Fethullah Gülen

M. Fethullah Gülen
Born	1941 Erzurum, Turkey
Spouse	Never married
Website	[1]

Fethullah Gülen (born 27 April,1941) is an Islamic scholar, writer, and leader of the Gülen movement. He is the author of over 60 books. Gülen has been the subject of several academic studies. A recent conference is held at House of Lords, by sponsorship of London School of Economics, and University of London in England to study Mr. Gülen and his movement.

The ideas of Fethullah Gülen, and the schools opened by his followers in many countries have recently been accounted by both famous economy magazine Forbes and French daily Le Monde in their latest editions. In the Forbes article titled 'Gulen Inspires Muslims Worldwide', the chief characteristic of the Gülen movement is identifed as its not seeking to subvert modern secular states but rather encouraging practicing Muslims to use to the fullest the opportunities those countries offer [2]. In an article in The Economist, the Gülen movement is reported as a Turkish-based movement, which sounds more reasonable than most of its rivals, is vying to be recognized as the world's leading Muslim network [3], and Mr. Gülen himself as one of the world's most important Muslim figures—not only in his native Turkey, but also in a quieter way in many other places: Central Asia, Indochina, Indonesia and Africa. It is stated that Mr Gülen has also won praise from many non-Muslim quarters, with his stated belief in science, inter-faith dialogue and multi-party democracy.

A recent book A Dialogue of Civilizations: Gulen's Islamic Ideals and Humanistic Discourse authored by Dr. B. Jill Carroll of Rice University compared the view of Mr. Gülen and those of Confucius, Plato, Immanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill, and Jean Paul Sartre on crucial themes such as inherent human value, moral dignity, freedom, education and responsibility.

A decision made by the local government of Houston, Texas indicates the appearance of Mr. Gülen's ideas in the Western world. Feb. 21 is declared Gülen Institute Day in Houston. It is stated in the decision letter that the organization, whose honorary president is Fethullah Gülen, serves all humanity without discrimination and boosts mutual understanding and respect and cooperation among people from diverse backgrounds.

His followers and significant part of Turkish society respects Mr. Gülen. There are also some controversies around his name. In spite of the court decisions, decisions some secular sections are suspicious about his final aim as a threat to the secular system. On the other hand, some radical groups severely critics his actions especially interfaith dialog efforts, as diversion from Islam.

Biography

Gülen was born in Erzurum, Turkey in 1941. He started primary education at his home village, but did not continue after his family moved, and instead focused on informal Islamic education. He gave his first sermon when he was 14. He became a follower of Said-i Nursi, an Islamic leader, before he was 18.[4] In 1959 he was awarded a state preacher's license in Edirne. In 1966 he was transferred to a post in İzmir. 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 in mosques, town meetings and coffee houses among other places. From İzmir on, he placed a special emphasis on promulgating his ideas to high school and college students and recruiting them for his movement.

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. As such, he succeeded in recruiting large sections of the society . More broadly, adopting a theme that was previous explored by Said-i Nursi, he envisioned a society of devout Muslims who nevertheless would adopt methods and technical knowledge that led to West's superiority over the Muslim world . . His popularity was aided by the emotional intensity of his sermons; at the climax he would display great emotion, often burst into tears. All his sermons have been taped and published regularly.

In spite of the accusations, there have not been any court decisions against Mr. Gülen (See Claim 9). A recent decision based on the accusations by the Appeals Court unanimously upheld Fethullah Gülen acquittal. The court’s decision emphasized that the claims against Mr. Gülen were “unreal and inconclusive.”

By the end of the 1970s he broke ranks with the mainstream Nur (light) movement which was governed by a council of elders and instituted his own where he was the sole leader. Gülen retired from formal preaching duties in 1981. From 1988 to 1991 he gave a series of sermons in popular mosques of major cities. His long career had made him a well-known 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. In 1994, he helped in the founding of "Journalists and Writers Foundation". and was given the title "Honorary Leader" by the foundation.

Philosophy and activities

Gülen's published works in the 1990s advocated dialogue among communities and faiths, tolerance, and acceptance of others. He personally met with religious leaders, including Pope John Paul II, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomeos, and Israeli Sephardic Head Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron.

According to Gülen his theological views lie solidly within the Turkish Sunni mainstream while being more responsive to modern world than other Islamic movements . He has also adopted the views and tradition of founder of the Nur (light) movement, Said Nursi.

Gülen claims the modern world is plagued by individuals' lack of faith, and in particular, the failure adopt scientific methods while preserving moral values and belief in God. Gülen argues that faith can be scientifically proven, and science benefits from or requires a moral foundation from religion.

He has guided his supporters to open about 500 educational institutions in more than 90 countries in Eurasia, Africa and North America.

The Gülen movement

The Gülen movement consists of volunteer-based organizations which are ideologically connected into a network under the leadership of Gülen. The movement is run by volunteers, who most of the time were educated or received support from the institutions founded by the movement. The volunteers run more than a thousand schools all over the world. There is a school almost in every country of the world. In these schools children from different ethnicities and cultural backgrounds are educated by mainly Turkish educators. It has founded universities of its own, an employers' association, unions, and hundreds of sub-organizations, lobby groups, and student bodies. The movement as a whole counts several hundred thousand of members, making it one of the largest Islamic movements in Turkey.

One of the main characteristic of the movement is that; it is faith-oriented but not faith-limited. There are many Christians, even at the community leadership level, in several countries feel themselves close to or inspired by the movement.

