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.
‘The Gulen movement is one of the very few that has managed to live what it preaches.’
Hizmet Movement is, in my view, an Islamically-inspired, Islamically-grounded movement, or Islamically-rooted movement, founded on the universal and fundamental principle of peace and—the essential values of Islam—peace, mercy and compassion, as normative, moral objectives and which seeks to translate these principles into—through the dynamic of ta’aruf, the dynamic of coming to know one another, especially coming to know the other—into a reality, into a living sociological and anthropological reality.
A reality check on [Turkey coup attempt] from America’s spy chief
Asked whether Turkish allegations that cleric Fethullah Gulen planned the attempted coup passed the “smell test” of credibility, National Intelligence Director James Clapper answered: “No. Not to me.” He said that Secretary John Kerry “was right on the ball” to press the Turks to back up their extradition request with evidence of Gulen’s involvement.
Imam in the Middle
Gulen is nothing if not prolific. He has written more than 60 books, most of which are available in English. It’s likely that an equal number of books have been written about Gulen or the movement he inspired. The man and the movement are subjects of myriad dissertations and scholarly treatises.
Biden’s office refutes Turkish minister’s claim that US has proof Gülenists plotted coup
US Vice President Joe Biden’s office refuted a claim made by Bekir Bozdağ, justice minister of Turkey, who said on Thursday night that Biden had confirmed that substantive information on the involvement of US-based Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen had been received by the US as part of an extradition request submitted by Ankara this month.
New Book – “Beginnings and Endings: Fethullah Gülen’s Vision for Today’s World”
Instead of apocalyptic visions of clashing religions and civilizations, Gülen envisions eschatological fulfillment of the world, and thus meets the reader as a man of devout and informed hope. This seminal hope manifests itself in the determined actions of the committed men and women working to end ignorance, poverty, and disunity in todays world.
Gülen says Turkey’s democracy eroding under AK Party rule
Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has said Turkey, which was not long ago the envy of Muslim-majority countries with its bid to become an EU member and dedication to being a functioning democracy, is reversing progress and clamping down on civil society, the media, the judiciary and free enterprise under the rule of the governing Justice and Development Party (AK Party).
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
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Bank Asya’s corporate governance rating increases
Post-coup Turkey sliding into terror regime: Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk
Police chiefs removed in four provinces across Turkey
Erdoğan hampers girls’ education [by shutting down prep schools run by the Hizmet movement]
