Gülen was considered a moderate but powerful philosopher and religious thinker. He was one of the first Islamic leaders to condemn the Sept. 11 attack against the United States. And he saw the teachings of Islam as promoting peace and self-sacrifice, not extremism and terrorism.

Gülen advocated for education as the best way to lift people from poverty and to spur economic development in some of the poorest nations on the earth.

The Hizmet movement is renowned for founding schools, colleges and universities, as wells as health clinics, and for providing relief in emergencies. Their influence has been felt in an estimated 180 countries throughout Africa, Central Asia, Europe, and even in the United States.

Gülen was so respected for his promotion of interfaith dialogue, Pope John Paul II met with him personally in 1998. And his philosophy of global service, respect for diverse faiths and cultures as well as his personal piety has inspired millions of people, including many who are now residents of Pennsylvania and will continue his work.

His followers say Gülen was focused in his last years on ensuring his movement would continue even after his death. They say they will not give up on Gülen ‘s vision of a world where mutual respect, religious tolerance and peace will put an end to hatred, suffering, and war.

May it be so. And may Fetullah Gülen rest in peace.

My regret doesn’t stem from scholarly reasons. I had worked in the primary sources, including reading his nearly sixty books of Qur’anic exegesis, theology, cultural commentary, and spirituality. I had scoured the manifold secondary sources about him and the Hizmet (Service) community he inspired. I did dozens of interviews with friends and critics. And then I wrote the book that was published as Fethullah Gülen: A Life of Hizmet—Why a Muslim Scholar in Pennsylvania Matters to the World, now translated into a dozen languages. My regret stems from the fact that I won’t have the chance, this side of heaven, to be in the presence of his thoughtful, warm, generous, compassionate, indeed grace-filled presence.

The night before I met with him for two ninety-minute interviews in 2018, I didn’t sleep well. What I had discovered in my research was that Gülen was a scholar who intentionally combined deep spirituality with scientific knowledge. He had initiated a global movement of Muslims committed to both Islam and the modern world—prayer and pluralism, pilgrimage and education, fasting and planetary flourishing, traditional wisdom and women’s rights. I worried that the person might not match the paper trail. What if he was a jerk?

He wasn’t. I asked him very focused questions about his family, about his philosophy of education, about the Hizmet movement, about politics, and about theology. He answered them all with careful and detailed replies.

He quoted for me the child’s “Song of the Foods” that he sang as a boy with his sister, Nurhayat, and he smiled when he recalled how his brother, Sıbgatullah, tried to sing along “but couldn’t really harmonize very well.”

He denied ever supporting the current President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: “Of course we attended some of the same events,” he said. But Gülen reiterated what I already knew: he never joined a political party, and he never endorsed any candidate.

Slandered as a scapegoat to solidify Erdoğan’s base across Turkey’s fractious politics, he cried. His tears were not because of the damage to his reputation, which was established securely in his sermons and essays, for anyone who wanted to read them, but he cried because his students and associates had been fired from their jobs as teachers, judges, police, bankers, bakers, builders, and more. They were arrested, imprisoned, exiled on the thinnest of charges. They were his friends, his brothers, his sisters. He cried.

That empathy was one of his most notable, and noble, characteristics. I cried with him.

But we smiled, and even laughed, more. He had a wonderful, dry sense of humor, laced with gentle sarcasm. We recalled how he was blamed for everything bad in Turkey—even soccer matches; conspiracy-thinking run wild.

And we met on the common ground of God—a Christian and a Muslim coming together across our differences. He sought, and forged, good relationships with Jewish, Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant, Kurdish, and Armenian individuals and communities.

I asked him about his motivation—what kept him going throughout the recent struggles? He spoke not of himself, but of seeking God’s pleasure through “müspet hareket,” positive, non-reactive engagement to improve the world. Selfless action was his aim and deepest truth, akin to Gandhi’s satyagraha or truth-force. He lived to please God.

“Power resides in truth,” he often said. And the truth about Fethullah Gülen is that he was a humble and faithful man of God, now embraced in the loving arms of the Eternal.

When we last met, about a year ago, he was very frail, but still mentally sharp. He shared with me a copy of the Albanian translation of my biography of him. And he paid me a compliment I’ll never forget: “Jon, you’ve done more than a thousand Muslims.” We embraced as I left. I suspected I would not seem him again: and I felt a void that has now grown into regret and enduring absence.

May he rest in his well-earned peace—a goal he sought through the practiced, nonviolent means at the heart of Islam, throughout his generative and fruitful life.

I follow closely and with great interest what Western thinkers write and think about the Hizmet Movement, how they evaluate the current conditions affecting the Movement, and how they shed light on its future. One such book that was recently released was “Between Thought and Action: An Intellectual Biography of Fethullah Gülen,” written by the esteemed intellectual and thinker Ori Z. Soltes.

Dr. Soltes’s book is one strong addition to the growing corpus of biographical studies on the Hizmet Movement and Fethullah Gülen. It includes original comments on current issues and interviews with people who have devoted themselves to the Hizmet Movement. The book is a fluent, original, and yet comprehensible expression of the life of esteemed Fethullah Gülen, known by supporters as Hodjaefendi.

In praise of the book, Jon Pahl says, “This book is a gift to anyone who wants to deepen their knowledge and understanding of Fethullah Gülen.” James C. Harrington states, “Ori Soltes provides an eloquent account of Gülen’s spiritual life and intellectual journey, and his service to societies through his social Islamic thought.”

The book has six chapters. While each chapter could likely be a book itself, Dr. Soltes, with his unique narration and style, packs these chapters into a book in a way that does not bore the reader and so takes us on a tour d’horizon, starting from the “small world” of Fethullah Gülen to his becoming a world-renowned Islamic scholar, intellectual, and educator. As its title suggests, Dr. Soltes’s book is a significant contribution differing from several other works in that it not only covers the foundations, development, and history of the Hizmet Movement besides the life of esteemed Gülen, it also, in the fourth chapter, includes interviews on how Gülen’s philosophy and ideas have been incorporated into the Hizmet Movement and how the participants of the Movement and society at large have interpreted them.

Had someone asked me to summarize this book in one sentence, I would have quoted a student from Gülen’s teaching circle who said the following: “Even if I give up on myself, I know he (Gülen) will never give up on me” (p. 174). When you read the life of a person devoted to a sublime mission and meet his objectives and ideals that transcend human horizons, his love and devotion to his community strikes you in the heart, and then you understand why his life, thoughts, and ideals resonate in other people’s hearts.

In the first chapter, we read a short biography of Gülen’s childhood and upbringing in a pious family environment (p. 21) and how these had a lasting effect on his life. In this context, it is emphasized how his soul and realm of thought were shaped from an early age (p. 23), his interest in Western literary classics in addition to the works of Islamic scholars and thinkers (p. 25), how he became a role model for his community through his superior morality and dignity in his personal and social life (pp. 25, 26), and how his deep learning and psychological acuity combined to help him develop a reputation and to expand his following (pp. 25, 26, 31).

In the same chapter, it is also mentioned how Hizmet could reach 170 countries through the immense influence of Gülen’s “positive action” philosophy and became a movement serving every part of the world (pp. 25, 26, 31). It’s also a reminder of how the early periods of the Movement were laborious and agonized like today, and how—with the impact generated by Gülen’s sermons—people became devoted to the ideals he put forward (pp. 25, 26, 31, 32). The chapter also describes how he had to remain fugitive during military junta regimes, during which he continued to encourage his community to expand Hizmet by opening new schools (p. 34). Gülen even had to stay in a cave for a month between 1980 and 1986 when he was wanted by law enforcement and had to survive on bread and water alone (p. 34).

After describing the hardships Gülen and other Hizmet members experienced, the author mentions that Gülen was able to interpret the spirit of the times and introduce new methods for the expansion of the Movement (p. 36). While highlighting several trendsetting methods like opening educational institutions, establishing media organizations and publishing houses, encouraging philanthropists to provide accommodation for students, and the like, the author also highlights the public and inclusive Ramadan fast-breaking dinners and receptions as an example of effective religious jurisprudence in modern times (p. 34), as well as the interfaith dialogue events, including when Gülen visited the Vatican and opened his inter-religious dialogue activities to a wider audience (p. 36).

