Zaman Stanizai on Fethullah Gulen and Hizmet Movement
Date posted: October 27, 2014
Dr. Zaman Stanizai is a Professor of Mythological Studies at the Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, California and he teaches Political Science at California State University, Dominguez Hills. He has written on political theory with emphasis on the viability of third world states encountering globalization, and on political identity focusing on the politicization of ethnic, national, and religious identities as a contributing factor in regional and world conflicts.
Relating the problem with most movements as being the fact that “they wear their piety and religiosity on their sleeve”, Dr. Zaman Stanizai notes that the Hizmet Movement actually “acts upon what matters rather than talking about what doesn’t really matter”.
“The Hizmet Movement is doing the thing that matters and that is to serve humanity. The Prophet had said that “the best of you is those whose fruit of labor benefits other human beings”, and the fruit of labor is labor, its service, its not talk.”
Dr. Stanizai states that if the claim that the Prophet was sent to all of humanity is true, then ‘the focus or field of operation must include all human beings’.
Referring to the Hizmet Movement as a pioneer in the forefront of making a difference in the world, Dr. Stanizai called attention to a ‘forgotten’ sunnah, or tradition of the Prophet Muhammad, that concentrated on interfaith dialogue.
“Most of the problems that we experience today in the East-West conflict and the South-North conflict, economic and political; they are due to the lack of communication.”
Critizing the Muslim world for lack of education, he notes, “The reason we, our “Islamic Movements” are so backward, so rigid, so xenophobic, so self-centered is because we don’t even know our own religious ways.” And in conclusion, he states, “So, that is why if the Hizmet movement or the Gulen Movement, in general, is pursuing social reform through education, I don’t think there would be any sound mind to object to 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
Tags: Fethullah Gulen | Hizmet (Gulen) movement | USA |
