Published on 30 Aug 2012
[Fethullah Gulen | Pearls of Wisdom | Man]
Each individual is equipped with sublime emotions has a natural disposition toward virtue and is fascinated with eternity. Even the most wretched-looking person has a rainbow-like atmosphere in his or her spirit comprised of the thought of eternity love of beauty and virtuous feeling. If people can develop these most basic inherent elements of their being they can rise to the highest ranks of humanity and attain eternity.
People are true human beings not in the mortal material aspect of their existence but rather in the attraction of their spirits to eternity and in their efforts to find it. For this reason those who disregard their innate spiritual aspect and concentrate only on their physical existence will never find true peace and contentment.
The happiest and most fortunate people are those who are always intoxicated with ardent desire for the worlds beyond. Those who confine themselves within the narrow and suffocating limits of their bodily existence are really in prison even though they may be living in palaces.
Our first and foremost duty is to discover ourselves and then turn toward our Lord through the illuminated prism of our nature. Those who remain unaware of their true nature and who therefore cannot establish any contact with their Most High Creator spend their lives like coolies who are ignorant of the treasure they are carrying on their backs.
All human beings are essentially helpless. However they discover an extraordinary competence by depending on the Infinitely Powerful One for this dependence transforms them from a drop into a waterfall a particle into a sun and a beggar into a king.
Our familiarity with the "book" of existence and events and our establishment of a unity between ourselves and that book causes sparks of wisdom to appear in our hearts. We begin to recognize our essential nature and obtain knowledge of God through the light of those sparks. Finally we reach God. To attain this goal however we must not set out this (mental) journeying with a mind conditioned by (biased and prejudiced toward) atheism and materialism.
Those who are truly human interact with other living beings in the consciousness of personal duty to them and within the limits of need. Those who abandon themselves to bodily desire and pleasure go beyond what is allowed and therefore cannot maintain the proper distance or balance between duty and desire.
More videos on Fethullah Gulen & Gulen Movement:
http://gulen-videos.blogspot.com
Latest news, academic excerpts, commentary, book reviews and interviews on the Hizmet Movement (aka The Gulen Movement) and Fethullah Gulen:
http://hizmetmovement.blogspot.com
Each individual is equipped with sublime emotions has a natural disposition toward virtue and is fascinated with eternity. Even the most wretched-looking person has a rainbow-like atmosphere in his or her spirit comprised of the thought of eternity love of beauty and virtuous feeling. If people can develop these most basic inherent elements of their being they can rise to the highest ranks of humanity and attain eternity.
People are true human beings not in the mortal material aspect of their existence but rather in the attraction of their spirits to eternity and in their efforts to find it. For this reason those who disregard their innate spiritual aspect and concentrate only on their physical existence will never find true peace and contentment.
The happiest and most fortunate people are those who are always intoxicated with ardent desire for the worlds beyond. Those who confine themselves within the narrow and suffocating limits of their bodily existence are really in prison even though they may be living in palaces.
Our first and foremost duty is to discover ourselves and then turn toward our Lord through the illuminated prism of our nature. Those who remain unaware of their true nature and who therefore cannot establish any contact with their Most High Creator spend their lives like coolies who are ignorant of the treasure they are carrying on their backs.
All human beings are essentially helpless. However they discover an extraordinary competence by depending on the Infinitely Powerful One for this dependence transforms them from a drop into a waterfall a particle into a sun and a beggar into a king.
Our familiarity with the "book" of existence and events and our establishment of a unity between ourselves and that book causes sparks of wisdom to appear in our hearts. We begin to recognize our essential nature and obtain knowledge of God through the light of those sparks. Finally we reach God. To attain this goal however we must not set out this (mental) journeying with a mind conditioned by (biased and prejudiced toward) atheism and materialism.
Those who are truly human interact with other living beings in the consciousness of personal duty to them and within the limits of need. Those who abandon themselves to bodily desire and pleasure go beyond what is allowed and therefore cannot maintain the proper distance or balance between duty and desire.
More videos on Fethullah Gulen & Gulen Movement:
http://gulen-videos.blogspot.com
Latest news, academic excerpts, commentary, book reviews and interviews on the Hizmet Movement (aka The Gulen Movement) and Fethullah Gulen:
http://hizmetmovement.blogspot.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJ-YmzKtQWs
Streamed live on 22 Jul 2016
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Special Guest Today: Monika Schaefer.