The second chapter has a short chronicle of Gülen’s world of thought and the author’s thoughts on the sources that shaped Gülen (p. 41) An expert on the history and philosophy of religions and political history, Dr. Soltes briefly evaluates the understanding of religion and God and the belief systems of Jews, Christians, and Muslims, before taking a journey into Gülen’s world of ideas. Soltes believes that interreligious conflicts have been caused by human ego in a place where the paths to God are thought to be unlimited, and that the politicization of the issue has led to such divisions and conflicts (pp. 41-51). After this brief historical introduction, the author explains why Gülen, an authoritative scholar on Islamic jurisprudence, emphasizes and recommends interfaith dialogue around the values of love, compassion, tolerance, science, universal values, and the core values of the Hizmet Movement, which some view as contrary to the general Islamic “tradition.” Soltes highlights this as an inspiration from the Sufi tradition (p. 51) and reveals how the prominent figures of the Sufi understanding—from Rabi’a al-‘Adawiyya to ‘Mawlana’ Jalal al-Din Rumi—influenced Gülen (pp. 52-90). The author also states it is not correct to translate the Turkish word hoşgörü, which Gülen frequently used in his dialogue initiatives, into English as tolerance as hoşgörü is a manner of dealing with others based on equality. Hoşgörü is nearer to acceptance.

In the third chapter titled “From Words to Actions: Dialogue, the Hizmet Movement and the Altruistic Activities,” we read the author’s observations and comments on the Movement’s educational and dialogue activities (p. 93). The author mentions Gülen not only as a theoretician who put forward an educational philosophy and pedagogy but also as a practitioner of educational thought and pedagogy which he applied starting from his years in Izmir and enriches this with the memories of Gülen’s students from that period. He states Gülen’s focus on education is due to his life philosophy: “I prefer to serve rather than to be served” (p. 97), a slight modification of Socrates’ saying, “I prefer to be a victim than to persecute others.”

The same chapter elucidates the pedagogy of education in schools opened by Hizmet volunteers as shaped by a “union of mind and heart” and emphasizes that Gülen synthesized and formulated this from the Nursi-Einstein perspective (p. 104) to improve the effectiveness of the education model. It is also emphasized that the schools serve people of all faiths, which Gülen interprets for the modern world as, “Come, come and join us,” mirroring Rumi’s famous invitation (36). The high academic achievement of the schools is also attributed to the generous, altruistic, humble, and persevering teachers (pp. 111-122) who are so fond of their students.

In the section on dialogue in the same chapter, the author quotes from the Qur’an and the works of Gülen and states that Hizmet’s dialogue activities have Qur’anic foundations, that the Qur’anic verses in this context are rendered closer to understanding through Said Nursi’s and Gülen’s interpretations, and that the ways dialogue activities are carried out in a clime of acceptance have grown into platforms of love, peace, and brotherhood (pp. 269-273).

The fourth chapter, “In Their Own Words: The Followers and Sympathizers of Gülen and Hizmet Speak,” includes interviews conducted with a wide range of people from different age groups, countries, and nationalities. Here is what some of them think:

As a man of religion, Fethullah Gülen, “not only preached, but led by example” (p. 136), and “every morning I have met ‘a new Hizmet Movement and I think, this is the reason why I am here’” (p. 153). In addition, “Gülen’s role model behavior through his actions, rather than simply his words” (p. 155) and his emphasis on “embracing all humanity for universal peace with the assertion that peace depends on the extent of our love for humanity” are resonant and resolute messages that stole my heart as we mostly do not hear such words from other Muslim scholars (p. 159) nowadays.

An authoritative scholar and thinker, Fethullah Gülen also “has an aura and personal appeal by being so kind, generous, and approachable” (p. 160). In time, I noticed this is not only limited to him; almost everyone in the Hizmet is “by default good people, generous and trustworthy” (p. 167).

From a broader perspective, Gülen “is the very person who has brought Turkey to the world arena with a successful education project” (p. 174) and “Gülen’s Islam is a universal, civil Islam.” (p. 179) Thanks to this, “The Gülen Movement is very inclusive: open to the East, open to the West, open to dialogue” (p. 180).

Many fell in love with Gülen’s idealistic worldview—he preached from the pulpit of mosques, “We don’t need to fight, we need to talk” (p. 183). This would introduce Muslims to the world through positive action. Encouraging people to achieve this cause, Gülen always and still emphasizes universal human values, and I consider this noteworthy (p. 195).

As a participant of the Hizmet Movement, “I think what attracts me most is its vision” (p. 195), and I am impressed by the “Hizmet Movement’s openness to dialogue and understanding of people of different faiths” (p. 231). An American friend of the Hizmet Movement says, “in an institution of the Hizmet Movement, among the brochures displayed at the entrance, were also pamphlets in which ideas critical of the Hizmet Movement were quoted,” and “the Hizmet Movement does not hide anything, it discusses these ideas honestly and presents them in a way that is absolutely understandable” (p. 245).

Finally, this section of the book maintains that “Gülen’s life can be explained by five key elements, models or relationships: 1) his emphasis that participation in non-violent activities ensures integrity; 2) his implementation of the code of principled pluralism in all spheres—he demonstrates this frankly in dialogue activities; 3) what I call engaged empathy—a deep feeling for the suffering of the world, and willingness to engage on behalf of alleviating that suffering; 4) his commitment to spiritual and scientific literacy; 5) his success in setting out the institutional model of a social enterprise” (p. 246).

In the same chapter, middle-aged adults and youth were also interviewed, revealing people with diverse backgrounds and from different parts of the world. The author appraises his observations and experiences among the older and younger generations and explains: “Albeit generational gaps between the people we talked to, when it came to the Hizmet culture, they were so similar in evaluating events and incidents from so analogous perspectives.” Soltes also states, “After long observations and witnessing the behavior and lives of the Hizmet participants, you come upon a circumstance so synchronous and harmonious that someone not familiar with the Hizmet Movement might think these people are of a top-talent theater troupe trained at the same acting school” (p. 10).

In the concluding part of the book, the author touches upon current issues in two sections titled “Why does Erdoğan hate Fethullah Gülen so much?” and “Turkey’s July 2016 ‘Coup’—Fake and False, not Failed.” The first part mentions Gülen’s alignment with values and principles and how Erdoğan remains adrift from these. It also mentions that Gülen has never been interested in politics and that the Hizmet Movement has remained a social movement, a stance exploited by the Erdoğan regime to depict the Hizmet Movement as an object of hate to consolidate its own power and avoid justice in the wake of massive corruption (pp. 111-122). In the final section, the author argues that the July 15^th attempt was not a coup d’état. He provides examples from the series of events on that fateful day and similar incidents elsewhere in the world and clearly states that an attempt like the one on July 15, 2016, must have been a fake attempt (pp. 273-278).

The terms translated in English as “worship,” “servanthood,” and “devotion” are taken from Arabic and possess a long history in the Islamic tradition. In particular, they have been commented upon by Sufi teachers and theoreticians down through the ages. Fethullah Gülen has appropriated this traditional language and applied it to the practice of Islam in modern situations. A study of these concepts provides a key to understanding both the Hizmet movement’s spiritual motivation as well as the success of its undertakings.

The term ‘ibada is derived from the Arabic root meaning slave or servant and carries the idea of enslaving oneself to God or of acting as God’s servant, with the consequent connotations of obedience, submission, devotion, faithfulness, service etc. The concept is not an innovation within the Abrahamic tradition, and is well known in both the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian New Testament. Moses was referred to as God’s servant and the idea of Israel as God’s faithful Servant was later developed by the prophets, especially Isaiah. Christian authors of the New Testament identified Jesus with the Suffering Servant of God spoken of by Isaiah. In the Qur’anic account of the Night Journey (Qr 17:1), Muhammad is referred to simply as “His servant” (“Glory to God Who did take His servant for a journey by night…”

In many treatments of Islamic belief and practice, and in the minds of many Muslim believers, ‘ibada is simply equated with ritual acts, specifically the ritual practices such as the daily salat prayers, the Ramadan fast, the pilgrimage to Mecca etc., that are obligatory for all Muslims. Particularly in works of fiqh (jurisprudence), ‘ibada as ritual activity is treated as a separate chapter distinct from mu’amalat (business affairs and contracts), munakahat (marriage regulations), jinaya (expiation), hudud (punishment), faraid (inheritance) etc.

