Fethullah Gülen

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M. Fethullah Gülen

Religious life
Religion	Islam
Muslim leader
Based in	Turkey

Mehmet Fethullah Gülen (born 27 April 1941) is a Turkish preacher, author, and educator living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania. He is the leader of the "Gülen movement," an international network of schools and businesses run by his students.

Gülen's theology can be described as a modernized, moderate version of Sunni / Hanafi Islam, similar to that of Said Nursi (from whose movement he broke away during the 1970's). Gülen condemns terrorism, , supports interfaith dialogue, . and emphasizes the role of science.

In the Turkish context, however, Gülen appears relatively conservative and religiously observant. For example, he supports the right of women to veil themselves , and his female followers usually do wear headscarves. The private, independent nature of his network arouses suspicion among certain Turkish secularists, including many in the army, who fear that he is amassing a political base.

Biography

Gülen was born in the village of Korucuk, near Erzurum, in 1941 (some sources say 1938). 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 became a follower of Said Nursi before he was 18.

In 1959 he was awarded a state preacher's license in Edirne. In 1966 he was transferred to a post in İzmir. It was here that Gülen's recurring themes--these included education, science, the economy and social justice--began to crystallize and his audience base began to expand. He also traveled around the provinces in Anatolia and gave sermons in mosques, town meetings and coffee houses among other places. From İzmir on, he placed a special emphasis on promulgating his ideas to high school and college students and recruiting them for his movement.

By the end of the 1970s Gülen broke ranks with the mainstream Nurcu movement (or Nur movement, i.e., the group following Said Nursi), which was governed by a council of elders, and created his own institutions in which he was the sole leader. Stressing the fragmented nature of the Nurcu movement, Hakan Yavus offers the following analysis of Gülen and his place within it:

"In terms of nationalism, 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."

Forbes finds significance in Gülen's residence in Izmir, a newly-liberated (from the Greeks) city lacking the Naqshbandi networks which inspired the Nurcu movement:

"Gulen 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."

His pro-business stance has led some outsiders to dub his theology an Islamic version of Protestantism, or more specifically, Calvinism.

Gülen retired from formal preaching duties in 1981. From 1988 to 1991 he gave a series of sermons in popular mosques of major cities, and during the 1990's cultivated ties with moderate-religious political parties such as Refah and the AK Party. 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 Leader" by the foundation.

Though linked with the moderate-religious party Refah, in 1997 Gülen declined to protest the closure of that party.

In 1998 Gülen emigrated to the United States, ostensibly for health problems (he suffers from diabetes) but arguably in anticipation of being tried over remarks which seemed to favor an Islamic state. He was filmed as urging followers to "work patiently and to creep silently into the institutions in order to seize power in the state." 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 acquited in 2006. The Supreme Court of Appeals later rejected an appeal by the Chief Prosecutor's Office.

Theology

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 in Turkey.

Interfaith dialogue, terrorism

Gülen's published works in the 1990's advocate interreligious tolerance and dialogue. He personally met with leaders of other religions, including Pope John Paul II, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomeos, and Israeli Sephardic Head Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron. A number of non-Muslims even participate in the Gülen movement, which describes itself as "faith-based" but not "faith-limited."

In 2004 debate arose over comments by Gülen 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. On another occasion he said:

"One of the people in the world I hate the most is Osama Bin Laden, because he has spoiled the bright appearance of Islam. He has created a dirty image. Even if we try to fix that terrible damage with all our best, it would take years. We will tell about it everywhere in different platforms. We will write books about it. We will say, 'this is not Islam.' Bin Laden replaced Islamic logic with his feelings and desires. He is a monster, as are the men around him. If there is any one similar to them, they too are nothing more than monsters."

Feminism

Gülen's views toward women, which his own press describes as "progressive," have been criticized as reactionary. The coming of Islam, he claims, "saved" women, who "were absolutely not confined to their home and...never oppressed." Western-style feminism, however, is "doomed to imbalance like all other reactionary movements...being full of hatred towards men..."

