Gülen movement
Encyclopedia
The Gülen movement is a transnational civic society movement inspired by the teachings of Turkish Islamic theologian Fethullah Gülen
. 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 movement is mainly active in education and interfaith (and intercultural) dialogue, however has also aid initiatives and investments on media, finance, and health.
The Economist
described the Gülen movement as a Turkish-based movement which sounds more reasonable than most of its rivals, and which is vying to be recognized as the world's leading Muslim network. It stated that Gülen has won praise from non-Muslim quarters with his belief in science, inter-faith dialog and multi-party democracy. Nilüfer Göle
, professor of sociology at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes
in Paris, who is known for her studies on modernization and conservatism, has described the Gülen movement as the world's most global movement.
One of the main characteristics of the movement is that it is faith-based but not faith-limited.
In London, October, 2007 a conference examining the nature and activities of the movement was sponsored by the University of Birmingham
, the Dialogue Society, the Irish School of Ecumenics
, Leeds Metropolitan University
, the London Middle East Institute, the Middle East Institute
and the School of Oriental and African Studies
, University of London. There was a reception at the House of Lords
. The most recent conference about the movement was held at University of Chicago
on Nov 11-13 2010 named “The Gülen Movement: Paradigms, Projects, and Aspirations”.
claimed that movement participants run "schools in which more than 2 million students receive education, many with full scholarships". Estimates of the number of schools and educational institutions vary widely, from about 300 schools in Turkey to over 1,000 schools worldwide. These schools have consistently promoted good learning and citizenship, and the Hizmet movement is to date an evidently admirable civil society organization to build bridges between religious communities and to provide direct service on behalf of the common good. Participants in the movement have also founded private universities, including Fatih University
in Istanbul
.
Some of the teachers are drawn from members of the Gülen network, who often encourage students in the direction of greater piety. The Economist observes that in Pakistan "they encourage Islam in their dormitories, where teachers set examples in lifestyle and prayer." Another article in the New York Times, described the Turkish schools, which have expanded to seven cities in Pakistan since the first one opened a decade ago, as offering a gentler approach to Islam that could help reduce the influence of extremism. However, schools are not for Muslims alone, and in Turkey "the general curriculum for the network’s schools prescribes one hour of religious instruction per week, while in many countries the schools do not offer any religious instruction at all. With the exception of a few Imam-Hatip schools abroad, these institutions can thus hardly be considered Islamic schools in the strict sense."
Gülen movement participants have founded a number of institutions across the world which promote interfaith and intercultural dialogue activities. Gülen personally met with leaders of other religions, including Pope John Paul II
, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomaios
, and Israeli Sephardic Head Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron
. In recent years, movement initiated dialogue with also 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.
B. Jill Carroll
of Rice University
in Houston said in an Interfaith Voices program, an independent public radio show that promotes interfaith understanding through dialog, that "Gülen has greatly impacted three generations in Turkey. He also influences considerable masses all across the world with his speeches and deeds. He leads a very modest life. Thousands of institutions have been established all around the globe by the Gülen movement, but he doesn’t undertake the administration of even one of them. When people see such aspects of this movement, they say 'these are not Muslims in words, they are real Muslims'. Of the schools she said: "These schools invest in the future and aim at creating a community that offers equal opportunities for everyone."
In 2006, in Göteborg, the Gülen movement started Dialogslussen in a bid to promote interfaith dialogue in Sweden
.
, where its first meeting was held. Abant participants have discussed Islam and Secularism (1998); Religion, State and Society (1999); the Legal, Democratic State (2000); Pluralism and Societal Compromise (2001); Globalization - Political, Economic and Cultural Dimensions (2002); War and Democracy (2003).
İzzettin Doğan, a leader of Alevi
circles in Turkey and the President of the Cem Foundation, said of Gülen:
, Mehtap TV
), an English-language TV station in the United States (Ebru TV), a Turkish-language newspaper (Zaman
), an English-language newspaper (Today's Zaman
), magazines and journals in Turkish (Sızıntı, Yeni Ümit, Aksiyon), English (The Fountain Magazine
), and Arabic (Hira
), an international media group (Cihan
)and a radio station (Burç FM).
for some years. It provides aid to those in need in Turkey and the region and in other areas (including, e.g. Peru, Sudan, and Haiti).
