Political Activism for Peaceful Coexistence in Rumi and Gulen

İhsan Yılmaz
İhsan Yılmaz


Date posted: February 1, 2014

 

IHSAN YILMAZ

Rumi strongly underlines that humans – even if they are dervishes – should not ignore the laws of the universe and doctrine of causes, not to sit around heedlessly waiting for Allah’s favor, but rather to exert themselves endlessly in order to transform this broken world into the world of peace and justice. It is obvious that living in the world but not of the world was his main action plan and road map.

Rumi’s activism included his spiritual guidance to the rulers, including the invading Mongols. Rumi gained much love and respect from the sultans, viziers, and kings. These men of high positions were very eager to see him. However, Rumi seldom accepted their invitations. He spent most of his time with the poor and needy. He had disciples who were sultans and viziers but also a lot of disciples from amongst the poor and common folk.

Rumi communicates many things, multiple meanings, at many levels, simultaneously; he provides explanations and keys to unlock the meaning of reality; all the words, all the stories and explanations he conveyed say nothing more than reality, which has been expressed so far by all the great masters of the tasawwuf tradition (sufism) in Islam. He communicated through the power of literature what he learned from the madrasah to the hearts of the people around him, as well as the religious and political elite. Rumi’s Mesnevi is for both well-educated people and people with little education.

His book “Letters” composed of 147 letters written to the political authorities shows Rumi’s personal relationships with various authorities of his violent era, using extant letters to suggest his skill at combining diplomacy with pastoral counseling. Some of the discourses are addressed to the Seljuk vizier Muin al- Din Pervane (d. 1277).

His Fihi Ma Fihi is full of examples of his contact with and guidance to the rulers:

My purpose in speaking this way to the Amir (the ruler) was so that he could see the matter correctly, and accept the will of God humbly. He has fallen out of an exceedingly high state into a low state, yet in this way he may grow. Life can show the most wonderful things, but behind all of them lays a trap should we forget the source of this wonder. God has devised this plan so that we will learn not to claim, out of arrogance and vanity, these ideas and plans as our own.

In short, Rumi was not a politician but a spiritual guide who was perfectly aware of the realities of the mundane world, essential to be an influential spiritual guide. Even though he did not deal with daily politics, he faced and is still facing political accusations, such as seeking political power or being a spy.

A significant renewal of Gulen vis-à-vis tasawwuf is his emphasis on socio-cultural and even political action that is as vital as belief can only be sustainable if it is supported with these actions. For Gulen, just like Rumi, living in the world but not of the world, allowing no inner attachment to it is the basic blueprint of the individual’s whole social action. Gulen also reiterates Rumi’s compass metaphor: “Our right foot is fixed upon the center of the truth while our left foot is rotating in and around the seventy-two nations.” In Gulen’s view -as strongly emphasized by Rumi more than seven centuries ago- action is an inseparable aspect of tasawwuf, and Muslims should be actively involved in the community, share their experience with others, strive to help others and bring peace to the global village.

Gulen echoes Rumi also in telling us not to ignore the laws of the universe, not to sit around aimlessly, but rather to exert all our energies to change this world into a world of peaceful coexistence and justice. Gulen’s ideal man, man of action, does his best until this world is turned into paradise; and also struggle for a better world, to be stopped by nothing except death itself.

Gulen continues a long tradition of seeking to address the spiritual needs of people and to provide some stability in times of turmoil. Like Rumi, rather than advancing political ambitions, creating an Islamic ethic as a manner or conduct of individuals’ life is the main objective of Gulen. Gulen’s objective is also to foster an ethic that is similar to Max Weber’s ‘worldly asceticism, an activist pietism – composed of sincerity, worship, moderation, modesty, following the prophet’s example and encouraging the good and discouraging the bad- with a tendency toward the rationalization of social relationships.

For Gulen, religion is primarily a private or a communal matter, not a political or state matter. He reiterates that Islam as a religion should not be reduced to being a political party identity. He is very critical of political Islamism and the ‘instrumentalization’ of religion in politics:

When those who have adopted Islam as a political ideology rather than a religion in its true sense and function, review their activities and attitudes they claim to be based on Islam, especially political ones, will discover that they are usually moved by personal or national anger, hostility, and other similar motives… …A Muslim’s starting point must have an Islamic basis. In the present situation, Muslims cannot act out of ideological or political partisanship and then dress this partisanship in Islamic garb, or represent mere desires in the form of ideas. If we can overcome this tendency, Islam’s true image will become known (‘Belief’, Sizinti Magazine, November 1981, No:34).

Excerpt from the article “Social Innovation for Peaceful Coexistence: Intercultural Activism from Rumi to Gulen” presented by Dr. Ihsan Yilmaz in the conference “Peaceful Coexistence: Fethullah Gulen’s Initiative in the Contemporary World,” on 22-23 November 2007.

 

Source: Gulen Movement , February 1, 2014


Related News

From al-Qaeda to Amsterdam, from İstanbul to Pennsylvania

I guess a lawsuit that had its first hearing on Tuesday in İstanbul has garnered heightened interest, not just in Turkey, but also in Europe and the US.

You cannot fool all the people all the time

In a panic to save its future, the Erdoğan government calling it a “parallel state,” an “illegal organization,” a “criminal gang,” a “web of treason” and “raving Hashashins” is attempting to collectively punish the Hizmet movement, whose establishments have significantly contributed to the betterment of the country in the fields of education, business, democratization, social solidarity and international relations.

The demise of Turkish democracy

A total of 84 American foreign policy experts have written a bipartisan letter to US President Barack Obama, expressing concern that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s autocratic actions and demagoguery are not only subverting Turkey’s political institutions and values but also endangering the US-Turkey relationship.

Fatih University graduates receive Feb. 28-like treatment at İstanbul University

Some graduates of the İstanbul-based Fatih University, affiliated with the faith-based Hizmet movement, have become the latest victims of the battle launched by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government against the movement, as they have been subjected to apparent discrimination during post-graduate interviews at state-run İstanbul University, reminiscent of the days of the Feb. 28 military coup.

JWF strongly condemns this terrorist attack on the Charlie Hebdo

Twelve people including two police officers were killed in a shooting at the Paris offices of the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

Ex-employee files complaint against TİB head over purge

An email claimed that the agency tampered with its system logs to fabricate evidence that the “parallel state,” a term the government uses to describe the Hizmet movement, had listened in on around 2,000 people. The message said the electronic serial numbers (ESNs) of these people were entered into the system as per instructions from TİB President Çelik and then erased — all to make it look like the Hizmet movement had spied on Turkish citizens and then covered its tracks.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Charity Kimse Yok Mu to conduct 30,000 cataract surgeries

Five pilots who bombed coup base on July 15 arrested over Gulen links

Monday Talk with Alp Aslandogan on Gulen Movement and Recent Coup Attempt in Turkey

Gülen-linked woman dies in Greece as she waits to join husband in Germany

Grand stage shows by Turkish Olympiad students enthrall İzmir locals

Turkish schools important for northern Iraq’s future

Deutsche Welle: Power struggle between old friends in Turkey

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News