New Book – No Return from Democracy: A Survey of Interviews with Fethullah Gulen


Date posted: August 8, 2017

It was rare, if not impossible, to find in ’80s and ’90s a Muslim cleric who spoke in favor of democracy, integration with the Western world, and universal human values. Fethullah Gülen was one of those. Many of his avant-garde ideas did not only earn him one of the largest and most influential faith-inspired social movements of recent history, but also many foes, especially from the Turkish ruling elite, placing him in the center of many social and political developments in Turkey. Despite the enormous defamation from some political groups in Turkey, Gülen is recognized in the world as a devout Muslim cleric, whose thoughts and life style are deeply rooted in the Islamic faith, but who also believes Islam is not in conflict with the progressive values of the modern world. This book collates Gülen’s ahead-of-his-time comments on some of the debated issues as he phrased in interviews in the past few decades.

Click here to buy the book.

Related Video

Fethullah Gulen’s stance on democracy 1994-2016

 

Tags: | | |


Related News

A Turkish Recluse Bridges the Western and Muslim Worlds

A free global and interconnected citizenship might be the pathway to foster a non-violent and peaceful culture within societies. This is the main objective of a grassroots movement that advocates enhancing education, promoting universal values, interfaith dialogue and democracy.

Global Muslim networks: How far they have travelled

IT IS a long way from the Anatolian plains to a campus in the heart of London, where eminent scholars of religion deliver learned papers. And the highlands that used to form the Soviet border with China, an area where bright kids long for an education, seem far removed from a three-storey house in Pennsylvania, […]

‘Hizmet is a social movement worldwide, that has a heart, and it’s always from the heart.’

Hizmet works around the world to overcome poverty, and they do it in a very unique way, I think. In some ways, in a model way that could be emulated by others.

Fethullah Gülen and the role of nonviolence in a time of terror

Fethullah Gülen is unusual in adding a distinctly Islamic voice to the calls for a non-violent approach to conflict resolution. But how well do Gülen’s teachings on non-violence lead to peaceful transformation on the ground? Is his a static and passive approach bounded by dogma, or are we witnessing an innovative, active and self-aware spirit of transformation which really can lead to a new way of defining Islam in action?

Renewing Islam by Service: A Christian View of Fethullah Gulen and the Hizmet Movement

A new book, Renewing Islam by Service, by Dr. Pim Valkenberg has been published by Catholic University Press, which offers a theological account of the contemporary Turkish faith-based service movement started by Fethullah Gülen, and placed against the backdrop of changes in modern Turkish society. In the first two chapters, Pim Valkenberg includes stories of his personal experiences with supporters of this movement, in a number of different countries, when he focuses on the dialogue-minded Turkish Muslims in the Netherlands.

Turkey’s Internet watchdog blocks access to website broadcasting Gülen’s speeches

Turkey’s state-controlled Internet watchdog, the Telecommunications Directorate (TİB), has blocked access to herkul.org, a website that regularly broadcasts speeches by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.

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

Thousands of Pakistanis have cataract surgery courtesy of Kimse Yok Mu

Peace and prosperity for Turkey lies in philosophy of Nursi says Altan Tan

The mother of all wars

Kimse Yok Mu invited for consultation before UN summit

Father jailed over Gülen links, 6-months-old paralyzed baby left in intensive care

Turkey’s New Constitution Would End Its Democracy

How will prep school controversy influence elections [in Turkey]?

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News