QUESTIONING AN OFFICIAL STORY IS NOT HATE SPEECH, IT IS FREE SPEECH.
The False Flag Weekly News anchored by Dr. Kevin Barrett and Prof. Tony Hall looks behind the headlines and main stream media stories to get at what’s really going on in the world. From violations of international law to initiating WWIII, you don’t want to miss what they and their guests have to say about the stories behind the stories.
PLEASE SHARE THIS VITAL NEWS SHOW ON YOUR FACEBOOK, TWITTER, EMAIL. You can also use the EMBED link to put this show on your blog or website. SEE GOOGLE SHARE LINK ABOVE
"The views expressed in False Flag Weekly News are the sole responsibility of the speaker(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of NoLiesRadio.org. NoLiesRadio.org will not be responsible or liable for any inaccurate or incorrect statements expressed therein."
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The NEO CONS ARE THE NEW COHENS!
Monday 25th of July 2016
Monday 25th of July 2016
Pr Antonius James Hall: "Thanks. Any ideas
of a short term to describe the significance of Kevin's integration of Islam
into his progressive American worldview?"
Dear Anthony
I read your question yesterday and did not understand
what you meant. I read it again now and
I did understand, I think. Probably I
had baby in my arm or was distracted.
A short term to describe the significance of Kevin's
integration of Islam into his progressive American worldview?
I in fact do the same thing as Kevin, but we have each
one our own perspective. He has FAITH
like most Muslims, but I rely only on my understanding. Yet, Ancient Wisdom says:
During his last prayer time, Field McConnell quoted:
Proverbs 3:5-6 New International Version (NIV)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.[a]
6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.[a]
I would like to trust
in God (I despise that word Lord and even the word God is not very appropriate
for the One and Only "God" as we have Gods and Goddesses by the
tons!), but I managed to see what He has done to us throughout the Ages, if
Such a God exists, and I am not happy about it. So, I went against Ancient
Wisdom and always lean on my understanding although in all my ways I do submit
to Him because He always embodies concepts as Freedom, Truth, Justice and a Moral
Way of Life that we find in most religions, and I saw these concepts perfectly
explained and at a universal level mostly in Islam.
I am sure Kevin like
Field McConnell trust in God with all their heart and are people of great
faith, but faith alone does not and did not satisfy me. Yet, I still try to understand what constitutes
a progressive worldview, American or other.
I am a scientific minded person, but I despise scientists because they
are owned by money power and are not honest, most of them, and Western science
is not meant for the betterment of human kind.
It is impossible to use Western terminology to define something
Islamic. I cannot see progress as an
Islamic concept. The West claims it has
a monopoly on everything including those barbaric terms as enlightenment, progress,
liberalism, democracy, human rights, freedom (US Americans always make the
mistake of talking of freedom AND of liberty while both terms mean the same
thing!) because they have never been for the betterment of humankind, but only
for their enslavement and the enrichment of a few perverts and monsters.
There can be progress
for the better or for the worse. The
haves have definitely progressed in having more and more while the have-nots
too have progressed in having less and less.
SO, progress in itself is meaningless to me.
Many delved into religions
or Marxist literature to find solutions for the betterment of humankind, but
they all failed because there is a power much greater than the will of the
people, that of monsters and degenerates, maybe an alien presence or a
different species amongst us, and this is why we cannot improve our lot no
matter what. So, Kevin and many others find
their strength in faith. My faith is
what I believe to be true and just no matter where we find it written, said or
even in ourselves.
Integrating Islam into
his "progressive" American worldview, Kevin has found the best way
forward because Christianity is almost dead and modern Christians (very little
to do with Christ!) have for the most part joined the forces of evil. Zionist Christians, what a farce! Secular Christians? Liberal Christians? Tolerant and loving Christians who have even
admitted homosexual "marriages"!
They started by accepting prostitution as a "necessary evil",
then drugs (alcohol, smoking, etc.), gambling, "just wars", etc. This is not my opinion, but a fact! So, only
Islam is left uncorrupted and can provide solutions to a world so sick that it
brings so many to commit suicide by all ways imaginable, including joining
armies of aggression, pillage and mass slaughter.
