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Fethullah Gülen

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Fethullah Gülen
Born1941
Erzurum, Turkey
Websitehttp://en.fgulen.com
Notes
Some pictures of Gülen together with religious and community leaders.

Fethullah Gülen (born 27 April,1941) is a Turkish philosopher, modernist Islamic scholar, writer, and leader of the Gülen movement. He is the author of over 60 books.

Gülen's proclaimed ideal is to promote peaceful coexistence, and dialog of civilizations at the international scale, and to see a renaissance of the modern Muslim world with Turkey at the forefront in the local scale. Fethullah Gülen has started a movement. In many countries schools are opened according to his philosophy. These schools are intended to promote peace and dialog in general and offer a moderate vision of Islam in Muslim countries. He has invested in interfaith dialog by meeting Jewish and Christian leaders, including the Pope.

Gülen is characterized in the media as one of the world's most important Muslim figures, with the Gülen movement as one of the world's leading Muslim movements. Gülen has been the subject of several academic studies.

Gülen and his movement have been praised by Islamic and non-Muslim organisations. These supporters tend to view the movement as a modernist and moderate form of Islam; a potential counterbalance to extremism. His movement has its base in Turkey and forms a significant factor in Turkish society. There are also some controversies around Gülen. Some secularists claim that his objective is to abolish Turkey's secular state; although court rulings have not supported this. On the other hand, some hardline radical groups criticize his interfaith dialog efforts.

Biography

Gülen was born in the village of Korucuk, near Erzurum. 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(Said-i Kurdi) 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.

Gülen never met Said Nursi, who died in 1960. By the end of the 1970s Gülen broke ranks with the mainstream Nurcu movement (or Nur movement, i.e., the group following 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

While Gülen's earlier works are (in Bekim Agai's words) "full of anti-missionary and anti-Western passages" , during the 1990's he began to 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.

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."

Similar to Said Nursi, Gülen favors cooperation between followers of different religions (this would also include different forms of Islam, such as Sunnism vs. Alevism 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.

Feminism

Despite "progressive views" on women, "modern professional women in Turkey still find his ideas far from acceptable." (So Aras and Caha.) The coming of Islam, Gülen claims, "saved" women, who "were absolutely not confined to their home and...never oppressed" in the early years of the religion. 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

See also

Gülen movement

References

  1. Foreign Policy: The World’s Top 20 Public Intellectuals
  2. Carroll, B. Jill (2007). A Dialogue of Civilizations: Gülen's Islamic Ideals and Humanistic Discourse. The Light, Inc. {{cite book}}: External link in |author= (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. Fethullah Gülen's works: English books
  4. Fethullah Gülen's works: Turkish books
  5. Academic says West knows little of Gülen's contributions, Zaman
  6. ^ Gülen movement invites people to unity, says famous rabbi, Today's Zaman
  7. ^ Former Norwegian PM: Our center takes same approach as Gülen
  8. ^ A modern Ottoman, Prospect, Issue 148, July 2008
  9. Reuters: Turkish Islamic preacher - threat or benefactor?
  10. Munley, Ann. "Contributions of the Gülen Community to Muslim Dynamism and Education" conference held on March 3rd, 2008 at Marywood University.
  11. Guardian: Islamic scholar voted world's No 1 thinker
  12. ^ Forbes: Gülen Inspires Muslims Worldwide
  13. ^ {{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/world/asia/04islam.html?ex=1367640000&en=625b88103a702f94&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink%7Cfirst=Sabrina%7Clast=Tavernise%7Cauthorlink=Sabrina Tavernise|title=Turkish Schools Offer Pakistan a Gentler Vision of Islam|date=2008-05-04|work=New York Times}}
  14. Cutting Edge: An icon of universal peace
  15. Fethullah Gülen: Interfaith-intercultural dialog meetings
  16. ^ Economist: Global Muslim networks, How far they have traveled
  17. [http://en.fgulen.com/conference-papers.html Academic Conference Papers]
  18. Scholar Search
  19. House of Lords: Gülen Conference
  20. Georgetown University: Gülen Conference
  21. University of Oklahoma: Gülen Conference
  22. Alevi respect to Gülen
  23. Gursoy, Idris (2008-03-01). "Feb. 21 declared 'Gülen Institute Day' in Houston". Today's Zaman. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
  24. Interview with Sabrina Tavernise, World View Podcasts, New York Times, May 4, 2008
  25. Meria Journal: Fethullah Gülen and his liberal 'Turkish Islam' movement
  26. Fethullah Gülen Web Sitesi - "I.lhan Selçuk Türkiye'dir"; Öyle mi?
  27. Appeals court unanimously upholds Fethullah Gülen acquittal
  28. An interview with Fethullah Gülen's primary school teacher
  29. http://tr.fgulen.com/a.page/hayati/hayat.kronolojisi/a4443.html
  30. http://religion.info/english/interviews/article_74.shtml
  31. http://www.forbes.com/2008/01/18/turkey-islam-gulen-cx_0121oxford.html
  32. http://en.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-478/_nr-907/i.html
  33. http://www.gyv.org.tr/changelang.asp?lang=2&page2go=http://www.gyv.org.tr/
  34. The Journalists and Writers Foundation Official Web Site
  35. http://www.biu.ac.il/SOC/besa/meria/journal/2000/issue4/jv4n4a4.html
  36. BBC News | Europe | Turkish investigation into Islamic sect expanded
  37. http://en.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-478/_nr-907/i.html
  38. Gülen's answers to claims made based on the video tapes taken from some of his recorded speeches
  39. WorldWide Religious News-Gulen acquitted of trying to overthrow secular government
  40. .
  41. http://tr.fgulen.com/content/section/30/3/
  42. http://en.fgulen.com/conference-papers/294-the-fethullah-gulen-movement-i/2132-discursive-and-organizational-strategies-of-the-gulen-movement.html
  43. Toward a Global Civilization of Love and Tolerance
  44. Advocate of Dialogue: Fethullah Gülen
  45. Fethullah Gülen and Atheist-Terrorist Comparison
  47. Fethullah Gülen: A life dedicated to peace and humanity - Muslims Should Say, "In True Islam, Terror does not Exist."
  48. http://www.biu.ac.il/SOC/besa/meria/journal/2000/issue4/jv4n4a4.html
  49. http://www.biu.ac.il/SOC/besa/meria/journal/2000/issue4/jv4n4a4.html
  50. http://en.fgulen.com/recent-articles/2897-women-confined-and-mistreated.html

External links

The Gülen movement

Other sources

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