THE 500 MOST INFLUENTIAL MUSLIMS - CESD

13HODJAEFENDI FETHULLAH GÜLENTurkish Muslim PreacherFethullah Gülen is a preacher, thinker and educator,who having assumed the leadership of the Nurcu religiousmovement—started by Said Nursî (1878-1960 CE)—has gone on to become a global phenomenonin his own right. His popularity and authority inTurkey has been the driving force of the movement thatis widely thought to have brought about the social and,eventually, political changes of which politician RecepTayyip Erdogan has been the ultimate heir—that is theenfranchisement of Muslim politics in Turkey. Despitehis peaceful means of preaching and community organization,Gülen is hated by the secularist establishmentin Turkey and has been living in the US since 1999.Country: TurkeyDate of Birth: 27 April 1941Source of Influence: ScholarlyInfluence: Figure of spiritualand social leadership for millionsof Turkish Muslims andothers around the worldSchool of Thought: TraditionalSunniRank: 2010:13 · 2009:13Humanitarian ReformerGülen and his followers have devoted considerable energy in recent years on interreligiousdialogue with tens of interfaith centers in Europe and the US being opened to foster betterrelations between faiths. Gülen is also the head of a series of socially oriented philanthropicefforts. His teaching emphasizes that there are no material shortages in the world, and thatthere is no justification for starvation. Gülen has established many charities to distributewealth to the needy.Catalyst for Educational ChangeWhen Gülen began preaching in Izmir—in his youth—a network of pupils began to unitearound his teachings—as a ‘social movement’ inspired by Gülen’s example. This movementhas culminated in the development of around 300 schools in Turkey and hundreds moreworldwide. Graduates from these private schools around the world are coached in ethicsand philosophy that are inspired by Gülen’s teachings, and continue to take top honors inuniversity placement tests.Influence in the MediaThe Gülen movement has opened hospitals and charities, a TV and radio station, as well asa bank—Asya Finans—that operates on Islamic principles. Gülen also has two major masscirculationdaily Turkish newspapers that are affiliated with his movement: Zaman and theEnglish-language Today’s Zaman. The Gülen network has also initiated a Journalists andWriters Foundation and a Teachers Foundation—providing an umbrella organization for ahost of dialogue groups and charitable organizations.IntellectualGülen is one of the most important thinkers and writers from Turkey, and among the mosteffective activists in twentieth-century Turkey. The Gülen movement is one of the best connectedand therefore one of the most powerful networks competing to influence Muslimsaround the globe, making it likely to have an enduring impact on the modernization of Islamand its engagement with Western ideas.52