The military might of
the USA is so tremendous that only Muslims, if they return to Islam, can halt
its progress and devastation. Did the
USA not claim that Communism was a threat to their hegemony? Now, they claim Islam is that very
threat! In both cases it is a lie! People have the right to be Communist, but
the USA decided they cannot! People have
a right to be Muslims, but the USA says not because they (their
Judeo-Freemasons) will lose a lot of money because Muslims do not smoke (some
do!), they cannot practice usury (most do!), they do not drink alcohol, they do
not gamble, they do not use prostitutes, they do not waste (many do!), they do
not wage wars because they have no armies and no weapons, and therefore they
are a serious obstacle to Capitalism!
Therefore, the warmongers and the God haters must vilify Islam and
Muslims in order to weaken them by dividing their lands, oppressing their
people, and keeping them as second class citizens in "Western" lands.
I am unable to come up
with any such short term or word, maybe because there is none!
Regards
Basheer
Fethullah Gulen - The Rights of Parents
Fethullah Gülen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fethullah Gülen | |
---|---|
Fethullah Gülen, in 1998
|
|
Born | Muhammed Fethullah Gülen 27 April 1941 [1] Pasinler, Erzurum, Turkey |
Residence | Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, United States |
Religion | Non-denominational Muslim[2] |
Era | Modern era |
School | Hanafi[3] |
Main interests
|
Orthodox Islamic thought, Islamic conservatism, education, interfaith dialogue among the People of the Book, Sufism |
Notable ideas
|
Gülen movement |
Gülen teaches a Hanafi version of Islam, deriving from Sunni Muslim scholar Said Nursî's teachings. Gülen has stated that he believes in science, interfaith dialogue among the People of the Book, and multi-party democracy.[12] He has initiated such dialogue with the Vatican[13] and some Jewish organizations.[14]
Gülen is actively involved in the societal debate concerning the future of the Turkish state, and Islam in the modern world. He has been described in the English-language media as an imam "who promotes a tolerant Islam which emphasises altruism, hard work and education" and as "one of the world's most important Muslim figures."[15][12]
Gülen was an ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan before 2013. The alliance was destroyed after the 2013 corruption investigations in Turkey.[16][17][18][19][20] Erdogan accused Gülen of being behind the corruption investigations.[21] He is currently on Turkey's most-wanted-terrorist list and is accused of leading what the current Turkish officials call the Gulenist Terror Organisation (FETÖ).[22][23] A Turkish criminal court issued an arrest warrant for Gülen.[24][25] Turkey is demanding the extradition of Gülen from the United States.[17][26][27] However, US figures in general do not believe he is associated with any terrorist activity.[28][29][30]
Contents
Biography
Gülen was born in the village of Korucuk, near Erzurum.[31] His father, Ramiz Gülen, was an imam.[6] His mother taught the Qur'an in their village despite religious instruction being banned by the Kemalist government.[32] Gülen started primary education at his home village, but did not continue after his family moved. He took part in Islamic education in some Erzurum madrasas[33] and he gave his first sermon when he was 14.[34] Gülen was influenced by the ideas of Said Nursî.[35]Comparing Gülen to followers of the Nursî-inspired Risale-i Nur or "Nur movement," Hakan Yavuz said, "Gülen is more Turkish nationalist in his thinking. Also, he is somewhat more state-oriented, and is more concerned with market economics and neo-liberal economic policies."[36]
His pro-business stance has led some outsiders[who?] to dub his theology an Islamic version of Calvinism.[37] Oxford Analytica says:
"Gülen put Nursi's ideas into practice when he was transferred to a mosque in Izmir in 1966. Izmir is a city where political Islam never took root. However, the business and professional middle class came to resent the constraints of a state bureaucracy under whose wings it had grown, and supported market-friendly policies, while preserving at least some elements of a conservative lifestyle. Such businessmen were largely pro-Western, because it was Western (mainly U.S.) influence, which had persuaded the government to allow free elections for the first time in 1950 [sic] and U.S. aid, which had primed the pump of economic growth."[38]Gülen retired from formal preaching duties in 1981. From 1988 to 1991 he gave a series of sermons in popular mosques of major cities. In 1994, he participated in the founding of "Journalists and Writers Foundation"[39] and was given the title "Honorary President" by the foundation.[40] He did not make any comment regarding the closures of the Welfare Party in 1998[41] or the Virtue Party in 2001.[42] He has met some politicians like Tansu Çiller and Bülent Ecevit, but he avoids meeting with the leaders of Islamic political parties.[42]
