
İHSAN YILMAZ 18 May, 2012 When we look at the recent discussions and debates surrounding the Hizmet (Gülen) movement especially in the Turkish media, I observe that some writers are inclined to see the movement composed of a few relatively autonomous groups with sometimes clashing visions and practices. I do not think that behind this […]

Peace Islands Institute hosted Dr. James Harrington on a “Book Conversations” program on March 1st 2012. Journalist/Writer Aydogan Vatandas interviewed Dr. James Harrington on his book titled “Wrestling with Free Speech, Religious Freedom, and Democracy in Turkey: The Political Trials and Times of Fethullah Gulen“. Following his presentation there was Q&A part. Below is the interview […]

6 May 2012 / İLKAY GÖÇMEN / NURULLAH KAYA, GAZİANTEP “During my visit to Turkey, I met with many people who are inspired by Gülen. I noticed educational institutions that are doing great things across the world and making efforts in the medical field. What the Gülen movement have been doing across the world is […]

By Kenyan Nomad May 2, 2012 Every now and then, we are subjected to a purportedly investigative report by a ‘respected’ (pun intended) journalist about famed Turkish Scholar, Fethullah Gulen and the movement he inspired: The Hizmet (service) Movement. On reading the said article or report, we realize it is the same innuendos, fabrications and the macabre claims […]

Mustafa AKYOL Recently, there was a long New York Times story about the matter, which quoted a Turkish journalist who believed that Gülen followers “have proliferated within the police and the judiciary, working behind the scenes to become one of Turkey’s most powerful political forces.” So, as another Turkish journalist, let me also tell you […]

ATUL ANEJA The Anatolian Tigers — a new breed of pious businessmen who have risen from the grassroots to fire Turkey’s economic and political transformation — are targeting an entry into the high-technology big league. “We have tasted considerable international success in the areas of manufacturing and trade. Our next challenge is to develop an […]

Erkam Tufan Aytav Some groups have been parroting, “The [Gülen] Community should become more transparent.” As you know, with “the Community,” they are referring to the Gülen movement. Let us try to understand this sentence and respond to it. First of all, I need to note that when they say, “the Community,” they are referring […]

A Derby expert on inter-religious relations has begun the European tour of his new book, “European Muslims, Civility and Public Life: Perspectives on and From the Gülen Movement”, which examines the challenges that have faced European Muslims since the Madrid train bombings and the London Transport attacks in 2005. The tour, which began at the […]

Dr. Marcia Hermansen, the Director of the Islamic World Studies Program and a Professor in the Theology Department at the Jesuit Loyola University Chicago, presented a lecture on Hizmet Movement (here after HM) at Indialogue Foundation, New Delhi on 7 March 2012. Dr. Hermansen teaches courses in Islamic Studies and the academic study of religion. […]

Turkey’s highly polarized political climate is flooded with conspiracy theories on any given topic. Hence, facts are often lost amid speculations. Recently, a frequent target not only in Turkey but also the West has been the Gülen (Hizmet) movement. Ali Halit Aslan, Friday March 2, 2012 One of the most repeated speculations nowadays is that […]

Shad Engkilterra, Salt Lake City On Feb. 25, 2012, James Harrington, director of the Texas Civil Rights Project, spoke about the Gulen Movement and how to build civil society at the Pacifica Institute for the Salt Lake Interfaith Roundtable’s Interfaith Month celebrations. Fethullah Gulen started the movement in Turkey in the 1980s as an education […]

The Gülen movement, however, erodes the boundaries of elitism. Cohorts of Turkish society, who were previously not able to experience the world, are going beyond shallow short term trips and living in and deeply engaging with the world. They are also willingly bringing the world back to large sections of society, unlike the old elite who jealously limited their experiences to the small socio-economic and cultural circles they moved in.

Considering that the issue of “the Community” has been discussed extensively, I would like to make a humble contribution to this matter. Most of the arguments raised on this matter have been wrong or unfair. Those who raise these arguments have little knowledge of the cultural atmosphere and the emotions of the members of this […]

The possibility of rivalry or conflict between ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and Hizmet (the Gülen movement, which consists of followers of Turkish scholar Fethullah Gülen’s ideas), came to the agenda once again when individuals known to be Gülen followers took the side of the judiciary in a debate between the government and […]