‘Mr. Gülen is to me simultaneously both incredibly modest and a visionary’


Date posted: February 14, 2015

Stephanie Varnon-Hughes is a Founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Inter-Religious Studies™ . She completed her Master’s in Church History in 2008 and her STM in 2009 at the Union Theological Seminary. She is completing her doctoral studies at Claremont Lincoln University, focusing on inter-religious curriculum and engagement.

“I’m inspired by the Hizmet Movement. I didn’t realize that until I came in contact with the Movement, but all of my life, education and service and dialog have been transformative to me. … This is the work that all of our hearts should be doing. So it remains a source of inspiration for me in my work.”

“One of the things that always strikes me about Mr. Gülen is his appreciation for poetry … And I just think it’s another fruit that someone who does so much for education and service also wants to nourish the souls of people; not just give them a desk, not just give them books, not just give them aid, but make sure that the imagination and the soul are not luxury items. They’re for each person.”

“There is a verse, I believe in the Koran, that God made us many nations and people so that we might get to know one another. … If we only study ourselves, and we only study the small world around us, our knowledge will never be enriched. But if we get to know one another, and get to know more about science, and more about the world, and more about other things, our knowledge is enriched.”

“I think that all of us—if you think about a tree with roots and the nutrients that come from the soil—all of us are more enriched when we have access to wisdom from different traditions. And that’s our work here, and it’s clearly the work of Mr. Gülen and the Movement.”


*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 , April 17, 2014


Related News

White House courts int’l students as language festival concludes in DC

White House has hosted international students who has been in Washington for over two weeks as part of the International Language and Culture Festival as the festivities had come to an end with a mini performance at the White House for US officials.

Hizmet really has expanded my understanding of what it means to be human.

Kenneth Hunter is the Principal of the Prosser Career Academy High School. He studied theology at Chicago Loyola University and taught world religions in high schools. He served as the chairperson of Illinois State Board of Education Language Arts Assessment Advisory Council (2002-2012). He is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Chicago.

Hopefully the Gulen movement will help change the American values

Peace Islands Institute hosted Dr. James Harrington on a “Book Conversations” program on March 1st 2012. Journalist/Writer Aydogan Vatandas interviewed Dr. James Harrington on his book titled “Wrestling with Free Speech, Religious Freedom, and Democracy in Turkey: The Political Trials and Times of Fethullah Gulen“. Following his presentation there was Q&A part. Below is the interview […]

Renewing Islam by Service: A Christian View of Fethullah Gulen and the Hizmet Movement

A new book, Renewing Islam by Service, by Dr. Pim Valkenberg has been published by Catholic University Press, which offers a theological account of the contemporary Turkish faith-based service movement started by Fethullah Gülen, and placed against the backdrop of changes in modern Turkish society. In the first two chapters, Pim Valkenberg includes stories of his personal experiences with supporters of this movement, in a number of different countries, when he focuses on the dialogue-minded Turkish Muslims in the Netherlands.

Society, not community!

Considering that the issue of “the Community” has been discussed extensively, I would like to make a humble contribution to this matter. Most of the arguments raised on this matter have been wrong or unfair. Those who raise these arguments have little knowledge of the cultural atmosphere and the emotions of the members of this […]

Fethullah Gulen talking about Turkey’s failed coup: Responses to Philadelphia World Affairs Council

Right now, all critical voices are silenced in Turkey and only the voice of those in power is heard. Consequently both Turkish people and outside observers are misled. The misperception about the coup continues because there is only one voice. The government interprets everything according to their calculations. They are using this event to express the antipathy they already had against Hizmet movement. The coup attempt is serving to justify their plans to persecute Hizmet movement.

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

Conferences on Hizmet movement in Egypt attracted masses

Lecture: What Went Wrong in Turkey?

Students from 70 countries celebrate graduation in Turkey

Ideal human, ideal society in Gulen’s philosophy

Guinean president thanks officials from Turkish schools for educational efforts

JWF strongly condemns this terrorist attack on the Charlie Hebdo

Samanyolu TV, Kimse Yok Mu raise TL 65 million for quake victims

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News