‘I see the Hizmet movement as the best expression of Islam’


Date posted: January 24, 2015

Dr. Steve Gilliland is the director of Muslim Affairs for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Southern California. He received a master’s degree from Brigham Young University in Family Counseling. Gilliland also holds a doctorate degree from Boston University in Counseling. He organized the LDS Institute Program for the students at Harvard, Radcliffe, MIT, and Boston University.

“I see the Hizmet movement as the best expression of Islam that I have seen anywhere.”

“The Prophet Muhammad said that, it is in the Quran, it says that, we are created in different societies, cultures and backgrounds as a challenge to come together and understand each other and to bring about peace.

That is the whole thrust that I can see of the Gulen Movement, it is to bring people together, to understand each other as a way of bringing about peace.”

“The most striking aspect of the Hizmet Movement to me is the spontaneity of the people, the followers.

They bring forth their interpretation of the philosophy of Gulen and apply it in their own situation according to their needs and their circumstances.”

“Down through history, different individuals, tyrants, or whatever you want to call them, have tried to use fear to strengthen their power. … My statement to the people in Turkey is; find out what the Hizmet program is all about, read the philosophy of Fethullah Gulen, and realize where they are coming from, instead of listening to the politicians. Go to the source.”

*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 11, 2014

Tags: | | | |


Related News

Businessmen released following operation against Gülen movement

Based on the government’s much criticized “reasonable suspicion” law, a large number of businessmen in Uşak province were detained last week as part of an investigation into the so-called “parallel structure,” although most of them were released late on Friday night due to a lack of evidence to support a possible prosecution.

US says Turkey favors Sunni Islam over other creeds

A US State Department report has claimed that the Turkish government is prejudiced in favor of its Sunni Islamic citizens and neglects the needs of members of the country’s other minority religions, in addition to frequently employing anti-Semitic rhetoric.

Interview about Hizmet Movment at Maxwell School of Syracuse University

Tosca Bruno-Van Vijfeijken, Director of  Transnational NGO Initiative at Maxwell School of Syracuse University inteviewd Dr. Alp Aslandogan, President of the Alliance for Shared Values. This interview took place before Dr. Aslandogan’s lecture at Maxwell School on Hizmet Movement on September 22, 2015.

Court accepts indictment against 9 officers in case seen as political witch hunt

The investigation into the nine police officers is being carried out by Adana Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor Ali Doğan. The investigation drew strong criticism, as they were based on claims made in government media outlets’ news reports. This raised suspicions as to whether the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) had kicked off a witch hunt against the Hizmet movement, which the prime minister recently threatened to “punish with a large-scale operation.

Gov’t targets Hizmet to distract attention from corruption, says director

Demirkubuz believes that all the “good things” that the government did prior to the 2010 referendum were to guarantee its position, rather than celebrating the rule of law and justice, as evidenced by the fact that the prosecutors who were called heroes yesterday are called traitors today. Demirkubuz urged society to go through an exercise of self-criticism in terms of the preference for power over freedoms.

Conferences on Hizmet movement in Egypt attracted masses

CUMALİ ÖNAL, AMR MUSTAFA | CAIRO In the three conferences held in three different cities in Egypt, the Egyptians, especially youngsters and students, flooded the conference rooms in order to understand the “Hizmet Movement” (aka Gulen movement) and Fethullah Gulen. Especially in the third and last day of the conference that was held in the world-wide famous […]

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

Fethullah Gulen Calls Crackdown ‘Dark Pages’ in History – Responses to World Affairs Council of Philadelphia

International students celebrate Prophet Muhammad in Gaziantep

Tevere Institute organized an Iftar Dinner for Diplomats in Vatican

Texas Agency Finds No Wrongdoing by Harmony Public Schools

CHP: Anti-Hizmet ops were part of agreement between Erdoğan, military

Students from West Africa gather at Turkish school in Senegal

Outcome of Dakar Conference on Hizmet Movement

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News