New Book – No Return from Democracy: A Survey of Interviews with Fethullah Gulen
Date posted: August 8, 2017
It was rare, if not impossible, to find in ’80s and ’90s a Muslim cleric who spoke in favor of democracy, integration with the Western world, and universal human values. Fethullah Gülen was one of those. Many of his avant-garde ideas did not only earn him one of the largest and most influential faith-inspired social movements of recent history, but also many foes, especially from the Turkish ruling elite, placing him in the center of many social and political developments in Turkey. Despite the enormous defamation from some political groups in Turkey, Gülen is recognized in the world as a devout Muslim cleric, whose thoughts and life style are deeply rooted in the Islamic faith, but who also believes Islam is not in conflict with the progressive values of the modern world. This book collates Gülen’s ahead-of-his-time comments on some of the debated issues as he phrased in interviews in the past few decades.
It is impossible not to see the polarization among the people over the upcoming presidential elections; this polarization raises serious concerns. It is also possible to consider the verbal attacks and violence against the Hizmet movement in the context of the literature on politicide and genocide. However, not only the Hizmet movement will suffer from repressive-hegemonic politicide. The entire country of Turkey will be hurt by this.
Minister thankful to Fethullah Gulen for backing the peace process
Minister of EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis, thankful to Fethullah Gulen for backing the ongoing peace process in Turkey’s Kurdish issue, said, “The peace process is a process in which the entire nation feels the honor of being equal citizens of the same state under the same flag. So I would like to […]
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PM threatens business, media and civic groups amid corruption woes
In several veiled references to the Hizmet movement, inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen who has been critical of the government for trying to derail the corruption investigation, the prime minister claimed that the operation was orchestrated by “gangs” and a “parallel state.”
[Part 1] Islamic scholar Gülen calls conditions in Turkey worse than military coup
Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, who has inspired a worldwide network active in education, charity and outreach, has described large-scale slander, pressure and oppression his Hizmet movement currently faces as worse than that seen during anti-democratic military coup regimes witnessed by Turkey.
Turkey squandered historic opportunity to achieve democracy, says Gülen
Stressing that In Turkey or elsewhere, authoritarian rulers have exploited the differences within the society to polarize various groups against each other, Gülen said “citizens should come together around universal human rights and freedoms and be able to democratically oppose those who violate these rights.”
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