In 1999, Gülen emigrated to the United States, claiming the trip for medical treatment,[43] although arguably it was in anticipation of being tried over remarks (aired after his emigration to U.S.) which seemed to favor an Islamic state.[44] In June 1999, after Gülen had left Turkey, videotapes were sent to some Turkish television stations with recordings of Gülen saying,
"The existing system is still in power. Our friends who have positions in legislative and administrative bodies should learn its details and be vigilant all the time so that they can transform it and be more fruitful on behalf of Islam in order to carry out a nationwide restoration. However, they should wait until the conditions become more favorable. In other words, they should not come out too early."[45]Gülen complained that the remarks were taken out of context,[46] and his supporters raised questions about the authenticity of the tape,[47] which he claimed had been "manipulated." Gülen was tried in absentia in 2000, and acquitted in 2008 under the new Justice and Development Party (AKP) government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.[43][48]
Gülen procured a green card in 2001.[49]
On 19 December 2014, a Turkish court issued an arrest warrant for Gülen after over 20 journalists working for media outlets thought to be sympathetic to the Gülen movement were arrested. Gülen was accused of establishing and running an "armed terrorist group."[50]
Theology
Gülen does not advocate a new theology but refers to classical authorities of theology, taking up their line of argument.[51] His understanding of Islam tends to be moderate and mainstream.[52][53] Though he has never been a member of a Sufi tarekat and does not see tarekat membership as a necessity for Muslims, he teaches that "Sufism is the inner dimension of Islam" and "the inner and outer dimensions must never be separated."[54]His teachings differ in emphasis from those of other mainstream Islamic scholars in two respects, both based on his interpretations of particular verses of the Quran. He teaches that the Muslim community has a duty of service (Turkish: hizmet)[55] to the "common good" of the community and the nation[56] and to Muslims and non-Muslims all over the world;[57] and that the Muslim community is obliged to conduct dialogue with not just the "People of the Book" (Jews and Christians), and people of other religions, but also with agnostics and atheists.
Activities
The Gülen movement is a transnational Islamic civic society movement inspired by Gülen's teachings. His teachings about hizmet (altruistic service to the "common good") have attracted a large number of supporters in Turkey, Central Asia, and increasingly in other parts of the world.[58]Education
In his sermons, Gülen has reportedly stated: "Studying physics, mathematics, and chemistry is worshipping God."[43] Gülen's followers have built over 1,000 schools around the world.[59] In Turkey, Gülen's schools are considered among the best: expensive modern facilities and English language is taught from the first grade.[43] However, former teachers from outside the Gülen community have called into question the treatment of women and girls in Gülen schools, reporting that female teachers were excluded from administrative responsibilities, allowed little autonomy, and—along with girls from the sixth grade and up—segregated from male colleagues and pupils during break and lunch periods.[60]Interfaith and intercultural dialogue
Further information: Interfaith dialogue and Galip Hassan Kuscuoglu
Contrary to claims by some scholars[who?],
Gülen has positive views towards Jews, and Christians, and condemns
anti-semitism. During the 1990s, he began to advocate interreligious
tolerance and dialogue.[14] He has personally met with leaders of other religions, including Pope John Paul II,[13] the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomeos, and Israeli Sephardic Head Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron.[61]Gülen has said that he favors cooperation between followers of different religions as well as religious and secular elements within society. Among his strongest supporters and collaborators has been for years the famous Greek Orthodox Turcologist, professor at the University of Ottawa, Dimitri Kitsikis.