Worship as fulfilling God’s commands in daily life

Gülen expands upon this traditional view of ‘ibada to define it very broadly as “fulfilling God’s commands in one’s daily life, and fulfilling the obligations of being God’s servant” [1]. It is interesting to note that there is no specific reference to ritual performance in this definition. In Gülen’s view, ritual obligations are included in the concept of ‘ibada, but the notion goes far beyond ritual performance to include everything that one does to live and act according to God’s will. When Oğuz teaches physics in Kyrgyzstan, he is performing ‘ibada; he is worshiping God. When Erol donates funds so that schools, dialogue centers, well-digging projects, and publishing houses can be founded and maintained, he is doing ‘ibada. His donations are a form of divine worship.

Worship in this broad sense is the primary task of man and woman as God’s khalifa, or vice-regent on earth. Gülen holds that “Humanity’s vice-regency for the Creator takes place in an unusually broad sphere that encompasses acts ranging from believing in Him and worshiping Him to understanding the mysteries within things and the cause of natural phenomena” [2]. This insight has concrete application in the strong emphasis given to the natural sciences in the schools established and operated by the Gülen movement. The teachers and students are worshiping God when they undertake a scientific study of the earth.

Gülen’s comprehensive understanding of worship has resulted almost in a kind of sacralization of education and helps to account for the emphasis the movement has given to opening and operating schools. As an example, I offer this passage from one of Gülen’s writings on education. “A school is a place of learning, where everything related to this life and the next is taught. It can shed light on vital ideas and events, and enable students to understand their natural and human environment. A school can also open the way to unveiling the meaning of things and events, thereby leading a student to wholeness of thought and contemplation. In essence, a school is a kind of place of worship; the ‘holy leaders’ are the teachers” [3].

Worship as integrative and liberative

The broad compass that Gülen gives to ‘ibada is meant to have an integrating effect in the lives of his followers. “They first arrange their feelings and thoughts, regulating their individual and social life through various forms of worship, balancing familial and social relationships by their actions … doing what is necessary to be a genuine successor (khalifa).” The far-reaching notion of worship enables the members of the movement to bring together and maintain in equilibrium their devotional life, vocational commitment, and communitarian responsibilities.

To play this integrative role in the life of a believer, “worship” must embrace the totality of attitudes and actions of service. As Gülen notes: “Worship is not simply the performance of a set of particular movements, as some believe. It is what we call complete submission and the acceptance of a broad responsibility. Along with the title of vice-regent, it is the clearest expression of the relationship amongst humans, the universe, and God.”

Worship is seen to have not only an integrative but also a liberative role in the believer’s life. An attitude of worship enables the believer to arrive at true freedom by becoming free from the obstacles to freedom, escape from the self-imposed dungeon people have created for themselves [4] and the multifarious forms of slavery to which humans subject themselves. Gülen puts it as follows: “If worship is the placing of a consciousness of being bound to God into one’s heart, if it is the liberation of one’s self from all types of slavery, if it is the title of seeing, hearing, and feeling the beauty, order, and harmony that belong to Him in every molecule of existence – and there is no doubt that it is this and nothing else – then worship is the most immediate way to turn our face to God” [5].

Servanthood

Gülen distinguishes between ‘ibada and ‘ubudiyya, which can be translated as “servanthood.” For Gülen, the concept of ‘ubudiyya bears the connotation of “living in the consciousness of being God’s servant,” whereas ‘ibada means “fulfilling God’s commands in one’s daily life” [6]. In other words, ‘ibada refers to what the devout believer must do to serve and obey God in daily life, and ‘ubudiyya indicates the attitude which the believer must take towards God, the object of worship.

However, there is also a more subtle difference between the two concepts. Acts of worship (‘ibada) consist of all physical and economic duties, which may include teaching school, financing dialogue projects, or delivering meat to the poor at the Feast of the Sacrifice, as well as such ritual obligations as the daily salat prayers or Ramadan fast. Servanthood (‘ubudiyyat) recognizes that there is a deeper, inner dimension to all these activities that requires a degree of reflective awareness on the part of the believer. What is the reason for such deeds of worship, how do they fit into one’s response in faith to God’s commands, and why is it in accord with God’s plan for humankind that they act in this way? The consciousness of the role that acts of obedience and service play in responding faithfully to God is what Gülen terms “servanthood”; it indicates an attitude that one is constantly standing before God in readiness to seek the Divine Master’s pleasure by carrying out active service in accord with His will.

Devotion

Gülen reaches back into the Sufi tradition to note a still deeper stage of worshipful involvement, that of “devotion,” or ‘ubuda. While being neither the member of a Sufi Order or the founder of a new tarekat, Gülen acknowledges his indebtedness to the Sufi tradition for its promoting a comprehensive understanding of worship as service of God, as well as its constant encouragement to those on the Path to worship God always and in every way. Thus, although not a Sufi himself, Gülen affirms his appreciation for the insights of the Sufis to the Islamic view of worship. He states: “Sufism enables individuals, through the constant worship of God, to deepen their awareness of themselves as devotees of God… Sufism allows individuals to develop the moral dimension of their existence, and enables the acquisition of a strong, heartfelt, and personally experienced conviction of the articles of faith that before they had only accepted superficially” [7].

Like the Sufis, going back to Al-Ghazali, Gülen views worship as a way to obtain experiential knowledge of the truths of faith that otherwise would remain only theoretical postulates. As the believer moves to deeper stages or levels of worship, new perceptions of the realities of faith present themselves. Gülen offers the following advice to his disciples: “Worship is the safest way to reach the most unshakable certainty in one’s conscience about the greatest truth, which is known only theoretically at the outset. In each station on this way, along which consciousness seeks certainty on the wings of reverence and respect, a person experiences a different taste of glimpsing the Beloved” [8].

The Sufi theoreticians spoke of ‘ibada as the service performed by ordinary believers striving to advance on the path to God, while ‘ubudiyya is the servanthood of those advanced souls whose mental and spiritual attitudes permit them to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles, and ‘ubuda is the deep devotion of “those whose mental and spiritual states cause them to turn to God wholeheartedly with a profound feeling of being in His company” [9].

What characterizes the level of true devotion is an enthusiastic eagerness to serve God. It occurs when the worshiper moves beyond reluctance, objections, and grumbling and performs one’s duties with joyful spontaneity. Gülen cites Ibn al-Farid to affirm the superiority of this final stage of devotion: “The acts of worship and duties of servanthood required by every station or rank that I have reached during my spiritual journey have been fulfilled by my devotion.”

For the Sufis, ‘ubuda (devotion) was a rare state of soul (hal) achieved by advanced practitioners on the Sufi path. Gülen characteristically orients even the stage of ‘ubuda toward those members of his community engaged in what he sees to be the mission of Islam in the world, that is, service of God by serving others. He affirms: “This vital mission can only be realized by the devout and godly, who never think of themselves, except insofar as they see their own salvation through the salvation of others” [10].

The stage of devotion is, in the view of Gülen, not so much a spiritual achievement of the select few who have devoted their lives to the mystical path, but an attitude that can be achieved by any pious Muslim who strives to overcome their selfish passions to serve God and others. This ideal of being one of the devout is one that Gülen has held up to countless young Muslims and has inspired many of them, like Oğuz with whom I began this paper, to devote their lives to the “The Service (Hizmet),” as those in the community refer to their activities and projects.

Gülen himself puts much hope in this “new generation” of idealistic young Muslims. “The future will be the work of these devout people who can represent such a significant mission, showing their responsibility and exhibiting their accomplishments. The existence and continuance of our nation and the nations related to us will be permeated with the thoughts, inspirations and outcomes of a new civilization and with the vast, reviving dynamism of a rich culture, carried aloft into the future on the shoulders of these devout people. They are the trustees of the sublime truths and the heirs of our historical riches” [11]. As an outside observer of the movement, I might suggest that if one wants to find in a nutshell the kind of Muslim that Gülen is trying to form, one could not do better than to read this article on the pious, altruistic Muslim who has attained and manifests the final stage of worship [12].

Worship as fulfilling ritual obligations

By giving the priority to worship as a comprehensive life of service to God, Gülen does not imply that ritual performance is unimportant or optional. ‘Ibada in the sense of ritual arises from “a deeply embedded need to acknowledge the Divine” and to be in submissive contact with the “Mysterious power that controls everything” [13]. He stresses that our worship can add nothing to God’s glory, which is infinite, but ritual worship benefits the believer in this world and the next. “It is we who need to worship God; not God who needs to be worshiped. He is free of all need” [14].

