fethullah gulen - biography
TRANSCRIPT
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FETHULLAH GÜLEN
Biographical Album
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“Be so sympathetic and tolerant that your bosom becomes wide
as the ocean. Be inspired with aith and love the human being.
Let there be no troubled souls to whom you do not oer a hand
and about whom you remain unconcerned.”
F ethullah Gülen is a urkish scholar, preacher, thinker,
author, opinion leader, education activist, and peace
advocate. He is regarded as the initiator and inspirer
o the worldwide civil society movement, the Gülen Movement,
which is committed to education, dialogue, peace, social justice,
and social harmony. Gülen has published more than sixty books
in urkish, many o which have been translated to more than
thirty languages. He was listed among the top hundred public
intellectuals in the world by Foreign Policy magazine in May 2008.
Gülen is known or his philosophical and active stance or humanrights, democracy, interaith and intercultural dialogue, science,
spirituality, and against violence, segregation, and turning
religion into a political ideology. Not only does his discourse
cherish values such as empathetic acceptance, altruistic service to
one’s community and humanity in general, the complementary
roles o mind and heart, sincerity, and love o the creation; his lie
exemplies them. “Serving humanity to serve God” and “living
to let others live” are the core principles o his understanding o
service. His promotion o sympathy, compassion and harmonious
coexistence can best be reected in a comparison with that o
Rumi, the 13th century Anatolian Su and spiritual poet and
one o Gülen’s sources o inspiration.
Gülen started his career as a preacher and education activist.
In time, he succeeded in mobilizing hundreds o thousands o
people or the purpose o serving society by uniting around high
human values. Despite the high regard millions hold or him, he
considers himsel only one o the volunteers o the civil society
movement he helped originate and denounces any attribution
o leadership. Gülen has never married, and has spent most o
his lie in urkey, his native country. He currently resides in
Pennsylvania, the United States, at a retreat acility.
Brie Portrait
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The city o Erzurum
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F ethullah Gülen was born into a amily o modest means in Erzurum,
urkey, in 1941, and was raised in a spiritually enriching environ-
ment. He completed his education in modern and traditional insti-
tutions. He studied Islamic sciences and attained his teaching certication.He attended the training circles o local Su teachers, where he learned the
principles o Islamic spirituality and humanism.
He was also introduced to the writings o Said
Nursi, a renowned scholar o Islam who taught
that Muslims should welcome the benets o
modernity and nd inspiration in the sacred
texts to engage with it.
Gülen’s parents played a great role in his early
education. His ather, an imam, enjoyed reading
classical books, reciting poetry, and meditat-
ing on the early period o Islam. It was he who
instilled a love o learning and love or the Prophet and his companions in
the young Gülen. His mother, a volunteer Qur’an instructor, taught him the
recitation o the sacred book and exemplied spiritual lie and perseverance.
Gülen became a haz, one who knows the entire Qur’an by heart, at the age
o twelve, and started preaching in local mosques when he was only ourteen
years old.
Early Lie
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Gülen in his early youth
For centuries, the spiritual and humanistic
tradition o Islam has been represented
mainly by Susm, which became a major
source o Gülen’s thought and discourse.
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Selimiye Mosque
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P assing the exam administered by the
urkish State’s Directorate o Religious
Afairs in 1959, Gülen was appointed
as an imam and preacher to an historic mosque
in Edirne, a city in the European part o urkey.
In this period o his youth, he was both socially
active and personally ascetic. Living humbly and
residing in a small section o the mosque, he had
the opportunity to deepen his knowledge o Islamic
tradition, inormally study the social and natural
sciences, and examine the classics o both Eastern
and Western philosophy and literature. It was his amiliarity with a broad range o
literature that would equip him or his comprehensive interpretations.
Gülen became a well-known preacher in the city in only a short time. He developed
good relations with local authorities, leaders and members o the society through
his outreach eorts. In the meantime, he witnessed the erosion o spiritual and
moral values, especially among younger generations, and strove to nd a solution
to the problem. For this purpose, he organized a series o public lectures. Inrecognition o his success in public service, Gülen was promoted to the positions
o central preacher and director o a boarding school in Izmir, a large city on the
Aegean coast o urkey.
Early Career
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a
c
b
a - The monumental Selimiye Mosque in the city o Edirne
b - Daru’l-Hadis Mosque and the Qur’an school where Gülen preached and taught
c - The historic Üç Şereeli Mosque to which Gülen was appointed as an imam and preacher
Gülen in his twenties
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The city o Izmir
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W orking in Izmir was the turning point in Gülen’s career,
as the city would be the cradle or the movement that
crystallized around his discourse and activism. He main-
tained his ascetic way o lie. He ound only a couple o hours a day
to sleep because o his daily commitments o reading, preaching,
teaching, giving lectures and seminars, and meeting with community
members. He attracted the atten-
tion o learned citizens, includ-
ing the academic community and
college students, as well as common
people.
Gülen’s discourse was distinguished
by his depth o knowledge, sensitiv-
ity and stellar eloquence. His topics
ranged rom religious practices to
social justice, rom child education
to naturalism. His sermons were
well structured, and the systematic
presentation o some topics would
extend over many months, which was uncommon at that time. He
also expanded the unction o the mosque by launching a Q & A series
in which he responded to people’s concerns and curiosities, including
those regarding the challenges o modern times.
