Hizmet and countering violent extremism

Dr. Ihsan Yilmaz
Dr. Ihsan Yilmaz


Date posted: December 10, 2015

The Hizmet movement is in trouble in Turkey because of the increasingly despotic Justice and Development Party (AKP) regime’s persecution of its volunteers. But, ironically, this may be good for world peace.

Our global village has several very serious problems and one of them is unfortunately the violent extremist ideologies that keep coming out in the Muslim world, which has unfortunately been like a fertile swamp for such ideologies for a long time. It seems that in terms of its size and potential global impact, the Hizmet may be the only hope for solutions in eradicating, or at least countering, the perverted ideologies that negatively affect some Muslims. So far, the Hizmet has allocated an overwhelming majority of its monetary, institutional and human capital in Turkey, depriving the world of its potential contribution to a great extent. The AKP’s inhumane cruelty that amounts to a sort genocide will hopefully give unintentional fruit to the Hizmet’s more balanced spread throughout the world with its peaceful, non-violent, pluralistic, modern and compassionate approach.

The Hizmet’s potentially valuable contribution stems from the fact that despite its increasing pluralization in terms of the backgrounds of its participants, it is still mainly a practicing Sunni Muslim movement. And, as you know, unfortunately nowadays almost all those that commit barbaric acts of terrorism in the name of Islam come from this background. The terrorists, similar to the Islamophobes in the West, are vehemently against Muslims’ peaceful co-existence in the West and their successful integration to wider society. What the Hizmet offers not only by its creed but also by its conduct is that Islam is compatible with secular modernity, democracy, human rights and secularism. What is more, the Hizmet has been arguing that terrorism is against Islam. Fethullah Gülen, the inspiring leader of the movement, is a Sunni Muslim scholar and he bases all his non-violent philosophy on Sunni Islamic sources. This is the only way that the world’s more than 1 billion Sunni Muslims will be positively influenced. The Hizmet’s non-violent philosophy is so peaceful that despite its monstrous treatment by the AKP for the last two years, none of its participants have resorted to violence. This has been very difficult for Hizmet volunteers. In passing, I must mention that I am worried that the AKP, which wants the Hizmet to be labeled as a terrorist organization — and has been unsuccessful so far — may plot to attempt to show that the Hizmet resorts to violence too. With its newly acquired deep state, the AKP may organize for some of the Hizmet volunteers, who, like me, are hated by AKP members, to be physically attacked or even killed and organize a “Hizmet” counter-attack and kill some staunchly anti-Hizmet AKP members. God forbid…

But even if this plot is implemented, I do not think that the world will buy this cheap manipulation of facts since there is nothing in the Hizmet’s understanding that violence is Islamic. The God that the Hizmet people believe in is a merciful one that wants Muslims to be compassionate and decent human beings. On the other hand, its staunch enemy, the AKP, is rumored to support the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), al-Qaeda and Boko Haram. What is more, according to several polls, an important percentage of AKP members do not see these organizations as terrorist ones. All Hizmet participants, however, do consider these monsters as evil terrorists who are not even Muslim any more.

Unlike Islamists, the Hizmet does not divide the world into two — dar al-harb and dar al-Islam — but sees it as a single entity which is dar al-Hizmet, meaning that Muslims can and actually must reside peacefully everywhere in the world and continually serve human kind by being good people and by investing their money, time, energy and endeavor into education, dialogue, media, publication, medicine and philanthropy. It is not only the Hizmet’s anti-violent philosophy but also its conduct in these areas that is helpful in countering and rooting-out violent extremism. Thanks to the AKP’s evil pressure in Turkey, the Hizmet will reallocate its human and other resources to different parts of the world.

Source: Today's Zaman , December 09, 2015


Related News

Ahmet Şık’s book and Ergenekon’s media campaign (3)

Emre Uslu, Sunday January 1, 2012 In a previous article I examined the media campaign against the Ergenekon trials and discussed Ahmet Şık. As I mentioned, the impact of Şık’s arrest was exaggerated because he was allegedly writing a book criticizing the Gülen movement’s influence in the police force, and his arrest was to prevent […]

Turkey introduces new decree law to seize all Gulen-related companies

Thanks to a new decree law released as part of the state of emergency declared late on July 20 following a failed coup, Turkey’s government is now set to seize all the Turkish companies owned by businessmen somehow linked to the US-based Islamic Scholar Fethullah Gülen.

Turkey cooperating with Israel to help Gaza

Diplomatic sources confirmed that an official from the Turkish Red Crescent went to Israel to coordinate humanitarian aid to be sent to Gaza. “There is no other way to provide aid to Gaza,” said the sources on Thursday. Dismissing claims that the Turkish official will be negotiating a cease-fire between Israel and Gaza, sources said Turkey is only in contact with the officials from Hamas and the US regarding the Palestinian territory.

Turkey bans math textbooks due to questions including Gülen’s initials

Turkey’s paranoia over the Gülen movement has reached new heights with the government banning mathematics textbooks due to questions involving the initials of Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.

Erdoğan gov’t signals change to allow re-trial of officers

At public rallies, Erdoğan has been floating a claim that a gang within the state is attacking his government in the name of corruption. He claimed he has evidence with regard to this group and wanted to expose this evidence soon.
Erdoğan has not offered any evidence so far indicating that such a group acting in violation of the law operates within the judiciary or police force.

Fethullah Gülen: “Disbelief may prevail, but tyranny will not” (Interview in Asharq Al-Awsat-II)

As [Sunni scholar] Bediüzzaman Said Nursi aptly noted, we should combat the arch-enemies of the Umma (the Islamic community)—namely ignorance, poverty and disunity—with reasonable middle- and long-term projects for promoting education, science, art, trade, democracy, human rights, women’s empowerment, tolerance and dialogue. Any quest for democracy may fail if it does not stand on a firm foundation. The Hizmet Movement has long been trying to do this. with schools, universities, business associations, charitable foundations, dialogue institutions and media outlets.

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

A private Turkish university opens in northern Iraq

Government cuts off funds for disabled child over father’s Gülen links

A festival in Houston: Silk road festival

ESİDEF: Targets doubled despite intimidation

African Union, Kimse Yok Mu Sign Landmark Agreement

Former football star, İstanbul deputy says he is subject to hate crime

Dozens of the anti-Gülen and anti-Gülen Movement books on the shelves

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News