The model for worship is, as is the case with regard to other aspects of Islamic life, the Prophet Muhammad. Gülen notes: “Prophet Muhammad was the foremost practitioner of all forms of Islamic worship, and the most God-conscious Muslim. He perfectly observed all details of worship, even when in danger… In his supplications and prayers, he describes his Lord with a such a degree of Divine knowledge that no Muslim has ever attained a similar degree of knowledge and description of God” [15].

For Muslims, worship in the ritual sense centers on humility and intention. The phrase “it is You whom we worship (na’budu)” in the Fatiha implies “the eternal impotence and poverty of humankind” before the Divine presence. Gülen comments as follows on the verse: “O Lord! I am determined that I will not sacrifice my freedom to anyone but You, and I will not bow in humiliation before anyone or anything. I turn to You fully intent on servanthood and worship; my eyes are fixed upon You and no other. I am filled with a desire for submission and prayer… My intention is my greatest worship; I hope that You will accept my intention as my worship. I plead for Your favor, not in proportion to the number of things that I have done, but to those I have intended to do” [16].

Conclusion

Gülen’s approach to the concept of worship and servanthood is rooted in the generations of Muslim scholars who preceded him, but he gives to the concept his characteristic emphasis. After the Prophet Muhammad himself, the figure most influential upon Gülen and most frequently cited in his writings is, not surprisingly, Mevlana Jalal al-Din Rumi. In speaking of servanthood, Gülen notes that Rumi’s greatest boast about himself is not that he was a great saint or person of great spiritual depth, but simply that he was God’s servant. He cites as a model of Islamic humility and joyful service the words of Mevlana, with their famous triple repetition for emphasis:

“I have become a servant, become a servant, become a servant;
I have bowed and doubled myself up with serving You.
Servants or slaves rejoice when they are emancipated,
Whereas I rejoice when I become Your servant.”

References

1. 1. Fethullah Gülen, Emerald Hills of the Heart: Key Concepts in the Practice of Sufism, Somerset, New Jersey: Tughra, 2009, I: 53.
2. M. Fethullah Gülen, Love and Tolerance: Toward a Global Civilization of Love, Somerset, N.J., The Light, 2006, p. 208.
3. Ibid., p. 329.
4. Ibid., p. 322.
5. Ibid., pp. 208-209.
6. M.F. Gülen, Key Concepts in the Practice of Sufism, I: 53.
7. M.F. Gülen, Toward a Global Civilization of Love and Tolerance, pp. 267-268.
8. M. Fethullah Gülen, “Understanding and Respect,” 14 June 2006, http://www.fethullahgulen.biz/about-fethullah-gulen/161-gulens-thoughts/1241-worship.html
9. Ibid., I: 54.
10. M. Fethullah Gülen, “The Devout: the Architect of Our Souls,” in The Statue of Our Souls, Somerset, N.J.: Tughra Books, 2009, p. 91. In his biography of Muhammad, Gülen describes the prophet in similar terms: “A Prophet is totally dedicated to his mission, and thus is an altruist who lives for the happiness and good of others.” M. Fethullah Gülen, Muhammad the Messenger of God: an Analysis of the Prophet’s Life, Tughra Books, 2010, p. 77.
11. Ibid., pp. 95-96.
12. “The Devout: the Architect of Our Souls, The Statue of Our Souls, pp. 91-97.
13. M. Fethullah Gülen, Questions and Answers about Islam, Somerset, N.J.: Tughra Books, 2009, I: 33.
14. Ibid., I: 35.
15. M. Fethullah Gülen, The Essentials of the Islamic Faith, Somerset, N.J.: Tughra Books, 2009, p. 180.
16. M. Fethullah Gülen, “You Alone Do We Worship,” 25 March 2008, https://fgulen.com/en/fethullah-gulens-works/reflections-on-the-quran/suratul-fatihah-the-opening/al-fatihah-1-5 (link updated)

“Sincerity” in the Islamic Tradition

Ikhlas is a Qur’anic concept that is variously translated as “sincerity” or “purity of intention,” and Gülen’s understanding of this term covers both aspects of the Qur’anic concept. In ordinary parlance, “sincerity” indicates the notion of honesty or freedom from dissimulation and hypocrisy. A sincere person is one whose external words or deeds are in accord with their interior thoughts or feelings. A sincere person does not pretend to be expressing one thought or emotion while in reality his interior dispositions are to the contrary. Thus, a sincere person is not self-promoting, hypocritical, pretentious, two-faced, or devious. The sincere person neither flatters nor manipulates others. This straightforward transparency of speech and motivation is one aspect of ikhlas.

The second aspect of the Qur’anic notion of ikhlas, which brings together the notion of “purity” with that of “dedicating, devoting or consecrating oneself” to some activity, is a key virtue in Islamic practice [1], and is the aspect of ikhlas most often stressed by Gülen. Ikhlas is an eminently interior disposition by which the faithful Muslim performs all external actions in a spirit of service and directed solely toward pleasing the Divine Lord. In fact, in Islam the perfection of one’s witness to faith can be gauged by the double standard of ikhlas (purity of intention) and ihsan (goodness).

It is noteworthy that the brief expression of the Islamic creed found in the Qur’anic Sura 112, “Say: He, Allah, is One. Allah is He on Whom all depend. He begets not, nor is He begotten. And there is none like Him,” has been known in Islamic tradition as the “Surat al-Ikhlas,” that is, “The Chapter of Sincerity” or “The Chapter of Pure Religion.”

The importance of ikhlas has been commented upon down through the centuries by Muslim scholars, exegetes, and spiritual guides in every generation. The Sufi masters have been particularly fond of elaborating on this virtue, to the extent that in the minds of many Muslims, ikhlas is considered a “Sufi concept.” In commenting on ikhlas, Said Nursi distinguishes his own advice from that of the teaching of the Sufi tradition. While praising the insights of the Sufi masters, Nursi notes that “I am not a Sufi, but these principles of theirs make a good rule for our path” [2].

Because of its roots in the Qur’an and in the tradition of Islamic spiritual writing, this aspect of ikhlas can perhaps be more adequately conveyed in English by “purity of intention” or “pure religion” than simply by “sincerity.” Ikhlas indicates the interior disposition in which one practices all the acts of religion solely for God’s pleasure rather than for any personal benefit that may accrue to them, whether that be prestige, pride, or the admiration of others. When one “worships God with sincerity” one’s intention is pure and undefiled by base or irrelevant motives. The Qur’an commends those who devote their lives to seeking God’s pleasure: “And there is the type of man who gives his life to earn the pleasure of Allah: And Allah is full of kindness to (His) devotees” (Qur’an 2: 207).

Ikhlas in Gülen’s theology

In his treatment of ikhlas, Gülen builds upon what was elaborated in the tradition and applies these insights to the contemporary needs of communitarian life and the broader society. ¨While interpreting the basic meaning of the term to be “upright, sincere, and pure,” Gülen indicates that ikhlas means “pursuing nothing worldly while worshiping and obeying God” [3]. At the deepest level, sincerity can only be understood in the mystery of the relationship between God and God’s faithful servant. Purity of intention is a grace or divine gift that God places in the heart of those He loves [4] in order to increase, deepen and give eternal value to the servant’s ordinary good acts.

Gülen considers purity of intention to be “the wing of the bird” of a person’s life before God. The other wing is faithfulness, and together these virtues make up the two wings of divine grace that God implants in the soul that enable a person to approach God directly without hindrance. He quotes Mevlana Jalal al-din Rumi to the effect that if good deeds were a body, purity of intention (ikhlas) would be their soul. That is, it is sincerity that makes good deeds live, be effective, and have everlasting value. Without sincerity to animate deeds spiritually, all human endeavors would remain lifeless, ephemeral, and ultimately worthless. But those who fly with the two wings of sincerity and faithfulness will fly with God’s protection and will unfailingly reach their destination, that is, “God’s approval and pleasure.”

Faithfulness, the other wing of the bird, enables God’s servant to stick to his intention to serve God even when it is inconvenient or seemingly fruitless. This kind of loyalty to God is one of the most evident qualities of God’s servants, an outstanding characteristic of all the prophets, and the source of wisdom in the believer. In the loyal, faithful servant, God will plant the seeds of wisdom that will then spring from that person’s heart and tongue.

