The Gülen movement is a transnational civic society movement inspired by the teachings of Turkish Islamic theologian Fethullah Gülen. His teachings about hizmet (altruistic service to the "common good") have attracted a large number of supporters in Turkey, Central Asia and increasingly in other parts of the world.[1] The movement is mainly active in education and interfaith (and intercultural) dialogue, however has also aid initiatives and investments on media, finance, and health.
Contents |
The exact number of supporters of the Gülen movement is not known, as there is no membership system, but estimates vary from 1 million to 8 million.[2][3][4] The movement consists primarily of students, teachers, businessmen, journalists and other educated professionals,[5] arranged in a flexible organizational network.[6] It has founded schools, universities, an employers' association, as well as charities, real estate trusts, student bodies, radio and television stations, and newspapers.[3] The schools and businesses organize locally, and link into networks on an informal rather than legal basis.[7] After an inquiry into the effects of movement's activities in Holland, Dutch Integration Minister Eberhard Van der Laan described it as "an alliance of loosely affiliated independent institutions rather than a movement."[8]
The Economist described the Gülen movement as a Turkish-based movement which sounds more reasonable than most of its rivals, and which is vying to be recognized as the world's leading Muslim network.[9] It stated that Gülen has won praise from non-Muslim quarters with his belief in science, inter-faith dialog and multi-party democracy. Nilüfer Göle, professor of sociology at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes in Paris, who is known for her studies on modernization and conservatism, has described the Gülen movement as the world's most global movement.[10]
One of the main characteristics of the movement is that it is faith-based but not faith-limited.
In London, October, 2007 a conference examining the nature and activities of the movement was sponsored by the University of Birmingham, the Dialogue Society, the Irish School of Ecumenics, Leeds Metropolitan University, the London Middle East Institute, the Middle East Institute and the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.[11] There was a reception at the House of Lords. The most recent conference about the movement was held at University of Chicago on Nov 11-13 2010 named “The Gülen Movement: Paradigms, Projects, and Aspirations”.
Globally, the Gülen movement is especially active in education. In 2009 Newsweek claimed that movement participants run "schools in which more than 2 million students receive education, many with full scholarships".[12] Estimates of the number of schools and educational institutions vary widely, from about 300 schools in Turkey [13] to over 1,000 schools worldwide.[14] These schools have consistently promoted good learning and citizenship, and the Hizmet movement is to date an evidently admirable civil society organization to build bridges between religious communities and to provide direct service on behalf of the common good. [15] Participants in the movement have also founded private universities, including Fatih University in Istanbul.
Some of the teachers are drawn from members of the Gülen network, who often encourage students in the direction of greater piety.[16] The Economist observes that in Pakistan "they encourage Islam in their dormitories, where teachers set examples in lifestyle and prayer." [17] Another article in the New York Times, described the Turkish schools, which have expanded to seven cities in Pakistan since the first one opened a decade ago, as offering a gentler approach to Islam that could help reduce the influence of extremism.[18] However, schools are not for Muslims alone,[19] and in Turkey "the general curriculum for the network’s schools prescribes one hour of religious instruction per week, while in many countries the schools do not offer any religious instruction at all. With the exception of a few Imam-Hatip schools abroad, these institutions can thus hardly be considered Islamic schools in the strict sense."[20]
Center for Inter-religious Understanding Director Rabbi Jack Bemporad has said the Gülen movement aims to create a more peaceful world and invites all people to unity.[21]
Gülen movement participants have founded a number of institutions across the world which promote interfaith and intercultural dialogue activities. Gülen personally met with leaders of other religions, including Pope John Paul II, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomaios, and Israeli Sephardic Head Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron.[22] In recent years, movement initiated dialogue with also those of no faith. For example, the Dialogue Society in London, which is inspired by Gülen’s teaching, has more atheist and agnostic members of its Advisory Board than it has Muslims.[23]
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.[24]
B. Jill Carroll of Rice University in Houston said in an Interfaith Voices program, an independent public radio show that promotes interfaith understanding through dialog, that "Gülen has greatly impacted three generations in Turkey. He also influences considerable masses all across the world with his speeches and deeds. He leads a very modest life. Thousands of institutions have been established all around the globe by the Gülen movement, but he doesn’t undertake the administration of even one of them. When people see such aspects of this movement, they say 'these are not Muslims in words, they are real Muslims'. Of the schools she said: "These schools invest in the future and aim at creating a community that offers equal opportunities for everyone."[25]
In 2006, in Göteborg, the Gülen movement started Dialogslussen in a bid to promote interfaith dialogue in Sweden.[26]
Since 1998 the Journalists and Writers Foundation, whose honorary president is Gülen, have conducted independent working groups (i.e. voluntary, not state-funded) with the aim of reaching consensus on issues which are politically or culturally divisive in Turkey. Participants and speakers (journalists and academics) are invited from all points of the political spectrum and from the different groupings in Turkey.[5] Discussions end with an agreed 'declaration' signed by all participants. The first of these working groups to be established was the Abant Platform, named after Lake Abant, where its first meeting was held. Abant participants have discussed Islam and Secularism (1998);[27] Religion, State and Society (1999);[28] the Legal, Democratic State (2000);[29] Pluralism and Societal Compromise (2001);[30] Globalization - Political, Economic and Cultural Dimensions (2002);[31] War and Democracy (2003).[32]
İzzettin Doğan, a leader of Alevi circles in Turkey and the President of the Cem Foundation, said of Gülen:
He has made positive contributions to the construction of cemevis (Alevi places of worship). Years ago, he said, "Cemevis should be constructed next to mosques." This is a very important statement. In addition, he is open to discussion. In this regard, I never had any doubts about Gülen's ideas.[33]
Movement participants have set up a number of media organs, including Turkish-language TV stations (Samanyolu TV, Mehtap TV), an English-language TV station in the United States (Ebru TV), a Turkish-language newspaper (Zaman), an English-language newspaper (Today's Zaman), magazines and journals in Turkish (Sızıntı, Yeni Ümit, Aksiyon), English (The Fountain Magazine), and Arabic (Hira), an international media group (Cihan )and a radio station (Burç FM).
