01-Contents Page.indd - The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre

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HODJAEFENDI FETHULLAH GÜLEN
Turkish Muslim Preacher
Fethullah Gülen is a preacher, thinker and educator,
who having assumed the leadership of the Nurcu religious
movement—started by Said Nursî (1878-
1960 CE)—has gone on to become a global phenomenon
in his own right. His popularity and authority in
Turkey has been the driving force of the movement that
is widely thought to have brought about the social and,
eventually, political changes of which politician Recep
Tayyip Erdogan has been the ultimate heir—that is the
enfranchisement of Muslim politics in Turkey. Despite
his peaceful means of preaching and community organization,
Gülen is hated by the secularist establishment
in Turkey and has been living in the US since 1999.
Country: Turkey
Date of Birth: 27 April 1941
Source of Influence: Scholarly
Influence: Figure of spiritual
and social leadership for millions
of Turkish Muslims and
others around the world
School of Thought: Traditional
Sunni
Rank: 2010:13 · 2009:13
Humanitarian Reformer
Gülen and his followers have devoted considerable energy in recent years on interreligious
dialogue with tens of interfaith centers in Europe and the US being opened to foster better
relations between faiths. Gülen is also the head of a series of socially oriented philanthropic
efforts. His teaching emphasizes that there are no material shortages in the world, and that
there is no justification for starvation. Gülen has established many charities to distribute
wealth to the needy.
Catalyst for Educational Change
When Gülen began preaching in Izmir—in his youth—a network of pupils began to unite
around his teachings—as a ‘social movement’ inspired by Gülen’s example. This movement
has culminated in the development of around 300 schools in Turkey and hundreds more
worldwide. Graduates from these private schools around the world are coached in ethics
and philosophy that are inspired by Gülen’s teachings, and continue to take top honors in
university placement tests.
Influence in the Media
The Gülen movement has opened hospitals and charities, a TV and radio station, as well as
a bank—Asya Finans—that operates on Islamic principles. Gülen also has two major masscirculation
daily Turkish newspapers that are affiliated with his movement: Zaman and the
English-language Today’s Zaman. The Gülen network has also initiated a Journalists and
Writers Foundation and a Teachers Foundation—providing an umbrella organization for a
host of dialogue groups and charitable organizations.
Intellectual
Gülen is one of the most important thinkers and writers from Turkey, and among the most
effective activists in twentieth-century Turkey. The Gülen movement is one of the best connected
and therefore one of the most powerful networks competing to influence Muslims
around the globe, making it likely to have an enduring impact on the modernization of Islam
and its engagement with Western ideas.