Awaited Generation

Humankind has never been so wretched as they are today. They have lost all their values: the ‘table of art and literature is vandalized’ by drunks; thought is capital wasted in the hands of people suffering from intellectual poverty; science is a plaything of materialism; and the products of science are tools used in the name of unbelief.

Fethullah Gulen sees  as our young people are living in and through a most distressing period. The neglect of past centuries has brought to fruit the successive calamities we are experiencing now. The young have been buried under a heavy burden of anxiety with nothing of use coming to them from their fathers and mothers, from the home or the school, nothing whatever of any spiritual value. Read rest of the story

“The Journey Beyond Being” –Fethullah Gulen

This writing is a “letter”, a supplication by Mr. Fethullah Gulen to The Creator, in it he speaks of the bounties, mysteries and mercy of God.

Mr. Gulen writes, “We behold the spectacle that You have laid out before us, Your most original and striking works made in the most perfect form, to which You invite our gaze. We behold things and events that, in their inter-relation, are the most brilliant and well-proportioned of Your dazzling pictures. The manifestation of all Your beauties draws out from the bosom of nature a variety of colors unfolding as if in a book of art.”  Read rest of the story

Fethullah Gulen and the Power of Ideas

Be so tolerant that your heart becomes wide like the ocean.
Fethullah Gulen

Introduction

The notions of dialogue, tolerance, and education probably have never been so central to public discussions as they are today. Their contemporary resurgence has in part been triggered by an alarming increase of xenophobia and confessionally motivated antagonisms. Although both the scholarly community and a wider public have long argued about the role of interfaith dialogue, cultural tolerance, and education in shaping our identities and history, very few attempts to increase people’s mutual understanding have succeeded in reality. While clashing civilizations debate still continues to preoccupy intellectual domains, a slowly growing movement inspired by teachings of Fethullah Gulen aimed at serving the humanity is preparing the world to a new paradigm shift. This essay will focus on Fethullah Gulen’s vision of these concepts and his attempt to make the world a better place to live.

Unlike proponents of the anarchic vision of human relations, who often neglect the behavioral aspects and put material forces upfront, Fethullah Gulen devoted himself to the realization of social peace and has spoken and written a lot on reconciliation of religion and science. His tireless work for the achievement of an effective dialogue, unrelenting attempts to create an atmosphere of tolerance, great respect to the followers of different confessions, and his idea to achieve this through education make his sui generic approach a promising bet for the future. Read rest of the story

Guidance from Fethullah Gulen

The Economist has given some details to the views of Fethullah Gulen that have inspired the movement motivated by his ideas – such as being pro dialogue, human rights and democracy. Gulen has espoused these ideals for more than 40 decades and inspired generations of Turks globally and more recently people of various backgrounds to work for the common good. Read rest of the story

Mastering Knowledge in Modern Times: Fethullah Gulen as an Islamic Scholar

Fethullah Gulen is well known for encouraging educational and intercultural projects the world over. But to the Western audience little is know of his intellectual background in regards to the Islamic Sciences. Gulen is both self taught, and traditionally educated in all of the main branches of Islam. It is the breadth of knowledge and insight that has allow Gulen to inspire people using the traditional sources of Islam and synthesize them so that they can be correctly understood in the modern era. Ismail The book is editted by Prof Ismail Albayrak who holds the Fethullah Gulen Chair at the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne, Australia. Read rest of the story

The Voice of Tolerance: The Gulen Movement as a Base for a Future Global Civil Society

While striving in the way of God and for the benefit of people, we try to do good deeds everywhere.
– Fethullah Gulen

Introduction

“Is anybody out there?”— the outcry rising from the ruins of the devastating earthquake of 1999 – was once the terrible expression of the human tragedy that took lives of more than 17,000 people in Turkey. Back then, it was impossible to predict that within a decade, thanks to the efforts of the homonymous relief initiative, the outcry would become a new slogan for reviving civil society, which had been silent in Turkey for decades. Unbelievably, within the past few years, Turkey has developed into a country whose voluntary rescue teams reach disaster victims across the globe and support those in need. Read rest of the story

Turkish society not torn apart

M. Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish-Muslim scholar who has dedicated a whole life to the cause of peaceful coexistence, once again came up and emphasized the importance of dialogue and better understanding.  “We can neither talk about two dissociated groups such as Kemalists or Muslims in Turkey, nor we can talk about a ‘divide’ that is impossible to fill.” said Gulen. Stressing the significance of the country’s multicultural heritage he stated “We are heirs of an ‘empire’ society, which possesses characteristics of a mosaic. We have enjoyed the mosaic of different nations, religions, races and languages for centuries. Turkish society is heir to this mosaic and knows very well how to coexist with other people in peace even though they come from other religions, races or ethnicities,”. Read rest of the story

Muslim Intellectuals to follow Fethullah Gulen’s footsteps

After long-and-unproductive political discussion, Muslim intellectuals in the Arab world recognized the voluntary civil society efforts initiated by M. Fethullah Gulen is the cure for their ills. Visiting Turkey and first-hand experiencing the fruits of dedicated and altruistic service to humanity through education and intercultural dialogue, Professor Muhammad Imara, one of the most prominent scholars in the Arab world, confessed that they were wrong for at least five decades. “We have wasted our energy on conflict and politics. Now we must do what Fethullah Gulen has done.” Speaking about these trips and the Hira magazine, a spiritual and scientific journal that has become a bridge between Turkey and the Arabic speaking countries, Imara emphasized the importance of ‘knowing each other’. “For this reason, upon my return to my country, I will encourage the wise men of my country to go to Turkey; please welcome them here” said Dr. Imara., Read rest of the story

The Gulen Movement: Its Nature and Identity

Unfortunately some people make the mistake of labelling the Hizmet Movement (aka Gulen Movement) as either a sect, sufi order, school of thought or cult. This comes from not knowing the dynamics of the movement or Fethullah Gulen. In this light the below article sheds light on the identity of the Hizmet movement and the character of its nature. Read rest of the story

Interreligious Dialogue as a Spiritual Practice

John Borelli talks about the spiritual significance of interfaith dialogue and how it relates to Fethullah Gulen‘s ideas. It is important to remember that Gulen stress the importance of spiritual growth of the human being and relates all positive action to this inner growth. It is in this light that Gulen sees all good works as having a personal and spiritual benefit to those who partake – in this context Gulen also stresses selgless service to others. Read rest of the story