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GuLEN'S IDEAS ADDRESS THE ENTIRE WORLDWE SHOULDN'T BE SURPRISED AT FETHULLAH GuLEN'S SUCCESS IN A POLL OF THE TOP PUBLIC INTELLECTUALS. HE LEADS A TRULY GLOBAL MOVEMENT
Bulent Kenes
guardian.co.uk,
June 24, 2008
The ideas of Fethullah Gulen, the most discussed figure of Turkey
for decades now, have become important topics in the intellectual
circles of the world in recent years. Having millions of followers
worldwide in addition to those in his own country, Gulen has risen to
prominence with his statements and actions that shatter the twisted
perception of Islam into a thousand pieces.
Attracting attention with his arguments for inter-religious
dialogue and tolerance at a time when Samuel Huntington's "clash of
civilisations" has such currency, Gulen has not stayed at the level of
creating ideas, but has created a practical platform on which these
ideas can be carried out. This quality of his makes him one of the
leading intellectuals of the world as well as one the greatest men
of action.
He has not rested content with writing about his approaches. These
can be roughly summarised as living together in peace; appreciating
differences; accepting everybody as they are and bringing about
inter-religious and intercultural dialogue and tolerance, which he
developed to counter the theses of inter-religious and intercultural
clashes. For the realisation of his ideals, he has initiated a civil
voluntary movement. Today Fethullah Gulen is able to easily mobilise
his followers, estimated at millions, who are craving to accomplish
his ideal of transforming the world into an oasis of peace.
Retaining a strong belief that creating a peaceful world is possible
through education and having dedicated his life to this cause, Gulen
advises all his followers to dedicate all their physical strength and
spiritual energy to education. And in return, his followers, who do
not see in his thoughts and statements a single word that could be
averse to the good of humanity, are making considerable efforts in
this direction. As a result of these efforts, the younger generation
is learning the ways of living together in hundreds of schools opened
by Turkish entrepreneurs in over 110 countries of the world dominated
by different religions, languages and cultures.
The children of Bosnians and Serbs, Kurds and Turkomans, Russians
and Chechens and Hindus and Muslims who have fought one another,
peacefully study in the same classrooms in these schools.
Gulen has proved through his thoughts, statements and actions that
Islam is a religion of peace even though it is almost completely
associated with fundamentalism, extremism and violence in the west
because of radicals in the Islamic world. And he is famed for the very
intimate ties he had established with the late Pope John Paul II and
with Patriarch Bartholmew of Constantinople, the Armenian Patriarch
Mesrob II Mutafyan and many other representatives from other religions.
Gulen's thoughts and actions have recently started getting the
attention of the international media.
It is possible to mention many other examples that prove the universal
nature of Gulen's philosophy. However, to me, the biggest proof
is that a major part of Gulen's followers comprises of people from
many different ethnicities, religions and cultures other than Turks
and Muslims. Today from Siberia to Australia, from China to Canada,
and from Sweden to Brazil, you may find thousands of people who act
upon the ideas Gulen developed for a peaceful world.
Holding that terrorism cannot be attributed to any religion and
completely rejecting violence, Gulen has drawn a distinction between
terrorism and Islam by stating after 9/11 that, "Muslims cannot be
terrorists; if they are terrorists, they are not Muslims". He has
reiterated his condemnations numerous times, targeting Osama bin
Laden and al-Qaida.
In addition, many universities have held symposia and established
chairs in the name of Gulen, who attracts the attention of the academic
world in many countries. One of the most recent academic events took
place in 2007 in London under the auspices of the House of Lords and
with the participation of the School of Oriental and African Studies
and the London School of Economics.
In light of all this, nobody should feel surprised about his selection
as number one in the top 100 public intellectuals survey conducted by
Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines. Just the opposite, we should
all be surprised if he doesn't receive the Nobel peace prize in the
near future.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Bulent Kenes
guardian.co.uk,
June 24, 2008
The ideas of Fethullah Gulen, the most discussed figure of Turkey
for decades now, have become important topics in the intellectual
circles of the world in recent years. Having millions of followers
worldwide in addition to those in his own country, Gulen has risen to
prominence with his statements and actions that shatter the twisted
perception of Islam into a thousand pieces.
Attracting attention with his arguments for inter-religious
dialogue and tolerance at a time when Samuel Huntington's "clash of
civilisations" has such currency, Gulen has not stayed at the level of
creating ideas, but has created a practical platform on which these
ideas can be carried out. This quality of his makes him one of the
leading intellectuals of the world as well as one the greatest men
of action.
He has not rested content with writing about his approaches. These
can be roughly summarised as living together in peace; appreciating
differences; accepting everybody as they are and bringing about
inter-religious and intercultural dialogue and tolerance, which he
developed to counter the theses of inter-religious and intercultural
clashes. For the realisation of his ideals, he has initiated a civil
voluntary movement. Today Fethullah Gulen is able to easily mobilise
his followers, estimated at millions, who are craving to accomplish
his ideal of transforming the world into an oasis of peace.
Retaining a strong belief that creating a peaceful world is possible
through education and having dedicated his life to this cause, Gulen
advises all his followers to dedicate all their physical strength and
spiritual energy to education. And in return, his followers, who do
not see in his thoughts and statements a single word that could be
averse to the good of humanity, are making considerable efforts in
this direction. As a result of these efforts, the younger generation
is learning the ways of living together in hundreds of schools opened
by Turkish entrepreneurs in over 110 countries of the world dominated
by different religions, languages and cultures.
The children of Bosnians and Serbs, Kurds and Turkomans, Russians
and Chechens and Hindus and Muslims who have fought one another,
peacefully study in the same classrooms in these schools.
Gulen has proved through his thoughts, statements and actions that
Islam is a religion of peace even though it is almost completely
associated with fundamentalism, extremism and violence in the west
because of radicals in the Islamic world. And he is famed for the very
intimate ties he had established with the late Pope John Paul II and
with Patriarch Bartholmew of Constantinople, the Armenian Patriarch
Mesrob II Mutafyan and many other representatives from other religions.
Gulen's thoughts and actions have recently started getting the
attention of the international media.
It is possible to mention many other examples that prove the universal
nature of Gulen's philosophy. However, to me, the biggest proof
is that a major part of Gulen's followers comprises of people from
many different ethnicities, religions and cultures other than Turks
and Muslims. Today from Siberia to Australia, from China to Canada,
and from Sweden to Brazil, you may find thousands of people who act
upon the ideas Gulen developed for a peaceful world.
Holding that terrorism cannot be attributed to any religion and
completely rejecting violence, Gulen has drawn a distinction between
terrorism and Islam by stating after 9/11 that, "Muslims cannot be
terrorists; if they are terrorists, they are not Muslims". He has
reiterated his condemnations numerous times, targeting Osama bin
Laden and al-Qaida.
In addition, many universities have held symposia and established
chairs in the name of Gulen, who attracts the attention of the academic
world in many countries. One of the most recent academic events took
place in 2007 in London under the auspices of the House of Lords and
with the participation of the School of Oriental and African Studies
and the London School of Economics.
In light of all this, nobody should feel surprised about his selection
as number one in the top 100 public intellectuals survey conducted by
Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines. Just the opposite, we should
all be surprised if he doesn't receive the Nobel peace prize in the
near future.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress