Fethullah Gülen on Islam, democracy and freedom of speech

Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen
Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen


Date posted: February 5, 2015

PAUL MOSES

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.

I offer that as a brief backdrop to an important op-ed piece in The New York Times in which the reclusive Gülen, living in exile in the Poconos in Pennsylvania, speaks out forcefully against the increasingly harsh nature of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s rule. He writes:

Turkey’s rulers have not only alienated the West, they are also now losing credibility in the Middle East. Turkey’s ability to assert positive influence in the region depends not only on its economy but also on the health of its own democracy.

The core tenets of a functioning democracy — the rule of law, respect for individual freedoms — are also the most basic of Islamic values bestowed upon us by God. No political or religious leader has the authority to take them away … Speaking against oppression is a democratic right, a civic duty and for believers, a religious obligation. The Quran makes clear that people should not remain silent in the face of injustice: “O you who believe! Be upholders and standard-bearers of justice, bearing witness to the truth for God’s sake, even though it be against your own selves, or parents or kindred.”

It’s an interesting piece in which Gülen invokes Islam in defense of free speech. That value has been under attack in Turkey, where Erdogan’s government has been arresting, smearing and intimidating journalists. Gülen may not have the power of a state behind him, but he has the power of an idea.

Source: Commonweal Magazine , February 3, 2015


Related News

Abant Platform to discuss framework of new constitution

5 March 2012 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL The prestigious Abant Platform, which has tackled pressing issues facing Turkey since its establishment in 1998, will aim in its next meeting to contribute to the shaping of Turkey’s new constitution. The 26th Abant meeting, which will be held from March 9 to 11 in Turkey’s northwestern province […]

Turkish schools and businessmen mobilized for Izmir’s EXPO candidacy

The Turkish schools around the globe have been making great effort for Izmir’s EXPO 2020 win. The schools and businessmen have taken action so that Bureau of International Expositions committee opts for Turkey in the voting to take place in Paris on November 27th. “What is lost with Olympics can be made up for in EXPO,” Fethullah Gulen had earlier said.

Ergenekon’s coup-lovers owe an apology to the Hizmet movement

Since the start of the Ergenekon trials, some of the suspects and their supporters constantly, steadfastly and fiercely argued that the Ergenekon cases were based on fabricated evidence prepared by the Hizmet movement, claiming that the defendants were actually innocent. They now owe an apology to the Hizmet movement.

Turkish police raid media close to cleric rival Gulen, detain 24

Turkish police raided media outlets close to a U.S.-based Muslim cleric on Sunday and detained 24 people including top executives and ex-police chiefs in operations against what President Tayyip Erdogan calls a terrorist network conspiring to topple him.

Commentary: Abuses rampant in wake of Turkish coup

We don’t know a lot. But what we do know should cause us to ask our elected officials to look carefully at any request for extradition for Fethullah Gulen. We don’t know everything, but we know that the post-coup crackdown has included public appeals “to be protected from the evil things of educated people.” Nearly 60,000 have been detained. Some 1,600 university academic deans have been relieved of their positions.

ECtHR Asks Turkish Gov’t For Explanation Over The Case Of Abducted Lawyer

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has decided to evaluate the application of Emine Özben whose husband Mustafa Özben (42), a Bar-registered lawyer and academic, was abducted on May 9, 2017 in Ankara  by elements linked to Turkish security and intelligence services on August 4, 2017.

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

Police raid building Fethullah Gülen resided in 55 years ago

Ex-AK Party deputy Özdalga: Gov’t wants to make judiciary subordinate to executive power

Bridges of love extending from Konya to Kenya

Spy agency planning false-flag terror acts in crowded areas, whistleblower claims

Gülen’s lawyers slam Erdoğan’s ‘slanderous’ unsolved murders remarks

Celebrating Ramadan with Turkish asylum seekers

Turkey torture claims in wake of failed coup

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News