‘Fethullah Gulen is one of the leading Islamic thinkers in the world’


Date posted: March 14, 2015

Azam Nizamuddin is an activist and an attorney. He is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Theology at Loyola University of Chicago. Nizamuddin teaches courses on Islam, and History of Islamic Thought. He has previously taught at Elmhurst College in Illinois. He lectures on Islamic theology and law, and on Islamic civilization to churches, synagogues, civic organizations across the country.

“My general view of the Hizmet Movement is that it is one of the leading, I would say, Islamic movements in the world today. It’s also one of the leading global spiritual and social movements in the world because of its impact, not only within Turkey but also in various Muslim countries in central Asia and now today in North America as well.”

“I think the Gulen, or Hizmet, Movement represents Islam by, on the one hand, maintaining a strong connection to and being rooted in the Islamic primary sources, such as the Qur’an and the Prophetic teachings, but, at the same time, not neglecting the world around it.

And, I think that Fethullah Gulen promotes Islamic values, Islamic teachings without necessarily rejecting the world and rejecting the West, and I think that’s a very important and innovative development of the past 100 years of Islamic thinkers.”

“I think that the Hizmet Movement draws its inspiration and teaching from Said Nursi who, in the early 20th century, argued that religion and science are compatible; that the science that the West has promoted since the late 17th and 18th century, particularly Post-Enlightenment, has permitted people to develop but at the expense of faith and morality, and I think Said Nursi argued that you can have faith, morality and science together.

And I think the Hizmet Movement, and in particular Fethullah Gulen, draws from those teachings and has that engaged in very positive aspects of promoting education.”

*Produced by Spectra Media exclusively for Irmak TV, Atlas of Thoughts (Fikir Atlasi) connects the scholars, politicians, jurists, religious figures, journalists, and academics reflecting on Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen and the Hizmet Movement with the audience. Each episode features a person from a different segment of the society with diverse experiences regarding the Hizmet activities and its volunteers. If you are interested to hear about the Hizmet and Mr. Gulen from these people’s perspectives, do not miss this show!

Source: Spectra Media , April 30, 2014

Tags: | | | |


Related News

The work of peace

Mr. Tozan is originally from Turkey; the Peace Islands Institute likewise has Turkish roots. He said that there are about half a million Muslims of Turkish descent in the United States, two thirds of them in the New York metropolitan area.

Gülen, the most important figure of tolerance and dialogue

In the West, especially in the United States, an increasing number of scholars have discovered Gülen to be a man of love and tolerance and consider his teaching as a model of dialogue.

Watson points to new authoritarianism in Turkish gov’t’s relations

“A new authoritarianism can be seen in the government’s relations with business and the media, and towards protests,” the British member of the European Parliament (MEP) and leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe party said in his letter.

Erdoğan and Gülen: The Marriage of Convenience

Religiously, the Gülen Movement both reflects the long tradition of Turkish Sufi brotherhoods, and Gülen’s own emphasis on societal change through education, humanitarian activism, and interfaith dialogue. Gülen never sympathized with, or adopted, the AKP’s more conservative form of political Islam.

Gülen becomes litmus test for American media

The International Herald Tribune and the New York Times published a story on Fethulah Gulen and the civic society movement he has inpsired, the Hizmet movement. It was the same story with different headlines. It was full of mistakes if not defamation. Below is a detailed analysis of the the news.

Trustees decide to remove Gülen’s books from NT bookstores

In an explicit example of censorship, a panel of trustees who were appointed to Kaynak Holding last week in a government-backed move has decided to have copies of all books written by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen removed from the shelves of hundreds of NT Mağazaları bookstores across the country, Today’s Zaman has learned.

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

Former minister inquires about secret plot against Gülen movement

University preparatory courses and the Hizmet movement in Turkey

Why does Turkey’s President Erdogan want Knicks’ Enes Kanter in jail?

Perinçek: I have Erdoğan’s support in fighting Gülen movement

A new ring to the chain of Turkish schools in Kyrgyzstan

On the mysterious deportations of Turkish teachers

Turkish schools in Somalia won 22 medals in 2 years

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News