Kenneth Hunter on Fethullah Gulen and Hizmet Movement


Date posted: July 16, 2015

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.

But what I’ve found with Niagara and the folks who are imbued with the spirit of Hizmet, they go out of their way to bring that Godness into the world, and I’m continuously, and continually, impressed by the way in which they do that, and manifest love in the world.

“…when you look at interfaith and you look at dialog, dialog enhances not only the person who reaches out, but it also enhances the person who is reached out to. They become one. There’s like a new creation that occurs. … I find that dialog does the same thing. It creates on one side the person who reaches, and it creates on the other side the person who is reached. Because in the end, they’re both reaching for each other.”

“I can’t think of anything more miraculous for human beings to do than to reach out to each other, fearlessly, courageously, bravely, and to get to know one another. ”

“I believe the eradication of poverty is most important…. So the eradication of poverty, which is something I’ve come to know in the Hizmet Movement, and Kimse Yok Mu, where, Kimse Yok Mu is a movement that says “is there anybody out there?” I believe that’s the translation of it in Turkish, it’s about coming out and moving people into situations where they can help to eradicate poverty.”


*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 , May 8, 2014


Related News

Fethullah Gulen — His Vision, Our Response

A Muslim religious leader, Fehullah Gulen, is daily in the news, as Turkish president Erdogan accuses him of plotting the recent coup, calling him a terrorist. We are so used to Muslim clerics being or being considered terrorists that we give the matter little thought.

PBS airs story on Gülen movement

Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) program Religion and Ethics NewsWeekly featured a story on the Gülen movement on Friday, quoting well-respected American observers, as well as the movement’s members and admirers. The 10-minute-long story by PBS correspondent Luck Severson gave information on the movement, which is a group of volunteers engaged in interfaith and intercultural dialogue […]

Khamenei representative says will not set foot in paradise if Gülen is there

A representative of the Iranian mullah regime has voiced his dislike of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, saying that he will not even enter paradise if Gülen is there.

Zeki Saritoprak speaks on Gulen Movement at Chautauqua Institution

Zeki Saritoprak is the Nursi Chair in Islamic Studies at John Carroll University and delivered an Interfaith Lecture on Gülen and his Hizmet movement. Saritoprak also gave a brief outline of Turkish history, from the start of the Ottoman Empire to the founding of the Republic of Turkey. “Muslims have to establish … not religious […]

Civil Rights, the Hizmet Movement, and the Liberative Power of Education

Hizmet stands in contrast to other contemporary so-called “Islamist” movements which are primarily political in nature, seeking to pursue a reformist agenda by overtly “Islamizing” the governmental and legal structures of existing Muslim majority nation-states.

Turkey: ‘Exclusion for all’ state

Indeed, just last week a columnist in a pro-government daily argued that officials in certain government institutions have been expelled over their alleged ties to the Hizmet movement. This is no different from a witch hunt. In a civilized society, expelling qualified professionals because of their sympathy for a religious and social movement can only be described as discrimination.

Latest News

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

In Case You Missed It

Compensation case filed against Erdoğan for targeting Gülen-inspired schools

Afghan-Turkish schools awarded with “Kabul Regional Medal”

Fethullah Gulen: Erdogan is not Fit to be President

Erdogan in Africa: Gulen and trade ties

Erdoğan’s harsh, xenophobic rhetoric damages fight against Islamophobia

Gulen Followers Living in Europe Receive Death Threats, Feel Intimidated

Islamic scholar Gülen offers condolences to ferry victims

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News