Gülen has shown sympathy towards certain demands of Turkey's Alevi minority, such as recognising their cemevis as official places of worship and supporting better Sunni-Alevi relations; stating Alevis "definitely enrich Turkish culture."[62][63][64]
Views on contemporary issues
Secularism
Gülen has criticized secularism in Turkey as "reductionist materialism". However, he has in the past said that a secular approach that is "not anti-religious" and "allows for freedom of religion and belief, is compatible with Islam."[65]According to one Gülen press release, in democratic-secular countries, 95% of Islamic principles are permissible and practically feasible, and there is no problem with them. The remaining 5% "are not worth fighting for."[66]
Turkey bid to join the EU
Gülen has supported Turkey's bid to join the European Union and has said that neither Turkey nor the EU have anything to fear, but have much to gain, from a future of full Turkish membership in the EU.[65]Women's roles
According to Aras and Caha, Gülen's views on women are "progressive".[41] Gülen says the coming of Islam saved women, who "were absolutely not confined to their home and ... never oppressed" in the early years of the religion. He feels that extreme feminism, however, is "doomed to imbalance like all other reactionary movements" and eventually "being full of hatred towards men."[67]Terrorism
Gülen has condemned terrorism.[68] He warns against the phenomenon of arbitrary violence and aggression against civilians and said that it "has no place in Islam". He wrote a condemnation article in the Washington Post on September 12, 2001, one day after the September 11 attacks, and stated that "A Muslim can not be a terrorist, nor can a terrorist be a true Muslim."[69][70] Gülen lamented the "hijacking of Islam" by terrorists.[14]Gaza flotilla
Gülen criticized the Turkish-led Gaza flotilla for trying to deliver aid without Israel's consent. He spoke of watching the news coverage of the deadly confrontation between Israeli commandos and multinational aid group members as its flotilla approached Israel's sea blockade of Gaza. He said, "What I saw was not pretty, it was ugly." He has since continued his criticism, saying later that the organizers' failure to seek accord with Israel before attempting to deliver aid was "a sign of defying authority, and will not lead to fruitful matters."[71]Syrian Civil War
Gülen is strongly against Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War.[72] While rejecting the Turkish government's desire to topple the Syrian government of President al-Assad, Gülen supports the military intervention against ISIS.[73][74]Influence in Turkish society and politics
Main article: Gülen movement
The Gülen movement, also known as Hizmet or Jamaat,
has millions of followers in Turkey, as well as many more abroad.
Beyond the schools established by Gülen's followers, it is believed that
many Gülenists hold positions of power in Turkey's police forces and judiciary.[75][76]
Turkish and foreign analysts believe Gülen also has sympathizers in the
Turkish parliament and that his movement controls the widely-read
Islamic conservative Zaman newspaper, the private Bank Asya bank, the Samanyolu TV television station, and many other media and business organizations, including the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON).[77] In March 2011, the Turkish government arrested the investigative journalist Ahmet Şık and seized and banned his book The Imam's Army, the culmination of Şık's investigation into Gülen and the Gülen movement.[78]In 2005, a man affiliated with the Gülen movement approached U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Eric S. Edelman during a party in Istanbul and handed him an envelope containing a document supposedly detailing plans for an imminent coup against the government by the Turkish military. However, the documents were soon found to be forgeries.[76] Gülen affiliates claim the movement is "civic" in nature and that it does not have political aspirations.[77]
Split with Erdoğan
Main article: 2013 corruption scandal in Turkey
Despite Gülen's and his followers' claims that the organization is
non-political in nature, analysts believed that a number of
corruption-related arrests made against allies of Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reflect a growing political power struggle between Gülen and Erdoğan.[75][79] These arrests led to the 2013 corruption scandal in Turkey, which the ruling Justice and Development Party
(AKP)'s supporters (along with Erdoğan himself) and the opposition
parties alike have said was choreographed by Gülen after Erdoğan's
government came to the decision early in December 2013 to shut down many
of his movement's private pre-university schools in Turkey.[80]The Erdoğan government has said that the corruption investigation and comments by Gülen are the long term political agenda of Gülen's movement to infiltrate security, intelligence, and justice institutions of the Turkish state, a charge almost identical to the charges against Gülen by the Chief Prosecutor of Turkey in his trial in 2000 before Erdoğan's party had come into power.[77] Gülen had previously been tried in absentia in 2000, and acquitted of these charges in 2008 under Erdoğan's AKP government.[43][48]
