Is Gulen a Turkish nationalist?

Dr. Ihsan Yilmaz

Gulen has been defined as nationalist but when analyzed in detail it will be seen that he cannot be a nationalist for various reasons. First of all, as an observant Muslim, he can only be a patriot and love his people but this cannot be to the exclusion of others. Secondly, he has followers and sympathizers all over the world, including many Kurds in Turkey. A nationalist stance would deter all these people. Third, one of his intellectual predecessors, Said Nursi, was a Kurd and Gulen has Kurdish friends in his close circle. Overwhelming majority of Gulen’s close friends is from Western Anatolia, a region that is not known for its strong nationalist sentiments unlike several inner Anatolian cities. Last but not the least, whenever Gulen talks positively about Turks, he makes clear that the main reason of his respect is Turks’ heroic service to the cause of Islam. Any nation that fares better will be appreciated by Gulen as he appreciates and admires past successful eras of several non-Turkish Muslim individuals and nations such as Abbasids and so on.

Source: Yilmaz, Ihsan. 2011. “Beyond Post-Islamism: Transformation of Turkish Islamism Toward ‘Civil Islam’ and Its Potential Influence in the Muslim World,” European Journal of Economic and Political Studies, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 260-61.

Fethullah Gülen’s strategy: realization of potential in a non-reactive way

Numerous similar statements by Gülen demonstrate that Gülen invites everyone to do good works for the future generations, who will ultimately shape the world according to their ability…

A Universal Islamic Phenomenon in Turkish Religious Practice: the Gulen Case

Maimul Ahsan Khan Fethullah Gulen started his professional career as a traditional imam, trained and certificated by the governmental authorities in Ankara. His innovative ideas of educational and…

Fethullah Gülen as a Servant Leader

Gurkan Celik & Yusuf Alan Gülen was born in 1941in Erzurum, eastern Turkey, just twenty-odd years after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the establishment of the…

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

I am deeply saddened to learn of the death of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who has been an advocate for human rights and equality throughout his life in his native South Africa and around the world.
– Fethullah Gulen

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

The Alliance for Shared Values (AfSV), a U.S.-based non-profit representing regional Hizmet organizations, together with many other Hizmet-affiliated nonprofits around the world, published a landmark document that helps define and guide the civil society movement’s activities for years to come.

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

The Turkey Tribunal, a civil society-led, symbolic international tribunal established to adjudicate recent human rights violations in Turkey, started proceedings in Geneva on Monday where rapporteurs pointed to the use of systematic torture by the government against alleged members of the faith-based Gülen movement and Kurds.

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

In the first chapter of his book: “A Genocide in the Making?” Zooming on “Erdogan’s regime crackdown on the Gulen Movement”, Dr. Bulent Kenes clearly refers to “genocide” as a set of “systematic violent crimes committed against groups with the intent to terminate their existence.”

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

The signatory states and their courts need to decide where their loyalty lies: With the authoritarian Erdogan government or with the human rights and judicial guarantees solemnly enshrined in their respective constitutions?

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Appearing on TV that night, Erdogan claimed no pre-knowledge of the incident and immediately blamed Gulen supporters in the military. However, Western governments and observers were not convinced. Experts noted the implausibility of a civilian living on another continent organizing a military coup and not being detected by U.S., Turkish or other intelligence agencies.

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Erdogan’s government has made Gulenists “the enemy you ascribe to everything that goes poorly in Turkey,” according to Henri Barkey, a fellow for Middle East studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

Yusuf Özmen, a cancer patient who has been sentenced to 8 years, 9 months in prison due to his alleged links to the Gülen movement, has recently been sent back to prison after the supreme court of appeals upheld the prison sentence.

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

Ünzile Köşker, who was jailed for alleged links to the Gülen movement, was not allowed to enroll at a university despite passing the nationwide entrance exam because she “posed a risk,” Bold Medya reported.

Bulgaria, the state sentenced to compensate Turkish journalist

The European Court of Human Rights condemned Bulgaria for the 2016 extradition of a Turkish journalist, hastily handed over to the Turkish authorities who accused him of being part of the Fehtullah Gülen movement, in violation of national and international rules.

Source: https://hizmetnews.com

Is Gulen a Turkish nationalist?

Related Articles