SEASON OF PEACE: Moderate Islam has a voice if you listen

Gülen movement is an Islamic-inspired civic movement that is neither political nor religious per se
Gülen movement is an Islamic-inspired civic movement that is neither political nor religious per se


Date posted: September 21, 2015

HELEN ROSE EBAUGH

On 9/11, I dismissed my usual 8:30 a.m. Sociology of World Religions class to accompany the students to the student center to watch the historic events on CNN. But before we left, I told them that it may well be a Muslim terrorist group that was responsible, but I reminded them that, even if it turned out to be true, to remember that it did not mean all Muslims are terrorists. We had three veiled women among the 30 students in the class and I did not want them, as well as other peaceful Muslims, ostracized because of the evil acts of a few individuals who might call themselves Muslim. We saw the second plane hit the World Trade Center.

Unfortunately, this event introduced Islam to many Americans who knew very little about the religion before that fateful day and lead to enormous Islamophobia in our country in the days and weeks following. By Thursday’s class, the three veiled women had visits from the FBI either in their immediate or extended families. Within weeks, several mosques had been burned and a number of Muslims had been killed by those who put all Muslims in the terrorist camp and blamed them for the actions of 19 crazed individuals who identified as Muslim.

I was puzzled by the fact that I was not hearing the voice of moderate Muslim scholars and public figures condemning the terrorist acts, in contrast to all the anti-Muslim sentiments that were voiced on television and in the news media. Where were the so-called moderate voices of Muslims who supposedly represented the bulk of Muslims in our country and around the world? Then on Sept. 21, I opened The Wall Street Journal and saw an editorial strongly condemning the attacks and arguing that the terrorists could not be true Muslims because Mohammed condemns violence and promotes peaceful coexistence among all peoples. It was signed, “M. Fethullah Gulen, scholar and imam.” His name stuck in my mind as one of the few moderate Muslim voices in the media.

Within a few years, we admitted several graduate students into our sociology department at the University of Houston who identified with the Gulen Movement. Advising them on papers and eventually master’s theses that analyzed the movement from a sociological perspective, I came to know more about the movement and the people in it and to learn that it represents a strong contrast to the so-called Muslim terrorist groups. It is a moderate Islamic movement dedicated to peaceful coexistence, dialogue, education and providing social services to the needy.

The movement started in Turkey in the 1970s when a preacher, Fetullah Gulen, began preaching from street corners, mosques, coffee shops and anywhere people would listen the importance of tolerance, respect, interfaith dialogue and creating bridges between peoples of the world. He insisted on the necessity of creating scientific and technological advances in the Muslim world, achieved by means of education. He preached that education was essential to bringing Turkey into the modern world and that Turkey needed not more mosques but quality schools that would focus on science, math, human values and technological innovation for its youth. Groups of wealthy businessmen became interested in his ideas and eventually provided the funds to begin tutoring centers, summer camps and finally private schools throughout Turkey. These schools have multiplied and are regarded among the best schools not only in Turkey but throughout the world as they have spread from Turkey to about 180 countries across the world, on every continent. There are 43 of these Gulen-inspired schools within Texas with about 28,000 students and a waiting list of over 30,000. They are known for their emphasis upon science and math and have state-of-the-art technology as well as dedicated teachers who often work overtime and spend time visiting the students’ homes and working with parents on their children’s educations

Interfaith dialogue is another hallmark of the movement. In Houston, the Gulen Movement is one of two or three active players in bringing people together from different faith traditions and providing opportunities for dialogue and interaction. In addition, the group is dedicated to social outreach to those in need. The film that we will show in San Angelo on Sept. 19 at San Angelo State University, LOVE IS A VERB, depicts the social service activities of members of the movement in various countries in the world, including Bosnia, Iraq and Somalia. Not only do members in the group preach social action, they put it into action in dramatic ways, hence the title indicating that their preaching of love is rooted in action.

In addition to researching the movement in Turkey and writing the first book on the movement for a Western audience, I had the opportunity of working with the film director, Tracy Spencer, a three-time Emmy-award winner, in being interviewed and also in helping to edit the film. The film has won a number of awards at international film festivals and is being acclaimed both in the United States and other countries for presenting another side of Islam to the world, one which opposes terrorism and emphasizes peace, dialogue and joining together for the betterment of humanity.


Helen Rose Ebaugh is a Professor Emeritus for the University of Houston’s department of sociology. She is an author and lecturer on world religions and the moderate voice of Muslims. For the past 20 years, she has been involved in interfaith work in Houston and internationally.

Source: Standard-Times , Sepember 19, 2015


Related News

Mississippi group, national officials denounce ISIS

The Dialogue Institute is a non-profit educational organization founded by Turkish-Americans and their friends. Its website says the group serves “to promote mutual understanding, respect and cooperation among people of diverse faiths and cultures by creating opportunities for direct communication and meaningful shared experiences.”

Claims about TİB plot to libel Hizmet spark massive reaction

Jurists and politicians reacted harshly to a claim in an email by an anonymous whistleblower from the Telecommunications Directorate (TİB), the agency responsible for carrying out legal wiretaps, that there is a conspiracy to bring the Hizmet movement under suspicion of infiltrating TİB.

Turkish PM Erdoğan launches another war [in Turkey]

Turkey’s Islamic camp is more diverse than one would think. In fact, the traditions that Erdoğan and Gülen come from have almost always been distinct and different from each. The former has been more explicitly Islamist, at times anti-Western and anti-Semitic. The latter, the line of Gülen, which goes back to scholar Said Nursi (1878-1960), has rather stayed closer to center-right parties and have been more friendly to the West and also other “Abrahamic” faiths.

Turkish government defiant as battle over prep schools rises

Both the government and the Gülen movement have raised the stakes in the debate over a plan to regulate private prep schools, or dershanes. The tension recently peaked, with Erdoğan describing the group’s objection to his government’s plans as a “smear campaign.” Ekrem Dumanlı, editor-in-chief of daily Zaman, which is known for its close ties with the Gülen movement, wrote an open letter to Erdoğan and urged him to review his decision.

Davis: Moderate voices such as Gülen movement are sorely needed

“This is most unfortunate, as anyone who does the minutest amount of research would clearly see that [the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria] ISIS does not follow the teachings of Islam,” says Joyce Davis, speaking about the bigoted comments of Bill Maher, who simplistically identified ISIS with the religion of Islam on a TV show last week. Davis is president of the World Affairs Council of Harrisburg, part of the World Affairs Councils of America, based in Washington, D.C. She is the author of two books on Islam and has written extensively on international affairs and US foreign policy.

Hizmet Movement: Partners We Want

A Turkish political, non-governmental, civil society organisation, Hizmet Movement, has made commendable contributions in Nigeria’s socio-economic life. The movement, which began in the late 1960s, particularly focuses on education, charity and dialogue, which it believes are the remedies to ignorance, poverty and disunity.

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

International Panel: The Virgin Mary in the Holy Books [in Istanbul]

Conferences on Hizmet movement in Egypt attracted masses

Turkish Cultural Center honours several Senegalese women

AK Party deputy Hakan Şükür against closure of prep schools

TUSKON offers Brazilian investors cooperation in tourism

Zaman school [in Cambodia] resists call for closure

Headlines or weapons of mass destruction?

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News