In his endeavors, Gülen especially aimed at urging the younger
generation to harmonize intellectual enlightenment with virtuous
spirituality, and to serve ellow humans altruistically. During the
years o political turmoil in urkey, he witnessed many young urks’
attraction to extremist ideologies via the violent polarization o
socialism and nationalism. He strove to inspire the urkish youth
and lead them toward an apolitical way o service to society, based
on a peaceul lie-style.
Nationwide Preacher and Education Activist
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Gülen giving a public lecture
Gülen speaking in a cofee house
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Gülen traveled to numerous cities and towns across urkey to give
sermons in mosques and speeches at gatherings in various places,
including theatres and even cofee houses. His sermons and speeches
were recorded on tape, distributed by volunteers all around the
country, and enthusiastically embraced. In his thirties, Gülen was
already one o the ew preachers recognized nationwide.
As Gülen asserts, he simply thought to cultivate the public credit given
to him by channeling good intentions and devotional energy toward
a positive end. He encouraged people to set up student dormitoriesand hostels to promote better education or the youth. He also encour-
aged people to establish university preparatory courses to support
children, especially the children o middle- and low-income amilies,
in their preparation or higher education. People who shared Gülen’s
service-ethic initiated local scholarship unds or needy students,
rom which thousands o students would benet every year.
Since the ‘80s, Gülen-inspired entrepreneurs and educators have set
up more than a hundred highly successul private schools in urkey.
As o the ‘90s, similar private schools have been started mostly in
countries in Central Asia and Arica, and some in Europe and the
Americas. In the meantime, participants in the movement have also
established universities, hospitals, relie organizations, tutoring
centers, business associations, media outlets, publishing houses, etc.
a - Yamanlar High School, established in Izmir by Gülen-inspired people
b - A top-notch university preparatory course in Istanbul
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a b
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MacedoniaAzerbaijan
Nigeria Madagascar
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F ethullah Gülen delivered his last sermons in 1991 in the largest mosques o
the country, ater which he ceased preaching. However, he continued to be
active in community lie, teaching small groups o graduate students and
taking part in service projects. He traveled abroad to the United States in 1992, where
he visited the 8th President o urkey, urgut Özal, during his medical treatment in
Houston. He also met urkish-American academics and community leaders, as well
as the leaders o other American aith communities.
During the ‘90s, Gülen pioneered a rejuvenation o the interaith dialogue spirit in
the urkish-Muslim tradition, which was orgotten amidst the troublesome years o
the early 20th century. Te Journalists and Writers Foundation, o which Gülen has
been the honorary president, organized a series o gatherings involving leaders o religious minorities in urkey. In January 1998, Pope John Paul II sent a celebration
message to Gülen or the Ramadan Festival, in appreciation o his interaith dialogue
initiatives. In the ollowing month, Gülen met the Pope at the Vatican or the purpose
o improving dialogue. Gülen oered to help organize a number o interaith events
in Harran and Jerusalem to contribute to peace in the region. His name eventually
became a symbol or interaith dialogue and understanding in urkey.
During this period, Gülen made himsel increasingly available or comment and
interviews in the media and began to meet oten with prominent state dignitaries,
authors, journalists, artists, businessmen and media leaders. His aim was to
help cultivate a mutual understanding o peaceul coexistence among the diverse
Start o a New Era
a - Gülen with Chie Rabbi o Turkey’s Jewish community David Aseo in 1996
b - Gülen with Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew in 1996
c - Gülen with Israel’s Sephardic Chie Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi Doron in 199912
a
b
c
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Gülen with Pope John Paul II
at the Vatican in 1998
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constituents o a society divided into many biased ideological actions. On many occasions,
Gülen reiterated his ideas and opinions regarding human rights, modernity, humane
secularism, democracy, open society, and tolerance. He always emphasized that his way
o service to society was apolitical but not anti-politics. In his own words, his principle
was to keep the same distance to every political party and to support whomever is
serving society without discrimination.
Nonetheless, some marginal religious groups in urkey opposed Gülen’s interaith
dialogue initiatives and even accused him o being “heretical” and, more oddly, “a hidden
cardinal.” Responding in riendship, Gülen oten declared that interaith dialogue was
not a novel thing that he had invented, but rather, a neglected tradition o urkish
society and a religious obligation or establishing sustainable peace. Conversely, some
ultra-secularist, ultra-nationalist, and communist circles, who stood or and even
beneted rom a closed and divided society, started a deamation campaign in the
media against Gülen, accusing him o having a long-term political agenda to turn
urkey into a theocratic state, an ideology that Gülen has always disavowed. Tey
eventually persuaded a prosecutor to bring charges against him in 2000. Tese charges
were ound to be baseless and were dismissed in 2008. (For urther reading, see: Loye
Ashton, “A Contextual Analysis o the Supporters and Critics o the Gülen Movement” at
www.guleninstitute.org/index.php/Articles)
a - Gülen with Prime Minister Tansu Çiller in 1996
b - Gülen with Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit in 1997
c - Gülen receiving visitors rom the cinema and the press
a
b
c
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Gülen with the recipients
o the Journalists and
Writers Foundation’s
“Tolerance Awards” in 1996
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The retreat acility in Pennsylvania,
where Gülen currently lives
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I
n 1999, Fethullah Gülen traveled to the
United States to receive medical care or his
cardiovascular condition. He underwent aheart operation in 2004, ollowing which his doctors
recommended he avoid stress. For this reason, he chose
to live ar away rom the politically-charged atmosphere
in urkey, and was granted permanent residency by
the U.S. government in 2006. He was among the rst
Muslim scholars to publicly condemn the September
11 attacks. His condemnation message appeared in Te
Washington Post on September 21, 2001.
