What you should know about Hizmet
There are three things non-Muslim Poconovians should know about Gülen’s movement. First, Gülen rejects a jihad of violence as promoted by the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and ISIS in the name of Islam.…
Gulen Movement
Demonization of the Gülen movement unfair and baseless
The Gülen movement is one of two marginalized groups in present-day Turkey along with the with Kurds. However, the situation was quite different 10 years ago. …
Al-Azhar has examined and approved all the works of Mr. Gulen
Egypt's Al-Azhar University, one of the most respected Islamic Sciences centers in the world, and the Islamic Research Association, has examined the works of Gulen found no contradiction to the school of Sunni Islam. Beyond these works, in some universities, especially Al Azhar, many master's and doctoral theses on the subject of Hizmet and Mr. Gulen have been published.…
Hizmet Movement: An Exemplary Paradigm of Transnational Civic Engagements
At its core, the Gulen Movement is a faith based social movement that takes inspiration from Islamic ideals to reinforce the civic, moral, and ethical goals of Islam. The goal is to transform individuals and society in such a way to produce a “golden generation,” which in turn provides leadership to all walks of human life.…
Principles of the Hizmet Movement
Every social or spiritual group may have both institutional and non-institutional aspects. In relations between the individuals who have an institutional role and those who do not, the group must comply with the aforementioned principles of legal compliance, ethical legitimacy, transparency, and accountability.…
Is Hizmet a Paramodern Example of Islamic Spirituality?
What Hizmet also illustrates is the resilience of a truly paramodern spiritual movement. Despite sustained attacks over a number of decades the movement still exists. The Turkish government may be successful in closing down visible symbols of Hizmet like schools and media outlines, but as previous governments found with Nursi, destroying an idea and mindset is not so easy.…
Islamist vs. Islamic: Erdogan’s deep-rooted hatred of the Gülen movement
The Gülen movement, as a moderate, liberal Islamic civil society group, has tried to prevent the radical Islamist Erdogan from taking Turkey to a political Islamist hell. However, despite all these efforts that led it to pay a very heavy price, the movement could not stop the country from becoming a complete hell due to the unconscious support given by the masses.…
What can Christians learn from a global Islamic movement?
Gülen was concerned with the state of Turkish youth, which he considered to be losing its way and its faith under the secular republic. However, he was not attracted to the growing calls for the establishment of conservative Sharia states around the Muslim world. Erdoğan has lost favour across the West because of the increasingly totalitarian policies of his regime. In such a climate, the Gülen movement will win the sympathy vote outside Turkey.…
A Meditation on Persecution – Troubles don’t last always
The most recent persecutions have destroyed livelihoods and lives. Our collective voices should oppose and resist the authoritarian actions of the Turkish government. We must organize to protect the innocent and to shelter them from ongoing harm, insofar as possible.…
Is the Gülen Movement a Cult?
When looking at the evidence, it’s clear the Gülen movement is the furthest thing from a cult. It is a mainstream Islamic movement, its practices rooted deeply in the Qur’an and the Sunnah, but also confident to engage with members of other rich religious and intellectual traditions of many other cultures. Whereas cults generally disengage from wider society, the Gülen movement has gone out of its way to engage with the world through its schools, dialogue efforts, and businesses.…