In emailed comments to the Wall Street Journal in January 2014, Gülen said that "Turkish people ... are upset that in the last two years democratic progress is now being reversed", but he denied being part of a plot to unseat the government.[49] Later, in January 2014 in an interview with BBC World, Gülen said "If I were to say anything to people I may say people should vote for those who are respectful to democracy, rule of law, who get on well with people. Telling or encouraging people to vote for a party would be an insult to peoples' intellect. Everybody very clearly sees what is going on."[81]
According to some commentators, Gülen is to Erdogan what Trotsky was to Stalin.[82] Ben Cohen wrote: "Rather like Leon Trotsky, the founder of the Soviet Red Army who was hounded and chased out of the USSR by Joseph Stalin, Gulen has become an all-encompassing explanation for the existential threats, as Erdogan perceives them, that are currently plaguing Turkey. Stalin saw the influence of “Trotskyite counter-revolutionaries” everywhere, and brutally purged every element of the Soviet apparatus. Erdogan is now doing much the same with the “Gulenist terrorists.”[83]
Turkish coup attempt 2016
Main article: 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt
According to Turkish government the coup attempt of July 15, 2016 was being organized by Gülen.[84]Publications
Gülen's official website[85] lists 44 publications by him; these are, however, more akin to essays and collections of sermons than books on specific subjects with a specific thesis. He is also said to have authored many articles on a variety of topics: social, political and religious issues, art, science and sports, and recorded thousands of audio and video cassettes. He writes the lead article for the The Fountain, Yeni Ümit, Sızıntı, and Yağmur Islamic philosophical magazines. Several of his books have been translated into English.[86]- The Messenger of God: Muhammad[87]
- Reflections on the Qur'an: Commentaries on Selected Verses[88]
- Toward Global Civilization Love and Tolerance[89]
- From Seed to Cedar: Nurturing the Spiritual Needs in Children[90]
- Terror and Suicide Attacks: An Islamic Perspective[91]
- Journey to Noble Ideals: Droplets of Wisdom from the Heart (Broken Jug)[92]
- Speech and Power of Expression[93]
- Selected Prayers of Prophet Muhammad[94]
Reception
Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College awarded its 2015 Gandhi King Ikeda Peace Award to Gülen in recognition of his lifelong dedication to promoting peace and human rights.[95][96][97]Gülen topped the 2008 Top 100 Public Intellectuals Poll and came out as the most influential thinker.[98]
Gülen was named as one of TIME magazine's World's 100 Most Influential People in 2013.[99]
In 2015, Oklahoma City Thunder basketball player Enes Kanter claimed that he was excluded from the Turkish national basketball team for his public support of Gülen.[100]
Gülen was listed as one of the 500 most influential Muslims by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre in Amman, Jordan.[101][102]
Rise Up (Colors of Peace) album
References
Specific citations:Still, Gulen repeatedly states that he propagates neither tajdīd, nor ijtihād, nor reform and that he is just a follower of Islam, simply a Muslim. He is very careful about divorcing himself from any reformist, political, or Islamist discourse. Gulen's conscious dislike of using Islam as a discursive political instrument, which was a distinct trait in Nursi as well, indicates an ethicalized approach to Islam from a spiritual perspective.
In 2005, years before the trials, a man affiliated with the Gulen movement approached Eric S. Edelman, then the American ambassador, at a party in Istanbul and handed him an envelope containing a handwritten document that supposedly laid out a plan for an imminent coup. But as Mr. Edelman recounted, he gave the documents to his colleagues and they were determined to be forgeries.
Whether the corruption charges are justified or not — there has been plenty of leaked evidence, especially wiretapped conversations, that appears incriminating — the corruption probe has laid bare the influence of the Gulen movement within the Turkish state, which had largely been suspected but hard to prove.
- FORBES - Gulen Inspires Muslims Worldwide at the Wayback Machine (archived January 23, 2008)
- Interfaith Radio - Turkey's Champion of Interfaith Dialogue
- The Economist - Global Muslim networks- How far they have travelled
- The Economist- Fethullah Gulen- A farm boy on the world stage
- Reuters - Turkish Islamic preacher - threat or benefactor?
- The New York Times - Turkish Schools Offer Pakistan a Gentler Vision of Islam
- The New York Times: Fethullah Gulen profile
- Foreign Policy - Fethullah Gulen as a Top Public Intellectual
- Profile on PBS show: Religion and Ethics January 21, 2011
- The New Republic Magazine: The Global Imam
- Qantara.de: The Fethullah Gülen Movement: Pillar of Society or Threat to Democracy?
- MERIA: Fethullah Gülen and his Liberal "Turkish Islam" movement
- ME Forum: Turkish Islam's Moderate Face
- ME Forum: Fethullah Gülen's Grand Ambition: Turkey's Islamist Danger
- The Gülen Movement: a modern expression of Turkish Islam
- The Nurcu Movement in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
External links
Media related to Fethullah Gülen at Wikimedia Commons- Official website
- Fethullah Gulen
- Hizment and Fethullah Gulen
- Love Is A Verb 2014 film [4]
- Who Is Fethullah Gülen?
