Fethullah Gülen: Difference between revisions

{{shortShort description|Turkish scholar, Muslim theologian, and Turkishpolitical dissident (born 1941)}}

|image = Fethullah Gülen 2016Fetullahgulen.jpgpng

|caption = Gülen in 2016

<!-- Infobox does not support the following parameter:|residence_placeresidence = [[Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania]], UnitedU.S. States-->

|website = {{URL|https://fgulen.com}}

|module2 = {{Infobox philosopher | embed = yes

|main_interests = [[Islamic| thought]]<br />[[moderateModerate Muslim|moderate]], [[Anatolia]]n [[Sufism]]<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.the-american-interest.com/2019/12/03/its-not-us-its-him/ |title = It's Not Us—It's Him|date = 3 December 2019}}</ref>

{{ }}<!-- end of Infobox writerphilosopher -->

| module = {{Infobox writer | embed = yes

| genre = <!-- or: | genres = -->

| movement =| [[NurcuModerate Islam]]

Muhammed Fethullah Gülen<ref name="auto">{{cite news|url=http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195390155/obo-9780195390155-0106.xml|title=Muhammed Fethullah Gülen – Islamic Studies – Oxford Bibliographies – obo|access-date=15 January 2017}}</ref> was born in the village of Korucuk, near [[Erzurum]],<ref name=renisl>{{cite book|last=Valkenberg|first=Pim|title=Renewing Islam by Service|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GtACCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA72|year=2015|publisher=CUA Press|isbn=978-0-8132-2755-9|page=72}}</ref><ref name="Çelik2010">{{cite book|last=Çelik|first=Gürkan|title=The Gülen Movement: Building Social Cohesion Through Dialogue and Education|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=74NNy-ypzO0C&pg=PA42|year=2010|publisher=Eburon Uitgeverij B.V.|isbn=978-90-5972-369-6|page=42}}</ref> to Ramiz and Refia Gülen,<ref>{{cite book|last=Marty|first=Martin E.|author-link=Martin E. Marty|title=Hizmet Means Service: Perspectives on an Alternative Path within Islam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sMdRCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA19|year=2015|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-96074-9|page=19}}</ref> There is some confusiondispute over his birth date of birth. SomeAccording to some accounts, usually older ones, givehe itwas asborn on 10 November 1938, while others givestate his birth was on 27 April 1941.<ref name=renisl /><ref name=begend>{{cite book|last=Wagner|first=Walter H.|title=Beginnings and Endings|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qHe6BwAAQBAJ&pg=PT11|year=2015|publisher=Işık Yayıncılık Ticaret|isbn=978-1-935295-70-9|page=11}}</ref> SomeState commentatorsdocuments pointsupport tothe 1941 date,<ref name=renisl /><ref name=begend /> which is now the accepted date,<ref name=renisl /><ref name=begend /> used on Gülen's English website.<ref name=renisl />
(Some commentators note that 10 November 1938 datewas coincidingthe withdate of the death of the founder of modern Turkey, [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]], who founded modern Turkey, and suggestssuggest that itthe wasdate deliberatelywas chosen for its political significance.<ref name=renisl /><ref name="Haynes2013">{{cite book|last=Haynes|first=Jeffrey|title=Religion and Democratizations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=efHbAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA189|year=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-98646-1|page=189}}</ref> An alternative explanation for the discrepancy offered by one of Gülen's close students, and biographer, was that his parents waited 3 years to register his birth.)<ref name=hengul>{{cite book|last=Hendrick|first=Joshua D.|title=Gülen: The Ambiguous Politics of Market Islam in Turkey and the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-nwTCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA70|year=2014|publisher=NYU Press|isbn=978-1-4798-0046-9|pages=70–1}}</ref> State documents support the 1941 date,<ref name=renisl /><ref name=begend /> and Gülen's English website now uses that;<ref name=renisl /> it is now the accepted date.<ref name=renisl /><ref name=begend />

