Fethullah Gülen
Encyclopedia
Muhammed Fethullah Gülen is a Turkish
preacher, author, educator, and Sufi Muslim scholar living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania (USA). He is the founder and leader of the Gülen movement
. Gülen is characterized in the media as one of the world's most important Muslim figures.
Gülen teaches an Anatolia
n version of traditional mainstream Islam
, deriving from Said Nursi
's teachings and modernizing them. Gülen supports interfaith
dialogue among the people of the book
, and has initiated such dialogue with the Vatican and some Jewish organizations.
Gülen is actively involved in the societal debate concerning the future of the Turkish state, and Islam in the modern world. In the Turkish context Gülen appears relatively conservative and religiously observant. For example, he supports the view that women should wear headscarf
s, and his female followers usually wear them.
. His father, Ramiz Gülen, was an imam. Gülen started primary education at his home village, but did not continue after his family moved, and instead focused on informal Islamic education. He gave his first sermon when he was 14. He was influenced by the ideas of Said Nursi
and Maulana Jalaluddeen Rumi.
Comparing Gülen to leaders in the Nur movement, Hakan Yavuz said, "Gülen is more Turkish nationalist in his thinking. Also, he is somewhat more state-oriented, and is more concerned with market economics and neo-liberal economic policies."
His pro-business stance has led some outsiders to dub his theology an Islamic version of Calvinism
. Oxford Analytica
says:
Gülen retired from formal preaching duties in 1981. From 1988 to 1991 he gave a series of sermons in popular mosques of major cities. These activities elevated him to a public figure. In 1994, he participated in the founding of "Journalists and Writers Foundation" and was given the title "Honorary President" by the foundation. He did not make any comment regarding the closures of the Welfare Party in 1998 or the Virtue Party in 2001. He has met some politicians like Tansu Çiller
and Bülent Ecevit
, but he avoids meeting with the leaders of Islamic political parties.
In 1998 Gülen emigrated to the United States
, ostensibly for health problems (he suffers from diabetes and heart disease
) but arguably in anticipation of being tried over remarks (aired after his emigration to US) which seemed to favor an Islamic state. In June 1999, after Gulen had left Turkey video tapes were sent to some Turkey TV stations with recordings of Gulen saying, "the existing system is still in power. Our friends who have positions in legislative and administrative bodies should learn its details and be vigilant all the time so that they can transform it and be more fruitful on behalf of Islam in order to carry out a nationwide restoration. However, they should wait until the conditions become more favorable. In other words, they should not come out too early." Gülen complained that the remarks were taken out of context, and questions were raised about the authenticity of the tape, which he accused of having been "manipulated". Gülen was tried in absentia in 2000, and acquitted in 2006. The Supreme Court of Appeals later rejected an appeal by the Chief Prosecutor's Office.
tarekat and does not see tarekat membership as a necessity for Muslims, he teaches that Sufism is the inner dimension of Islam and the inner and outer dimensions must never be separated.
His teachings differ in emphasis from those of other mainstream, moderate Islamic scholars in two respects, both based on his interpretations of particular verses of the Quran: (1) he teaches that the Muslim community has a duty of service (Turkish: hizmet) to the “common good” of the community and the nation and to Muslims and non-Muslims all over the world; and (2), the Muslim community is obliged to conduct interfaith dialogue with the "People of the Book" (Jews and Christians). Although this does not extend to other religions and atheists
. In fact he appears to be intolerant of atheism, as in 2004 Gülen commented to the effect that terrorism
was as despicable as atheism. In a follow-up interview he explained he did not intend to equate atheists and murderers; rather, he wanted to highlight the fact that according to Islam both were destined to suffer eternal punishment.
is a transnational civic society movement inspired by Gülen's teachings. His teachings about hizmet (altruistic service to the "common good") have attracted a large number of supporters in Turkey
, Central Asia
and increasingly in other parts of the world.
, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomeos
, and Israeli Sephardic
Head Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron
. In the late 2000s, the movement also initiated dialogue with those of no faith. For example, the Dialogue Society in London, which is inspired by Gülen’s teaching, has more atheist and agnostic members of its Advisory Board than it has Muslims.