Gülen currently lives with a group o students and
his doctors at a retreat acility in Pennsylvania, where
he dedicates his time to reading, writing, teaching,
individual and small group worship, and receiving aew visitors, as his health permits. He has been visited
by American academics and religious leaders as well
as members o the urkish-American community. He
maintains his ascetic and spiritual way o lie, spending
Years o Retreatin the United States
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most o his time in his modest room. He remains
concerned with happiness and alleviating the sufering
o humans around the world. He also encourages people
to be involved in organizing aid campaigns or those
aected by natural disasters throughout the world, inplaces such as Indonesia, Myanmar, and Haiti. Most days
he devotes a hal an hour to conversation and answering
the questions, and is sometimes consulted about service
projects. His conversations are recorded and made
available to the public on a website (www.herkul.org).
Troughout the years in Pennsylvania, he has been
interviewed several times by local and international
journalists.
a - Turkish journalist Nuriye Akman interviewing Gülen in 2004
b - Gülen sufers rom several health problems and receives routine
medical care.
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a
b
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Gülen in his room
at the retreat acility
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l ’ k
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F ethullah Gülen’s works can be classied in two
main genres: recorded speeches and books. Te
ormer comprises the published collections o
audiotapes and visual material rom his sermons and
conversations over decades. His books consist o the
compilations o the lead articles he has published in
various periodicals and the edited transcriptions o
his speeches. He has also published a book o poetry
which has appealed to lyricists and musicians. Gülen
has published more than sixty books in urkish, many
o which have become bestsellers in urkey, reaching
millions o copies in total. Some o his books have beentranslated to other languages.
Gülen’s Works
Gülen’s books in English:
•Speech and Power o Expression, New Jersey: Te Light, 2010.
•Te Messenger o God, Muhammad: An Analysis o the Prophet’s Lie ,
New Jersey: Te Light, 2005.
•Emerald Hills o the Heart: Key Concepts in the Practice o Sufsm (Four volumes),
New Jersey: Te Light, 2004.
•Te Statue o Our Souls: Revival in Islamic Tought and Activism , New Jersey:
Te Light, 2005.
•oward a Global Civilization o Love and olerance, New Jersey: Te Light, 2004.
•Essentials o the Islamic Faith, New Jersey: Te Light, 2006.
•Essays, Perspectives, Opinions, New Jersey: Te Light, 2004.
•Pearls o Wisdom, New Jersey: Te Light, 2005.
•Questions and Answers about Faith, Fairax: Te Fountain, 2000.
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One o the international conerences on the
Gülen Movement, held at the University o
Southern Caliornia, Los Angeles
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T Gül M t
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A lso called the “Voluntary Service” (Hizmet in urkish)
by participants, the Gülen Movement is a worldwide
civic initiative rooted in the spiritual and humanistic
tradition o Islam and inspired by the ideas and activism o
Fethullah Gülen. It is a aith-inspired, non-political, cultural
and educational movement whose basic principles stem rom
Islam’s universal values, such as love o the creation, sympathy
or the ellow human, compassion, and altruism. Te movement
is not a governmental or state sponsored organization. It ocuses
on the betterment o the individual toward a positive change
in society. Te movement is distinguished or its support o democracy, its openness to globalization, its progressiveness
in integrating tradition with modernity, and its humanistic
outlook. Gülen describes it as “a movement o people united
around high human values,” and disapproves o the attribution
o the movement to his name.
Te bases o the movement are diverse service projects
that are initiated, unded, and conducted by people who
are motivated to various extents by Gülen’s humanitarian
discourse. Ranging rom private schools to poverty aid programs,
these projects are independent o each other in operational
terms, so the movement has no hierarchical structure.
Te Gülen Movement has paved an exemplary way o working
together to overcome the problems o humankind, regardless
o religious, ethnic or cultural diferences. Te movement sets a
precedent, not only with its activities, but also through its ways
o generating nancial support, thanks to its revivication o the
Islamic values o giving and hospitality. Research shows that the
average nancial contribution o participants in the movement
to the service projects is 5 to 10 percent o their annual income.
Although the movement’s origins are tied to the urkish-Muslim
identity, the Gülen Movement is now active in as many non-
Muslim as Muslim countries and attracts participants o diverse
aiths and cultures. Te explanation or this, as sociologist
Helen Rose Ebaugh writes, is that the inrastructure o the
movement, in terms o organizational leadership, volunteers,
nancial donors and the inspiration behind the movement, is
transported by the urkish diaspora, ie. by urkish immigrants
settling in countries all over the world as students, proessionals
and businessmen. Te result is that the movement is now
transnational in its outreach and impact.