HisGülen's father was an [[imam]].<ref name=gulmov23>{{cite book|last=Ebaugh|first=Helen Rose|author-link=Helen Rose Ebaugh|title=The Gülen Movement: A Sociological Analysis of a Civic Movement Rooted in Moderate Islam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MWEePOkKpkoC&pg=PA23|year=2009|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-1-4020-9894-9|page=23}}</ref> His mother taught the [[Quran|Qur'an]] in their village, despite such informal religious instruction being banned by the [[Kemalism|Kemalist]] government.<ref name="Ebaugh2009">{{cite book|last=Ebaugh|first=Helen Rose|author-link=Helen Rose Ebaugh|title=The Gülen Movement: A Sociological Analysis of a Civic Movement Rooted in Moderate Islam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MWEePOkKpkoC&pg=PA24|year=2009|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-1-4020-9894-9|page=24}}</ref> Gülen's secular formal education ended when his family moved to another village.<ref name=gulmov23 /><ref>{{cite book|last=Marty|first=Martin E.|author-link=Martin E. Marty|title=Hizmet Means Service: Perspectives on an Alternative Path within Islam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sMdRCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA20+|year=2015|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-96074-9|page=20}}</ref> He took part in Islamic education in some Erzurum [[madrasa]]s<ref name="fg_edu">{{cite web | url=https://fgulen.com/en/fethullah-gulens-life/about-fethullah-gulen/biography/24652-years-of-education | title=Gulen-Years of Education | publisher=fgulen.com | access-date=8 December 2014}}</ref> and he gave his first sermon as a licensed state preacher in 1958, when he was in his teens.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gulenmovement.com/fethullah-gulen/who-is-fethullah-gulen|title=Who is Fethullah Gülen – His Life|website=Gulen Movement}}</ref> Gülen was influenced by the ideas of Kurdish scholar [[Said Nursî]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ijh.cgpublisher.com/product/pub.26/prod.1529 |title=The Gulen Movement: Communicating Modernization, Tolerance, and Dialogue in the Islamic World. |work=The International Journal of the Humanities |volume=6 |issue=12 |pages=67–78 |publisher=Ijh.cgpublisher.com |access-date=24 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140815051811/http://ijh.cgpublisher.com/product/pub.26/prod.1529 |archive-date=15 August 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> He gave his first sermon as a licensed state preacher in 1958, when he was in his teens.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gulenmovement.com/fethullah-gulen/who-is-fethullah-gulen|title=Who is Fethullah Gülen – His Life|website=Gulen Movement}}</ref>

Gülen was in the Turkish [[civil service]] from his appointment asappointed an assistant imam at [[Üç Şerefeli Mosque]] in [[Edirne]], 6 August 1959, and thus joined in the Turkish [[civil service]] where he served<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fgulen.com/tr/fethullah-gulen-hayat-kronolojisi/107-fgulen-com-turkce/hayati/hayat-kronolojisi/3502-fgulen-com-1941-1959-Hayat-Kronolojisi|title=1941–1959 Hayat Kronolojisi – Fethullah Gülen Web Sitesi|website=fgulen.com}}</ref> until he retired from formal preaching duties in 1981.

While Gülen was teaching at the [[Kestanepazari Qur'anic School]] in [[Izmirİzmir]] in March 1971, [[1971 Turkish military memorandum|the coupTurkish military seized control]] of 12the Marchgovernment 1971,in an attempt to quell domestic political occurredviolence. During its aftermath, Gülen was arrested for organizing a clandestine religious group based on his teachings and was imprisoned for seven months.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fgulen.com/en/home/1341-fgulen-com-english/conference-papers/contributions-of-the-gulen-movement/25811-the-influence-of-the-gulen-movement-in-the-emergence-of-a-turkish-cultural-third-way|title=The Influence of the Gülen Movement in the Emergence of a Turkish Cultural Third Way – Fethullah Gülen's Official Web Site|website=fgulen.com}}</ref>