Similar to Said Nursi, Gülen favors cooperation between followers of different religions (this would also include different forms of Islam, such as Sunnism vs. Alevi
sm in Turkey) as well as religious and secular elements within society. He has been described as "very critical of the regimes in Iran
and Saudi Arabia
" due to their undemocratic, sharia
-based systems of government.
conflict with an “Islamist” reaction. Arising from that context, Gülen has criticized a politics rooted in a philosophically reductionist
materialism
. But he has also argued that Islam and democracy are compatible and he encourages greater democracy within Turkey. He also argues that a secular approach that is not anti-religious and allows for freedom of religion and belief is compatible with Islam.
and argues that neither Turkey nor the EU have anything to fear, but have much to gain, from a future of full Turkish membership in the EU.
for trying to deliver aid without Israel's consent. He spoke of watching the news coverage of the deadly confrontation between Israeli commandos and Turkish aid group members as its flotilla approached Israel's sea blockade of Gaza. "What I saw was not pretty," he said. "It was ugly." He continued his criticism. The "organizers' failure to seek accord with Israel before attempting to deliver aid "is a sign of defying authority, and will not lead to fruitful matters."
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
preacher, author, educator, and Sufi Muslim scholar living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania (USA). He is the founder and leader of the Gülen movement
Gülen movement
The Gülen movement is a transnational civic society movement inspired by the teachings of Turkish Islamic theologian Fethullah Gülen. His teachings about hizmet have attracted a large number of supporters in Turkey, Central Asia and increasingly in other parts of the world...
. Gülen is characterized in the media as one of the world's most important Muslim figures.
Gülen teaches an Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
n version of traditional mainstream Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, deriving from Said Nursi
Said Nursî
Bediuzzaman Said Nursî ,commonly known as Bediüzzaman , which means "The Wonder of the Age" was a Muslim scholar who wrote the Risale-i Nur Collection, a body of Qur'anic commentary exceeding six thousand pages. . He was born in Nurs, a village in the Ottoman Bitlis Province in eastern Anatolia. He...
's teachings and modernizing them. Gülen supports interfaith
Interfaith
The term interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels...
dialogue among the people of the book
People of the Book
People of the Book is a term used to designate non-Muslim adherents to faiths which have a revealed scripture called, in Arabic, Al-Kitab . The three types of adherents to faiths that the Qur'an mentions as people of the book are the Jews, Sabians and Christians.In Islam, the Muslim scripture, the...
, and has initiated such dialogue with the Vatican and some Jewish organizations.
Gülen is actively involved in the societal debate concerning the future of the Turkish state, and Islam in the modern world. In the Turkish context Gülen appears relatively conservative and religiously observant. For example, he supports the view that women should wear headscarf
Headscarf controversy in Turkey
Turkey has been a secular state since it was founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1923. He introduced the secularization of the state in the Turkish Constitution of 1924, alongside Atatürk's Reforms. These were in accordance with the Kemalist Ideology, with a strict appliance of laicite in the...
s, and his female followers usually wear them.
Biography
Gülen was born in the village of Korucuk, near ErzurumErzurum
Erzurum is a city in Turkey. It is the largest city, the capital of Erzurum Province. The city is situated 1757 meters above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 361,235 in the 2000 census. .Erzurum, known as "The Rock" in NATO code, served as NATO's southeastern-most air force post during the...
. His father, Ramiz Gülen, was an imam. Gülen started primary education at his home village, but did not continue after his family moved, and instead focused on informal Islamic education. He gave his first sermon when he was 14. He was influenced by the ideas of Said Nursi
Said Nursî
Bediuzzaman Said Nursî ,commonly known as Bediüzzaman , which means "The Wonder of the Age" was a Muslim scholar who wrote the Risale-i Nur Collection, a body of Qur'anic commentary exceeding six thousand pages. . He was born in Nurs, a village in the Ottoman Bitlis Province in eastern Anatolia. He...
and Maulana Jalaluddeen Rumi.
Comparing Gülen to leaders in the Nur movement, Hakan Yavuz said, "Gülen is more Turkish nationalist in his thinking. Also, he is somewhat more state-oriented, and is more concerned with market economics and neo-liberal economic policies."
His pro-business stance has led some outsiders to dub his theology an Islamic version of Calvinism
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
. Oxford Analytica
Oxford Analytica
Oxford Analytica is an international consulting firm providing strategic analysis of world events. It was founded in 1975 by David Young, an American employee of the National Security Council during the Nixon administration and one of the four in the Watergate scandal.Clients of Oxford Analytica...
says:
- "Gülen put Nursi's ideas into practice when he was transferred to a mosque in Izmir in 1966. Izmir is a city where political Islam never took root. However, the business and professional middle class came to resent the constraints of a state bureaucracy under whose wings it had grown, and supported market-friendly policies, while preserving at least some elements of a conservative lifestyle. Such businessmen were largely pro-Western, because it was Western (mainly U.S.) influence, which had persuaded the government to allow free elections for the first time in 1950 and U.S. aid, which had primed the pump of economic growth."
