Fethullah Gulen: Turkish Scholar, Cleric — And Conspirator?
A Rare Interview: Jamie Tarabay Meets Turkish Scholar Fethullah Gulen
Date posted: January 8, 2014
Al-Jazeera America reporter Jamie Tarabay interviewed Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen in his home last spring. It was published in The Atlantic last August. Gulen is a Turkish spiritual leader to millions of Turks, both in Turkey and around the world, and the head of the Gulen movement. His network of followers spans the globe, and it has opened academically-focused schools in 90 countries, including the U.S.
Robert Siegel speaks with Tarabay about the interview.
The campaign to manipulate public perceptions of Fethullah Gülen and the Hizmet movement which is inspired by Gülen’s ideas is stepping up pace once again. The “wag-the-dog” strategy is wielded once again in an effort to distract public attention.
Who is Fethullah Gülen?
The leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, rightly called it “a coup against democracy” when Zaman Editor-in-Chief Ekrem Dumanlı and STV network executive Hidayet Karaca, together with a number of screenwriters and television producers, were detained on Dec. 14 on the incredible charges of founding or belonging to “an armed terrorist organization aiming to seize the sovereignty of the state.”
Erdogan’s Turkey: ‘You are either with us or you are terrorists’
Despite Erdoğan’s ‘terrorist’ label, the West looks at actions and concrete evidence rather than just words. Hizmet movement participants have not been involved in one single violent incident throughout the movement’s 50-year history.
Fethullah Gulen’s poetry in songs calls for Peace
A new song album of Fethullah Gulen’s English-translated poems has been released. The album titled “Rise up-Colors of Peace,” featuring poems by Gulen composed into songs, has been released jointly by Nil Production and Universal Music after two years of recording. According to Kaynak Publishing press release, 12 poems out of 50 that were previously translated […]
Fethullah Gülen’s prospects for inter-religious dialogue
Fethullah Gülen has emerged as one of the most persuasive and influential voices in the Muslim community calling for dialogue as a step toward peace. Indeed, he offers “a way to live out Islamic values amidst the complex demands of modern societies and to engage in ongoing dialogue and cooperation with people of other religions.”
Accused by Erdogan of plotting a coup, Hizmet movement fears for freedom in Turkey
The Hizmet is based on the idea of a “modern Islam compatible with democracy” that has been disseminated by Fethullah Gülen since the 1960’s. Gülen, now 75 years old, is a former imam, writer, thinker and teacher. He has been living in the US in volunteer exile since 1999, when he left Turkey due to successive military coups. Even from afar, Gülen keeps influencing thousands of Turks and Muslims around the world.
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