Gülen was tried ''in absentia'' in 2000, and found guilty of conspiring to embed his supporters into the Turkish civil service in important governmental offices to overthrow the government.<ref name="DW-6-4-2018"/> Gülen said his remarks were taken out of context,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.fgulen.com/content/view/973/14/ |title=Gülen's answers to claims made based on the video tapes taken from some of his recorded speeches |publisher=En.fgulen.com |date=24 September 2001 |access-date=24 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310075824/http://en.fgulen.com/content/view/973/14 |archive-date=10 March 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and his supporters raised questions about the authenticity of the tape,<ref>Dogan Koc, ''Strategic Defamation of Fethullah Gülen: English Vs. Turkish'', p. 24. {{ISBN|0761859306}}</ref> which he said had been "manipulated". Gülen was tried ''in absentia'' in 2000, and acquitted in 2008 under the new [[Justice and Development Party (Turkey)|Justice and Development Party]] (AKP) government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.<ref name="60min2012"/><ref name="autogenerated1">{{Cite web|url=https://wwrn.org/article.php?idd=21432|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927235413/https://wwrn.org/article.php?idd=21432|url-status=dead|title=Wwrn.org|archive-date=27 September 2007}}</ref>

Gülen taught a [[Hanafi]] version of [[Islam]], deriving from [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] Muslim scholar [[Said Nursî]]'s teachings. Gülen has stated that he believes in science, [[Interfaith dialogue|interfaith]] dialogue among the [[People of the Book]], and [[multi-party democracy]].<ref name=economist10808408>{{cite news| title=How far they have travelled|url=http://www.economist.com/node/10808408?story_id=10808408|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|access-date=2 May 2012|date=6 March 2008}}</ref> He has initiated such dialogue with the Vatican<ref name="Helen Rose Fuchs Ebaugh p 38">Helen Rose Fuchs Ebaugh, The Gülen Movement: A Sociological Analysis of a Civic Movement Rooted in Moderate Islam, p 38. {{ISBN|1402098944}}</ref> and some Jewish organizations.<ref name="Toward a Global Civilization">{{Cite book|author=Fethullah Gulen|title=Toward a Global Civilization of Love and Tolerance |publisher=Tughra Books|date=2010|isbn=978-1932099683}}</ref>

===Ergenekon Trials2000s and 2010s ===

==== Split with Erdoğan ====

{{see also|2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt|Turkish government–Gülen movement conflict|2016–17 purgesPurges in Turkey (2016–present)}}

On 19 July, an official request had been sent to the U.S. for the extradition of Fethullah Gülen.<ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nordicmonitor.com/2019/05/turkish-prosecutor-falsely-named-morton-i-abramowitz-as-former-cia-director/|title=Turkish prosecutor falsely claimed Morton I. Abramowitz was former CIA director|date=22 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/07/19/turkey-extradition-gulen-united-states/87284860/ |title=Turkey demands extradition of cleric Fethullah Gulen from U.S.|work=[[USA Today]] |date=19 July 2016}}</ref><ref>[https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/07/19/daily-press-briefing-press-secretary-josh-earnest-7192016 Daily Press Briefing by the Press Secretary Josh Earnest, 7/19/2016] The White House website.</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/turkish-premier-demands-u-s-help-with-gulen-1469555265 |title=Turkish Premier Demands U.S. Help With Gulen |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=26 July 2016}}</ref> On 23 July 2016, Turkey formally submitted a formal extradition request accompanied by certain documents as supporting evidence.<ref name="auto2"/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://in.reuters.com/article/turkey-security-extradition-idINKCN10G017|title=U.S. says evaluating new Turkish documents on alleged coup leader|newspaper=Reuters|date=5 August 2016|access-date=10 August 2016|archive-date=16 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190516191645/https://in.reuters.com/article/turkey-security-extradition-idINKCN10G017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dw.com/en/turkey-submits-documents-to-us-seeking-gulen-extradition/a-19450530|title=Turkey submits documents to US seeking Gulen extradition |date=5 August 2016|publisher=Deutsche Welle}}</ref> Senior U.S. officials said this evidence pertained to certain pre-coup alleged subversive activities.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/turkish-evidence-for-gulen-extradition-pre-dates-coup-attempt/2016/08/19/390cb0ec-6656-11e6-be4e-23fc4d4d12b4_story.html|title=Washington Post: Turkish evidence for Gulen extradition pre-dates coup attempt|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>

