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

Dr. Jill Carroll speaks on Fethullah Gulen and The Gulen Movement

Dr. Jill Carroll, author of the book A Dialogue of Civilizations: Gülen’s Islamic Ideals and Humanistic Discourse, speaks at the lecture and book signing event in Chicago at Niagara Foundation. Dr. Carroll talks about the components that lead her to write the book and provides valuable insight on its context and content. Fethullah Gulen is […]

State Islam versus civic Islam

Using the Hizmet movement, AK party wants to create a common enemy that would be recognized as such by different social groups. It demonizes the movement and makes it a target of the social opposition. But all these tricks and methods do not eliminate one basic truth. There is an unusual experience in Turkey. There is an ongoing war between “state Islam” and “civic Islam.”

A new book by Esposito and Yavuz on ‘The Gülen Movement’

Ali H. Aslan Teachings of Fethullah Gülen which have inspired hundreds and thousands of Turkish people work for global education, peace, and the spread of tolerance, has become the subject of a new scholarly book in the U.S. The book entitled, ‘Turkish Islam and the Secular State: The Gülen Movement,’ was published by one of […]

Erdogan and Gulen: Inevitable Clash?

Unlike Turkey’s classical Islamic activists, Gulen always distanced himself from politics, and like Said Nursi, his main source of inspiration, his message was focused on grassroots social activism, most importantly an education combining both Islam and modern science. Hizmet’s main goal was social: raising a new “golden” generation fusing moderate Muslim and Modern ethics to become the backbone of Turkey’s society and bureaucracy and its messengers to the world.

I Weep For Turkey

It has been the same topic of discourse everywhere. And it won’t stop anytime soon because of the atrocities that have followed, all in the name of sanitising the country and arresting masterminds of the phantom coup. The news coming out of Turkey has been really disturbing to many, and equally baffling to the world.

A way to hide the truth: the Hizmet Movement

All of the corruption and graft was revealed by the process of December 17-25, 2013. The only way out for the AK Party was to create the impression that it was a conspiracy.

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

Turkish Schools in Afghanistan organized the eighth annual science competition

Fethullah Gulen Statement on ISIS

Scandalous return of Feb. 28

73-year-old says looking after grandchildren as daughter, son-in-law behind bars

Erdogan’s religious counsel issues fatwa for civil war, ordinary crimes

Gradual transformation of Turkey into an authoritarian entity under Erdogan’s leadership

Turkey to bid farewell to rule of law if president approves HSYK law

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News