Gülen retired from formal preaching duties in 1981. From 1988 to 1991 he gave a series of sermons in popular mosques of major cities. These activities elevated him to a public figure. In 1994, he participated in the founding of "Journalists and Writers Foundation" and was given the title "Honorary President" by the foundation. He did not make any comment regarding the closures of the Welfare Party in 1998 or the Virtue Party in 2001. He has met some politicians like Tansu Çiller
Tansu Çiller
Tansu Penbe Çiller is a Turkish economist and politician. She was Turkey's first and only female Prime Minister.- Early career :She is the daughter of a Turkish governor of Bilecik province during the 1950s. She graduated from the School of Economics at Robert College after finishing the American...
and Bülent Ecevit
Bülent Ecevit
Mustafa Bülent Ecevit was a Turkish politician, poet, writer and journalist, who was the leader of Republican People's Party , later of the Democratic Left Party and four-time Prime Minister of Turkey.- Personal life :...
, but he avoids meeting with the leaders of Islamic political parties.
In 1998 Gülen emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, ostensibly for health problems (he suffers from diabetes and heart disease
Heart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
) but arguably in anticipation of being tried over remarks (aired after his emigration to US) which seemed to favor an Islamic state. In June 1999, after Gulen had left Turkey video tapes were sent to some Turkey TV stations with recordings of Gulen saying, "the existing system is still in power. Our friends who have positions in legislative and administrative bodies should learn its details and be vigilant all the time so that they can transform it and be more fruitful on behalf of Islam in order to carry out a nationwide restoration. However, they should wait until the conditions become more favorable. In other words, they should not come out too early." Gülen complained that the remarks were taken out of context, and questions were raised about the authenticity of the tape, which he accused of having been "manipulated". Gülen was tried in absentia in 2000, and acquitted in 2006. The Supreme Court of Appeals later rejected an appeal by the Chief Prosecutor's Office.
Theology
Gülen does not advocate a new theology but refers to classical authorities of theology and takes up their line of argument. His understanding of Islam tends to be conservative and mainstream. Though he has never been a member of a SufiSufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
tarekat and does not see tarekat membership as a necessity for Muslims, he teaches that Sufism is the inner dimension of Islam and the inner and outer dimensions must never be separated.
His teachings differ in emphasis from those of other mainstream, moderate Islamic scholars in two respects, both based on his interpretations of particular verses of the Quran: (1) he teaches that the Muslim community has a duty of service (Turkish: hizmet) to the “common good” of the community and the nation and to Muslims and non-Muslims all over the world; and (2), the Muslim community is obliged to conduct interfaith dialogue with the "People of the Book" (Jews and Christians). Although this does not extend to other religions and atheists
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
. In fact he appears to be intolerant of atheism, as in 2004 Gülen commented to the effect that terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
was as despicable as atheism. In a follow-up interview he explained he did not intend to equate atheists and murderers; rather, he wanted to highlight the fact that according to Islam both were destined to suffer eternal punishment.
Service (hizmet) to the common good
The Gülen movementGülen movement
The Gülen movement is a transnational civic society movement inspired by the teachings of Turkish Islamic theologian Fethullah Gülen. His teachings about hizmet have attracted a large number of supporters in Turkey, Central Asia and increasingly in other parts of the world...
is a transnational civic society movement inspired by Gülen's teachings. His teachings about hizmet (altruistic service to the "common good") have attracted a large number of supporters in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
and increasingly in other parts of the world.
Interfaith and intercultural dialogue
Gulen movement participants have founded a number of institutions across the world which promote interfaith and intercultural dialogue activities. While Gülen's earlier works are (in Bekim Agai's words) "full of anti-missionary and anti-Western passages", during the 1990s he began to advocate interreligious tolerance and dialogue. He personally met with leaders of other religions, including Pope John Paul IIPope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomeos
Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I is the Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch, and thus "first among equals" in the Eastern Orthodox Communion, since 2 November 1991...
, and Israeli Sephardic
Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
Head Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron
Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron
Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron , is a former Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel.-Background:Rabbi Hamza Bakshi-Doron was born in Jerusalem and studied in several prominent Religious Zionist yeshivot...
. In the late 2000s, the movement also initiated dialogue with those of no faith. For example, the Dialogue Society in London, which is inspired by Gülen’s teaching, has more atheist and agnostic members of its Advisory Board than it has Muslims.
Similar to Said Nursi, Gülen favors cooperation between followers of different religions (this would also include different forms of Islam, such as Sunnism vs. Alevi
Alevi
The Alevi are a religious and cultural community, primarily in Turkey, constituting probably more than 15 million people....
sm in Turkey) as well as religious and secular elements within society. He has been described as "very critical of the regimes in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
" due to their undemocratic, sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
-based systems of government.