All Hizmet's schools, foundations and other entities in Turkey have been closed by the Turkish government following the [[2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt]].<ref>{{cite web |date=1 September 2017 |title=Turkey on Diplomatic Push to Close Schools Linked to Influential Cleric |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/turkey-erdogan-gulen-schools/4010073.html |access-date=7 September 2017 |publisher=Voanews.com}}</ref><ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite web |title=Real and imagined threats: the shared past of AKP and the Gülen movement &#124; World &#124; DW &#124; 27.07.2016 |url=http://www.dw.com/en/real-and-imagined-threats-the-shared-past-of-akp-and-the-g%C3%BClen-movement/a-19429199 |access-date=21 September 2017 |publisher=DW}}</ref> In addition, the Turkish government reportedly sought to pressure a number of foreign governments into shutting down schools and medical facilities allegedly associated with the Gülen movement including in Pakistan, Somalia, Germany, Indonesia, Nigeria and Kenya.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-security-gulen-education-idUSKCN10A0AM |title=Turkey's anti-Gulen crackdown ripples far and wide |work=Reuters |date=30 July 2016}}</ref> In Somalia, two large schools and a hospital linked to the movement have been shut down following a request by the Turkish administration.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/31/world/europe/in-debt-to-turkey-somalia-shuts-network-tied-to-fethullah-gulen.html?_r=0 |title=In Debt to Turkey, Somalia Shuts Network Tied to Fethullah Gulen |work=The New York Times |date=30 July 2016}}</ref> Albania and Bosnia have also seen requests by Turkey to close or investigate Gülen-linked schools.<ref>{{Cite webnews|url=https://jamestown.org/program/attack-on-gulen-movement-increasingly-a-cornerstone-of-turkeys-foreign-policy-in-the-balkans/|title=Attack on Gülen Movement Increasingly a Cornerstone of Turkey's Foreign Policy in the Balkans|website=Jamestown}}</ref>

In July 2017, one year after the anti-Erdoğan putsch, Gülen wrote: "Accusations against me related to the coup attempt are baseless, politically motivated slanders."<ref>{{cite web |author=Fulya OZERKAN |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/turkey-dismisses-over-7-000-police-soldiers-ministry-194905886.html |title=New Turkey purge on eve of failed coup anniversary |publisher=Yahoo.com |date=14 July 2017 |access-date=7 September 2017 |archive-date=7 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907080252/https://www.yahoo.com/news/turkey-dismisses-over-7-000-police-soldiers-ministry-194905886.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://hizmetnews.com/22898/fethullah-gulens-message-anniversary-coup-attempt-turkey/#.WWqI1tKos74 |title=Fethullah Gulen's Message on the Anniversary of the Coup Attempt in Turkey |publisher=Hizmetnews.com |date= 15 July 2017|access-date=7 September 2017}}</ref> In the 1990s, Gulen had been issued a special Turkish passport as a retired holder of the religious post, in the Turkish state religion of Sunni Islam, of [[mufti]]; in 2017 this passport was revoked.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/top-court-approves-revoke-of-gulens-special-passport.aspx?pageID=238&nid=76217 |title=Top court approves revoke of Gülen's 'special passport' – Politics |work=Hürriyet Daily News |date=29 December 2014 |access-date=14 September 2017}}</ref> Unless Gulen travels to Turkey by the end of September 2017, he will be [[Statelessness|stateless]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Hannah Lucinda Smith, Istanbul |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/fethullah-gulen-erdogan-rival-left-stateless-in-passport-purge-fltf7qp5q |title=Fethullah Gulen: Erdogan rival left stateless in passport purge|work=[[The Times]]|date=6 September 2017 |access-date=14 September 2017}}</ref> On 26 September 2017, Gulen asked for a [[United Nations]] commission to investigate the 2016 coup attempt.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hizmetnews.com/23376/gulen-resorts-un-investigate-turkeys-coup/#.WcxJR1tSyUk |title=Gülen resorts to UN to investigate Turkey's coup |publisher=Hizmetnews.com |date=15 July 2016 |access-date=28 September 2017}}</ref>

