Georgetown University Conference: The Gülen Movement (1)

Last Updated on Thursday, 04 December 2008 11:09 by Muhammed Çetin, Today's Zaman Thursday, 20 November 2008 00:00

At a recent conference at Georgetown University, scholars from four continents presented 35 papers to a very large audience. As it is impossible to cover all the papers within this column, I will only touch on six of them that were characteristic of views throughout the world.

John Borelli of Georgetown University noted that Fethullah Gülen calls for people to be virtuous and pure of heart, prefer the well-being of others to their own and have no worldly expectations. He described how participants in the movement have, therefore, opened schools to educate young people in this way, formed foundations and committees promoting dialogue and cooperation, hosted dinners to bridge gaps between people and have recognized the moral and spiritual leadership of others. They have planned tours so that Christians and others in Europe and the United States can meet Muslims in their own homes, especially in Turkey. Gülen has inspired fellow Muslims to engage in inter-religious dialogue, and himself stands as an example for others, too. Borelli noted that for participants in the movement, inter-religious dialogue is not an end in itself, but like other spiritual practices, is a means to an end that leads persons ultimately toward a union with God and in so doing enriches the spiritual companionship of those in dialogue.

Greg Barton of Monash University in Australia described how the Gülen movement's hizmet [service] activities around the world tend to revolve around autonomous, city-based and local branches, with their own schools and dialogue associations, whose lack of a uniform naming convention reflects the decentralized, organic and autonomous nature of the movement. Nevertheless, if it is considered as a whole, it can clearly be categorized as a transnational, peaceful Islamic social movement. Participants in the movement are driven to engage in dialogue comfortably with the conviction that dialogue and cooperation is what God intends. Also, participants are encouraged by the realization that they are not called to proselytize but simply to serve humanity. This awareness is deeply rooted in the thought, discourse and deeds of Gülen. In global terms, the movement represents one of the world's most significant examples of progressive civil society Islamic activism. It displays strong parallels with earlier forms of religious philanthropy in the West over the past four centuries and represents an important counterpoint to Samuel Huntington's "clash of civilizations" thesis.

Loye Ashton of Tougaloo College in Mississippi discussed the unprecedented ways in which major ideological opponents of the Gülen service movement have used the media ─ print and electronic ─ to shape public discourse in Turkey and abroad and thus to lessen the movement's societal influence. Some opponents have attempted to direct the flow of information about Gülen and the movement by controlling the codes and symbolic resources framing this information. They have targeted and manipulated specific consumers of information dating back to the 1970s. Some others use common tactics to discredit the Gülen and the movement by distorting statements and actions of Gülen and the participants in the movement. These attempts to reconstruct reality fit a particular ideological agenda, be it vehemently secularist, ultra- and neo-nationalist or separatist, and they are manifested in particular newspapers, magazines and television reports, on Web sites and blogs, in blacklists and in authored and anonymous books.

Andrew Achenbaum of the University of Houston welcomed Gülen's message of mutual understanding, loving kindness, generous forgiveness, purposive dialogues and Rumi-like spiritual compass, which offers a vision of peaceful and positive change through institutionalized means and trans-local networks. Gülen's message has gained followers and supporters who have never been to Turkey and are not Muslim, but heed its universal appeal. While this movement gives Muslims a way to live out Islamic values amidst the complex demands of modern societies and to engage in ongoing dialogue and cooperation with people of other religions, it also provides an avenue wherein non-Muslims can join with Muslims in the greater journey of the quest for the common good and civility in word and deed. Gülen's consistent focus on common bonds in a world torn by division, bigotry and ignorance employs pragmatism and idealism, as well as scientific inquiry and normative standards, as it redefines tradition for a modern era. All these and more account for the movement's peaceful and gradual diffusion beyond Anatolia.

Philipp Bruckmayr of Vienna University pointed out that Gülen displays a remarkable breadth of scholarship, encompassing all fields of Islamic knowledge from the earliest days up to modern times. The depth of his scholarship in Sufi and hadith literature is especially striking. Gülen's clear attachment to traditional concepts of Islam combined with his espousal of moderate progressive ideas, perhaps otherwise not reflected in the traditional mainstream, appear to be the pillars of his mass appeal in Turkey and elsewhere.

Karen Fontenot of Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond and Michael Fontenot of Southern University, Baton Rogue, said Gülen is an excellent example of a transformational leader who embodies all four attributes of such a leader: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, individualized consideration and intellectual stimulation.

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