M. Fethullah Gülen is a Turkish opinion leader and preacher emeritus who has been living in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania since 1999.

Gülen embraces an inclusive and peaceful understanding of Islam. His commitment to dialogue and altruism has inspired the Hizmet Movement, a transnational social initiative active in education, interfaith dialogue and humanitarian aid activities.

Mr. Gülen and Hizmet participants are known for their commitment to peace, democracy and non-violence, and oppose turning religion into a political ideology.

In 1994, Mr. Gülen had said “from now on, both in Turkey and in the rest of the world, there will be no return from democracy.”

Gülen is well-known with his statement “a true Muslim cannot be a terrorist and a terrorist cannot be a true Muslim,” published in The Washington Post after 9/11 attacks.

He was named as ‘The World’s Top Public Intellectual’ by Foreign Policy magazine in May 2008, and made it onto TIME100 list of the most influential people in the world in 2013. He is the recipient of Manhae Peace Prize in 2013 and Gandhi-King-Ikeda Award for Peace in 2015. He is also the recipient of New York-based EastWest Institute’s 2011 Peace Award.

Is Hizmet-Gulen Movement Liberal?

Its institutions and actors continue to initiate new mediations of liberalism and Islam, even as they simultaneously remain subject to the powers of doubt and suspicion that liberalism…

The Gülen Community – Who to Believe, Politicians or Actions?

For those who know Mr. Gülen personally or have had contact with the open-hearted and idealistic members of the Hizmet movement, claims of subversive “terrorism,” (in Erdoğan’s words)…

Where does Gülen stand on: democracy, human rights, and minorities?

Democracy Gülen recognizes democracy as the only viable political system of governance. He denounces turning religion into a political ideology, while encouraging all citizens to take an informed…