Bradley Hawkins on Fethullah Gulen and Hizmet Movement


Date posted: November 17, 2014

Dr. Bradley Hawkins teaches in the Department of Religious Studies at California State University- Long Beach. He teaches courses on Southeast Asian religions, Hinduism and other South Asian religions, and the study of small-scale religions. His current research projects include a religious history of Southeast Asia to 1500 CE, a study of Buddhist groups in the LA area, and a comprehensive overview of small-scale religions in Indochina.

Dr. Hawkins refers to Fethullah Gulen as a wise man and says, “. I think that his form of Islam is a tremendously powerful, modern form of religion and has a lot to teach the world about how we should get together.”

“I think Hizmet goes to the heart of what it means to be a Muslim. The Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) was a man who was not teaching a set of dogmas. He was teaching a revolution of life, a whole new way to interact with the world around them, to interact with God, to interact with other human beings, to interact even with nature…”

Dr. Hawkins feels that “Islam has much to teach the world about how human beings should interact with it…” and notes that Hizmet is doing a good job of putting those principles in place, with its interfaith activities and relief work.

In response to recent allegations regarding the Hizmet Movement, Dr. Hawkins expresses his opinion quite frankly, “Hizmet isn’t a secret society. Hizmet is very straightforward about what it believes, about what it wants to do… What Hizmet is looking for is a change in people, not a change of politics. And, the idea behind Hizmet, and this is something that Gulen Efendi has said a lot, is if you change people, everything else will change with it.”

“Hizmet is just part of the development toward a new, democratic, economically secure, powerful Turkey. Hizmet is fully behind the new vision of the new Turkey. And, in time, I think people will recognize that.”


*Produced by Spectra Media exclusively for Irmak TV, Atlas of Thoughts (Fikir Atlasi) connects the scholars, politicians, jurists, religious figures, journalists, and academics reflecting on Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen and the Hizmet Movement with the audience. Each episode features a person from a different segment of the society with diverse experiences regarding the Hizmet activities and its volunteers. If you are interested to hear about the Hizmet and Mr. Gulen from these people’s perspectives, do not miss this show!

Source: Spectra Media


Related News

Fethullah Gülen’s message to PM Tayyip Erdoğan regarding consultants [in 2005]

Mehmet Gündem: If you were to write a letter or send a message to the Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan, what would you tell him? Fethullah Gülen: “Do not be content with employing consultants only from among the admirers of your party. Do not only speak with your own organizations. Benefit from the wise people who love Turkey; because they act objectively, and seek no personal gain.”

GYV’s Istanbul Summit and Peace Projects presented in New York

A reception was held by the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) on September 30, 2013 in New York to promote its two international projects, Istanbul Summit and Peace Projects. Numerous representatives to the United Nations (UN) who came to New York to attend the 68th UN General Assembly meeting as well as journalists, academics and foreign diplomats were hosted at the GYV office on the 5th Avenue.

A Cry of the Heart for the Victims of Hurricane Katrina

Fethullah Gulen, the Turkish Islamic Scholar calls all Muslims for helping victims of Katrina Hurricane. “My thoughts are with everyone affected by Hurricane Katrina, the United State’s worst hurricane disaster in a century, the magnitude of which is being realized more and more with every passing day. I fully expect that Muslims all around the […]

Opinion: Does the Turkish Intelligence Agency Plan to Abduct Turkish Dissidents from the US?

When it comes to conducting abduction operations in the U.S. soil Erdogan regime may receive help from his new allies, Russia and Iran. It is a fact that Erdogan has a deeply seeded network of Muslim institutions inside the United States.

Fethullah Gülen and the role of nonviolence in a time of terror

Fethullah Gülen is unusual in adding a distinctly Islamic voice to the calls for a non-violent approach to conflict resolution. But how well do Gülen’s teachings on non-violence lead to peaceful transformation on the ground? Is his a static and passive approach bounded by dogma, or are we witnessing an innovative, active and self-aware spirit of transformation which really can lead to a new way of defining Islam in action?

Who staged a coup against whom on Dec. 17?

When its involvement in corruption and bribery became public, and that this seemed like the tip of an iceberg, the government thought that it must cover up the subsequent investigation, fearing that yet more investigations would be started — and so crushed the police force and the judiciary like a steamroller.

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

Gülen’s teachings to be taught at Belarus universities

“1915” by Prof. Ihsan Yilmaz (2)

Targeted by Erdoğan, Turkish schools earn praise, offer success abroad

Turkish school excels in Nepal

Gulen movement is of high interest to Moroccans

Corruption investigation: Questions that will hound PM Erdoğan

Trustees decide to remove Gülen’s books from NT bookstores

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News