For urther reading: Helen Rose Ebaugh, Te Gülen Movement: A Sociological
Analysis of a Civic Movement Rooted in Moderate Islam, New York and Heidelberg:
Springer, 2010
Te Gülen Movement
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Students o a Gülen-inspired
elementary school with their
teacher in Turkey24
Educational Institutions
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“I we do not plant the seeds o love in the hearts o young people, whom
we try to revive through science, knowledge, and modern culture, they
will never attain moral perection.”
— F. Gülen, Pearls o Wisdom
Education is the pivotal eld o service in the Gülen Movement.
Hundreds o educational institutions have been established
by Gülen-inspired people in urkey and more than a hundred
countries throughout the world.
Te Gülen-inspired schools are non-religious private institutions sponsored
by generous entrepreneurs, altruistic educators, and dedicated parents.
Using cutting-edge instructional technology and having demonstrated
outstanding academic achievements, many o these schools rank among
the most prestigious in their countries. Each school ollows the curriculum
o the host country, with a majority o the subjects taught in English. Te
schools provide scholarships or students who cannot aford the tuition.
As many people have observed, Gülen-inspired schools are symbols o peaceul coexistence and dedication to the service o humanity. Tey also
serve as an environment or intercultural, interethnic, and interaith
harmony, especially in conict-ridden regions such as the Philippines,
Macedonia, Aghanistan, Northern Iraq, Bosnia, and Kenya.
Educational Institutions
Fatih High School in Istanbul
Samanyolu High School in Ankara
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Tere are several Gülen-inspired universities in urkey and
abroad. Tey are private universities supported by oundations,
and with their academic achievements, stand in service o their
respective nations and humanity in general.
Te Gülen-inspired dormitories are distinguished acilities wherestudents can live and study together under the tutelage o
dedicated teachers. Tese residencies provide living arrangements,
especially or those who cannot aford room and board, in
addition to tuition and books.
Te Gülen-inspired preparatory courses are among the best in
urkey. Tey prepare students or the state exams mandatory
or all students who wish to attend science high schools and
universities. All these course-centers provide scholarships or
students who cannot aord the tuition.
Many tutoring centers and reading rooms have been set up by
Gülen-inspired charitable oundations, especially in south-eastern
urkey, where the youth and women have ewer opportunities to
pursue higher education. Tese centers and rooms are ree and
open to everyone. Te teachers working there are all volunteers.
Çağlayan Elementary School in the city o Ura
One o the tutoring centers in south-eastern Turkey
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Fatih University in Istanbul
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Volunteers bringing ood aid to
a remote village in eastern Turkey
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Relie & Healthcare Organizations
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“Tere is no limit to doing good to others. Tose who have dedicated
themselves to the good o humanity can be so altruistic that they live
or others. However, such altruism is a great virtue only i it originates
in sincerity and purity o intention, and i it does not defne the othersby racial preerences.”
— F. Gülen, Pearls o Wisdom
T
he Gülen-inspired relie organization “Kimse Yok
Mu” (meaning “Isn’t Anybody Tere?”) is one o the
largest and most eective in urkey. It aims to bring
aid to disaster victims and other needy people in urkey and
around the world. Having created new undraising techniques,
the organization raised considerable unds or the victims o the
sunami in south-east Asia, the oods in Bangladesh, and the
earthquakes in Pakistan, Peru, and Haiti. Kimse Yok Mu builtaround 20 schools in those countries ater the catastrophes. Te
organization brings poverty aid and medical assistance to many
Arican countries every year.Sudanese woman receiving
ood aid rom Kimse Yok Mu
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Relie & Healthcare Organizations
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Tere are several Gülen-inspired relie organizations in
the United States. Helping Hands Relie Foundation,
established in New Jersey in 2008, aims to create real
and lasting change or people in need in the United
States and around the world. It is dedicated to providingrelie to disaster victims and the poor, and to helping
people prevent, prepare or, and respond to needs and
emergencies.
Tere are also several hospitals in urkey ounded by
Gülen-inspired entrepreneurs and doctors. Tese high-tech
modern hospitals provide top-notch care in an atmosphere
that respects the patients as human beings, and provide
sponsorship or economically disadvantaged citizens.
a - Raindrop Helping Hands’ aid to Hurricane Ike victims in 2008
b - Sema Hospital, one o Istanbul’s largest private hospitals30
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Kimse Yok Mu volunteers carrying
ood supplies in Bangladesh
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Interaith & Intercultural Institutions
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The Gülen Movement is well-known or its interaith and intercultural dialogue activities. Tere are numerous institutions or
dialogue established by Gülen-inspired people in many countries. Tese initiatives aim to help bring various communities
together in order to promote understanding, mutual respect, compassion, cooperation, and broader community service.
Te 20th Abant Meeting on “Democratiza-
tion or a New Social Consensus” (March
2010) organized by the Journalists and
Writers Foundation. Te JWF is the lead-
ing organization or interaith and inter-
cultural dialogue in urkey.
Luncheon Forum eaturing John J.
Cullerton, Illinois Senate President, by
Niagara Foundation in Chicago
Lecture on “Christian-Muslim Relations
since Nostra Aetate” organized by
Intercultural Dialogue Platorm in
Brussels, Belgium
Let Page - The 7th Annual Dialog and Friendship Dinner in Houston (November 2009) organized by the Institute o Interaith Dialog. Headquartered in
Houston, Texas, the IID serves seven southern states.33
Z h d t i I t b l
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Zamanheadquarters in Istanbul
is supported by news bureaus in
Ashgabat, Baku, Brussels, Bucharest,
Frankurt, Moscow, New York, and
Washington, DC.