Why Is A Cleric In The Poconos Accused Of Fomenting Turkey’s Coup Attempt?
As
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan began re-establishing control
Saturday, he immediately pointed the finger of blame for the failed coup
attempt against him.
So who does he consider most responsible? A rogue general?
Nope. Erdogan directed his outrage at an elderly, reclusive Muslim cleric living in Pennsylvania’s Pocanos: Fethullah Gulen.
“I have a message for Pennsylvania: You have engaged in enough treason against this nation. If you dare, come back to your country,” Erdogan said Saturday in reference to Gulen, not the entire Keystone State.
Erdogan and Gulen used to be buddies. Both were considered moderate Islamists. Gulen encouraged his many followers to support Erdogan, who in turn helped raise the profile of Gulen, who runs a vast network of Islamic schools worldwide, including more than 100 charter schools in the United States.
Both men benefited from the relationship. But they had a falling out in 2013 over a corruption investigation that targeted Erdogan and some of his closest allies. Erdogan apparently believed Gulen’s allies in the judiciary were responsible for the inquiry, and responded by dismissing many in the judicial system considered close to Gulen, a powerful political force in his own right.
Gulen, who’s in his mid-70s, denounced the coup attempt and said he had no role in it.
“As someone who suffered under multiple military coups during the past five decades, it is especially insulting to be accused of having any link to such an attempt,” Gulen said in a statement. “I categorically deny such accusations.”
A Worldwide Following
He has many Sunni Muslim followers, estimated at anywhere from 1 million to 8 million worldwide, and his religious views are generally considered mainstream, though some in secular Turkey are suspicious of him.
Since 1999, Gulen has lived at the Golden Generation Worship and Retreat Center, a compound in Saylorsburg, Pa., which serves as the headquarters for his Alliance of Shared Values.
He rarely gives interviews, but spoke to The Atlantic in 2013. He was asked why he remained in Pennsylvania rather than return to Turkey, and gave this intriguing response:
An Istanbul court last October issued an arrest warrant for him following an indictment that charged him with “attempting to overthrow the government of the Republic of Turkey or obstructing it from conducting its duties by force,” according to the Anadolu, the Turkish news agency.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday the U.S. would consider an extradition request for Gulen, but stressed that Turkey would have to present evidence of wrongdoing on his part, the Associated Press reported.
Kerry, who was in Luxembourg, noted that Turkey hasn’t made such a request, though he anticipated that Turkey would raise the issue.
View the original story on NPR.orgSo who does he consider most responsible? A rogue general?
Nope. Erdogan directed his outrage at an elderly, reclusive Muslim cleric living in Pennsylvania’s Pocanos: Fethullah Gulen.
“I have a message for Pennsylvania: You have engaged in enough treason against this nation. If you dare, come back to your country,” Erdogan said Saturday in reference to Gulen, not the entire Keystone State.
Erdogan and Gulen used to be buddies. Both were considered moderate Islamists. Gulen encouraged his many followers to support Erdogan, who in turn helped raise the profile of Gulen, who runs a vast network of Islamic schools worldwide, including more than 100 charter schools in the United States.
Both men benefited from the relationship. But they had a falling out in 2013 over a corruption investigation that targeted Erdogan and some of his closest allies. Erdogan apparently believed Gulen’s allies in the judiciary were responsible for the inquiry, and responded by dismissing many in the judicial system considered close to Gulen, a powerful political force in his own right.
Gulen, who’s in his mid-70s, denounced the coup attempt and said he had no role in it.
“As someone who suffered under multiple military coups during the past five decades, it is especially insulting to be accused of having any link to such an attempt,” Gulen said in a statement. “I categorically deny such accusations.”
A Worldwide Following
He has many Sunni Muslim followers, estimated at anywhere from 1 million to 8 million worldwide, and his religious views are generally considered mainstream, though some in secular Turkey are suspicious of him.
Since 1999, Gulen has lived at the Golden Generation Worship and Retreat Center, a compound in Saylorsburg, Pa., which serves as the headquarters for his Alliance of Shared Values.
