Question: What is bigotry? And what are the differences between being steadfast in faith and being bigoted? Fethullah Gulen: The term “taassub” (used for “bigotry” in the English language) means evaluating matters only according to one’s own understanding without considering it from different aspects and being pertinacious even in matters that contradict reason and the essence of religion.…
A TV channel started a defamation of Fethullah Gulen in June 1999 in Turkey based on a montage videocassette. Below is an phone interview with Mr. Gulen by famous anchor Reha Muhtar of Show TV. Gulen in this interview answers all the accusations such as penetrating the state institutions, bringing Sharia to Turkiye and being against the Turkish army.…
It is necessary to build a bridge through dialogue between Civil Islam and the society supported by the state. When we examine in depth Fethullah Gülen's approach to issues such as the state, politics and governance, we realize that he is also opening a door to a dialogue between Civil Islam and state society.…
We are an unfortunate people who have several times been exposed to the most horrible calamities in recent centuries. During this period full of disappointments, friends have usually shown disloyalty and enemies have never tired of betraying us. The spiritual roots of the society have repeatedly been attacked and the mass of people frequently subjected to assaults from both inside and outside, and the whole nation has been shaken time after time. If a helping hand had not been given to us each time we were exposed to such calamities, we would have been thrown into one of those infernal pits and completely destroyed.…
God loves them, and they love God. They are always filled with the excitement of loving and are enraptured by the feeling of being loved. With humility and tenderness, they make themselves like the soil in which roses can grow. They are respectful to others, but also protect their honor, which is more valuable to them than this temporal life. They do not let their tolerance, compassion, and gentleness be interpreted as weakness; they live according to their beliefs and do not heed the censures or praises of people. Instead, they care only that the atlas of their thoughts not loses its color; for they have resolved to be true believers.…
It is not possible for a believer to leave the circle of good manners, courtesy and decorum because his/her every behavior will be automatically attributed to Islam. If so, then a believer with his/her behavior shaped by Islamic refinement must continue without changing in a manner that becomes a Muslim even against the most faithless hearts and cruel events. …
Traditional Islamic values of piety, social commitment, tolerance, social justice and moderation in Islam find themselves overwhelmed in the current fray of international violence, war, injustice, fanaticism, and daily hardship in the Middle East – key source of anxiety to most Muslims today. This kind of toxic environment contributes to increased insecurity, desperation, intolerance and radicalism. It is precisely these dangerous trends that the Turkey-based faith movement of Fethullah Gülen today seeks to combat.…
Hizmet institutions in contemporary Turkey achieve creative commensuration of liberal and Islamic discourses and practices. This commensuration is evident on two levels: moral-theological and institutional-sociological. Ethical concepts such as “positive action” (müspet hareket), “service” (hizmet) and “piety” (taqwa), and institutional forms such as the charitable foundation/pious endowment (vakıf) each constitute moments of synthesis between liberal and Islamic discursive traditions. …
One of the crowning achievements of Gülen in his activism was the establishment of the tripartite educator–parent–sponsor relationship. As his approach entailed serving the whole community, Gülen persuaded parents who were paying tuition and the business owners supporting the schools that the educational opportunities offered to the financially-able families needed to be extended to the economically disadvantaged.…
Maimul Ahsan Khan This is Gulen’s most unique achievement. He did not give up his own religious practice in any areas of his activities and also extended his cooperation and collaboration with many other peaceful groups of activists dedicated to…