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Media & Publishing Institutions
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A mong several Gülen-inspired television
stations in urkey, Samanyolu V is
committed to balanced, objective, and
socially responsible reporting o news; amily-
oriented programming; and the promotion o interaith and intercultural dialogue. Te station
broadcasts globally by means o satellite.
Te mission o Ebru V, broadcast in the United
States, is to continually educate, inspire and
entertain viewers o all ages through original rst-
rate programming in the sciences, sporting events,ne arts, and every aspect o culture.
Zaman newspaper is the largest circulating daily in
urkey. Inspired by Gülen’s ideas, Zaman reports
diverse ideological perspectives and opinions in
an objective ashion, emphasizes dialogue and
tolerance, and has been a rigorous advocate or
reedom o speech. It is published in multiple
languages and distributed in 35 countries.
Te media group in urkey that is considered to
be inspired by Gülen’s ideas includes Aksiyon, the
leading weekly magazine, and Cihan News Agency
which is active in more than 50 countries.
Among several Gülen-inspired periodicals, Sizinti,
the monthly magazine o popular science and
culture, has been published since 1979. With nearly
a million subscribers, it is the bestseller o its kind
in urkey. Te Fountain, a magazine o scientic
and spiritual thought, is published in English-
speaking countries.
Tere are more than twenty publishing houses in
urkey inspired by Gülen’s thought. Publishing
in many languages and great numbers, they are
considered to have vastly contributed to the elds
o education and literature.
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g
Recognition
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“You are contributing to the pro-
motion o the ideas o tolerance
and interaith dialogue inspired
by Fethullah Gülen in his trans-
national social movement. You
do it through your everyday lives.
You are truly strengthening the
abric o our common humanity, as well as promoting the ongo-
ing cultural and educational ties that bind our world together.”
—Bill Clinton, 42nd President o the US, in his video message
delivered at the 3rd Annual Friendship Dinner held by the urkish
Cultural Center, New York City, on September 25, 2008
“Gülen reminds us o the under-
standing o Islam which stems
rom love o God and love o hu-
man beings that is practiced inurkish public Susm.” —Bülent
Ecevit, Former Prime Minister
o urkey
“Fethullah Gülen’s notion o ‘empathic
acceptance, tolerance, and respecting
people as they are’ is very important.
Tese are really beautiul and neces-
sary ideals. It is wrong to try to change
others orcibly, which has a lot o exam-
ples today.” —Pro. Dr. Annemarie
Schimmel, German Orientalist and
scholar
“Te Gülen Movement has be-
come a very inuential voice in
the world in both the dialogue
o religions and the civilization
o societies.” —John Esposito,
Proessor at Georgetown Uni-
versity
g
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“In this post-9/11 world o real
and perceived ‘clash,’ the millions
participating in the Gülen move-
ment continue to provide us with
both spiritual and practical guid-
ance towards peace and tolerance
o others. In a world where the
most prominent Muslim leaders speak o conict and conron-
tation, Gülen provides us with a new voice that calls people o
all aiths to the divine table.” — Ambassador Akbar Ahmed,
Ibn Khaldun Chair o Islamic Studies at American University
“Te Journalists and Writers Foun-
dation and their honorary presi-
dent Gülen are the rst group who
made it possible or the members o
the diferent aiths to come aroundthe riendship dinner tables. We
now ollow their ootsteps in these
activities.” —Mesrob Mutayan
II, Armenian Patriarch o Istanbul
“Te [Gülen-inspired] school is
ofering Muslim and Christian
Filipino children, along with an
educational standard o high
quality, a more positive way o
living and relating to each other.”
—Tomas Michel, Ex-Director o
the Jesuit Secretariat or Interreligious Dialogue in Rome, in his
paper, “Fethullah Gülen as Educator”
“Gülen’s activities are an enterprise
to be applauded. Let me add that i
my ancestors had not seen that toler-
ance rom the Ottomans and urkey,
I would not be alive.” —Jak Kamhi,
Prominent urkish-Jewish Business-man
In the Press
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urkish Schools Ofer Pakistan a Gentler Vision o Islam
By Sabrina avernise (May 4, 2008, excerpted)
Te schools, which also operate in
Christian countries like Russia, are
not or Muslims alone, and one
o their stated aims is to promote
interaith understanding. Mr. Gülen
met the previous pope, as well as
Jewish and Orthodox Christian
leaders, and teachers in the schools
say they stress multiculturalism and
universal values.
Te urkish schools, which have expanded to seven cities in Pakistan since the rst one
opened a decade ago, cannot transorm the country on their own. But they oer an
alternative approach that could help reduce the inuence o Islamic extremists.
Tey prescribe a strong Western curriculum, with courses, taught in English, rom mathand science to English literature and Shakespeare. Tey do not teach religion beyond
the one class in Islamic studies that is required by the state.