Gülen quotes Abu Yazid Bistami (Bayazid) to say that it is through sincerity, not through human deeds, that a person goes to God. It is on the basis of a person’s sincerity that God judges acts, not on the magnitude or notoriety of the deed. The size and quantity of good deeds is unimportant. Even a small deed or one that is unknown to others, if it is done with sincerity, is judged pleasing by God. This intentionality, the conviction that a person’s intention determines the value of a deed, is in keeping with the Islamic tradition. Gülen notes that God rewards a small act done with purity of intention more highly than many more ostentatious deeds done without the sincere desire to serve God alone.

For Gülen, Muslims must learn purity of intention from the prophets, particularly from the Prophet Muhammad. He states: “God’s Messenger had one intention: to please God and worship Him sincerely, as he himself stated in a famous hadith: “Perfect goodness or virtue is to worship God as if you were seeing Him, and although you do not see Him, yet truly He sees you” [5]. Just as the prophets could not take a step without sincerity, so also those who follow in the footsteps of the prophets will not be able to do anything without a pure intention. Gülen describes this purity of intention as “the pursuit of no worldly purpose in one’s relationship with God [6]. In other words, worshiping and obeying God are the only valid reasons that a sincere person should have for performing any of their good actions.

Living with purity of intention

Like Said Nursi before him, Fethullah Gülen is not interested so much in being a theoretician of the spiritual life as in offering concrete, practical advice to those who come to him for spiritual counsel. It is in this way that Gülen, following Nursi, distinguishes himself from the great Sufi Masters like Al-Muhasibi, Al-Ghazali, and Hujwiri. Gülen is interested in continuing in the line of Nursi’s “path of reality,” that of providing effective, helpful advice to Muslims who are seeking God’s pleasure in this world. He cites Nursi to insist that purity of intention is nothing other than the basic motivation for the disciple’s personal and communitarian actions: “We worship God only because we are His servants and He has told us to do so. Said Nursi said: ‘Do what you do only for God’s sake; start for God’s sake, work for God’s sake, and act within the sphere of God’s good approval’” [7].

Gülen advises his students to maintain spiritual discretion. In practical terms, if ikhlas, or purity of intention, means that the servant does everything solely to seek God’s pleasure and for no worldly motive whatsoever, it follows that sincere believers should not be ostentatious in the good deeds they perform. One seeking God’s pleasure alone should hide any supererogatory acts from the view of others and remain silent about any edifying personal experiences, special treatment received from superiors, or special gifts with which one has been endowed by God.

The underlying supposition is that there is a universal human tendency to perform one’s good deeds in order to be seen by others and gain their approval. Moreover, human motivation is often complex, with the desire to serve God mixed with a craving for human admiration and approval. The sincere servant recognizes that it is only God’s approval, not that of other persons, that matters; thus, it is unimportant whether or not one is seen in serving God. A person who has purity of intention worries neither about being praised for his accomplishments nor censured for his failures. He does not care if others are aware or unaware of his achievements, nor is he preoccupied about receiving a reward. Such a person behaves with consistency, whether or not one is in public or in private.

According to Gülen, sincerity teaches that the true goal of acts of piety and goodness is God’s pleasure, not human recognition or respect. Moreover, in sincere worship the believer discovers that one’s human longing for Paradise is not a sufficient motivation for doing what is right. Speaking of worship, Gülen explains: “Those performing [acts of worship] can be categorized by their intention, resolution, determination, and sincerity as follows: those who desire to enter Paradise, those who hope to be rescued from Hellfire, those who love and stand in awe of God, and those who feel that they must do so as a requirement of their relationship between God as the Creator and human beings” [8]. The sincere worshiper no longer cares whether his deeds will form the basis for attaining Paradise.

In fact, sincerity should become second nature to God’s servants, not a virtue after which a person consciously needs to strive. Gülen advises disciples to be “so involved in worship or religious deeds in seeking God’s pleasure that one does not even remember whether one should be sincere or not” [9]. In other words, even the virtue of sincerity itself must not be allowed to become the final goal of religious observance. The only true objective in the performance of any good act is to serve and obey God and to thereby give God the pleasure and satisfaction that is due Him.

Only a humble person can act with true sincerity. As Gülen explains: “Humble people do not attribute fruits of work and efforts to themselves, nor do they regard their successes or efforts for God as making them superior to others. They do not care how others regard them; they do not demand a return for their services for God. They regard their being loved by others as a test of their sincerity, and do not exploit God’s favors to them by boasting” [10].

To arrive at a state of mind where one does not care whether one receives recognition for one’s good deeds, the disciple must engage in self-examination and self-supervision. Only the person who has learned to be honest with oneself will be able to know whether one’s motivation is solely to worship God or whether the true incentive that is being pursued is some worldly gain, such as self-satisfaction, human respect, or personal ambition. Thus, developing a habit of honest evaluation and reflection will enable a person to grow in purity of intention. Gülen calls this muraqaba (self-supervision), by which God’s servants are led “to maintain the purity of thoughts, actions, and intentions even when they are alone, in the consciousness of His continual observation” [11].

Communitarian dimensions of ikhlas

It is not only for the purposes of an individual’s spiritual growth that purity of intention is a key virtue among those who seek to do God’s will. Purity of intention also has communitarian effects. There is nothing that can more quickly disrupt the proper bonds of friendship among disciples than personal ambition, competition, and rivalry. When a disciple is in the habit of calling attention to his superior abilities or achievements in one or another area, or to boast about his relationship to his superiors, resentment and jealousy will inevitably arise among his confreres.

In his emphasis on sincerity as a key element in preserving the unity of the community, Gülen’s approach is very similar to that of Said Nursi, who repeatedly wrote of the necessity for sincerity to prevent disunity among the students of the Risale-i Nur. The history of many religious groups in various religions has shown repeatedly that jealousy and a sense of competition among members has been the cause of factionalism, resentment, and divisions into rival groups. It has produced a loss of dynamism and resulted in the break-up of many groups. It is only by the members carrying out their tasks with sincerity that this unhealthy rivalry can be avoided. In his long discursus on sincerity, Nursi envisioned a community in which “Each of the members completes the deficiencies of the others, veils their faults, assists their needs, and helps them out in their duties” [12]. If this type of relationship among fellow disciples is to be possible and the unity of the community is to be maintained, everyone must be sincerely striving solely to please God.

By contrast, the unity of heart and intention among those involved in the Hizmet cemaat can be traced in a large part to this emphasis on sincerity and purity of intention. It means that humble tasks – meeting guests at the airport, serving tea or coffee, feeding the poor in soup kitchens – have eternal value and ennoble the one performing them, if they are done wholly for the pleasure of God. A similar understanding underlies the readiness of intelligent, well-prepared university graduates to renounce prestigious and well-paying positions in academics or business to devote their lives to teaching students in distant and often impoverished regions. The emphasis on purity of intention has convinced industrialists, businessmen, and entrepreneurs to contribute generously to projects whose completion they will never see.

Since it is sincerity that enables God’s servants to keep focused on serving God alone, thus making their actions, great or small, acceptable to God, if Gülen has been able to instill a sense of harmony and united service (hizmet) among his followers, it is largely because of the emphasis he has put on ikhlas. He cites Mevlana to this effect: “You should be sincere in all your deeds, So that the Majestic Lord may accept them. Sincerity is the wing of the bird of the acts of obedience; without a wing, how can you fly to the abode of prosperity?” [13]

Notes

1. L. Gardet, Encyclopaedia of Islam, Leiden: 2006, III: 1059.
2. Risale-i Nur, The Twenty-first Flash, p. 216
3. Gülen, Key Concepts in the Practice of Sufism, 1999, p. 60.
4. Ibid. p. 62.
5. Gülen, Muhammad the Messenger of God, p. 39.
6. Gülen, Key Concepts in the Practice of Sufism, p. 60.
7. Gülen, Muhammad the Messenger of God, p. 38. Gülen’s citation of the Risale-i Nur is taken from “The First Word,” p. 5.
8. Fethullah Gülen, Toward a Global Civilization of Love and Tolerance, Somerset: The Light, 2004, p. 54.
9. M.F. Gülen, Key Concepts in the Practice of Sufism, 1999, p. 62.
10. M. F. Gülen, Toward a Global Civilization of Love and Tolerance, p. 80.
11. Gülen, Key Concepts in the Practice of Sufism, p. 57.
12. Said Nursi, Risale-i Nur, The Twenty-first Flash, p. 214.
13. Jalal al-Din Rumi, cited by M.F. Gülen, Key Concepts in the Practice of Sufism, I: 62.