, formerly Asya Finans, was founded by Gülen movement participants in 1994. It offers a variety of interest-free banking services and currently is the biggest interest-free financial institution in Turkey. It was established with capital of 2 million Turkish Lira and had reached paid-up capital of 900 million TL by 2009. Işık Sigorta (Light Insurance) company describes itself as a partner of Bank Asya.
Movement supporters have also formed business lobbying groups and think tanks in Washington and Brussels and these inter-connected businesses constitute one of the strongest capital bases in Turkey.
Movement's activities are supported by donations coming from all classes of people in the society
magazine identified the chief characteristic of the Gülen movement as not seeking to subvert modern secular states but rather encouraging practicing Muslims to use to the fullest the opportunities those countries offer. The New York Times describes the movement as coming from a "moderate blend of Islam that is very inclusive." Prospect magazine reported that Gülen and the Gülen movement "are at home with technology, markets and multinational business and especially with modern communications and public relations."
In Turkey, the Gülen movement tries to keep its distance from Islamic political parties, but the schools in Central Asia have been described as supporting a philosophy based on Turkish nationalism rather than on Islam.
The movement is sometimes accused of being "missionary" in intent, or of organizing in a clandestine way and aiming for political power. Professor Thomas Michel of Georgetown University
, who observed schools in the Philippines, said: "This movement has never been engaged in politics. It has reached millions of children all across the world and helped with their education regardless of their races, languages, religions and nationalities." About the accusations of "hidden agenda", members of the movement say "Anybody who accuses us of having a hidden agenda, is welcome to come and quiz us. We have nothing to hide." .
In Europe, Former Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik
has said the ideas of Fethullah Gülen and the activities of the Gülen movement are in complete harmony with the approach of The Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights. The Dutch government started an inquiry in 2008 because of a motion filed by four political parties. The inquiry showed that the Gülen movement and Turkish institutions having close ties to the movement do not obstruct integration in the Netherlands, that the movement is pacifist and prone to dialogue, believes that Islam and modernism can coexist, that it lacks a central unit or hierarchical structure.
In the headscarf controversy in Turkey
, when covered girls were prevented from going to school and university by the headscarf ban, the Gülen movement “was the first to insist on girls’ schooling at the cost of compromising their headscarf.” Female members of the Refah party who refused to take their scarves off to go to university were critical of the compromising attitudes of the Gülen Movement.
, who had been writing a book, "Imamin Ordusu" (“The Imam’s Army”), which alleges that the Gülen movement has infiltrated the country’s security forces. As Şik was taken into police custody, he shouted, “Whoever touches it gets burned!”. Today's Zaman published an interview with publishers and writers who had published or written the harshest pieces against Gulen and they all claim "nothing happened to them" and thus voids claims made by Şik who made his claim apparently on an attempt to divert attention to Gulen rather than his arrest. Upon his arrest, drafts of the book were confiscated and its possession was banned. Şik has also been charged with being part of the Ergenekon plot.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) condemned the arrests. The EFJ and the Turkish Journalists Syndicate called for the immediate and unconditional release of more than 60 journalists currently being held in Turkish jails. In response to Prime Minister Erdoğan’s denial of any government attempt to silence journalists, Aidan White, IFJ/EFJ General Secretary stated, “These denials are just not credible. The authorities are clearly embarked on a campaign to discipline dissent and to stifle free speech in Turkey." Throughout the month, thousands of Turks took to the streets to protest the arrests
According to Gareth H. Jenkins, a Senior Fellow of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Joint Center at Johns Hopkins University:
(In a reply, Abdullah Bozkurt, from Gülen Movement newspaper Today's Zaman
, has accused Ahmet Şık of not being "an investigative journalist" conducting "independent research," but of hatching "a plot designed and put into action by the terrorist network itself,")
The schools in Kazakhstan have been accused of following admissions policies which favor the wealthy and well-connected. Schools established by Gülen movement participants in Tashkent
and St. Petersburg were closed for a period, accused of supporting Islamic groups (Tashkent) and diverging from the state curriculum (St. Petersburg).
