Five global challenges: how might Hizmet respond?


Date posted: November 3, 2016

Five global challenges: how might Hizmet respond?

Hizmet, the social movement inspired by the neo-Sufi thinker Fetullah Gülen, is currently being dismembered by the autocratic president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He accuses Gülen of ordering a coup attempt on 15th July 2016, saying it was was led by Hizmet members in the army. This is strenuously denied by Gülen and Hizmet, but the crack-down has nevertheless been enormous in its range (see here for more information and for Hizmet’s response).

I am a supporter of Hizmet. Since 2006 I have enjoyed meeting their members (some of whom did their PhDs at my university), learning about their work and experiencing their hospitality. In every encounter, in Leeds, London, Istanbul, Seoul and São Paulo, I have found their members (male and female) to be sincere, intelligent, open-minded, humorous and kind.

In May this year (2016) they invited me to speak at their academic conference in Brazil on the role of Hizmet as a social movement. Because they are a huge, world-wide social movement inspired by Islam but largely engaged in educational and charitable work (Gülen has said we have enough mosques, what we need is more schools), I wrote a paper which suggested they enlarged their remit to address five challenges facing the world today:

  • Climate change
  • Globalised economies that are increasing the polarisation of wealth and income
  • Mass migration
  • Increasing political violence, claiming religion as its justification
  • Decreasing social solidarity

Here is the paper I wrote up after the conference: Hizmet Conference paper  It includes more detail of my work with Hizmet; more importantly it contains a lot of detailed factual information on the scale of these challenges.

Already Hizmet does important work on some of these issues. If it survives Erdogan’s onslaught, it will no doubt do more. As a movement inspired by religion but committed to secular, democratic government that respects universally-agreed human rights and prioritises modern, high-quality education for all, Hizmet can contribute to progressive change in Islamic countries. It has much to offer to multicultural society across the globe. I do not believe that Gülen ordered the coup attempt.

(To save time on reading the paper, you could look at the slides I used in the presentation Max Farrar Hizmet Conf paper slides PDF.)

Source: Hizmet Studies , August 12, 2016


Related News

The Ideal of Serving Mankind

Last week I was invited to speak at a panel organized for the occasion of the publication of Muslim scholar and preacher Fethullah Gülen’s new book “Yaşatma İdeali” (The Ideal of Serving Mankind), in which he explains the main principles of the faith-based social movement serving the nation and the mankind he has inspired. Şahin […]

27-Years-Old Mother With 11-Months-Old Son Found In Ankara’s Sincan Prison

Yağmur Balcı, a 27-years-old mother, who disappeared together with his 11-months-old son in a Trabzon Prison, has been found in Sincan Prison in Ankara on Monday morning. Turkey’s Republican People’s Party deputy Sezgin Tanrıkulu has announced that Yağmur Balcı and his son was transferred to Sincan Women Prison in Ankara without giving any information to her lawyer and her family.

Logistics companies seized over Gülen links sold in fast-track auction

Turkey’s Savings Deposit Insurance Fund announced it has sold Sürat Kargo and Sürat Lojistik, private logistics companies that had been transferred to the TMSF due to their alleged affiliation with the Gülen movement. Numerous private companies were transferred to TMSF due to their alleged links to the Gülen movement before and after a failed coup in 2016.

How does PM Erdoğan hurt the liberal pious of Turkey?

Turkey has been vigorously debating the nature of its democracy and popular Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling style, which has increasingly authoritarian tendencies, as never before since the Gezi Park protests in May. From my perspective, the Gezi protests, on which everyone was almost forced to take sides, is a grey area since both the government and the protesters made their share of mistakes.

Gülen denies role in blocking publication of Şık’s book

In a statement, Gülen said he has never worked to block the publication of a book even though they are many books on the shelves that target him personally. “Many books against me personally have been published. But I have never been engaged in efforts to prevent the publication of a book.

Parents of Afghan-Turk school students vow to defend school in Mazar-e Sharif to the end

The Parents’ Committee of an Afghan-Turk school held a press conference on Wednesday in the conference hall of Ariana Boys High School in Mazar-e Sharif and vowed to defend to the end the school against the attacks of the Turkish government.

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

‘Hizmet’s solution against radicalism should be announced to world’

Kimse Yok Mu extends help to thousands in Palestine

Gulen: Dervish of our times

Fethullah Gulen Cited among Watkins’ 2019 the Most Spiritually Influential 100 Living People

Inside the rural Pa. compound where an influential Muslim cleric lives in exile

Conflict between Gülen Movement and Turkey’s ruling AKP reflected in business world

Fethullah Gülen’s photo

Copyright 2023 Hizmet News