American sociology Professor Helen Rose Ebaugh, who has written a book analyzing the Gülen movement, inspired by the well-respected Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, has said criticism leveled at Gülen is based completely on ideological fears.
Ebaugh, the author of a book titled “The Gülen movement: A Sociological Analysis of a Civic Movement Rooted in Moderate Islam,” was speaking at a conference organized by the Antalya Intercultural Dialogue Center over the weekend and titled “Gelişen Türkiye’de Sivil Toplum Hareketleri: Hizmet Hareketi” (Civil Society Movements in Developing Turkey: The Hizmet Movement). Stating that recent claims that members of the movement are trying to infiltrate state posts -- including the police force, the military and others -- are groundless, she said she did not encounter such efforts while researching the movement. She said these allegations are based on ideological fears rather than facts.
Continue reading at http://hizmetmovement.blogspot.com/2011/04/american-professor-says-criticism.html
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FETHULLAH GULEN - A TRUE DEDICATION TO PEACE
THE GULEN MOVEMENT - PEACE AND DIALOG
Tolerance and dialogue are among the most basic and broad dynamics of the Gülen movement. These two concepts, first developed on a small scale, have turned into a search for a culture of reconciliation on a world scale. Today, the idea of different groups peacefully living together is a philosophical issue that modern states are trying to formulate. The international relations of past empires were founded on conflict and war. Different civilizations were separated by thick walls, which were supported by political, ideological, and religious identities.
The Gülen movement is a clear example of a search, a search that has reached international proportions. Gülen strengthens this search with religious, legal, and philosophical foundations. One of the basic aims of the global education activities is to form bridges that will lead to dialogue between religions and civilizations. The long-lasting wars of the past had to do with the problem of power balance that reigned in the international relations of the day. This was probably the case for all political empires and religious formations of the past. But today, humanity is not in a position to shoulder such a conflict on the global scale. According to Gülen, Muslims today should not shape their own cultural, social, and existential identities according to destructive values which are rooted in conflict and fight; these are not aligned with the universal value system of Islam, in which peace, dialogue, and tolerance are the basic principles. Today, humanity is not in a position to bear a conflict on the global scale.
Tolerance and dialogue are among the most basic and broad dynamics of the Gülen movement. These two concepts, first developed on a small scale, have turned into a search for a culture of reconciliation on a world scale. Today, the idea of different groups peacefully living together is a philosophical issue that modern states are trying to formulate. The international relations of past empires were founded on conflict and war. Different civilizations were separated by thick walls, which were supported by political, ideological, and religious identities.
The Gülen movement is a clear example of a search, a search that has reached international proportions. Gülen strengthens this search with religious, legal, and philosophical foundations. One of the basic aims of the global education activities is to form bridges that will lead to dialogue between religions and civilizations. The long-lasting wars of the past had to do with the problem of power balance that reigned in the international relations of the day. This was probably the case for all political empires and religious formations of the past. But today, humanity is not in a position to shoulder such a conflict on the global scale. According to Gülen, Muslims today should not shape their own cultural, social, and existential identities according to destructive values which are rooted in conflict and fight; these are not aligned with the universal value system of Islam, in which peace, dialogue, and tolerance are the basic principles. Today, humanity is not in a position to bear a conflict on the global scale.
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