On 28 September 2017, Erdoğan requested the U.S. to [[extradite]] Gülen in exchange for American pastor [[Andrew Brunson]], under arrest in Turkey on charges related to Brunson's alleged affiliation with "[[Fethullahçı Terör Örgütü|FETO]]" (the Gulen movement); Erdoğan said, "You have a pastor too. Give him to us.&nbsp;... Then we will try [Brunson] and give him to you".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2017/09/us-turkish-relations |title=A pastor becomes a pawn in a spat between America and Turkey |newspaper=The Economist|date=30 September 2017 |access-date=18 October 2017}}</ref><ref name="npr swap">{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/09/29/554451339/turkeys-erdogan-suggests-swap-jailed-u-s-pastor-for-turkish-cleric |title=Turkey's Erdogan Suggests Swap: Jailed U.S. Pastor For Turkish Cleric: The Two-Way |website=NPR |date=29 September 2017 |publisher=NPR |access-date=2 October 2017|last1=Chappell |first1=Bill }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/give-us-gulen-if-you-want-arrested-pastor-andrew-brunson-to-be-freed-erdogan-tells-us-120084|title=Give us Gülen if you want arrested pastor Andrew Brunson to be freed: Erdoğan tells US|website=Hürriyet Daily News|date=28 September 2017 }}</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2017/09/28/world/europe/ap-eu-turkey-us-pastor.html "Turkey Rebuffs Trump, Won't Send Jailed US Pastor Back"]. ''The New York Times''. 28 September 2017.</ref> "You have a pastor too.&nbsp;... You give us that one and we'll work with our judiciary and give back yours."<ref name="npr swap"/> The [[Federal judiciary of the United States|Federal judiciary]] alone determines extradition cases in the U.S. An August 2017 decree gave Erdogan authority to approve the exchange of detained or convicted foreigners with people held in other countries. Asked about the suggested swap on 28 September 2017, [[U.S. State Department]] spokeswoman [[Heather Nauert]] said: "I can't imagine that we would go down that road.&nbsp;... We have received extradition requests for him [Gulen]." Anonymous US officials have said to reporters that the Turkish government has not yet provided sufficient evidence for the [[U.S. Justice Department]] to charge Gulen.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/erdogan-suggests-freeing-imprisoned-us-pastor-gulen-extradition-1298278843 |title=Erdogan suggests freeing imprisoned US pastor for Gulen extradition |publisher=Middle East Eye |date=29 September 2017 |access-date=18 October 2017}}</ref>

In 2017, [[Amnesty International]] and [[Human Rights Watch]] separately issued statements urging governments to avoid extraditions to Turkey.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://turkeypurge.com/gulen-linked-businessman-jailed-forced-return-sudan|title=Gülen-linked businessman jailed after forced return from Sudan|last=TurkeyPurge|date=27 November 2017|access-date=28 November 2017|archive-date=18 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518124602/https://turkeypurge.com/gulen-linked-businessman-jailed-forced-return-sudan|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In November 2018, the Trump administration asked the U.S. Justice Department to explore what legal justifications could be used, should it decide to seek for Gulen to be deported.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/white-house-weighs-booting-erdogan-foe-u-s-appease-turkey-n933996|title=Trump administration officials last month asked federal law enforcement agencies to examine legal ways of removing exiled Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, according to two senior U.S. officials and two other people briefed on the requests. The effort includes directives to the Justice Department and FBI that officials reopen Turkey's case for his extradition, as well as a request to the Homeland Security Department for information about his legal status, the four people said.|website=NBC News|date=15 November 2018 }}</ref> On 17 December 2018, the US Department of Justice announced the indictment of two men, alleging that they acted "in the United States as illegal agents of the Government of Turkey" and conspired "to covertly influence U.S. politicians and public opinion against" Fetullah Gulen.<ref>{{cite press release |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Two Men Charged with Conspiracy and Acting as Agents of a Foreign Government |url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-men-charged-conspiracy-and-acting-agents-foreign-government |location=Washington, DC |agency=US Department of Justice |date=17 December 2018 |access-date=17 December 2018}}</ref> The two men, former associates of ex-US national security adviser [[Michael Flynn]], used the now-dissolved Flynn Intel Group in an effort to discredit Gulen dating back to July 2016, according to the indictment.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/two-associates-michael-flynn-charged-trying-influence-u-s-politicians-n948816 |title=Two ex-associates of Michael Flynn charged with trying to influence U.S. politicians |last1=Winter |first1=Tom |last2=Ainsley |first2=Julia |last3=Williams |first3=Pete |last4=Schapiro |first4=Rich |date=17 December 2018 |website=NBCNews.com |access-date=17 December 2018}}</ref>

