“Turkey, with the great assistance of Fethullah Gülen‎ has been a model”


Date posted: January 31, 2015

Dr. Patrick Drinan is the Professor of Political Science at the University of San Diego. He completed his doctorate at the University of Virginia. Dr. Drinan served as the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of San Diego from 1989–2007. He has also served as a consultant on academic integrity at the university level.

“I think Gülen‎ has certainly done the kind of outreach in terms of cultural dialog—and the outreach is not only to academics like myself, it’s been to local political leaders, people from the religious communities, and the like—and that kind of outreach, in terms of building understanding, I think is one of his greatest accomplishments.”

“I think, Muslims having dialog with non-Muslims is very, very important, although I know it’s very difficult to do. Religious commitments can be very, very strong, and listening to the voices of other religions is not something that comes easy to any religious movement.”

“I think it’ll take two or three generations of openness and sustained kind of listening and cultural interaction for that connection between Muslims and non-Muslims to really flourish.

But, what I think is that the Gulen Movement, has established a fine base, and the fact that there is perhaps some conflict and debate about the wisdom of doing it, or some of the techniques that are used, I think is very, very healthy.”


*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 15, 2014


Related News

Journalist reveals inspiring story of Turkish schools in book

Ankara-based journalist Mesut Çevikalp has written a book about the little-known stories of Turkish schools opened by Turkish entrepreneurs in various parts of the world, including the moving and hardship-laden stories of education volunteers working at these schools, most of whom left a better life in Turkey with the hope of promoting universal values of peace, dialogue and peaceful coexistence with others.

Fethullah Gülen condemns the terrorist attack in Gaziantep, Turkey

I condemn, in the strongest terms, the barbaric terrorist attack on attendees of a wedding ceremony in Gaziantep, Turkey that took the lives of more than fifty citizens, including children, and wounded many others. This is not just an attack on the attendees of a wedding, but also an attack on the solidarity of people of Anatolia, including Turks, Kurds, Arabs, Boshniaks, Albanians, Georgians and Circassians and others who lived as neighbors for centuries.

Terrorism: Why Obama, Others Ignored Turkish President Erdogan

Turkish President Erdogan on Tuesday called on world leaders to fight against US based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen over what he (Erdogan) described as an act of terrorism orchestrated by Gulen against Turkey. Addressing Presidents and Prime Ministers of civilised regimes of the world at the 68th UN General Assembly, Erdogan demonstrated before his colleagues very high level of incapacitation and inability to stick to simple ratified conventions to which Turkey is signatory.

Gülen’s message on ISIL in UK-based Guardian newspaper

Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen’s message on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) appeared on Wednesday in the UK-based Guardian newspaper. In the message, Gülen says the actions of ISIL are a “disgrace to the faith they proclaim and crimes against humanity.”

Dr. Soltes: Hizmet cares for Turkey and humanity

Antalya Intercultural Dialog Center (AKDIM) hosted a conference entitled “Implications of Global Rise of Democracy for Today from a Rumi Perspective” at Ramada Plaza Hotel, Antalya, Turkey. The keynote speakers were the US academic Dr. Ori Soltes and journalist-author Erkan Tufan Aytav.

GYV: Hard-won democratic gains sacrificed for short-term interests

The move to seek the extradition of Fethullah Gülen using irrational justifications, the pressures on those businesspeople who sympathize with the Hizmet movement and the boycotts and sufferings that came in the wake of Erdoğan’s threat, “Do not given them [the Hizmet movement] even a single drop of water,” are the sort of developments unseen even during coup eras.

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

France Urges Turkey to Respect Rights in Aftermath of Coup

Police and inspectors raid Gülen-inspired kindergarten in Manisa

Hakan Şükür’s resignation

Abant Platform calls for ‘respect for sacred’ in Africa meeting

African Union, Kimse Yok Mu Sign Landmark Agreement

Extradition of Turkish Citizens: Moldova to pay 125,000 euros in damages for rights violations

Media & Ethics Forum 2015: Democracy & Censorship in the Digital Age

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News