Fethullah Gülen’s philosophy

A Communitarian Imperative: Fethullah Gulen’s Model of Modern Turkey

A Communitarian Imperative: Fethullah Gulen’s Model of Modern Turkey

The inspiration for the movement, M. Fethullah Gulen is often referred to as the “Mahatma Gandhi of Turkey” and “the modern Rumi.” Fethullah Gulen is a teacher, Islamic scholar, thinker, prolific writer and poet of broad and significant influence. The topics of his speeches and writings range beyond religious matters to include education, science, history, economics and social justice. His efforts in world interfaith dialogue and interfaith education have been groundbreaking and monumental.…

Justice and the Beloved Community in Fethullah Gulen’s Thought

Justice and the Beloved Community in Fethullah Gulen’s Thought

Gulen never separates love of God from living a moral life. Sufism isn’t just for an elite; it’s for everyone. Gulen believes that Sufism offers a vision of how people of good will should and must act. He doesn’t want Sufism to be understood as a form of mysticism, as if the goal is to bask in God’s love without any implications for engaging in good works. Sufism entails constant self-renewal and self-purification that in Gulen’s words involves, among other things, Trying to eradicate injustice and support justice and what is right”…

Are we doing enough to save the environment?

Are we doing enough to save the environment?

From Gulen’s perspective; belief will lead to eternity. With belief, humans become an ocean while they are drops, they become whole while they are parts, they become a part of universe and then s/he becomes the heart of universe. Not only part of human beings but becomes part of universe, subsequently looks at all creation including environment as same thing who shared the same existence and birth like brothers and sisters. Then Muslims have strong conscious of looking after their own part/whole. This is also exemplified in one of the poets in Anatolia, Yunus Emre, he said ‘we love the created because of the creator’. Being a believer in God enforces Muslims to look after the environment.…

Fethullah Gülen’s “man of action”, Islamic ethics and secular morals

Fethullah Gülen’s “man of action”, Islamic ethics and secular morals

I argue it is exactly here that Gülen links his Islamic ethics to secular morals. To explain this point better I will draw your attention to the connection Gülen usually establishes between the sense of responsibility and endless activism. Indeed I think the way Gülen conceives responsibility has a lot in common with secular theories about the subject and its agency.…