During the 1990s, he began to advocate interreligious tolerance and dialogue.<ref name="Toward a Global Civilization"/> He has personally met with leaders of other religions, including [[Pope John Paul II]],<ref name="Helen Rose Fuchs Ebaugh p 38"/> the [[Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople]], and Israeli [[Sephardi Jews|Sephardic]] [[Chief Rabbinate of Israel|Chief Rabbi]] [[Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron]].<ref>{{Cite book |author=Ali Unal |title=Advocate of Dialogue: Fethullah Gülen |date=1 October 2000 |publisher=Fountain |isbn=978-0970437013 |url=https://archive.org/details/advocateofdialog00aliu}}</ref>

He teaches that the Muslim community has a duty of service (Turkish: ''hizmet'')<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r04OPJArUPQC&q=A+Civilian+Response+to+Ethno-Religious+Conflict&pg=PP1|title=Mehmet Kalyoncu, A Civilian Response to Ethno-Religious Conflict: The Gülen Movement in Southeast Turkey (Tughra Books, 2008), pp. 19–40|access-date=24 August 2014|isbn=9781597840255|last1=Kalyoncu|first1=Mehmet|year=2008|publisher=Tughra Books }}</ref> to the common good of the community and the nation<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sup.org/book.cgi?isbn=0804755019|title=Berna Turam, Between Islam and the State: The Politics of Engagement (Stanford University Press 2006) p. 61|author=Berna Turam|publisher=Sup.org|access-date=24 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611191850/http://www.sup.org/book.cgi?isbn=0804755019|archive-date=11 June 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> and to Muslims and non-Muslims all over the world;<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001FFVBFC|title=Saritoprak, Z. and Griffith, S. Fethullah Gülen and the 'People of the Book': A Voice from Turkey for Interfaith Dialogue, The Muslim World, Vol. 95 No. 3, July 2005, p.337-8|editor=Zeki Saritoprak |date=1 January 2005| publisher=Blackwell Publishing/Hartford Seminary |access-date=24 August 2014}}</ref> 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.

Gülen's Sufism is greatly influenced by [[Sufi]] [[Kurds|Kurdish]] Quranic scholar [[Said Nursi]] (1877–1960), who advocated illuminating modern education and science through Islam. Gülen expands on Nursi to advocate what has been described as a "Turkish nationalist, state-centered and pro-business approach" centered on service (''hizmet'', in Turkish).<ref name="autogenerated2" /> Some participants within Gülen's movement have viewed Nursi's or Gülen's works as that of ''[[mujaddid]]s'' or "renewers" of Islam within their respective times.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.herkul.org/weekly-sermons/the-role-of-the-spiritual-guide/|title=The Role of the Spiritual Guide &#124; Fethullah Gülen Hocaefendi'nin sohbetleri.|date=18 February 2013}}</ref> Others have opined in more [[eschatology|eschatological]] terms, equating Gülen's work as assistance toward the prophesied [[Mahdi]] to come,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/22/opinion/who-was-behind-the-coup-attempt-in-turkey.html|title=Opinion &#124; Who Was Behind the Coup Attempt in Turkey?|first=Mustafa|last=Akyol|newspaper=The New York Times|date=22 July 2016}}</ref> albeit Gülen's spokespersons discourage broaching such speculation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.barakainstitute.org/news/dear-muslims-dont-wait-for-a-savior-by-mustafa-akyol/|title='Dear Muslims, don't wait for a savior' by Mustafa Akyol – Baraka Institute}}</ref> and an official gülenist website hosts an article entitled "Claiming to be the Mahdi is Deviation".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fgulen.com/en/home/1359-fgulen-com-english/gulens-works/recent-articles/25352-claiming-to-be-the-mahdi-is-deviation|title=Claiming to be the Mahdi is Deviation – Fethullah Gülen's Official Web Site|website=fgulen.com}}</ref> In 2016, Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate ([[Diyanet]]), [[Mehmet Görmez]], said Gülen's is a "fake Mahdi movement".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/gulen-movement-is-fake-mahdi-says-turkeys-religious-directorate-head-102487|title=Gülen movement is fake Mahdi, says Turkey's Religious Directorate head|website=Hürriyet Daily News|date=5 August 2016 }}</ref>

