Keyword: Fethullah Gulen
Gülen ‘speechless’ on gov’t action plan against Hizmet movement
Islamic Scholar Fethullah Gülen has described himself as “speechless” and expressed his disappointment about a National Security Council (MGK) decision in 2004 signed by the government and recommending an action plan against Hizmet movement. A secret national security document recently discovered by the Taraf daily has revealed that Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK […]
Gülen urges Hizmet members to defend prep schools in civilized way
Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has urged followers of the Hizmet movement to insist on the “right and logical” and defend prep schools, which the Turkish government has said it will shut down despite tremendous public outrage. In a speech broadcast by herkul.org, a website that usually publishes his speeches, Gülen said not insisting on […]
Turkish daily exposes secret plot against Gülen endorsed by gov’t
A secret national security document recently discovered by a Turkish daily has revealed that Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government signed up to a planned crackdown on the Hizmet or Gülen movement. The Taraf daily published a document on Wednesday prepared by the National Security Council (MGK) on Aug. 25, 2004, persuading […]
Islamic scholar Gülen calls for ‘reasonability’ in prep school row
Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has called on the government to act “reasonably” in its plan to close test prep schools, adding that they were the ones receiving a “slap,” in a veiled reference to a statement from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. You have to defend it without making concessions in the language you use,” Gülen said in an apparent message to members of the “Hizmet” [Service] movement.
Professor Ori Z. Soltes: ‘Fethullah Gülen wants to be an altruistic servant of others’
Professor Ori Z. Soltes, author of ‘Embracing the World: Fethullah Gülen’s Thought and Its Relationship to Jalaluddin Rumi and Others,’ explains how Gülen’s perception of Sufism is grounded particularly in the work of thinkers such as Jalaluddin Rumi, Ibn Arabi and Said Nursi, but is also grounded in the idea of selflessness.
Fethullah Gülen urges followers to stick to path despite attacks
Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen called on his followers on Monday to “just keep walking and not stop” in the face of controversial government plans to abolish privately-funded educational institutions known as dershanes, which assist medium and high school students to prepare for national college and university admission examinations.
Why Gülen movement teachings attractive to followers?
The Gülen Movement arose among pious men and women who wanted a modern interpretation of religion. In the dynamics of the transformation of the movement, the social milieu also played an important role. The movement became a spiritual refuge for those who searched for an interpretation where Islam was in harmony with modernity. The followers of the Gülen Movement do not describe themselves as a political movement.
Turkish PM Erdoğan launches another war [in Turkey]
Turkey’s Islamic camp is more diverse than one would think. In fact, the traditions that Erdoğan and Gülen come from have almost always been distinct and different from each. The former has been more explicitly Islamist, at times anti-Western and anti-Semitic. The latter, the line of Gülen, which goes back to scholar Said Nursi (1878-1960), has rather stayed closer to center-right parties and have been more friendly to the West and also other “Abrahamic” faiths.
Fethullah Gülen’s message to PM Tayyip Erdoğan regarding consultants [in 2005]
Mehmet Gündem: If you were to write a letter or send a message to the Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan, what would you tell him? Fethullah Gülen: “Do not be content with employing consultants only from among the admirers of your party. Do not only speak with your own organizations. Benefit from the wise people who love Turkey; because they act objectively, and seek no personal gain.”
Gülen movement’s engagement with political processes
Fethullah Gülen is often portrayed as the quintessential idealist, relaying on spirituality, ideas and engagement rather than political power. Gülen, in fact, is a far more complicated man than such a simplistic portrayal would lead us to believe. He has an astute sense of hard and soft power and understands power in terms of its various components and limits.
Gülen urges patience over prep schools row
Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen expressed unhappiness over government [in Turkey] plans to abolish educational institutions that assist high school students to prepare for the national university admission examination and urged people to be patient in the face of this move, which is interpreted as a blow to education in the country.
The Hizmet Movement: Reflections from Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka, the Hizmet Movement started the Learnium School as well as the Intercultural Dialogue Foundation. Initially, the funding for the school came from the Movement until it managed to support itself on its own income. Kimse Yok Mu was among the first to respond to the devastating tsunami that hit Sri Lanka. Large amounts of food and other requirements that the tsunami victims needed were supplied without any fanfare.
Hizmet movement rejects claim of forming political party
Hizmet says it is both practically and theoretically impossible to form a political party or to support a specific party, as it has volunteers from many different political ideologies. “This movement, which has no other goals than to serve humanity, would only advise its volunteers to form their political stances according to certain principles, like human rights, democracy, transparency, justice, pluralism, rule of law and freedom of expression and belief,” the statement said.
Fethullah Gülen donates $10,000 for victims of Typhoon Haiyan disaster in Philippines
Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen donated to the Kimse Yok Mu foundation $10,000 for the victims of the Typhoon Haiyan disaster in the Philippines. “According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs [UNOCHA], 4.3 million people have been affected by the typhoon and 330,000 people are now homeless. Ninety percent of the houses in Tacloban city have been damaged,” AFAD stated recently.