The aid charity Kimse Yok Mu? (Is anybody there?) was established in March 2004 as a continuation of a TV program of the same name which ran on Samanyolu TV for some years. It provides aid to those in need in Turkey and the region and in other areas (including, e.g. Peru, Sudan, and Haiti).
Bank Asya, formerly Asya Finans, was founded by Gülen movement participants in 1994. It offers a variety of interest-free banking services and currently is the biggest interest-free financial institution in Turkey. It was established with capital of 2 million Turkish Lira and had reached paid-up capital of 900 million TL by 2009. Işık Sigorta (Light Insurance) company describes itself as a partner of Bank Asya.
Movement supporters have also formed business lobbying groups and think tanks in Washington and Brussels and these inter-connected businesses constitute one of the strongest capital bases in Turkey.[12] Movement's activities are supported by donations coming from all classes of people in the society[34][35][36]
Forbes magazine identified the chief characteristic of the Gülen movement as not seeking to subvert modern secular states but rather encouraging practicing Muslims to use to the fullest the opportunities those countries offer.[37] The New York Times describes the movement as coming from a "moderate blend of Islam that is very inclusive."[18][38] Prospect magazine reported that Gülen and the Gülen movement "are at home with technology, markets and multinational business and especially with modern communications and public relations."[39]
In Turkey, the Gülen movement tries to keep its distance from Islamic political parties,[40] but the schools in Central Asia have been described as supporting a philosophy based on Turkish nationalism rather than on Islam.[41]
The movement is sometimes accused of being "missionary" in intent, or of organizing in a clandestine way and aiming for political power.[12] Professor Thomas Michel of Georgetown University, who observed schools in the Philippines, said: "This movement has never been engaged in politics. It has reached millions of children all across the world and helped with their education regardless of their races, languages, religions and nationalities."[42] About the accusations of "hidden agenda", members of the movement say "Anybody who accuses us of having a hidden agenda, is welcome to come and quiz us. We have nothing to hide." .[43]
In Europe, Former Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik has said the ideas of Fethullah Gülen and the activities of the Gülen movement are in complete harmony with the approach of The Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights.[44] The Dutch government started an inquiry in 2008 because of a motion filed by four political parties. The inquiry showed that the Gülen movement and Turkish institutions having close ties to the movement do not obstruct integration in the Netherlands, that the movement is pacifist and prone to dialogue, believes that Islam and modernism can coexist, that it lacks a central unit or hierarchical structure.[8]
In the movement there are secular women from conservative-right circles and women who do not wear the Islamic head covering,[45] but most of the time female participants do not question gender segregation in the movement.[46] Gender segregation "remains an ideal inside the cemaat and is never touched on in theory," but because of the variety of social activities the movement engages in, participants' practice is more liberal than the theoretical understanding of the movement.[20]
In the headscarf controversy in Turkey, when covered girls were prevented from going to school and university by the headscarf ban, the Gülen movement “was the first to insist on girls’ schooling at the cost of compromising their headscarf.” [47] Female members of the Refah party who refused to take their scarves off to go to university were critical of the compromising attitudes of the Gülen Movement.[48]
Several books have been published in Turkish since the 1990s criticizing Gülen and the Gülen movement. An increasing number of news articles address concerns about the expanding influence of the Gülen movement, both in Turkey and in other countries . Questions have arisen about the Gülen movement’s possible involvement in the ongoing Ergenekon investigation (Ergenekon allegedly being a ultra-nationalist, pro-military, anti-government gang),[49] which critics have characterized as "a pretext" by the government "to neutralize dissidents" in Turkey.