====Turkish bid to join the EU====

Gülen has condemned terrorism.<ref name="Gulen peace and humanity">{{cite web |url=http://en.fgulen.com/content/view/1052/14/ |title=Fethullah Gülen: A life dedicated to peace and humanity- True Muslims Cannot Be Terrorists |publisher=En.fgulen.com |date=4 February 2002 |access-date=24 August 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140917203545/http://en.fgulen.com/content/view/1052/14/ |archive-date=17 September 2014}}</ref><ref>[https://www.rferl.org/a/Turkish_Schools_Coming_Under_Increasing_Scrutiny_In_Central_Asia/1616111.html "Gulen, who currently resides in the United States, condemns terrorism"] ''www.rferl.org''</ref> 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 12 September 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."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fethullah-gulen.org/op-ed/gulen-movement-9-11.html |title=Importance of Gulen Movement in the Post 9/11 Era: Co-existenceFethullah Gulen |publisher=Fethullah Gulen |access-date=24 August 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022095416/http://www.fethullah-gulen.org/op-ed/gulen-movement-9-11.html |archive-date=22 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://fgulen.com/en/press/1322-nuriye-akmans-interview-in-zaman-daily/25171-a-real-muslim-cannot-be-a-terrorist |title=A Real Muslim cannot be a Terrorist |publisher=Fethullah Gulen |date=23 March 2004 |access-date=20 October 2014}}</ref> Gülen lamented the "hijacking of Islam" by terrorists.<ref name="Toward a Global Civilization"/><ref>[[Chidanand Rajghatta|Rajghatta, Chidanand]] (17 July 2016). [https://m.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Turkey-coup-mastermind-is-in-exile-in-US-with-green-card/amp_articleshowarticleshow/53243211.cms "He has repeatedly condemned terrorism and the hijacking of Islam by terrorists"]. ''[[The Times of India]]''.</ref>

====Armenian genocide====

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_gulen-presented-with-prestigious-award-for-dedication-to-peace_377639.html|title=ZAMAN|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150416083718/http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_gulen-presented-with-prestigious-award-for-dedication-to-peace_377639.html|archive-date=16 April 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.afsv.org/fethullah-gulen-awarded-2015-gandhi-king-ikeda-peace-award/|title=Fethullah Gulen Awarded 2015 Gandhi King Ikeda Peace Award|access-date=16 April 2015|archive-date=14 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150414021700/http://www.afsv.org/fethullah-gulen-awarded-2015-gandhi-king-ikeda-peace-award/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.morehouse.edu/mlkchapel/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/CML15-FINAL-1.pdf |title= Link |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150513105749/http://www.morehouse.edu/mlkchapel/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/CML15-FINAL-1.pdf |archive-date= 13 May 2015}}</ref>

<ref name="60min2012">{{cite web |url= https://www.cbsnews.com/2102news/us-18560_162charter-57433131.htmlschools-tied-to-powerful-turkish-imam/|title=U.S. charter schools tied to powerful Turkish imam |date= 13 May 2012 |publisher= [[CBS News]] |work= [[60 Minutes]] |access-date=14 May 2012}}</ref>

{{Commons category|Fethullah Gülen}}

* [http://www.city-journal.org/html/who-fethullah-g%C3%BClen-13504.html Who Is Fethullah Gülen?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802161113/http://www.city-journal.org/html/who-fethullah-g%C3%BClen-13504.html |date=2 August 2016 }}

{{Islamic theology|state=uncollapsed}}

[[Category:PeopleGülen from Monroe County, Pennsylvaniamovement|*]]

[[Category:People involved in the 201620th-century Turkish coup d'étatmale attemptwriters]]