However, the St. Petersburg school filed an appeal. Subsequently, the school's founding rights were restored with a ruling handed down on March 25, 2008. The education committee referred the case to the 13th Appeals Court for a reversal of the lower court’s decision. The appeals court announced its verdict on July 1, upholding the ruling of the administrative court. The 13th Appellate Court also canceled all the bylaws made by the educational committee in the absence of the Turkish entrepreneurs and returned the school’s license. International School No. 664, in St. Petersburg, was re-opened in July 2008 after having its license revoked for over a year.
In April 2010, Trend News Agency published a piece about the Gülen schools in Georgia (Asia). Excerpt: “The Georgian Labor Party protested the opening of Turkish schools in Georgia. The party's Political Secretary Giorgi Gugava called the mass opening of Turkish schools in Georgia, "the dominance of Turkey in the Georgian educational system," and noted that these schools aim to spread Turkish culture and fundamentalist religious ideas…Gugava said the process is headed by Turkish religious leader Fetullah Gülen, whose activities are banned in his motherland…”
, a neoconservative monthly Jewish-American magazine, published a piece about the influence of Fetullah Gülen, comparing Turkey's Erdoğan government with the Iranian Islamic revolution. published
Fethullah Gülen
Muhammed Fethullah Gülen is a Turkish preacher, author, educator, and Sufi Muslim scholar living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania . He is the founder and leader of the Gülen movement...
. 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. The movement is mainly active in education and interfaith (and intercultural) dialogue, however has also aid initiatives and investments on media, finance, and health.
Nature and participation
The exact number of supporters of the Gülen movement is not known, as there is no membership system, but estimates vary from 1 million to 8 million. The movement consists primarily of students, teachers, businessmen, journalists and other educated professionals, arranged in a flexible organizational network. It has founded schools, universities, an employers' association, as well as charities, real estate trusts, student bodies, radio and television stations, and newspapers. The schools and businesses organize locally, and link into networks on an informal rather than legal basis. After an inquiry into the effects of movement's activities in Holland, Dutch Integration Minister Eberhard Van der Laan described it as "an alliance of loosely affiliated independent institutions rather than a movement."The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
described the Gülen movement as a Turkish-based movement which sounds more reasonable than most of its rivals, and which is vying to be recognized as the world's leading Muslim network. It stated that Gülen has won praise from non-Muslim quarters with his belief in science, inter-faith dialog and multi-party democracy. Nilüfer Göle
Nilüfer Göle
Nilüfer Göle is a prominent Turkish French sociologist and a leading authority on the political movement of today's educated, urbanized, religious Muslim women...
, professor of sociology at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes
École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales
The École des hautes études en sciences sociales is a leading French institution for research and higher education, a Grand Établissement. Its mission is research and research training in the social sciences, including the relationship these latter maintain with the natural and life sciences...
in Paris, who is known for her studies on modernization and conservatism, has described the Gülen movement as the world's most global movement.
One of the main characteristics of the movement is that it is faith-based but not faith-limited.
In London, October, 2007 a conference examining the nature and activities of the movement was sponsored by the University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
, the Dialogue Society, the Irish School of Ecumenics
Irish School of Ecumenics
The Irish School of Ecumenics is a new discipline within an aspirant School at Trinity College Dublin, and existed as an independent entity until negotiating admission to Trinity College about a decade ago. The ISE is dedicated to the promotion of ecumenism, religious reconciliation and interfaith...
, Leeds Metropolitan University
Leeds Metropolitan University
Leeds Metropolitan University is a British University with three campuses. Two are situated in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England while the third is situated in Bhopal, India...
, the London Middle East Institute, the Middle East Institute
Middle East Institute
The Middle East Institute is a non-partisan think tank and cultural center in Washington, DC. Founded in 1946, MEI is the oldest institution in Washington dedicated exclusively to the study of the Middle East. Its founder, architect and philanthropist George Camp Keiser, assembled a team of...
and the School of Oriental and African Studies
School of Oriental and African Studies
The School of Oriental and African Studies is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London...
, University of London. There was a reception at the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
. The most recent conference about the movement was held at University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
on Nov 11-13 2010 named “The Gülen Movement: Paradigms, Projects, and Aspirations”.