Fethullah Gülen, the Muslim scholar who inspired the global educational movement called Hizmet, has not only challenged popular perceptions of Islam in the West and certain practices among Muslims, but has also established a space for humanistically inclined individuals, not only followers of Islam but of other religions as well, to put humanitarian values into practice.

Since the 1960s, Gülen’s teachings have mobilized tens of thousands of individuals to put their efforts to make possible “service” to everyone in need regardless of their religion, ethnicity, or nationality, and consequently, a transformation of society into one that is more inclusive.

Not only do the Gülen-inspired non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other organizations work in the field of education for all members of society, they also work for their upliftment by implementing holistic workspaces and living environments to bring out the best in the individuals who are associated with it. This effort has yielded notable exceptions to the practice of confining women folk to homes and household duties, a practice still prevailing in many traditional societies. Since its inception, the teachings of the movement have evolved to veer towards inclusive approaches towards others even though Gülen does not identify any community or social group as a social or political ‘other’. The case of Hizmet is a good example of social movements of religious nature which do not confine themselves to the country of its origin but to reach out to both wealthy and impoverished societies across the globe with humanitarian approach.

Many western scholars have associated the movement with what is called “moderate Islam,” as contrasted with some of the “orthodox” currents that exist in West Asia and South-East Asia. Notably, Gülen’s teachings have focused and placed a heavy emphasis upon education, including in its origins opportunities for girls that belonged to Muslim households in Turkey who were uncomfortable with sending their daughters to different cities to pursue higher education. With the establishment of Hizmet dorms across the country which promised and delivered safety and trust, this became possible. Hizmet also provided scholarships for girls, including those who wished to continue to wear headscarves at university, an act that was until recently illegal in Turkey. Gülen’s advocacy of equal opportunities has resulted in a rise in literacy rates of females in Hizmet’s society of origin, Turkey.

Patriarchy in Muslim societies

Patriarchy has been the dominant feature in many traditional social systems throughout history and across all nations. Along with many other reforms, Islam has established a set of foundational principles to establish a more just society in which women could enjoy equal rights and dignity with men. At the time of the Prophet there were good examples of women who were involved in full participation as businesspersons, scholars, as well as warriors. Such exemplary roles and contributions of these women have since suffered setbacks owing to multiple factors. A reason for its endemic presence is the sudden spread of Islam and a lack of organic evolution and embrace of truly Islamic practices on the one hand, and a carryover of pre-Islamic cultural mores on the other. Islam’s egalitarian treatment of both sexes could not have full control over many pre-existing restrictive and patriarchal customs and practices which continued to dominate societies. As a result, women have been confined to their homes, denied education and access to the public sphere. The modesty expected from women have been used to restrict their interaction with the outside world. Women have not only been seen more as caregivers and childbearers than anything else, but have also been associated – and victimized – with honor of men.

All of these factors collectively contributed to a patriarchal and misogynistic approach in many Islamic societies to the day. In present times, women have had to bear the brunt of the fiercely competitive capitalistic setups at the workplace which do not want to invest in a labour force with limited hours of production time. Their training is seen as a waste, and their psychological and emotional upheavals as a loss to the economic enterprises engaging them.

It is imperative that we make note of the fact that the prevalent and widespread misogyny in some Muslim societies has no basis in Islamic traditions.

There are several verses of the Qur’an where men and women are accorded an equal space and status in society. However, the Qur’an and Islamic practices do make a distinction on the basis of physiological and biological differences between men and women. In some Islamic traditions attributed to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) they become apparent, for example, “Paradise lies under the feet of your mother,” and the reference which finds mention too often, that when the Prophet was asked, “Who is most deserving of my good company?” The Prophet said, “Your mother.” The man asked, “Then who?” The Prophet said, “Your mother.” The man asked again, “Then who?” The Prophet said, “Your mother.” The man asked again, “Then who?” The Prophet said, “Your father.”

It is also true that a reactionary response of some Islamic scholars to western influence resulted in restricting women’s spaces in Muslim societies.

As a Muslim woman growing up in North India, I find it imperative to note that female members and volunteers in many mainstream Sunni charitable social movements play limited roles and are bound to homes and halaqas. Although women in these communities are actively involved in activities as part of their social and political roles, and space is reserved for their use in public gatherings, including local mosques, significant changes are still needed in women involvement.

Hizmet as a social movement

Religion has been the source of many social movements that have transformed societies. Not only do religions provide endurance to withstand adverse situations, they also have the capability to produce charismatic leaders around whom the movement grows. Such leaders provide ideas that can provide people with incentive to serve God and restore order to His world.

While different theories look at why social movements form and become successful, early social science theories stressed that they are formed to address the grievances of marginalized and underprivileged groups. They may also involve resistance to discrimination of participants. Such was the origin of the now popular Hizmet movement, a name that is used interchangeably with the Gülen movement. It emerged as an alternative path in late 1960s with the spiritual guidance of Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen at a time when Turkey had become a battleground for fascists and socialist extremists. By that time, conservative masses, the so-called “Black Turks,” were already facing discrimination and persecution by the ‘secular’ and elite “White Turks.” Gülen drew intellectual heritage from the works of the influential and greatly loved Islamic scholar and writer of Kurdish origin Said Nursi. Nursi preached at a time of what he called “Kemalist excesses” and retreated from public life as a result of “arbitrariness of the administrators”.

While Nursi spent periods of his life in exile and under arrest and was forced to look inward for a better understanding and view of human life, Gülen, in a changed political scenario, hoped to see Muslims find ways to contribute to society by necessitating social, cultural, and intellectual interactions with others.

Regarding the more sensitive issue of the Islamic headscarf and its ban in Turkey and other countries, Mr. Gülen has been a vocal advocate of focusing on what is better for societies and their individuals in the long run. He has encouraged his followers to afford education its due importance and has reiterated that while the hijab/headscarf is an important part of faith, young Muslim women should seek alternative ways to continue their education in favour of a higher purpose of empowering women. Gülen remains a committed advocate of women’s education. The importance of access to higher education and the social rewards which accompany it, as well as a sense of commitment and resolve in self-actualisation, are the formidable tools the preacher identifies that women have at their disposal to decide how to serve humanity and take part in Hizmet on their own terms.

Women empowerment in the Hizmet movement

The Hizmet movement has moved beyond mere lip service in regard to women’s roles in Muslim societies. Rather than confining itself to discursive conceptions of an egalitarian Muslim society, it has put in practice its teachings.

It has empowered women by entrusting them with power and authority across their networks of organization. While doing research on the movement for this paper, the author came across profiles of several successful female achievers excelling in their roles as part of Hizmet-affiliated organizations. Hizmet has elevated women to positions of prominence as spokespersons and editors-in-chief; they serve as administrators and teachers in affiliated schools, an occupation of great spiritual and religious importance.

Gülen sees the inclusion of women as vital to the realization of a cohesive society and frequently gives an example of the Prophet’s wife Aisha, who continues to be highly regarded in the Islamic world, for she was a scholar of Islam. She tutored others on, and answered many queries about, the Prophet’s conduct, a topic of great interest and importance to Muslims.

Gülen’s teachings have led people inspired by him to found platforms and opportunities for women to assume various leadership roles either as a spokesperson of an NGO, chief editor of a newspaper, executive director of a mosque, or as a community religious teacher in a town. In his sermons, Gülen reiterates that during the time of the Prophet, women were as active in social life as men. He also adds that it is best for a society to make appropriate and fitting space for its womenfolk.

In Gülen’s sermons, one finds references to the principled inclusion of women in the workforce. He emphasizes that women are not to be burdened or restricted with their household roles or professional responsibilities and that if they excel at both then they should be provided with an environment that is conducive to bringing out their full potential.

Gülen calls for a solidarity of society’s members, which can only be possible if there is adequate and proportionate participation of the young and old as well as men and women. Going back to the time of the Prophet of Islam, he mentions that serving Islam was open to all, men and women.