Gülen’s condemnation message o
the September 11 terrorist attacks
that appeared in Te Washington Post
on September 21, 2001:
We condemn in the strongest o terms
the latest terrorist attack on the United
States o America, and eel the pain o
the American people at the bottom of
our hearts. Islam abhors such acts of terror. A re-
ligion that proesses, “He who unjustly
kills one man kills the whole o human-
ity,” cannot condone senseless killing o
thousands.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the
victims and their loved ones.
Fethullah Gülen
Honorary Chairman
Journalists and Writers Foundation,
urkey
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Gülen Inspires Muslims Worldwide(January 21, 2008, online edition, excerpted)
Te chie characteristic o the Gülen movement is that it does not seek to subvert modern secular states, but
encourages practicing Muslims to use to the ull the opportunities they ofer. It is best understood as the
Islamic equivalent o Christian movements appealing to business and the proessions.
39
Meet Foreign Policy’s op Public Intellectual of 2008
(August, 13, 2008, excerpted)
Foreign Policy: You preach a moderate,
tolerant Islam. What do you think causes
terrorism?
Fethullah Gülen: Islam abhors and
absolutely condemns terrorism and
any terrorist activity. I have repeatedly
declared that it is impossible or a true Muslim to be a terrorist,
nor can a terrorist be regarded as a true Muslim. errorism is
one o the cardinal sins that the Qur ’an threatens with hellre.
o deeat terrorism, we must acknowledge that we are all
human beings. It is not our choice to belong to a particular
race or amily. We should be reed rom ear o the other and
enjoy diversity within democracy. I believe that dialogue
and education are the most efective means to surpass our
dierences.
How Far Tey Have ravelled
(March 6, 2008, excerpted)
urkish-based movement
sounds more reasonable than
most o its rivals and is vyingto be recognized as the world’s
leading Muslim network.
With his stated belie in science, inter-aith dialogue and
multi-party democracy, Mr. Gülen has also won praise rom
many non-Muslim quarters. He is an intensely emotional
preacher, whose tearul sermons seem to strike a deep chord
in his listeners; but the movement he heads is remarkablypragmatic and businesslike.
“I you meet a polite Central Asian lad who speaks good English
and urkish, you know he went to a Gülen school,” says a
urkish observer.
Literature on the Gülen Movement
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Te Gülen Movement: A Sociological
Analysis o a Civic Movement Rooted in
Moderate Islam by Helen Rose Ebaugh
— Based on interview data and visits to
Gülen-inspired institutions, the book de-scribes the movement rom a sociological
perspective, especially through the lens
o social movement theory. It is the rst
book, grounded in empirical methodology,
to describe the movement to a Western audience.
Islam and Peacebuilding: Gülen Move-
ment Initiatives by John L. Esposito
and Ihsan Yilmaz — Te exploration o
the contributions is made with regards
to the title in hand by the thought and
practice o the global movement associ-
ated with the urkish Muslim scholarFethullah Gülen. Te importance and dis-
tinctiveness o teaching o Gülen and the
practice o the movement is that it is rooted in a condent urk-
ish Islamic heritage while being ully engaged with modernity.
A Dialogue o Civilizations: Gülen’s Islamic
Ideals and Humanistic Discourse by Jill
Carroll — Dr. Carroll places the ideas o
Fethullah Gülen into the context o the
larger humanities and compares his opin-ions with those o major philosophers. Te
book includes chapters on the ideas o the
philosophers such as Immanuel Kant, John
Stuart Mill, Conucius, Plato and Sartre.
Te Gülen Movement: Civic Service With-
out Borders by Muhammed Çetin — Te
book conceptualizes the Gülen Move-
ment using social movement theories in
which the author denes Gülen initiatives
as a civic service dedicated to ostering
dialogue within the global community.
Dr. Çetin rst examines the movementas a cultural actor, and then continues
on another aspect o the movement as
a civil society actor.
AB 3
Helen Rose Ebaugh
v v v
The Gülen Movement
A Sociological Analysis of a Civic Movement Rooted in Moderate Islam
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41
radition Witnessing the Modern Age: An
Analysis o the Gülen Movementby Meh-
met Enes Ergene — Te author addresses
dierent aspects o the Gülen Movement
with a ocus on the movement’s adaptation
o the modern world and its inuence on
“the secularist urkey.”
New urkish Republic: urkey as a Pivot-
al State in the Muslim World by Graham
E. Fuller — Te Former vice chairman
o the National Intelligence Council at
CIA wrote about urkey’s new role in the
Middle East especially rom a political
perspective along with its relations with
other Muslim countries. As a means toportray a better view o a Muslim country
with its relation to other Muslim countries, Fuller dedicates a
section to “Te Fethullah Gülen Movement.”
A Civilian Response to Ethno-Religious
Confict: Te Gülen Movement in South-
east urkey by Mehmet Kalyoncu — Te
author studied the positive eect o the
actions o the movement in Southeast
province called Mardin that aces ethno-
religious conict.
Muslim Citizens of the Global World:
Contributions of the Gülen Movement
(edited) by Robert A. Hunt and Yuksel
A. Aslandogan — Te book explores the
responses and contributions o Muslims
in general and urkish Muslims in partic-
ular to the waves o democratization, sci-
entic revolution, changing gender roles,and religious diversity in an increasingly
globalized world.
