New Book – “Beginnings and Endings: Fethullah Gülen’s Vision for Today’s World”


Date posted: October 25, 2013

“Beginnings and Endings Fethullah Gülen’s vision for Today’s World” elucidates how belief in resurrection, Divine judgment, and the eternal life of the Hereafter deeply impact life here-and-now,” which is the span of time and space God granted humans to foster their relationships with one another and, most importantly, to fulfill their role as the vicegerents of God in this world before its ultimate destruction. The Hizmet movement, inspired by Gülen, is mentioned as one such manifestation of that vicegerency.

The book quotes extensively from Gülen’s writings so the wider public can hear his voice expressing his understandings of the Divine Plan for all of creation as well as the vision he has for human responsibility in the present world. It discusses Gülen’s views on the beginning and end of times, which provide the framework for his concentrated vision of a just, equitable, and peaceful world. It presents Gülen’s spiritual side, revealing him to be not only a man of profound reflection, but a man who understands creation’s purpose and humanity’s role within the present day. This understanding has allowed him to craft a vision for a peaceful and prosperous world and its coming re-birth in the eternal life of the Hereafter. 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 today’s world.

About the Author:

Dr. Walter H. Wagner is adjunct faculty at Moravian Theological Seminary (Bethlehem, PA) and the Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia. He is an ordained Lutheran pastor (ELCA), retired from parish ministry. He has taught at California, Lutheran College, Upsala College and Muhlenberg College, and served as the director for theological education of the Lutheran Church in America. He is the author of a number of articles on early church history and Islam as well as books including “After the Apostles: Christianity in the second century” and “Opening the Quran: Introducing Islam’s Holy Book.”

Tags: | |


Related News

Hizmet Movement: Partners We Want

A Turkish political, non-governmental, civil society organisation, Hizmet Movement, has made commendable contributions in Nigeria’s socio-economic life. The movement, which began in the late 1960s, particularly focuses on education, charity and dialogue, which it believes are the remedies to ignorance, poverty and disunity.

The Gülen Movement: a modern expression of Turkish Islam – Interview with Hakan Yavuz

In a way, they [the Gülen movement] represent a new model of Islam in Turkey, at peace with democracy and modernity. This also reflects the Anatolian understanding of Islam, i.e. the Sufi conception of morality is at the centre of the movement. I would consider it as a movement based on the re-imagining of Islam and consisting of loose networks under the guidance and leadership of Fetullah Gülen.

Is man living in Pennsylvania responsible for Turkey coup attempt?

Low-flying military jets buzzed over Turkey’s capital of Ankara. Soldiers blocked major bridges in Istanbul. State-run television announced that the military had imposed martial law.

Fethullah Gülen on Islam, democracy and freedom of speech

Publishing a book in 2009 about Francis of Assisi’s peaceful encounter with Egypt’s Sultan Malik al-Kamil during the Fifth Crusade led me to meet a lot of people with an interest in improving interreligious relations. Among them were a number of Turkish immigrants who are followers of the Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen. I observed that through a network of private schools, foundations and media organizations, they have worked very hard to improve Muslim-Christian relations.

Gülen: The Ambiguous Politics of Market Islam in Turkey and the World

The Hizmet Movement is Turkey’s most influential Islamic identity community. Widely praised throughout the early 2000s as a mild and moderate variation on Islamic political identity, the Gülen Movement has long been a topic of both adulation and conspiracy in Turkey, and has become more controversial as it spreads across the world. In Gülen, Joshua D. Hendrick suggests that when analyzed in accordance with its political and economic impact, the Gülen Movement, despite both praise and criticism, should be given credit for playing a significant role in Turkey’s rise to global prominence.

Gülen’s contribution to a pluralist democracy

The Hizmet movement, inspired by Muslim scholar Fethullah Gülen, is a formidable actor in catalyzing change for a better Turkey and will remain so for the foreseeable future as a non-political force to be reckoned with.

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

Speaking about Gülen, Chomsky: ‘Mandela declared as terrorist, too’

Romania denies extradition request for Turkish teacher over Gülen links

‘A very good representative of the best in Islam, Hizmet contributes to the non-Muslim world’s understanding of Islam’

We must live with principles of peace and love

Islamic scholar Gülen calls for ‘reasonability’ in prep school row

Fethullah Gülen backs peace talks between government and PKK

We’ll kiss the hands of those who tell us our shortcomings

Copyright 2024 Hizmet News