The importance of the ideas that the state favours — democracy, secularism and modernization — is recognized by Fethullah Gülen and he says he supports them. Why then is he being accused of being a threat to those ideas, and even accused of striving for an Islamic state?…
“My friends send me a certain amount of royalties from the books that I have written. I pay rent for the place that I am living in with that. I have not lived here without making sure to pay every month. I also feel the need to say that I also pay for the entire buildings’ rent, because people come to see or visit me and they are my guests. Whatever is left I donate the rest of the funds to educational services. …
All of us are travelers, and the world is a multicolored exhibition and a rich and colorful book. We were sent to study this book, to increase our spiritual knowledge, and to uplift others. This colorful and pleasurable journey is a one-time event. …
In many parts of the world, the quality of education provided by Gulen schools is relatively high, especially in the field of physical sciences where high technology laboratories and computer rooms are provided. Perhaps shedding more light on the educational philosophy of Gulen is appropriate here. There has not been one particular ideology promoted within the Gulen educational philosophy.…
Yet its roots are quintessentially Turkish, located in Turkey’s historical baggage, its domestic political circumstances, and in a version of Islam that arguably has more currency in Turkey than elsewhere. This rich ‘Turkishness’ endows this globally-engaged movement with a paradoxical and sometimes quixotic character. …
Although there are no legal obstacles for my return to Turkey, I am concerned that certain circles are waiting for an opportunity to reverse the democratic reforms that were started in the early 1990s and accelerated in the last decade. I have to sacrifice my intense desire to return to my homeland in the interest of both Turkey and the good work of volunteers of the (Gulen) movement around the world. …
It isn’t fair to blame Islam for the atrocities of violent radicals. But when terrorists claim the Muslim mantle, then they bear this identity, if only nominally. Thus members of the faith must do whatever possible to prevent this cancer from metastasizing in our communities. If we don’t, we’ll be partly responsible for the smeared image of our faith.…
Given the increasing interest in forgiveness, students of forgiveness have studied its religious roots. Most of the Islamic theological writings that exist about forgiveness seem to center on imploring adherents to forgive but often do not provide an integrated and comprehensive process of how to put this into practice. In his numerous writings, speeches and sermons, however, Fethullah Gülen has advanced a coherent perspective on forgiveness situated in the larger context of mercy.…
... And while some have thought differently, most interpreters of the Gospels do not take it to be a universal rule that we should sell all we have and give to the poor. This is the significance of Gülen’s identification of the rule of tolerance as a ‘basic principle’ or a ‘universal principle’.…
People of Hizmet (service) are so rational and wise that they admit in advance that the path is very steep. So zealous, persevering, and confident are they that they willingly pass through all the pits of hell encountered on the way. Such people are so faithful to the cause to which they have devoted themselves that, deeply in love with it, they willingly sacrifice their lives and whatever they love for its sake.…