In an article in The Economist, the Gülen movement is reported as a Turkish-based movement, which sounds more reasonable than most of its rivals, is vying to be recognized as the world's leading Muslim network [5]. It is also stated that Mr Gülen has also won praise from many non-Muslim quarters, with his stated belief in science, inter-faith dialog and multi-party democracy. He is an intensely emotional preacher, whose tearful sermons seem to strike a deep chord in his listeners; but the movement he heads is remarkably pragmatic and businesslike. As a global force, the Gülenists are especially active in education. They claim to have founded more than 500 places of learning in 90 countries. A conference they staged in London last October was co-hosted by four British universities, plus the House of Lords. Its organizers produced a slick 750-page volume that included all the conference papers [6].

Works

Gülen has authored over 60 books and many articles on a variety of topics: social, political and religious issues, art, science and sports, and recorded thousands of audio and video cassettes. He contributes to a number of journals and magazines owned by his followers. He writes the lead article for the Fountain, Yeni Ümit, Sızıntı, and Yağmur, Islamic and philosophical magazines in Turkey. Some of his books are available in English, German, Russian, Albanian, Japanese, Indonesian, Korean and Spanish.

Bibliography in English

Pearls of Wisdom, Emerald Hills of the Heart, Prophet Muhammed as Commander, Questions and Answers, Essentials of the Islamic Faith, The Infinite Light vol 1–2, Towards the Lost Paradise, Truth Through Colors, Muhammad: The Messenger of God, Questions and Answers about Faith, Towarda Global Civilization of Love and Tolerance, Key Concepts in the Practice of Sufism (3 vols), The Statues of Our Souls, etc. His Books

Controversies

Gülen is a highly controversial figure in Turkey. Despite his large number of followers and significant influence in Turkish society and politics, he has been living in the US for several years. While his followers and a significant part of Turkish society respects him as a humanistic figure at the service of Islam, a large fraction of society perceives him as a significant threat who aims to transform the country's secular system, allegedly by gaining followers in high places and brainwashing school children.

In 1998 a scandal developed in which Gülen was claimed to have urged his followers in the judiciary and public service to "work patiently to take control of the state." Several months before this scandal broke, Gülen had moved to the United States, apparently to receive better treatment for his severe health problems (he suffers from diabetes and a range of its side effects) though some allege that this move was made to avoid his standing trial in person. In 2000 Gülen was prosecuted for inciting his followers to plot the overthrow of Turkey's secular government. He was acquitted in 2006.

The authenticity of the tapes used in the scandal is debated. Gülen himself explained that the footage in question was completely taken out of context (he was giving advice to a group of official employees who felt marginalized by other groups within the state system that wanted them gone), and that he can't be judged for intents, only deeds. Accordingly, he advised them that they should not relinquish their careers out of religious fervor but that they should remain in order to do good for the people, even if this meant not practicing their religion in the open. However, critics of Gülen argue, Gülen's own writings, some of which is quoted below, are in accordance with the ideas mentioned in the tapes; he pushes to make Islam the guiding principle in society while at the same time advising his followers caution and an embracing attitude until the conditions are ripe[7].

Gülen'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 Gülen's group, at least in its public representation, has proven to be most willing to evolve and most open to international influence.

Due to its spearheading westernization and secularization since the late Ottoman era, and later founding the secular republic under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the army has always viewed Islamic movements with suspicion and since the 1980s has identified Gülen's group as a threat to the republic. In 1986, a military court revealed Gülen's supporters had infiltrated the military academy and the group was purged[8]. From then on, the Turkish army has repeatedly alleged that Gülen tries to infiltrate its ranks and pressured politicians to take action against Gülen[9][10]. In response, Gülen has praised the army publicly various times and attempted to allay its fears about the group's intentions, but the tension remained [11].

Gülen was widely criticized in 2004 when he, in contrast with his public calls for tolerance, commented that he considered terrorism to be equally despicable as atheism. In a follow-up interview he declared he did not intent to equate atheists and murderers; rather, he wanted to highlight the fact that according Islam both were destined to suffer eternal punishment in hell.[12] Gülen does not deny the idea that there is Islamist terrorism, that is, he agrees that such terrorism exists but argues that Islamist (a violent deviation from the true path) is not Islamic or Muslim, and has written an article in response to the September 11 attacks saying:

We condemn in the strongest of terms the latest terrorist attack on the United States of America, and feel the pain of the American people at the bottom of our hearts.

Controversies over Gülen are even enhanced by the contrast of his interfaith dialogue activities including meeting with the Pope John Paul II and his prior declarations about the pope and Christianity in the deciphered video cassettes.

Unfortunately, there is organization behind all the atrocities around the world. There is missionary organization behind it. There is Vatican behind the blodshed in Bosnia; haunt of rats, pit of the cobras Vatican. Vatican is behind the bloodshed in Kashmir. They have lobbies in USA. They have lobbies in Germany. If a Christian organization in any part of the world is subject to any sort of unfairness, all the hell breaks loose. They write letters. But in other parts of the world, from Kashmir to Palestine, to Somali, even Sudan (which they are trying to find an opportunity to invade) to Philippines there is bloodshed, and they don't raise their voices.

See also

• Islam in Turkey
• Ali Ünal

External links

The Gülen movement

• Fethullah Gülen's official website
• Fethullah Gülen Conference
• The Journalists and Writers Foundation
• ISLAM WEB PORTAL

Other sources

• Fethullah Gülen and his Liberal "Turkish Islam" movement
• Turkish Islam's Moderate Face
• The Gülen Movement: a modern expression of Turkish Islam
• BBC News: Army chief demands Islamist purge
• The Nurcu Movement in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
• Islam's Trojan Horse? Turkish Nationalism and the Nakshibendi Sufi Order (Paul Stenhouse, Quadrant Magazine 12/2007 Volume LI Number 12)