Education
Globally, the Gülen movement is especially active in education. In 2009 NewsweekNewsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
claimed that movement participants run "schools in which more than 2 million students receive education, many with full scholarships". Estimates of the number of schools and educational institutions vary widely, from about 300 schools in Turkey to over 1,000 schools worldwide. These schools have consistently promoted good learning and citizenship, and the Hizmet movement is to date an evidently admirable civil society organization to build bridges between religious communities and to provide direct service on behalf of the common good. Participants in the movement have also founded private universities, including Fatih University
Fatih University
Fatih University is a private university mainly located in Büyükçekmece, Istanbul, Turkey. The university was established in 1996 by the Turkish Association of Health and Medical Treatment...
in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
.
Some of the teachers are drawn from members of the Gülen network, who often encourage students in the direction of greater piety. The Economist observes that in Pakistan "they encourage Islam in their dormitories, where teachers set examples in lifestyle and prayer." Another article in the New York Times, described the Turkish schools, which have expanded to seven cities in Pakistan since the first one opened a decade ago, as offering a gentler approach to Islam that could help reduce the influence of extremism. However, schools are not for Muslims alone, and in Turkey "the general curriculum for the network’s schools prescribes one hour of religious instruction per week, while in many countries the schools do not offer any religious instruction at all. With the exception of a few Imam-Hatip schools abroad, these institutions can thus hardly be considered Islamic schools in the strict sense."
Interfaith and intercultural dialogue
Center for Inter-religious Understanding Director Rabbi Jack Bemporad has said the Gülen movement aims to create a more peaceful world and invites all people to unity.Gülen movement participants have founded a number of institutions across the world which promote interfaith and intercultural dialogue activities. Gülen personally met with leaders of other religions, including Pope John Paul II
Pope 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 Bartholomaios
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 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 recent years, movement initiated dialogue with also 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 and Saudi Arabia" 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.
B. Jill Carroll
B. Jill Carroll
Dr. B. Jill Carroll is the Executive Director of the at Rice University. She is also Adjunct Associate Professor in Religious Studies at Rice University....
of Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
in Houston said in an Interfaith Voices program, an independent public radio show that promotes interfaith understanding through dialog, that "Gülen has greatly impacted three generations in Turkey. He also influences considerable masses all across the world with his speeches and deeds. He leads a very modest life. Thousands of institutions have been established all around the globe by the Gülen movement, but he doesn’t undertake the administration of even one of them. When people see such aspects of this movement, they say 'these are not Muslims in words, they are real Muslims'. Of the schools she said: "These schools invest in the future and aim at creating a community that offers equal opportunities for everyone."
In 2006, in Göteborg, the Gülen movement started Dialogslussen in a bid to promote interfaith dialogue in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
Intercultural dialogue
Since 1998 the Journalists and Writers Foundation, whose honorary president is Gülen, have conducted independent working groups (i.e. voluntary, not state-funded) with the aim of reaching consensus on issues which are politically or culturally divisive in Turkey. Participants and speakers (journalists and academics) are invited from all points of the political spectrum and from the different groupings in Turkey. Discussions end with an agreed 'declaration' signed by all participants. The first of these working groups to be established was the Abant Platform, named after Lake AbantLake Abant
Lake Abant is a freshwater lake in Turkey's Bolu Province in northwest Anatolia, formed as a result of a great landslide. The lake lies at an altitude of at a distance of from the provincial seat of Bolu city...
, where its first meeting was held. Abant participants have discussed Islam and Secularism (1998); Religion, State and Society (1999); the Legal, Democratic State (2000); Pluralism and Societal Compromise (2001); Globalization - Political, Economic and Cultural Dimensions (2002); War and Democracy (2003).
İzzettin Doğan, a leader of Alevi
Alevi
The Alevi are a religious and cultural community, primarily in Turkey, constituting probably more than 15 million people....
circles in Turkey and the President of the Cem Foundation, said of Gülen:
He has made positive contributions to the construction of cemevis (Alevi places of worship). Years ago, he said, "Cemevis should be constructed next to mosques." This is a very important statement. In addition, he is open to discussion. In this regard, I never had any doubts about Gülen's ideas.
Media
Movement participants have set up a number of media organs, including Turkish-language TV stations (Samanyolu TVSamanyolu TV
Samanyolu TV is an international TV station, with its head quarters in Istanbul. It is one of the highest rating TV channels in Turkey. It iswatched by people of Turkish origin all over the world.- Series :* Kepu Ma* Бра керм да рожат...
