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

International photography contest “Peace at the Frame”

The Journalist and Writers Foundation’s (GYV) Intercultural Dialogue Platform announces its first, annual photography contest. GYV likes to draw attention one more time to the peace, which is need more than ever these days through art of photography .GYV intends to unite everybody who can put the peace at his/her frame with the expertise of the art of photography.

Tension should be reduced

Both sides [Hizmet movement and the AK Party government] see this rift as a matter of life and death. If you are in a struggle for existence, you do your best to attack the other side, but by doing so, you make mistakes, damage yourself and the other side.

Turkey Coup Attempt: Who is Fethullah Gülen, The Cleric Being Accused Of Orchestrating The Turmoil?

In an address to his supporters at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport early on Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Fethullah Gülen — a cleric living in a self-imposed exile in the United States — of orchestrating the coup attempt against his government. Here’s what you need to know about Gülen, who has denied being involved in the […]

Exiled Turkish professor ‘leading US university’

Medical scholar branded a ‘terrorist’ by Turkey over his alleged links to a US-based cleric is named head of an institution in Texas. Professor Tekalan is a former rector of Istanbul’s Fatih University.

Questions over corruption and paralysis of politics [in Turkey]

The corruption crisis, the related ongoing judicial process and PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s stance towards this process have led many people to have serious concerns over justice and the latest developments have made me pose the following questions. I think that we strongly need honestly speaking and honestly thinking politicians to answer these questions for the sake of liberal democracy and universal values such as rule of law.

Today’s Zaman celebrates 6th anniversary with columnists, editors

Today’s Zaman editors and columnists came together to celebrate the daily’s sixth anniversary at a dinner on Monday night. Some 30 Today’s Zaman columnists and the daily’s editorial staff came together at the Today’s Zaman headquarters in İstanbul for the dinner. “Today’s Zaman has been acknowledged as a reliable source of news and analysis during […]

Latest News

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

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

Minister says Pak-Turk schools won’t be closed down

Survey shows Turkish gov’t seized at least $11 billion of company assets over Gülen links

Trip to Turkey about understanding

Lawyer Karahan: Hate crimes against Hizmet can be prosecuted at ECtHR, ICC

Erdoğan’s harsh, xenophobic rhetoric damages fight against Islamophobia

Muslim voices against ISIS – Rita Cosby discusses Fethullah Gulen’s stern stance

Predictability in Erdoğan’s Turkey

Copyright 2023 Hizmet News