Essentials o Gülen’s Tought
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Te human being is the essence and vital element o being, the
index and core element o the universe. Human beings are at the
center o creation; all other things, living or non-living, compose
concentric circles around them.
Human beings, be they man or woman, young or old, white or black,
are to be respected, protected and inviolate. Teir belongings cannot
be taken away, nor can their chastity be touched. Tey cannot be
driven out o their native lands, and their independence cannot be
denied. Tey cannot be prevented rom living in accordance with
their principles, either.
Compassion is a key which opens up the rustiest locks. It is like the
hand o the Messiah, which can revive dead souls.
Love is the most direct and saest way to human perection. It is
difcult to attain the rank o human perection through ways that
do not contain love.
Only those who overow with love will build the happy and
enlightened world o the uture. Teir lips smiling with love, their
hearts brimming with love, their eyes radiating love and the most
tender human eelings.
Love is the rose in our belie, a realm o the heart that never withers.
Above all else, just as God wove the universe like lace on the loomo love, the most magical and charming music in the bosom o
existence is always love.
Emphatic acceptance is our saest reuge and our ortress against
the handicaps that arise rom schism, actions, and the difculties
inherent in reaching mutual agreement.
Emphatic acceptance (hoshgoru in urkish), a term which we
sometimes use in place o the words respect, mercy, generosity, or
orbearance, is the most essential element o moral systems. It is a
very important source o spiritual discipline and a celestial virtue
o perected people.
Only a ew people seem to realize that social harmony and peace
with nature, between people, and within the individual can only
come about when the material and spiritual realms are reconciled.
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43
Te peace o this global village lies in respecting all these
diferences, considering these diferences to be part o our
nature, and ensuring that people appreciate these dierences.
Interaith dialogue is a must today, and the rst step in
establishing it is orgetting the past, ignoring polemical
arguments, and giving precedence to common points, which
ar outnumber polemical ones.
People who want to guarantee their uture cannot be indiferent
to how their children are educated. he amily, school,
environment, and mass media should all cooperate to ensure
the desired result. Te school must be as perect as possible with
respect to its curriculum, the scientic and moral standards o
the teachers, and its physical conditions. A amily must provide
the necessary warmth and atmosphere in which to raise children.
In schools, good manners should be considered just as important
as other subjects. I they are not, how can children grow up
with sound characters? Education is dierent rom teaching.
Most people can be teachers, but the number o educators is
severely limited.
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Good morals and sound conscience, and good manners
and virtues, are like a currency universally acceptable and
which is not afected by changes in the values o other
means o exchange. Tose provided with such qualities are
like merchants with the highest credit who can do business
wherever they want.
Tose who want to reorm the world must rst reorm
themselves. I they want to lead others to a better world,
they must puriy their inner worlds o hatred, rancor, and
jealousy, and adorn their outer worlds with virtue.
Humility is like a key to all other virtues. One who is humble
may have all other virtues, whereas one who lacks humility
usually is deprived o other virtues as well.
Tose who value their parents and regard them as a path
to God’s mercy are the most prosperous in both worlds.
Since its appearance on the earth, humanity has ound
true peace and happiness in religion.
Religion is the best school a most blessed institution ounded to
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Religion is the best school, a most blessed institution ounded to
inculcate in people good moral qualities. It is open to everyone, rom
the youngest to the oldest, and only those who attend it attain peace,
satisaction, and reedom.
Science and technology are benecial to the degree that they
guarantee human happiness and help us attain true humanity. I
they are developed to harm humanity, they become devils blocking
our road.
Ignorance is the worst riend, whereas knowledge is the most aithulcompanion.
Art is the spirit o progress and one o the most important means
o developing emotions. Tose who cannot make use o this means
are unortunate indeed, and live a numbed, diminished lie.
rue knowledge shows itsel through art. I a person has never
produced anything in the name o art, how can we say that he or
she knows very much?
Civilization does not mean being rich and putting on ne airs,
nor does it mean satisying carnal desires and leading a luxurious,
dissipated lie. What it really means is being civil and courteous,
kind-hearted, proound in thought, and respectul to others.
Civilization means more than scientic advancement, modern means
o transportation, ships, and living in large cities with skyscrapers.
While such things may be adjuncts to civilization, it is olly and
ignorance to identiy civilization with them.
Culture is an important resource that must be used by those seeking
to develop their community in the most benecial and appropriateway. Tere is a vital link between the cohesion and strength o a
community’s direction and the authenticity o its cultural resources.
A woman’s inner depth, chastity and dignity elevate her higher than
angels and cause her to resemble an unmatched diamond.
A good woman is the one who speaks wisdom, has a rened spirit,
and whose behavior inspires admiration and respect.
Freedom allows people to do whatever they want, provided that they
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Freedom allows people to do whatever they want, provided that they
do not harm others and that they remain wholly devoted to the truth.
Democracy, in spite o its many shortcomings, is now the only
viable political system, and people should strive to modernize and
consolidate democratic institutions in order to build a society in
which individual rights and reedoms are respected and protected,
and equal opportunity or all is more than a dream.
It is not possible or democracy to take root in a place where there
is no tolerance. In act, advocates o democracy should be able to
accept even those who do not share their views, and they shouldopen their hearts to others.
Good administration and politics are characterized by acknowledging
rights, the rule o law, and consciousness o one’s duty.