In March 2011, seven Turkish journalists were arrested, including Ahmet Şık, who had been writing a book, "Imamin Ordusu" (“The Imam’s Army”)[50], which alleges that the Gülen movement has infiltrated the country’s security forces. As Şik was taken into police custody, he shouted, [51]“Whoever touches it gets burned!”. Today's Zaman published an interview[52] with publishers and writers who had published or written the harshest pieces against Gulen and they all claim "nothing happened to them" and thus voids claims made by Şik who made his claim apparently on an attempt to divert attention to Gulen rather than his arrest. Upon his arrest, drafts of the book were confiscated and its possession was banned. Şik has also been charged with being part of the Ergenekon plot.[53]
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) condemned the arrests.[54] The EFJ and the Turkish Journalists Syndicate called for the immediate and unconditional release of more than 60 journalists currently being held in Turkish jails. In response to Prime Minister Erdoğan’s denial of any government attempt to silence journalists, Aidan White, IFJ/EFJ General Secretary stated, “These denials are just not credible. The authorities are clearly embarked on a campaign to discipline dissent and to stifle free speech in Turkey." Throughout the month, thousands of Turks took to the streets to protest the arrests[55]
According to Gareth H. Jenkins, a Senior Fellow of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Joint Center at Johns Hopkins University:
From the outset, the pro-AKP media, particularly the newspapers and television channels run by the Gülen Movement such as Zaman, Today’s Zaman and Samanyolu TV, have vigorously supported the Ergenekon investigation. This has included the illegal publication of “evidence” collected by the investigators before it has been presented in court, misrepresentations and distortions of the content of the indictments and smear campaigns against both the accused and anyone who questions the conduct of the investigations.
There have long been allegations that not only the media coverage but also the Ergenekon investigation itself is being run by Gülen’s supporters. In August 2010, Hanefi Avcı, a right-wing police chief who had once been sympathetic to the Gülen Movement, published a book in which he alleged that a network of Gülen’s supporters in the police were manipulating judicial processes and fixing internal appointments and promotions. On September 28, 2010, two days before he was due to give a press conference to present documentary evidence to support his allegations, Avcı was arrested and charged with membership of an extremist leftist organization. He remains in jail. On March 14, 2011, Avcı was also formally charged with being a member of the alleged Ergenekon gang.[49]
(In a reply, Abdullah Bozkurt, from Gülen Movement newspaper Today's Zaman, has accused Ahmet Şık of not being "an investigative journalist" conducting "independent research," but of hatching "a plot designed and put into action by the terrorist network itself,"[56])
In April 2009, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty published a piece about the Gülen schools in Central Asia stating the "Turkish educational institutions have come under increasing scrutiny ... Governments as well as many scholars and journalists suspect that the schools have more than just education on their agendas ...". The article quoted Hakan Yavuz, a professor of political science at the University of Utah, as calling the Gülen movement
"a political movement ... and it has always been political. ... They want to train an elitist class which will then turn Turkey into a centre of the religious world, Islamise the country, ... It is the most powerful movement right now in [Turkey] ... There is no other movement to balance them in society."[57]
The schools in Kazakhstan have been accused of following admissions policies which favor the wealthy and well-connected.[7] Schools established by Gülen movement participants in Tashkent and St. Petersburg were closed for a period, accused of supporting Islamic groups (Tashkent) and diverging from the state curriculum (St. Petersburg).[58][59] However, the St. Petersburg school filed an appeal. Subsequently, the school's founding rights were restored with a ruling handed down on March 25, 2008. The education committee referred the case to the 13th Appeals Court for a reversal of the lower court’s decision. The appeals court announced its verdict on July 1, upholding the ruling of the administrative court. The 13th Appellate Court also canceled all the bylaws made by the educational committee in the absence of the Turkish entrepreneurs and returned the school’s license. International School No. 664, in St. Petersburg, was re-opened in July 2008 after having its license revoked for over a year.[60]
In April 2010, Trend News Agency published a piece about the Gülen schools in Georgia (Asia). Excerpt: “The Georgian Labor Party protested the opening of Turkish schools in Georgia. The party's Political Secretary Giorgi Gugava called the mass opening of Turkish schools in Georgia, "the dominance of Turkey in the Georgian educational system," and noted that these schools aim to spread Turkish culture and fundamentalist religious ideas…Gugava said the process is headed by Turkish religious leader Fetullah Gülen, whose activities are banned in his motherland…”[61]
In July 2010, Commentary (magazine), a neoconservative monthly Jewish-American magazine, published a piece about the influence of Fetullah Gülen, comparing Turkey's Erdoğan government with the Iranian Islamic revolution.[62] published
“Turkey’s Islamic revolution has been so slow and deliberate as to pass almost unnoticed. Nevertheless, the Islamic Republic of Turkey is a reality—and a danger ... With the independent press muzzled and almost all print and airtime dedicated to his agenda, [Prime Minister] Erdogan upped his campaign against both the political opposition and the military. Whereas the Interior Ministry would once root out Islamists and followers of the anti-Semitic Turkish cult leader Fethullah Gulen, the AKP filled police ranks with them."[63]