According to Fethullah Gülen, those who commit transgressions against the nation or religion to which they belong are the ones who do the most damage, because they attack it from the inside. On the contrary, one is always ready to face any challenge from a known enemy.…
It is not possible for a believer to leave the circle of good manners, courtesy and decorum because his/her every behavior will be automatically attributed to Islam. If so, then a believer with his/her behavior shaped by Islamic refinement must continue without changing in a manner that becomes a Muslim even against the most faithless hearts and cruel events. …
How sad it is that after all these that we have been through, once again we have become the slaves of our desires and primitive selves. Evil feelings enshrined the hearts of many of us which normally are the pavilions of love. Our souls were smothered in hate and antagonism. We can’t embrace, tolerate and love one another anymore. We almost enjoy destruction and settle ourselves in ruins like owls. We attack everything and everyone and go after devastation with an unlimited greed. We disrespect The Creator, our country and its people and commit unforgivable sins. We even go further and expect all these negativities be appreciated as if they were services to society.…
Taking the Gülen movement as a case study, this paper demonstrates how an Islamic movement engages with the West strategically and rationally, adopting a non-violent action repertoire, embracing modernity and operating predominantly within the cultural arena. Rather than adopting violence as a means to an end, the Gülen movement has turned its rejection of violence in all forms into a core feature of Gülen’s “Turkish Islam”, which is depicted as modern, peaceful, undogmatic and moderate.…
Hizmet institutions in contemporary Turkey achieve creative commensuration of liberal and Islamic discourses and practices. This commensuration is evident on two levels: moral-theological and institutional-sociological. Ethical concepts such as “positive action” (müspet hareket), “service” (hizmet) and “piety” (taqwa), and institutional forms such as the charitable foundation/pious endowment (vakıf) each constitute moments of synthesis between liberal and Islamic discursive traditions. …
Gulen argues that the main purpose of religions is to bridge, to unify humanity on the path to virtue, not to divide it. However, he realizes that each faith system has its own traditions, and interfaith dialogue should not aim to reduce this diversity into a single belief system.…
The actions and attitudes of your interlocutors affect your views and expressions. During the interfaith dialogue process of the 1990s, I had a chance to get to know practitioners of non-Muslim faiths better, and I felt a need to revise my expressions from earlier periods.…
Democracy Gülen recognizes democracy as the only viable political system of governance. He denounces turning religion into a political ideology, while encouraging all citizens to take an informed and responsible part in political life of their country. He stresses the…
Fethullah Gulen is the perfect modern-day messenger, a voice for peace awakening a sleeping humanity to Rumi’s message of compassion and love through understanding and dialogue. Undoubtedly Rumi’s and Gulen’s legacy will live on in the voices and actions of the inspired followers of Hocaefendi, “a humble servant and friend to all.” It seems that the cry of Gulen’s nightingale is being heard and answered.…
Fethullah Gülen thinks of globalization in more than economic and ideological terms. For him globalization is a more encompassing term. It refers to connectivity and interdependence in all areas of life, cultural, ecological, economic, political, religious, social, and technological. Gülen would be comfortable in saying that globalization is the process by which the experience of everyday living is becoming standardized around the world.…