, Mehtap TV
Mehtap TV
Mehtap TV, began broadcasting on 19 June 2005 via Turksat 2-A satellite TV channel with the slogan of a cultural channel. Currently Murat Keskin is the executive editor of Mehtap Tv.-External links:**...
), an English-language TV station in the United States (Ebru TV), a Turkish-language newspaper (Zaman
Zaman (newspaper)
Zaman is a major, high-circulation daily newspaper in Turkey. It was founded in 1986 and was the first Turkish daily to go online in 1995. It contains national , international, business and other news...
), an English-language newspaper (Today's Zaman
Today's Zaman
Today's Zaman is one of two English-language dailies based in Turkey. Established on January 16, 2007, the newspaper's main competitor is the older Hürriyet Daily News....
), magazines and journals in Turkish (Sızıntı, Yeni Ümit, Aksiyon), English (The Fountain Magazine
The Fountain Magazine
The Fountain is a bi-monthly magazine of scientific and spiritual thought published by The Light Inc. It has been published since 1993 as a quarterly magazine till 2008...
), and Arabic (Hira
Hira
Hira or the Cave of Hira is a cave about from Mecca, on the mountain named Jabal Al-Nūr in the Hejaz region of present day Saudi Arabia...
), an international media group (Cihan
Cihan News Agency
The Cihan News Agency is a Turkish news agency based in Istanbul.The agency, established in 1994, is part of Feza Media Corp, which also owns Zaman newspaper and AKSIYON, a weekly news magazine...
)and a radio station (Burç FM).
Aid
The aid charity Kimse Yok Mu? (Is anybody there?) was established in March 2004 as a continuation of a TV program of the same name which ran on Samanyolu TVSamanyolu TV
Samanyolu TV is an international TV station, with its head quarters in Istanbul. It is one of the highest rating TV channels in Turkey. It iswatched by people of Turkish origin all over the world.- Series :* Kepu Ma* Бра керм да рожат...
for some years. It provides aid to those in need in Turkey and the region and in other areas (including, e.g. Peru, Sudan, and Haiti).
Finance
Bank AsyaBank Asya
Bank Asya was established in October 24, 1996 with its head officein Istanbul, as the sixth private finance house ofTurkey. The company's name, which had been previously "Asya Finans Kurumu...
, formerly Asya Finans, was founded by Gülen movement participants in 1994. It offers a variety of interest-free banking services and currently is the biggest interest-free financial institution in Turkey. It was established with capital of 2 million Turkish Lira and had reached paid-up capital of 900 million TL by 2009. Işık Sigorta (Light Insurance) company describes itself as a partner of Bank Asya.
Movement supporters have also formed business lobbying groups and think tanks in Washington and Brussels and these inter-connected businesses constitute one of the strongest capital bases in Turkey.
Movement's activities are supported by donations coming from all classes of people in the society
Civic engagement and politics
ForbesForbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine identified the chief characteristic of the Gülen movement as not seeking to subvert modern secular states but rather encouraging practicing Muslims to use to the fullest the opportunities those countries offer. The New York Times describes the movement as coming from a "moderate blend of Islam that is very inclusive." Prospect magazine reported that Gülen and the Gülen movement "are at home with technology, markets and multinational business and especially with modern communications and public relations."
In Turkey, the Gülen movement tries to keep its distance from Islamic political parties, but the schools in Central Asia have been described as supporting a philosophy based on Turkish nationalism rather than on Islam.
The movement is sometimes accused of being "missionary" in intent, or of organizing in a clandestine way and aiming for political power. Professor Thomas Michel of Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
, who observed schools in the Philippines, said: "This movement has never been engaged in politics. It has reached millions of children all across the world and helped with their education regardless of their races, languages, religions and nationalities." About the accusations of "hidden agenda", members of the movement say "Anybody who accuses us of having a hidden agenda, is welcome to come and quiz us. We have nothing to hide." .