In one of his sermons, Gülen said “Women might have specific circumstances and it will be unfair to impose overwhelming standards on them but they should be given duties to the best of their ability,” yet, he adds that a “realistic approach is required where women are included as part of every facet of social life, just as it was in the Age of the Prophet” [1].

Gülen charges both men and women to shoulder human responsibility, and the way to do it, he says in his signature, poetic style, is to “not tread on any toes.” He cautions against alienating people or losing friends with careless language, disposition, or words. He builds on this sentiment by saying that discussion, consultation, and ideas, can only prosper when backed by reason and coherence. His emphasis and keen attention to the sensitivity of local culture and civilization appears to be key in his talks. He does not restrict his concerns to ameliorate the situation of mankind or Muslims, but holds a more universal approach, noting that the God of Islam, Allah, did not instruct nor obligate His followers to assist and aid only Muslims, but His creations, i.e., all of mankind.

He warns against being unmindful of delicate matters such as the case at hand and worsening the situation when dealing with cultures not forthcoming of women participating in community-building and social activities. Through these teachings, Mr. Gülen’s followers have led by example by having not only providing spiritual and professional assistance, but also moral and social support through the organizations and networks they have formed.

The network Hizmet has made available brings forth associations and bonds which are formed as a result of the secure spaces provided through sohbet (discussion groups) and ders (Islamic study groups) help these women of religious bent find like-minded individuals.

Since hicret, Turkish for the Arabic word hijra, the Islamic concept of migration, is a salient feature of Gülen’s teachings, Hizmet volunteers often serve away from their native country or region of origin. This reinforces the need for inter-family interaction and support while building a life in lands far away from their own family in a land where volunteers might not always understand the language, local, ethic associations, or find themselves in new cultures. In some cases, where entire families, including women and children move to unfamiliar environments, women of such families find company and emotional support outside their homes too. In circumstances where women are part-time volunteers or are on a break from work or are full-time housewives, this opportunity to network over ders, food, and culture becomes central to their social lives.

Conclusion

Gülen’s approach embodies how the Islamic way of life is in fact very inclusive and egalitarian in a modern sense and that Islam and modernity are not incompatible as perceived even by Muslims in many parts of the world. Gülen refers to the contribution of both men and women in Hizmet as the two faces of a coin – one without the other renders the coin valueless.

Hizmet has provided an alternative to religiously inclined individuals who seek to lead balanced and modern, secular lives yet have made social service a pivotal part of their everyday lives. This, in turn, has metamorphosed into a powerful socially transformative and inclusive movement.

The Movement is an example for how transformation of society can be made possible by serving others through the efforts of a community of committed, generous agents of change. Not only does the movement provide opportunity to women in professional spheres but also provides feminine spheres of bonding to those of filial bents over culture, art and food.

^[1] “The Role of Women in the Hizmet Movement and the Principles of Coexistence (Heartstrings) Aug 26, 2019”, Heartstrings by Fethullah Gülen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPEKmunorL0

Gülen as Spiritual Master

In recent years, much has been written about the thought of Fethullah Gülen and the activities of the “Gülen community” [1] from diverse perspectives. Some have focused on his pedagogical principles and methods in an effort to understand the success of the schools and other educational ventures founded and administered by those in the community associated with Gülen’s name. Others have analyzed the social programs and institutions inspired by his ideas. Still others have focused on Gülen’s vision as the philosophical motor behind a social movement that is working to produce social change and renewal in Turkey, in the worldwide Islamic umma, or in modern societies in general. Others have underlined Gülen’s call for universal love, fellowship, and tolerance and consequently his encouragement of interreligious dialogue as an essentially Islamic obligation.

In this paper, I will concentrate on the theological dimension of Gülen’s thought that underlies his role as spiritual director and teacher of internalized Islamic virtue. I will attempt to look at the specific understanding of Islamic faith that Gülen communicates to the young scholars and teachers, businessmen, and householders who make up the community formed by his vision. It is this theological perspective that guides Gülen’s role as spiritual master whose counsel has guided individual Muslims and formed a coherent and workable community life among his disciples. It may well prove in the long run to be the area of his deepest and most enduring influence.

Roots in Qur’an and Sunna

Every religious tradition, whether we are speaking of Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, or others, provides a wealth of doctrinal teaching, theological reflection, and spiritual experience so vast that it goes beyond what any individual believer, including the theologian, is able to integrate personally and hand on to others. Even the greatest scholar or mystic is able to assimilate, build upon, and communicate only a relatively small part of the whole tradition. This means that every religious teacher is constantly making choices, selecting some elements of the scriptural and communitarian tradition upon which to comment, elaborate, and emphasize while passing over other elements in silence.

Since no one can communicate the whole of tradition, an individual thinker’s choices reveal much about that person’s own theology and spirituality. In the case of Fethullah Gülen, it is not surprising that his most important model and teacher is the Prophet Muhammad himself.  His teaching is not so much natural philosophy as it is commentary on the Qur’an and hadith. Gülen’s “prophetology” holds that although it is possible to arrive at a certain limited knowledge of God by reason, particularly by means of reflection on nature, much of human existence can only be known through prophetic revelation. He writes,

“Although we can find God by reflecting upon natural phenomena, we need a Prophet to learn why we were created, where we came from, where we are going, and how to worship our Creator properly. God sent Prophets to teach their people the meaning of creation and the truth of things, to unveil the mysteries behind historical and natural events, and to inform us of our relationship, and that of Divine Scriptures, with the universe.” [2]

On this basis, it is not surprising that the vast majority of Gülen’s references are to the teaching of the Qur’an and his practical examples taken from the sunna of the Prophet. Gülen holds that the sunna (Prophet’s actions, words, and things he approved) was God’s gift to Muslims so that they would know how to live according to God’s will in a way pleasing to the Creator. “The sunna, the unique example set by the Messenger of God for all Muslims to follow, shows us how to bring our lives into agreement with God’s commands and obtain His good pleasure” [3]. Moreover, the sunna is the source for the humane qualities that Gülen as a spiritual guide wants to instill. Character traits such as tolerance, piety, forgiveness, and peacemaking are rooted in the divine teachings proclaimed by, and exemplified in, the life of the prophets, particularly Muhammad. For example, in speaking of tolerance, Gülen notes that the quality is not of human origin but is derived from prophetic teaching. “Tolerance is not something that was invented by us. Tolerance was first introduced on this earth by the prophets whose teacher was God” [4].

Forbearers in the Islamic tradition

The emphasis that Gülen places on the Qur’an and sunna underlines the “orthodox” nature of Gülen’s teaching and the community’s practice. Some observers of the movement have asked whether Gülen’s theology is to be located within the mainstream of Islamic doctrine. If it is true, as many scholars hold, that there is more than a single mainstream of Islamic theology and practice, into which current does Fethullah Gülen fit? This question can perhaps best be answered by looking at those Muslim scholars and pious forbearers with whom Gülen can be seen to identify himself.

Gülen’s writings are replete with references to the words of earlier Muslim scholars and mystics. He frequently cites those whom he calls “the lovers,” [5] that is, predecessors as Jalal al-Din Rumi, Yunus Emre, Ahmad Yasawi, and Said Nursi. All of these figures are more or less associated with the Sufi tradition. Rumi [6] and Yasawi were poets and founders of tariqas (spiritual orders), and Yunus Emre was a wandering folk poet not associated with any tariqa. Moreover, those ulama to whom Gülen refers, such as Ghazali, Junayd, and Shah Waliullah, are scholars who have close connections to the broader Sufi tradition. Even among those modern figures whom Gülen holds up as “heroes of thought and action” he includes Sufis and Sufi-oriented writers like Ahmet Hilmi, Ferid Kam, and Necip Fazıl Kısakürek [7].

Gülen’s theology can be located best in this broad “humanistic current” of Muslims who stress the interior dispositions to be fostered in the believer in response to the revealed Qur’anic message and in imitation of the prophetic example found in the sunna. In this interpretation of Islam, faith is “virtue-oriented”; these Muslims stress internal qualities such as sincerity, patience, peace, tolerance, forgiveness, compassion, respect for others, and acceptance of differences, and encourage humble lives characterized by deeds of goodness, love, and service.

