Numerous similar statements by Gülen demonstrate that Gülen invites everyone to do good works for the future generations, who will ultimately shape the world according to their ability and pursuit of creativity and happiness. Muslims are duty-bound to act on this basic principle of and justification for human existence on earth.
Gülen transmits Islamic tenets in a way that everyone can see a role for himself and herself in building a compassionate society where all human beings can co-exist with one another for greater causes based on sacrifice and altruism.
Doğu Ergil Are there any countries, which do not allow the [Hizmet] schools to be opened? If so, which ones? Have schools been established in countries experiencing social or political problems, such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Philippines, and Bosnia Herzegovina? If so, have the schools made any positive contributions in terms of peace and prosperity? There […]
Yuksel A. Aslandogan, Muhammed Cetin One way to evaluate Gülen’s educational philosophy and its appeal for diverse societies from Turkey to South Africa, and from the Philippines to Romania, is to review what first motivated his philosophy and activism. Gülen was born in the eastern city of Erzurum during the early period of the newly […]
Thomas Michel The writings of Jalal al-Din Rumi, the thirteenth-century mystical poet and founder of the Mevlevi Sufi confraternity, have influenced the thinking and behavior of many Muslims down to our own times. One of the modern Muslims who have appropriated Rumi’s attitudes and integrated them into their own understanding of Islamic faith and practice […]
Farhod Alimuhamedov This paper is about the conditions of inter-ethnic, inter-religious and inter-class relations in Gülen schools and looks into their operation in non-Turkish and non-Muslim settings. It aims to examine the relations among young people coming from different groups. The initial and main steps of the integration processes among different ethnic and religious entities […]
Fabio Vicini Over recent decades Islamic traditions have emerged in new forms in different parts of the Muslim world, interacting differently with secular and neo-liberal patterns of thought and action. In Turkey Fethullah Gülen’s community has been a powerful player in the national debate about the place of Islam in individual and collective life. Through […]
Fethullah Gülen The term “civilization” can refer to any community-a village, a city, or a nation-that is bound together by human virtues. Humanity has lived in civilizations of one kind or another since the beginning of history, but we are only civilized when we manifest ourselves as truly civil. Some identify civilization with industry, technology, […]
The Gülen movement has been given a positive coverage by the media like The Economist, The New York Times, The International Herald Tribune, Le Monde and Forbes and by University presses such as Syracuse University Press, SUNY Press, Leeds Metropolitan University Press, and Stanford University Press. How ironic it is that Gülen, who had been and still is accused by radical secularists of clandestinely working to build an Islamic state, was at the time also accused of being one of the Pope’s “secret cardinals.”
Helen Rose Ebaugh & Dogan Koc Questions regarding the financing of numerous and expensive projects of the Gülen movement are periodically raised by both critics of the movement and newcomers to the movement who are invited to Gülen related events. Because of the large amounts of money involved in these projects, on occasion people have […]