The Speaking Tree: Islamic Voice of Reason And Reform in America

Last Updated on Monday, 26 June 2006 15:56 by Sudheendra Kulkarni Thursday, 28 July 2005 05:00

Every religion has two sides to it, the essential and the aberrant. To understand both and to be willing to correct the latter in the light of the former is a task that history enjoins upon the followers of every faith. At a time when global attention is focused on how this task is being performed within Muslim societies, it is instructive to pay heed to an influential Turkish voice of reason, moderation and harmonisation. It is that of Fethullah Gulen, the spiritual leader of what is described as one of the most active reformist Islamic movements of our time.

The 68-year-old Gulen who lives in self-imposed exile in the US, heads an intellectual and educational movement that strongly supports inter-religious dialo-gue, believes in the reconcilability of Islam and secularism, and promotes convergence of traditional Islamic values with modern education through a vast network of schools and media outlets.

What is perhaps most remarkable about Gulen is his public condemnation of violence in the name of Islam. Following the Al-Qaida's recent terrorist attacks in London and Egypt, and its similar attacks in Istanbul two years ago, the most explicit Islamic condemnation of such acts has come from Gulen. He says: "Osama bin Laden has sullied the bright face of Islam. The reparation for the damage he has caused requires years of work. Substituting the Islamic cause for his own cravings, bin Laden is committing monstrous acts".

Gulen's advocacy of Islam - he is influenced equally by Sufism and by Said Nursi, Turkey's 20th century scholar-warrior - is unique. On the one hand, he exhorts Muslims to strive for self-improvement through an ethical orientation to life: "Those who want to reform the world must first reform themselves. In order to bring others to the path of travelling to a better world, they must purify their inner worlds of hatred, rancour and jealousy, and adorn their outer worlds with all kinds of virtues". At the same time, he is unreservedly opposed to political Islam.

Gulen does not, however, support secularism of the kind promoted by Kemal Ataturk. He is deeply concerned about the disappearance of faith in European societies: "As the West has become the main base for this unbelief, and because Christianity has been the religion most influenced by it, dialogue between Muslims and Christians appears to be indispensable".

Advocating interfaith harmony Gulen says: "Religion is a road that brings every-one together in brotherhood.

Regardless of how their adherents implement their faith in their daily lives, generally accepted values as love, respect, tolerance, forgiveness, compassion, human rights, peace, brotherhood and freedom are all exalted by religion.

"Most of these values are accorded the highest precedence in the messages brought by Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, as well as in the messages of the Buddha and even Zarathustra, Lao-Tzu, Confucius and Hindu prophets. As a Muslim, I accept all prophets and books sent to different peoples throughout history, and regard belief in them as an essential principle of being Muslim".

indiatimes.com