the Islamic political activism and his courtship with the center-right political parties in the 90s that made him a public figure.

His Philosophy and Activities

Gulen found his philosopy and ideas based on faithful individuals, healthy society and strong state. In defining these he mostly refer to Islamic sources. Once this established, he further formulates dialogue among different communities, tolerance, accepting the others as themselves and appreciating the other not only within a specific society but in a larger spectrum.

Controversies

Gulen became a highly controversial figure in 1997, when a number of videocassetes with his sermons were broadcast on TV. While he was always viewed with suspicion among certain secular groups, it was the accesible nature of the tapes that made the controversy reach the general public. In the tapes, allegedly distributed exclusively among his supporters, he tells those present that if revealing their commitment to the movement will jeopardise their official post then they should shun away from this. In justifying this, Gulen comments if the true aim of the movement is revealed before garnering sufficient support, the movement might suffer the fate of Islamists in Algeria. Gulen encourages capturing key posts in the judiciary, administrative and military institutions as stepping stones to a broader plan to further the goals the movement [4].

Gulen allegedly made deragatory remarks about the founder of the secular Turkish republic, Mustafa Kemal, such as "concerete Mustafa", an allusion to his statues in provincial towns. Shortly before the tapes surfaced, Gulen left Turkey and settled in the US, allegedly for health reasons. Within weeks, he was charged with conspiring against the republic, but he did not attend the trials. In 2003, the trial was postponed, subject to reprocessing if he is indicted with a similar crime in the following 5 years. Gulen has since been living in the US, but his popularity among his supporters has not waned.

The authenticity of the tapes are debated. Some of Gulen's supporters claim they were fabricated by montages of video segments taken out of context. Gulen himself explained that the footage in question was completely taken out of context; that the advise he was giving was to a group of official employees who felt marginalised by other groups within the state system that wanted them gone. Gulen explained that he advised them that they should not relinquish their careers out of religious fervour but that they should remain in order to do good for the people, even if this meant not practicing their religion in the open.

Gulen's appeal to various ideological strands in Turkey differs. His supporters probably constitute the most influential Islamic movement in Turkey both for its human and financial capital. Various other shades of the Islamic movement and conservative segments of society are generally sympathetic to him. His detractors are mostly in the nationalistic wing of the secularists, critical of his alleged affinity for a theocratic society and his ties to the US. For the elites, the ranks are broken by certain liberals, who point out that Gulen's group, at least in its public representation, has proven to be most willing to evolve and most open to international influence.

Written works

Gülen has over 30 books and many articles published in different journals and magazines written on different themes from social to religious issues, and from art and science to music, sports and politics.

Gülen contributes to a number of journals and magazines owned by his followers. He writes the lead article for the Fountain, Yeni Ümit, Sızıntı, and Yagmur, leading Islamic and philosophical magazines in Turkey. He has written more than forty books, hundreds of articles, and recorded thousands of audio and videocassettes. The videocasettes played a crucial role in promoting his ideas in his early years. Some of his books have been made available in English translations, such as, Muhammad: The Messenger of God, Questions and Answers about Faith, Pearls of Wisdom, Prophet Muhammad as Commander, The Essentials of the Islamic Faith, Towards the Lost Paradise, Key Concepts in the Practice of Sufism. A number have also been translated into German, Russian, Albanian, Japanese, Indonesian, and Spanish.

See also

• Turkish Islam
• Islam in Turkey
• Euro-Islam

External links

• Official website
• Fethullah Gülen and his Liberal "Turkish Islam" movement
• Fethullah Gülen's Missionary Schools
• Turkish Islam's Moderate Face