Books

Pearls of Wisdom, Emerald Hills of the Heart, Prophet Muhammed as Commander, Questions and Answers, Essentials of the Islamic Faith, The Infinite Light vol 1–2, Towards the Lost Paradise, Truth Through Colors, Muhammad: The Messenger of God, Questions and Answers about Faith, Towarda Global Civilization of Love and Tolerance, Key Concepts in the Practice of Sufism (3 vols), The Statues of Our Souls, etc. His Books

The Gülen movement

The Gülen movement recruits students through schools, study groups, and camps, and organizes them into a cohort-based brotherhood. Its schools and businesses are organized locally, and linked into a network on an informal rather than legal basis. Speaking of its Central Asian schools, Kevin Miller, Jr. writes that

"...the Kyrgyz-Turkish Lyceums and other Turkish Lyceums throughout Central Asia and the world are not connected with each other. They are each, in themselves, different entities funded by various Nurcu business groups across Turkey."

While schools, of necessity, follow locally-mandated curricula, their teachers are drawn from members of the Gülen network, who often encourage students in the direction of greater piety. "Teachers are religious people who don't smoke or drink and act as an example to their students," explains one teacher from Istanbul. The Economist observes that in Pakistan that "they encourage Islam in their dormitories, where teachers set examples in lifestyle and prayer."

According to researchers Bulent Aras and Omer Caha,

"No one knows the actual size of Gulen's large group of sympathizers (known as Fethullahcilar or 'the followers of Fethullah,' a name Gulen strongly opposes) but guesses range from between 200,000 supporters and 4 million people influenced by his ideas. It draws much of its support from young urban men, with a special appeal to doctors, academics, and other professionals. It has grown in part by establishing student dormitories, summer camps, high schools, universities, educational and cultural centers, and publications. Although Gulen is its sole leader, a number of his long-time devotees run the community.

" Gulen is the sole leader of the movement and the hierarchical order extends from the top to the bottom through an increasing number of abiler (elder brothers). The ranking is very strict and each rank's abi (elder brother) obtains only a certain amount of knowledge of the activities occurring or under discussion while agreeing to refrain from asking questions or seeking more knowledge about the higher ranks."

Hakan Yavuz attempts to describe the organization structure:

"The Gülen movement consists of a number of networks, organized horizontally. These networks are not necessarily organized in hierarchical terms. But we see three circles. The first is the core circle around Gülen. The second circle consists of those who give their time and labour in order to achieve the collective goals of the movement. The third circle consists of those who are sympathizers: sometimes they support the movement by writing an article in the media, or they give money, or they support the movement in other ways.

"So you have a number of circles, but each circle includes a number of networks. When we examine these networks, there is a sense of solidarity and of the Islamic ethos of brotherhood. This is the glue that joins these networks together."

Soner Cagaptay adds:

"Thanks to missionary and volunteer work, the Gülen tarikat obtained social and political power globally over the decades. It has business lobbying groups and think tanks in Washington and Brussels, owns universities, banks, TV networks and newspapers around the world, and operates schools in which more than 2 million students receive education, many with full scholarships."

Institutions with ties to the Gülen movement include Fatih University, the Turkish newspaper Zaman, the TV station Samanyolu, the bank Asya Finans, the Turkish Teachers' Foundation, and about 300 schools in Turkey . While avowedly apolitical, the Gülen movement has enjoyed warm ties with the moderate-religious AK Party, and through them has acquired strong influence over the education ministry and the police. Overseas, the Gülen movement supports several hundred schools ("Turkish Lyceums") in more than 90 countries, especially Pakistan and the former Soviet republics of Central Asia. These follow secular curricula, and have been accused of following admissions policies which favor the wealthy and well-connected. Aras and Caha again note that

"Followers of Gulen have also founded more than 200 schools around the world from Tanzania to China, but mostly in the Turkic republics. The schools in the Turkic republics support a philosophy based on Turkish nationalism rather than on Islam. In Gulen's view, Turkey's virtues include its Ottoman heritage, secularism, market economy, and democracy. These schools also admit non-Muslim students, and because of their high quality, and perhaps use of English as the primary language of instruction, they attract children of the elites and government officials in various countries.

Misplaced Pages

Biography

Theology

Interfaith dialogue, terrorism

Feminism

Books

The Gülen movement

Controversy

References

External links

The Gülen movement

Other sources