Publications
Gülen has authored over 60 books and many articles on a variety of topics: social, political and religious issues, art, science and sports, and recorded thousands of audio and video cassettes. He contributes to a number of journals and magazines owned by his followers. He writes the lead article for the Fountain, Yeni Ümit, Sızıntı, and Yağmur, Islamic and philosophical magazines. Several of his books have been translated into English (see: Books by Gülen Books on Gülen and the Gülen Movement).Secularism
Gülen’s Islamic teaching and practice was developed in the forge of Turkey’s 20th century project to create a secular state, as initiated by the Turkish nationalist revolution of Atatürk. That project became an ideologically “secularist” one, locked in symbioticSymbiosis
Symbiosis is close and often long-term interaction between different biological species. In 1877 Bennett used the word symbiosis to describe the mutualistic relationship in lichens...
conflict with an “Islamist” reaction. Arising from that context, Gülen has criticized a politics rooted in a philosophically reductionist
Reductionism
Reductionism can mean either an approach to understanding the nature of complex things by reducing them to the interactions of their parts, or to simpler or more fundamental things or a philosophical position that a complex system is nothing but the sum of its parts, and that an account of it can...
materialism
Materialism
In philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance...
. But he has also argued that Islam and democracy are compatible and he encourages greater democracy within Turkey. He also argues that a secular approach that is not anti-religious and allows for freedom of religion and belief is compatible with Islam.
Turkey bid to join the EU
Gulen favors Turkey's bid to join the European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and argues that neither Turkey nor the EU have anything to fear, but have much to gain, from a future of full Turkish membership in the EU.
Women's roles
According to Aras and Caha, Gülen's views on women are "progressive" but "modern professional women in Turkey still find his ideas far from acceptable." Gülen says the coming of Islam saved women, who "were absolutely not confined to their home and...never oppressed" in the early years of the religion. He feels that western-style feminism, however, is "doomed to imbalance like all other reactionary movements...being full of hatred towards men."Terrorism
Gülen condemns any kind of terrorism. He warns against the phenomenon of arbitrary violence and aggression against civilians, that is terrorism, which has no place in Islam and which militates against its very foundational tenets of reverence for human life and for all of God's creation. Fethullah Gulen was the first Muslim Leader to openly condemn the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He wrote a condemnation article in the Washington Post on September 12th, 2001, just the day after the attack, and stated that `A muslim can not be a terrorist, nor can a terrorist be a true muslim`http://www.fethullah-gulen.org/op-ed/gulen-movement-9-11.html," Gülen lamented the deplorable hijacking of Islam by terrorists who claimed to be Muslims and acting out of religious conviction. He counseled that "One should seek Islam through its own sources and in its own representatives throughout history; not through the actions of a tiny minority that misrepresent it.Gaza Flotilla
Gülen criticized the Turkish-led Gaza flotillaGaza flotilla raid
The Gaza flotilla raid was a military operation by Israel against six ships of the "Gaza Freedom Flotilla" on 31 May 2010 in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea...
for trying to deliver aid without Israel's consent. He spoke of watching the news coverage of the deadly confrontation between Israeli commandos and Turkish aid group members as its flotilla approached Israel's sea blockade of Gaza. "What I saw was not pretty," he said. "It was ugly." He continued his criticism. The "organizers' failure to seek accord with Israel before attempting to deliver aid "is a sign of defying authority, and will not lead to fruitful matters."
The Gülen movement
- Fethullah Gülen's official website
- The Gülen Institute at University of Houston
- Fethullah Gülen's Biography
- Institute of Interfaith Dialog
- Fethullah Gülen Conferences
- The Journalists and Writers Foundation website
- Interfaith Dialog Center at Newark, NJ
Western Media
- FORBES - Gulen Inspires Muslims Worldwide
- Interfaith Radio - Turkey's Champion of Interfaith Dialogue
- The Economist - Global Muslim networks- How far they have travelled
- The Economist- Fethullah Gulen- A farm boy on the world stage
- Reuters - Turkish Islamic preacher - threat or benefactor?
- The New York Times - Turkish Schools Offer Pakistan a Gentler Vision of Islam
- The New York Times: Fethullah Gulen profile
- Foreign Policy - Fethullah Gulen as a Top Public Intellectual
- Profile on PBS show: Religion and Ethics January 21, 2011
- The New Republic Magazine: The Global Imam
- Qantara.de: The Fethullah Gülen Movement: Pillar of Society or Threat to Democracy?