Islam does not propose a certain unchangeable orm o government
or attempt to shape it. Islam has never ofered nor established
a theocracy in its name. Instead, Islam establishes undamental
principles that orient a government’s general character. So, politics
can be a actor neither in shaping Islam nor in directing Muslims’
acts and attitudes in Islam’s name.
Were I told while entering Paradise that the East and West have come
together and combined by keeping their own values and respecting
each other, I would consider this as one o the greatest glad tidings
given to me in my lie. Perhaps I would preer not entering Paradise,
because there are many things I would like to tell regarding the
coming together o the East and West.
Protecting the environment, conserving and looking ater the
ecological balance are among the principal duties o a Muslim.
Goodness, beauty, truthulness, honesty, and being virtuous are the
essence o the world. Whatever happens, the world will one day nd
this essence, or no one can prevent such an event.
Quotations, with a couple o exceptions, are rom Pearls of Wisdom by Gülen
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Te Gülen Institute
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The Gülen Institute, established in October 2007, is an
independent, non-proft organization and a joint initiative
o the University o Houston Graduate College o Social
Work and the Institute o Interaith Dialog. Te main goal o the
Institute is to promote academic research as well as grass roots
activity towards bringing about positive social change, namely the
establishment o stable peace, social justice, and social harmony
by ocusing on the themes o education, volunteerism and civic
initiatives. Te Institute organizes academic and public events,
such as conerences and luncheon orums, publishes scientic
and popular works, provides student scholarships and aculty
research grants, and organizes cultural exchange trips.
Among the values and concerns we share are empathy, hope,
love o humanity, compassion, altruism, honesty, dignity,
trustworthiness, integrity, peaceul coexistence, social justice
and harmony, elimination o violent conicts and human
sufering, prevention o substance abuse, saving youth romsel-destruction, and protection o the earth’s resources and
habitats. Te perspectives o the Institute are inspired by the
lie and works o Fethullah Gülen.
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Kof Annan, Secretary-General o the United Nations, 1997-2006, Nobel Peace Prize Recipient
“I think it is extremely important to have institutions like the Gülen Institute bringing people together, getting
them to understand that we all are in the same boat and in today’s world you cannot be secure at the expense o
the other, you cannot be sae and prosperous at the expense o other.” (Te Gülen Institute Luncheon Forum,
April 12, 2010)
Madeleine
Albright,
64th US Secre-
tary o State
“In a world that
lacks direction,
there can be
no doubt that
a pathfnder is
needed. It is much more likely to be ound in
the values that reside at the heart o the Gülen
Institute and this luncheon series. Tese values
include commitment to international dialogue,
an understanding o cultural diversity, support
or human justice and a love o peace.” (Lunch-
eon Forum, December 3, 2008)
Sheila J. Lee,
Member o
US Congress,
18th District
o exas
“Te inspiration
o the Gülen
Institute, who
understood
the communicating the word o God, living
or others, the spirit o devotion, sacrice,
delity and loyalty, was clearly the right path
to take.” (Annual Dialog and Friendship
Dinner in Houston, November 2009)
James Baker,
61st US Secre-
tary o State
Problems o the
world would be
easy to address
i, on the global
level, we develop
ways o sharing
respect or each other’s religious perspectives.
It is in this manner, the Gülen Institute and
those who promote shared vision o interaith
dialogue provide truly invaluable leadership.”
(Luncheon Forum, May 21, 2008)
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Further Resources
F h d d S h l h G l M
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For urther reading and inormation:
Gülen’s personal websites
www.gulen.com
www.ethullah-gulen.org
Te Gülen Institute
www.guleninstitute.org
Fethullah Gülen Forum
www.ethullahgulenorum.org
Rumi Forum
www.rumiorum.org
Te Institute o Interaith Dialog
www.interaithdialog.org
Te Journalists and Writers Foundation
www.gyv.org.tr
Conerences on the Gülen Movement
www.ethullahgulenconerence.org
www.gulenconerence.net
www.gulenconerence.nl
Some o the international conerences on the Gülen Movement:
East and West Encounters: Te Gülen Movement, December 4-6, 2009, Uni-
versity o Southern Caliornia, Los Angeles
Future o Reorm in the Muslim World: Comparative Experiences with Fethul-lah Gülen’s Movement in urkey, October 19–21, 2009, Arab League headquar-
ters, organized by Cairo University and Hira Magazine, Cairo, Egypt
From Dialogue to Collaboration: Te Vision o Fethullah Gülen and Muslim-
Christian Relations, July 15-16, 2009, Australian Catholic University, Mel-
bourne, Australia
Muslims between radition and Modernity: Te Gülen Movement as a Bridgebetween Cultures, May 26-28, 2009, University o Potsdam, Berlin, Germany
Islam in the Age o Global Challenges: Alternative Perspectives o the Gülen
Movement, November 14-15, 2008, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C
Muslim World in ransition: Contributions o the Gülen Movement, House o
Lords, October 25-27, 2007, London, United Kingdom
Islam in the Contemporary World: Te Fethullah Gülen Movement in Tought
and Practice, November 12-13, 2005, Rice University, Houston, exas
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el: (713) 743-8135 | Fax: (713) 974-4445www.guleninstitute.org | [email protected]
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