In Europe, Former Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik
Kjell Magne Bondevik
Kjell Magne Bondevik is a Norwegian Lutheran minister and politician . He served as Prime Minister of Norway from 1997 to 2000, and from 2001 to 2005, making him Norway's longest serving non-Labour Party Prime Minister since World War II...
has said the ideas of Fethullah Gülen and the activities of the Gülen movement are in complete harmony with the approach of The Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights. The Dutch government started an inquiry in 2008 because of a motion filed by four political parties. The inquiry showed that the Gülen movement and Turkish institutions having close ties to the movement do not obstruct integration in the Netherlands, that the movement is pacifist and prone to dialogue, believes that Islam and modernism can coexist, that it lacks a central unit or hierarchical structure.
Gender roles
In the movement there are secular women from conservative-right circles and women who do not wear the Islamic head covering, but most of the time female participants do not question gender segregation in the movement. Gender segregation "remains an ideal inside the cemaat and is never touched on in theory," but because of the variety of social activities the movement engages in, participants' practice is more liberal than the theoretical understanding of the movement.In the headscarf controversy in Turkey
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...
, when covered girls were prevented from going to school and university by the headscarf ban, the Gülen movement “was the first to insist on girls’ schooling at the cost of compromising their headscarf.” Female members of the Refah party who refused to take their scarves off to go to university were critical of the compromising attitudes of the Gülen Movement.
Criticism
Several books have been published in Turkish since the 1990s criticizing Gülen and the Gülen movement. An increasing number of news articles address concerns about the expanding influence of the Gülen movement, both in Turkey and in other countries . Questions have arisen about the Gülen movement’s possible involvement in the ongoing Ergenekon investigation (Ergenekon allegedly being a ultra-nationalist, pro-military, anti-government gang), which critics have characterized as "a pretext" by the government "to neutralize dissidents" in Turkey.Ergenekon investigation
In March 2011, seven Turkish journalists were arrested, including Ahmet ŞıkAhmet Şık
Ahmet Şık is a Turkish investigative journalist, author of several books and a trade unionist.-Career:He graduated from Istanbul University, Faculty for Communication, department Journalism. Between 1991-2007 he worked for several newspapers such as Cumhuriyet, Evrensel and Yeni Yüzyıl. He has...
, who had been writing a book, "Imamin Ordusu" (“The Imam’s Army”), which alleges that the Gülen movement has infiltrated the country’s security forces. As Şik was taken into police custody, he shouted, “Whoever touches it gets burned!”. Today's Zaman published an interview with publishers and writers who had published or written the harshest pieces against Gulen and they all claim "nothing happened to them" and thus voids claims made by Şik who made his claim apparently on an attempt to divert attention to Gulen rather than his arrest. Upon his arrest, drafts of the book were confiscated and its possession was banned. Şik has also been charged with being part of the Ergenekon plot.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) condemned the arrests. The EFJ and the Turkish Journalists Syndicate called for the immediate and unconditional release of more than 60 journalists currently being held in Turkish jails. In response to Prime Minister Erdoğan’s denial of any government attempt to silence journalists, Aidan White, IFJ/EFJ General Secretary stated, “These denials are just not credible. The authorities are clearly embarked on a campaign to discipline dissent and to stifle free speech in Turkey." Throughout the month, thousands of Turks took to the streets to protest the arrests
According to Gareth H. Jenkins, a Senior Fellow of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Joint Center at Johns Hopkins University:
From the outset, the pro-AKP media, particularly the newspapers and television channels run by the Gülen Movement such as Zaman, Today’s Zaman and Samanyolu TV, have vigorously supported the Ergenekon investigation. This has included the illegal publication of “evidence” collected by the investigators before it has been presented in court, misrepresentations and distortions of the content of the indictments and smear campaigns against both the accused and anyone who questions the conduct of the investigations.
There have long been allegations that not only the media coverage but also the Ergenekon investigation itself is being run by Gülen’s supporters. In August 2010, Hanefi Avcı, a right-wing police chief who had once been sympathetic to the Gülen Movement, published a book in which he alleged that a network of Gülen’s supporters in the police were manipulating judicial processes and fixing internal appointments and promotions. On September 28, 2010, two days before he was due to give a press conference to present documentary evidence to support his allegations, Avcı was arrested and charged with membership of an extremist leftist organization. He remains in jail. On March 14, 2011, Avcı was also formally charged with being a member of the alleged Ergenekon gang.