He rarely gives interviews, but spoke to The Atlantic in 2013. He was asked why he remained in Pennsylvania rather than return to Turkey, and gave this intriguing response:
“I am concerned that certain circles are waiting for an opportunity to reverse the democratic reforms that were started in the early 1990s and accelerated in the last decade. I am concerned that these elements will try to take advantage of my return by putting the government in a difficult position. … Additionally, while in Turkey, I would seek corrections and possible legal actions against libel and slander. Here, I am away from such harassment, and I am less affected by them. I find this place more tranquil.”Gulen was already facing legal problems in his homeland before Friday’s attempted coup.
An Istanbul court last October issued an arrest warrant for him following an indictment that charged him with “attempting to overthrow the government of the Republic of Turkey or obstructing it from conducting its duties by force,” according to the Anadolu, the Turkish news agency.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday the U.S. would consider an extradition request for Gulen, but stressed that Turkey would have to present evidence of wrongdoing on his part, the Associated Press reported.
Kerry, who was in Luxembourg, noted that Turkey hasn’t made such a request, though he anticipated that Turkey would raise the issue.
Copyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.
• London • UK • October 2007 • www.GulenConference.org.uk •
Abstracts & Biographies
32
Phnom Penh’s Fethullah Gülen School as an
Alternative to Prevalent Forms of Education for
Cambodia’s Muslim Minority
by Philipp Bruckmayr
Following the end of Khmer Rouge rule (1975–79), the Cham Muslim minority of
Cambodia began to rebuild community structures and religious infrastructure. It was
only after 1993 that they became recipients of international Islamic aid, mostly for
the establishment of mosques, schools and orphanages. Now Cambodia boasts several
Muslim schools, financed and/or run by Saudi Arabian and Kuwaiti NGOs as well as
by private enterprise from the Gulf region, most of which rely on a purely religious
curriculum. However, Cambodian Muslim leaders are urging attendance of public Khmer schools and seeking to establish alternatives in the form of Islamic secondary schoolswith a mixed curriculum, modelled after similar schools in Malaysia. The generally harmonious relations between Chams and Khmers have been affected by the importation of new interpretations of Islam through international Islamic welfare organisations, and the long arm of international terrorism.
The only Cambodian non-religious and non-discriminatory educational facility
operated from a Muslim country is Phnom Penh’s Zaman International School. It was
founded in 1997 and is associated with the Fethullah Gülen movement. Classes are
taught in both Khmer and English. Its kindergarten, primary and high schools are at-
tended by Khmers, resident foreigners and a few Chams. For them, apart from the high
standard provided by the school, its explicit agenda of instruction on an inter-racial and
inter-religious basis, coupled with its prestige as an institution operated from Muslim
lands, serves to make the school a valuable alternative to both secular private schools
and Islamic schools.
This paper raises and discusses the interesting question of the applicability of Gülen’s
thought on education and inter-faith relations to the periphery of Southeast Asian
Islam.
Philipp Bruckmayr: MA in Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Vienna
(2007) on ‘The Islamization of Champa’; now preparing PhD dissertation ‘Half a Mil-
lenium of Muslim Diaspora in Khmer Lands: The Chams of Cambodia.’ In recent years
he has done fieldwork on Arab immigration to the Caribbean in Colombia, Venezuela
and Curacão, and on the Chams in Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. He has published
articles and book reviews in theAmerican Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, ISIM
Review, Der Konak andDAVO Nachrichten, as well as presented papers at international conferences in Austria, Germany and Turkey.
To Pr Antonius James Hall & Dr Kevin Barrett
ReplyDeleteMy view on Islam.
1. Israel is part of Islam.
2. Christianity is New Israel and therefore part of Islam too.
3. Islam is the perfection of all Ancient religions, and of both Israel and Christianity.
Even if there is no SUCH God at all. Muslims should be very careful not to give too much credence to fabricated stories by both Old and New Israel - and to Muslim fabricated stories!
My conclusion is that ISLAM existed since the beginning of humankind, and, in whatever form, old and new, it has failed, and I cannot and will never satisfy myself with FAITH alone! But, this does not mean that we must abandon its teachings and try to RE-INVENT THE WHEEL!
God is the Greatest only if WE DO THE JOB, and we did not do the job! So, let's be more practical and talk about UNIVERSAL ISLAM instead!
BAFS