Picture
Fethullah Gulen

The Broken Jug: Seeping Sermons of Gulen

The Most Eloquent Invitation for Divine Providence

Question: In The Gleams, Bediuzzaman lists the basic principles to attain true sincerity (ikhlas) for the volunteers serving faith. He relates the fourth principle as such: “As if it were you who possess the merits and virtues of your brothers and sisters, take pride in them and be thankful to God for them.” Taking into account the feeling of envy in human nature, what are your recommendations to ingrain this perspective in us?

The Most Eloquent Invitation for Divine Providence  >>> 
Vigilance against Transgression

Question: What does “fisq” (transgression) mean? What are the factors to be careful against it in order not to bear any characteristics of this kind?

Vigilance against Transgression >>>
Crying of Those with Sad Hearts

Question: It is stated that sometimes God grants mercy to an entire world upon the crying of one sad heart. Today, it seems that we do not feel deeply troubled and sympathize enough for humanity’s suffering, so as to weigh heavily on our consciences and prey on our minds. What can be the possible reasons?

Crying of Those with Sad Hearts >>>

Fethullah Gulen's Biography

Fethullah Gulen was born in a small village near Turkey's Erzurum province in 1941. Mr. Gulen's father Ramiz Gulen, was an imam in the region and his mother, Refia Gulen, was the primary caregiver of the family and a major influence on Mr. Gulen's spiritual and religious upbringing. Mr. Gulen attended his formal primary education in his home village, and after the family moved to a nearby village he began an informal religious education.

He was known to have an insatiable hunger for reading and knowledge of every subject on his curriculum and during this informal religious education, Fethullah Gulen maintained high interest in contemporary issues of his time. He also studied the classics such as Faust, Les Misérables, Of Mice and Man and many others to gain a better understanding of the western world; moreover, he had a keen interest in fine arts, enjoyed Turkish classical music and found painters such as Picasso and DaVinci awe inspiring. Fethullah Gulen has described the abstract style of Picasso to be in close congruence to the Islamic understanding of art.

Although he earned his preaching license at the age of 21 to deliver lectures in the western province of Edirne, Fethullah Gulen was allowed to start preaching much earlier in Erzurum due to his extraordinary achievements as a student. Mr. Gulen's (Hodja Effendi as his followers refer to him) sermons and lectures were followed by mostly university students and intellectuals. Hodja Effendi's artful and eloquent use of the Turkish language attracted an impressed audience and helped his reputation grow immensely throughout western Turkey.

During the late 1950s, Mr. Gulen discovered the works of another Turkish Muslim Scholar named Said Nursi. Nursi had diagnosed the key problems plaguing the Muslim world and humanity in general and labeled them as, poverty,ignorance and disunity. According to Nursi, these problems had to be tackled first if a revival of human values was to be achieved. Although they never met, Nursi became one of the few intellectuals who helped shape Fethullah Gulen's take on contemporary issues.

>>> Read More >>>
Who is Gulen?

His Teachings

Gulen teaches an Anatolian version of Islam, deriving from Sunni Muslim scholar Bediuüzzaman Said Nursi's teachings and modernizing them. Gulen has stated his belief in science, interfaith dialogue among the People of the Book, and multi-party democracy.

He has initiated such dialogue with the Vatican and some Jewish organizations.
Gulen 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 "one of the world's most important Muslim figures."In the Turkish context Gulen appears relatively conservative and religiously observant. 

Read more ...
Fethullah Gulen among TIME Magazine's 100 most influential people
Peaceful Coexistence and Universal Peace
Fethullah Gulen is a Good Neighbor
Fethullah Gulen is the World's Top Intellectual

Conference on Gulen movement to take place in Senegal

ATSA (Atlantique Turquie-Sénégal Association), Cheikh Anta Diop University and the Senegalese Ministry of Education are also among the coordinators of the conference, scheduled to kick off on Feb. 9, this Saturday.

Prime Minister Abdoul Mbaye will honor the reception dinner on Feb. 8, where an exhibition of sacred relics from İstanbul's Topkapı Palace Museum will be displayed. “Diversity & Cohesion in a Globalized World: Contributions of the Gülen Movement” is the title of the conference, with Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen's ideas the main theme to be discussed by academics attending from 12 different countries.

Read More >>>

Ishak Alaton: Gulen the ultimate 'other'

Picture
You have allocated a whole section in your book to the Hizmet movement, with a lot of positive remarks about Fethullah Gulen and the movement. What kind of reactions have you received?
Almost 90 percent of the reactions were congratulations. You hear the least expected things from the least expected person.

Do you mean his identity as a prominent religious figure?
You could say so. Look, I am an “other” and I have expressed this for my entire life. Last week, The Economist magazine wrote about me as the “other,” quoting me when I said to Professor Jenny White from the US three years ago that “this society never made me feel that I belong to it.” This is harsh, but a reality. President Abdullah Gul invited me to Cankaya Palace in Ankara to promote my first book and I addressed 600 people there. After my conference, I saw Hayrunnisa Gul, his wife, and told her that so many people listen to me and give me accolades here and eventually I am an “other.” She responded to me by saying “you are wrong Mr Ishak, since I am the real ‘other' here. I haven't appeared in public for the two years since I moved in here due to the headscarf I am wearing.” Those who are not the “others” must think twice to find out why this society has disintegrated so much. I believe things will get better after the generation of those who claim on TV screens that Turks will resist granting Kurds equal rights disappear.

Read more...

Fethullah Gulen expressed his deep sorrow for the tragic shooting incident in Newtown, Connecticut

N
Turkish-Muslim scholar Fethullah Gulen expressed his deep sorrow caused by the tragic shooting incident which took lives of 26 civilians, mostly children, at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut:

Fethullah Gulen on shooting in Connecticut
"I am deeply saddened by the tragic shooting incident at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. It took the lives of 26 innocent individuals; mostly children who were only at the beginning of their precious lives, and also the teachers who had dedicated themselves to nurturing and educating their students. I wish to express my deepest and heart-felt condolences to all the aggrieved families and loved ones, as well as to the American people.

This deplorable act of violence, like its precedents that happened over the past several years, starkly raises the question of what turns a trobled person into a monster that pours death onto other fellow human beings.

I hope that he visionary leaders and caring parents will strive to find the strength to illuminate both hearts and minds of their sons and daughters with the love, respect and compassion for others, and do whatever is in their power to help prevent the reoccurence of such tragedies.

Once again, I deplore this tragic incident, and pray that it happens never again."