(In a reply, Abdullah Bozkurt, from Gülen Movement newspaper Today's Zaman
Today's Zaman
Today's Zaman is one of two English-language dailies based in Turkey. Established on January 16, 2007, the newspaper's main competitor is the older Hürriyet Daily News....
, has accused Ahmet Şık of not being "an investigative journalist" conducting "independent research," but of hatching "a plot designed and put into action by the terrorist network itself,")
Gülen schools
In April 2009, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty published a piece about the Gülen schools in Central Asia stating the "Turkish educational institutions have come under increasing scrutiny ... Governments as well as many scholars and journalists suspect that the schools have more than just education on their agendas ...". The article quoted Hakan Yavuz, a professor of political science at the University of Utah, as calling the Gülen movement"a political movement ... and it has always been political. ... They want to train an elitist class which will then turn Turkey into a centre of the religious world, Islamise the country, ... It is the most powerful movement right now in [Turkey] ... There is no other movement to balance them in society."
The schools in Kazakhstan have been accused of following admissions policies which favor the wealthy and well-connected. Schools established by Gülen movement participants in Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
and St. Petersburg were closed for a period, accused of supporting Islamic groups (Tashkent) and diverging from the state curriculum (St. Petersburg).
However, the St. Petersburg school filed an appeal. Subsequently, the school's founding rights were restored with a ruling handed down on March 25, 2008. The education committee referred the case to the 13th Appeals Court for a reversal of the lower court’s decision. The appeals court announced its verdict on July 1, upholding the ruling of the administrative court. The 13th Appellate Court also canceled all the bylaws made by the educational committee in the absence of the Turkish entrepreneurs and returned the school’s license. International School No. 664, in St. Petersburg, was re-opened in July 2008 after having its license revoked for over a year.
In April 2010, Trend News Agency published a piece about the Gülen schools in Georgia (Asia). Excerpt: “The Georgian Labor Party protested the opening of Turkish schools in Georgia. The party's Political Secretary Giorgi Gugava called the mass opening of Turkish schools in Georgia, "the dominance of Turkey in the Georgian educational system," and noted that these schools aim to spread Turkish culture and fundamentalist religious ideas…Gugava said the process is headed by Turkish religious leader Fetullah Gülen, whose activities are banned in his motherland…”
General
In July 2010, Commentary (magazine)Commentary (magazine)
Commentary is a monthly American magazine on politics, Judaism, social and cultural issues. It was founded by the American Jewish Committee in 1945. By 1960 its editor was Norman Podhoretz, a liberal at the time who moved sharply to the right in the 1970s and 1980s becoming a strong voice for the...
, a neoconservative monthly Jewish-American magazine, published a piece about the influence of Fetullah Gülen, comparing Turkey's Erdoğan government with the Iranian Islamic revolution. published
“Turkey’s Islamic revolution has been so slow and deliberate as to pass almost unnoticed. Nevertheless, the Islamic Republic of Turkey is a reality—and a danger ... With the independent press muzzled and almost all print and airtime dedicated to his agenda, [Prime Minister] Erdogan upped his campaign against both the political opposition and the military. Whereas the Interior Ministry would once root out Islamists and followers of the anti-Semitic Turkish cult leader Fethullah Gulen, the AKP filled police ranks with them."
History
- 1938, 1941 or 1942 Gülen born either in Korucuk or Pasinler, villages in ErzurumErzurumErzurum 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...
province
- 1950s As a state preacher in EdirneEdirneEdirne is a city in Eastern Thrace, the northwestern part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Edirne served as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire from 1365 to 1453, before Constantinople became the empire's new capital. At present, Edirne is the capital of the Edirne...
, Gülen joins the Nurcu movement of Said NursiSaid NursîBediuzzaman 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...
- 1960 death of Said Nursi
- 1960s Gülen begins attracting disciples while a state preacher in IzmirIzmirIzmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
- 1971 Gülen arrested for organizing Islamic summer camps, imprisoned seven months
- late 1970s Gülen establishes himself independently of other Nurcu organizations; first isik evleri ("houses of light," i.e., student residences) established
- 1978 First dershane (study center for university exams) opens
- 1979 Science journal Sizinti begins publication
- 1981 Gülen retires
- 1982 First "Gülen school" opens
- 1986 ZamanZaman (newspaper)Zaman is a major, high-circulation daily newspaper in Turkey. It was founded in 1986 and was the first Turkish daily to go online in 1995. It contains national , international, business and other news...
