Gülen movement makes Turkey more noticeable

Helen Rose Ebough
Helen Rose Ebough


Date posted: January 31, 2011

FATİH VURAL/TUĞBA KAPLAN, İSTANBUL

A sociologist who has studied the faith-based Gülen movement of Turkey extensively has said the movement helps other countries in the world to become more aware of Turkey.

Helen Rose Ebaugh, the author of “The Gülen Movement: A Sociological Analysis of a Civic Movement Rooted in Moderate Islam,” was in İstanbul yesterday where she attended a panel discussion organized by the Journalist and Writers Foundation. Other speakers who took part in the discussion included Ferhat Kentel, Ömer Laçiner and Ali Bulaç.

During her speech, Ebaugh stated that the Gülen movement had opened schools across five continents and in 120 countries, helping to educate the people in these countries and also creating a “society of dialogue.” She said thanks to the activities of these schools, people in those countries have become more knowledgeable about Turkey, saying this has contributed to an overall international awareness of Turkey.

Ebaugh also emphasized that what kept the movement alive and its participants interested were regular “sohbets,” or talks, where religious and philosophical topics are discussed, bringing fellow followers together in a friendly atmosphere. She said she had not met the movement’s founder, Fethullah Gülen, in person, adding that she also had no intention to do so.

Kentel, the dean of the sociology department of Şehir University, praised the book and particularly its focus on organization devotion theory; however, he did criticize the book by saying it was lacking in sociological criticism. Kentel defined the Gülen movement as a movement intended to create a counter-hegemony to the Kemalist regime. “This is why it is a nationalist, right-wing and largely patriarchal movement,” he said.

Researcher Ömer Laçiner criticized Ebaugh’s book for not investigating the political links of the movement. He said Catholic and Protestant groups had formed similar movements in the 18th and 19th centuries, noting that the book should have included a comparison with these movements. He also criticized the movement for being hesitant when it comes to the Alevi and Kurdish questions.

 

Source: Today's Zaman , 14 January 2011


Related News

US-based think tank says Gülen movement progressive in terms of pro-Kurdish reforms

A US-based think tank has released a report stating that the Gülen (Hizmet) movement, a grassroots civil society organization that has frequently accused government officials of obstructing the settlement negotiations between the government and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), has a progressive attitude regarding pro-Kurdish reforms.

Religious leaders pray for world peace at meeting of civilizations

Religious leaders prayed for world peace at an event deemed the meeting of civilizations and organized by the Antakya Intercultural Dialogue Association (AKADİM) and Turkish aid organization Kimse Yok Mu in the province of Hatay

Turkey: Post-coup prisoner says threatened with rape, beaten almost to death

In the latest of firsthand letters revealing the re-emergence of torture in Turkish prisons, an Antalya arrestee reportedly said he was beaten so badly that he blacked out for some time and was also threatened with rape.

The Dutch Turkish community must speak out about the anti-Gülen violence

Labour MP Ahmed Marcouch calls on Turkish-Dutch organisations to speak out about violence and intimidation and to build bridges instead. There’s a silence and it’s hurting my ears. It’s the silence that surrounds the violence against the Gülen supporters. What happened to the organisations normally so quick to ask for protection against intolerance? Where are […]

Journalists and Writers Foundation’s statement [on arrest warrant issued for Mr. Gulen]

It is a well-known fact that then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had sent Bülent Arınç to Mr. Fethullah Gülen to give him the message, “We are ready to do anything you want us to do,” and that he had called on Mr. Gülen to return to the country to “put an end to homesickness” in the witness of tens of thousands of spectators in a stadium.

US lawmaker says Gülen should not be extradited, calls his movement strongest element against radical Islamists

United States (US) Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, released a statement on Monday, saying that the US should turn down the Turkish president’s demand of the extradition of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen as he could not be part of a coup attempt, calling his movement “strongest element in his society opposing radical Islamist terrorism.”

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

Pakistan submits to Turkey’s ‘authoritarian demands’ on Gulen

CHP Adana deputy lends support to mosque-cemevi project

Borough President Adams Celebrates Eid with Food Donation

Second Annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Reception & Award Ceremony

Muslims and Jews celebrate Ramadan together in Sheepshead Bay

Government [in Turkey] replaces military in defamation tactics

22 businessmen sue PM Erdoğan over Hashishin remarks against Hizmet

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News