Gülen’s personal charisma goes hand-in-hand with good organization by his followers and an appealing message that one can be at home in the modern world and still embrace traditional values like faith in God and community responsibility. He often notes that 95 percent of religion is about one’s personal life and that community advancement comes through progress in one’s spiritual life.…
Just as it is not correct to ascribe the initiatives made with the name of the Hizmet movement solely to the effort of one group of people, it is equally not correct to attribute it to individual persons in a group either. Those whose contribution is most visible is nothing but a work of Divine destiny. Thus, names of individuals should never be brought to the fore when evaluating the efforts. Rather, it is necessary to...…
Throughout Gülen’s teaching, one can see an abiding concern with fostering a communitarian ethos that aims to improve modern society through the revitalization of Islamic spiritualism, individual religious piety and service to others. Gülen’s ideas are effective in practice because they have rationalized religious ideals and shown their core compatibility with secular interests. This is a projection of worldly mysticism onto his understanding of secularism.…
Evolution in Fethulah Gülen’s personal thinking demonstrates a gradual move away from his earlier focus on the Turkish tradition of Islam towards a greater universalism. Openness and tolerance towards other faiths become the key to avoiding social conflict, to achieving social harmony and fulfilling God’s desire for humans to employ knowledge for advancement of human welfare. …
Fethullah Gülen: In my lifetime, I have never deliberately and knowingly stepped on even an ant. I did not see or speak to a friend of mine for months, for breaking the backbone of a snake. I have believed in the rights of every living being, that all of them have a place in the ecosystem. I have stated that we have no right or authority to harm a living being. It is a fact that the most honorable and most sacred of all creatures is the human being. …
The Gülen-inspired schools (or “Turkish schools” as they are often known) have now spread to 120 countries, the majority of which are not even officially Muslim, as far away as Africa and Latin America, the United States and East Asia. They have sometimes been established in countries where no Turkish Embassy or Turkish community had previously existed. In the end there can be no doubt that the schools serve the broader Turkish national interest in the goodwill that is created, similar to the American Peace Corps. Hizmet provides a major network of international connections.…
As the movement has expanded it has inevitably become more decentralized. Today it embraces large numbers of independent private groups, committees, foundations, centers, and individuals; it receives major financial contributions from large numbers of businessmen who are part of the movement. Hizmet is self-sustaining; it operates loosely and spontaneously as individuals contribute to its advancement in various ways along the broad lines of action that Gülen has set out.…
Züleyha Keskin 1. Be sincere in dialogue “True understanding of the ‘other’ and thereby cementing trust and genuine appreciation of the ‘other’.” “Deeds are judged according to intentions” (Hadith) “One must be sincere in one’s intentions and seek the approval…
Recent studies, Turkish ones especially, have concluded that Islamic movements are successful without any state agenda. Accordingly, new Islamic movements base their ‘mobilization strategy on transforming everyday practices’ rather than following the former Islamist way of developing political agendas. The focus on daily life reminds the strategic role of informal networks. New Islamic movements, as the agents of daily life, operate mainly through informal networks.…
It is narrated in a parable that Satan once asked God Almighty, “You forgive so many people, should my punishment and suffering not be over?” God Almighty reminded him of the first test that he failed, “Go and prostrate yourself before the grave of Adam. Then I will forgive you.” However, Satan was totally seized by his jealousy and inability to stomach Adam’s merits once again that he continued his refusal and denial. Jealousy has such a compact potential for evil that Satan threw himself headfirst into disbelief.…