, an Istanbul daily newspaper, begins publication
- 1988-1991 Gülen gives lectures in various Turkish cities, building a nationwide following
- 1991 Fall of Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
permits establishment of Gülen schools in Central AsiaCentral AsiaCentral 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...
- 1994 Founding of the (Turkish) Journalists and Writers Foundation, with Gülen as "honorary leader"
- 1994, 1999 Gülen school in TashkentTashkentTashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
closed (twice) by Uzbekstan government
- 1996 Founding of Fatih UniversityFatih UniversityFatih University is a private university mainly located in Büyükçekmece, Istanbul, Turkey. The university was established in 1996 by the Turkish Association of Health and Medical Treatment...
; creation of Asya Finans (investment bank aimed at former Soviet Central Asia), with Tansu ÇillerTansu ÇillerTansu 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...
as an investor
- 1998 Gülen meets with Pope John Paul IIPope John Paul IIBlessed 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 ...
in RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
- 1999 Gülen emigrates to PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
in self-imposed exile
- 2002 / 2004 Establishment of Kimse Yok Mu ("Is there anybody there?"), a charitable organization
- 2005 Establishment of Tuskon (Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkey)
See also
- Interfaith Dialog CenterInterfaith Dialog Center' is a non-profit, tax exempt organization founded by Turkish-Americans of North Jersey in 2003. IDC endeavors to promote respect and mutual understanding among all faiths and cultures by organizing educational and cultural activities such as lectures, seminars, conferences, discussion panels,...
- Raindrop FoundationRaindrop FoundationRaindrop Turkish House is a non-profit organization established in Houston, Texas in 2000 solely for educational and cultural purposes.The Foundation's goals are:...
- Rumi Forum
The Gülen movement
- Rumi Forum - Washington DC
- Fethullah Gulen - News and Oped
- Fethullah Gulen Blog
- The Gülen Institute
- Fethullah Gülen Conference
- Institute of Interfaith Dialog
- The Journalists and Writers Foundation
- Kimse Yok Mu aid and solidarity charity
- Fethullah Gulen Forum
- Gulen Library
Other sources
- Interview with Helen Rose Ebaugh on the Gülen Movement: "An Alternative to Fundamentalism"
- The Gülen Movement: a modern expression of Turkish Islam
- FORBES - Gulen Inspires Muslims Worldwide
- Today's Zaman- Criticizing Fethullah Gulen
- “Fethullah Gülen's Grand Ambition”: A Biased, Selective, Misleading, Misrepresentative and Miscalculated Article
- The Gülen Movement A Sociological Analysis of a Civic Movement Rooted in Moderate Islam by Helen Rose Ebaugh
- The Guardian, Islamophonic: Turkey edition Riazat Butt travels to Istanbul to look at the Gulen movement and check out the country's designer headscarves
- Video, The Guardian: Turkey's most powerful man, Does the movement inspired by Fethullah Gülen represent a modern brand of Islam, or a subtle attempt to infiltrate religion into secular Turkey?
- Park, Bill. "The Fethullah Gulen Movement." Global Politician 12 Dec. 2008
- "Gulen Movement: Turkey's Third Power."] Jane's Islamic Affairs Analyst Feb. 2009 http://tool.donation-net.net/Images/Email/1097/Gulen_movement.pdf
- Hendrick, Joshua. "Globalization and Marketed Islam in Turkey: The Case of Fethullah Gulen." PhD dissertation UC Santa Cruz June 2009 (partial view, pp. 1–40)
- News report video. "Rising Islamist movements challenge secularism in Turkey." Worldfocus (produced by WNET, distributed by American Public Television) 21 Oct. 2009
- "Transnational Religious Nationalism in the New Turkey: The Case of Fethullah Gulen." Baker Institute event at Rice University (webcast) 09 Dec. 2010
- "Islamic group is CIA front, ex-Turkish intel chief says." Washington Post 05 Jan. 2010
- "Islam Inc." A 28 minute programme on the Heart and Soul series of the BBC, 4 June 2011.