This current, while closely related to the Sufi tradition, antedates Sufism as such and finds its origins in the pious, ascetic community of early Muslims centered in the Madina Mosque who came to be called the ahl al-suffa. These early scholars eschewed commercial and military pursuits and devoted their lives to studying and teaching the religious usul (sources). Rıfat Atay [8] sees Gülen as reviving the ancient tradition of the suffa in two ways, firstly by embodying in his own life four of the typical characteristics of the early phenomenon (single, simple, humble, and pious), and secondly, by carrying on a consistent pattern of spiritual and theological formation for a select number of dedicated students.

Gülen’s relationship to the Sufi tradition

The suffa movement can be seen as a “pre-Sufi phenomenon, a precursor of tendencies that later developed into Sufism. While the similarities of the modern “Gülen movement” with the early ahl al-suffa are undeniably strong, the question remains of Gülen’s relation to historical Sufism. Zeki Saritoprak has called Gülen “a Sufi in his own way” [9]. Employing a term coined by Fazlur Rahman, I have referred to Gülen, and to Said Nursi before him, as “neo-Sufis” [10]. Mustafa Gökçek notes that Gülen did not begin to write about Sufism until the 1990s, when he was over 50 years old [11]. His earlier sermons and writings focused mainly on basic elements of Islamic faith and moral prescriptions, although he often included examples from the lives of earlier Muslim mystics and ascetics. However, in 1990, Gülen began to include a brief insert in the magazine Sızıntı that in each monthly issue elaborated a different concept of Sufi terminology. These articles became the basis for Gülen’s masterwork, Key Concepts in the Practice of Sufism: Emerald Hills of the Heart, of which four volumes have now been published in English [12].

The twentieth-century scholar Said Nursi would seem to provide the closest model for Gülen’s personal relationship to Sufism. Nursi, while showing respect for the Sufi tradition and affirming many of their insights, always distinguished himself from the Sufis. Nursi distinguished his theological method from that of the Sufis by means of his praxis-oriented approach, what he called the “way of reality,” in which he abstained from contemplative speculation in favor of practical guidance for his disciples’ individual and communitarian lives. He states: “However, since our way is not the Sufi path but the way of reality, we are not compelled to perform this contemplation [of death] in an imaginary and hypothetical form like the Sufis” [13].

Like Said Nursi, Gülen belongs to no tariqa and follows no pir. He explicitly rejects the idea that he is trying to found some new type of Sufi Order. He describes his complex relationship to the Sufi tradition as follows: “I have stated innumerable times that I’m not a member of a religious order. As a religion, Islam naturally emphasizes the spiritual realm. It takes the training of the ego as a basic principle. Asceticism, piety, kindness and sincerity are essential to it. In the history of Islam, the discipline that dwelt most on these matters was Sufism. Opposing this would be opposing the essence of Islam. But I repeat, just as I never joined a Sufi order, I have never had any relationship to one” [14].

Common concerns with the Sufi masters

On the other hand, Gülen shares many concerns with the exponents of the Sufi tradition and praises Said Nursi for “pouring down on us all the wealth of our schools and Sufi lodges (takka, zaviya, maktab, madrasa)” [15]. Like the Sufis, and like Said Nursi before him, he places the primacy in Islam on love, which he regards not only as a gift of the Creator God, but as the bond that unites humanity and can overcome disunity. “God Almighty has not created a stronger relation than love, this chain that binds humans one to another” [16]. Gülen’s theological vision focuses on many of the same themes founding the writings of the Sufi Masters. He elaborates, in the context of the demands of the Islamic community today, such typical Sufi concepts as ikhlas (sincerity or purity of intention), ma’rifat (knowledge), sabr (patience), and taqwa (piety).

Where Gülen’s theological vision departs from that of the Sufis is his emphasis on communitarian dimension of selfless service. While he affirms the importance of solitude and retreat (halwat) to purify one’s spirit, [17] he rejects any spirituality that supports an individualistic mystical flight to union with God that characterizes much Sufi theory and practice. He is similarly disinterested in the kind of metaphysical speculation that preoccupied so many of the Sufis.

For Gülen, spirituality must always be oriented towards service of God and of others. He states: “Individual projects of enlightenment that are not planned to aid the community are doomed to fruitlessness… Just as plans and projects for individual salvation that are independent of the salvation of others are nothing more than an illusion, so too, the thought of achieving success as a whole by paralyzing the individual awakening is a fantasy” [18].

The emphasis that he places on communitarian service of humanity is a quality that distinguishes the community inspired by the thought of Fethullah Gülen both from that of the Sufi practitioners and from that of the Nur cemaat who follow more strictly the teaching of Said Nursi. For Nursi, transformations of Islamic societies, and eventually civil societies, will come about through the personal transformation of the individual Muslim achieved through the study of the Risale-i Nur, Nursi’s 6000-page commentary on the Qur’an. While members of Gülen’s community also study the Risale-i Nur, Gülen hopes to bring about societal transformation through the establishment of institutions (e.g., schools, media instruments, dialogue centers) to promote the desired transformation. For Gülen, the way to God is by serving others. He states: “This path passes through the inescapable dimension of servanthood to God by means of serving first of all our families, relatives, and neighbors, then our country and nation, and finally humanity and creation” [19]. The community commonly refers to its activities simply as “The Service” (Hizmet).

Among the common concerns that Gülen shares with proponents of the Sufi tradition like Mevlana Jalal al-Din Rumi is the importance of concepts dealing with the “interiorization” of religious practice. In particular, he focuses on two of these Qur’anic elements, which can be said to form the conceptual basis of Gülen’s theology. These are the notion of ikhlas, which may be translated “purity of intention” or “sincerity,” and that of ‘ibada (worship), with its related concepts of ‘ubudiyya (servanthood) and ‘ubada (devotion).

Because of their centrality to the thought of Fethullah Gülen and the extent to which they shape and characterize the motivation and attitudes of the community inspired by his ideas, ikhlas and ‘ibada can be said to be the cornerstones or pillars of Gülen’s theology. I have written about the topic of ikhlas elsewhere, [20] but because the concept is so basic to Gülen’s theological perspective and so essential for the unity of Hizmet cemaat, I will take up once again key points of the topic in the next issue.

Notes

1. Fethullah Gülen and those Muslims inspired by his thought dislike the terms “Gülen movement” and “Gülen community,” which imply that Gülen dictates and directs everything done by the community (cemaat in Turkish). They refer to the community’s activities as the Hizmet, “the Service.) However, since the former terms have entered both scholarly and popular usage, I will employ them in this paper.
2. Fethullah Gülen, “Prophethood and Muhammad’s Prophethood,” in Essentials of the Islamic Faith, Somerset, NJ: Tughra Books, 2009, p. 163. (Originally published as İnancın Gölgesinde, Nil Yayınları, 1961)
3. Fethullah Gülen, Muhammad the Messenger of God, Clifton, NJ: Tughra Books, 2010, p. 327.
4. Fethullah Gülen, Speech to Visiting Scholars, 13 January 1996. Reprinted in Toward a Global Civilization of Love and Tolerance, Somerset, NJ: The Light, p. 82.
5. , p. 163. Cf. my analysis of Gülen’s appropriation of these figures in “Fethullah Gülen: Following in the Footsteps of Rumi,” in Peaceful Coexistence: Fethullah Gülen’s Initiatives in the Contemporary World, London: Leeds Metropolitan University Press, 2007, pp. 183-191.
6. More than any other individual, Rumi seems to epitomize for Gülen the characteristics he seeks to form in modern Muslims. “They call everyone to their embrace and to the truth, like Mawlana Jalal al-Din Rumi, and they tolerate every improper behavior toward themselves.” M. Fethullah Gülen, Key Concepts in the Practice of Sufism: Emerald Hills of the Heart, Somerset: NJ: 2009, III: 270.
7. Fethullah Gülen, The Statue of Our Souls: Revival in Islamic Thought and Activism, Somerset, NJ: 2009, pp. 68-72.
8. Rıfat Atay, “Reviving the Suffa Tradition,” in Muslim World in Transition: Contribution of the Gülen Movement, London: Leeds Metropolitan U.P., 2007, pp. 459-472.
9. Zeki Saritoprak, “Fethullah Gülen: A Sufi in His Own Way,” Turkish Islam and the Secular State, Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2003, pp. 156-169.
10. Thomas Michel, “Der türkische Islam im Dialog mit der modernen Gesellschaft. Die neo-sufistische Spiritualität der Gülen-Bewegung,” Concilium, Dezember, 2005. See also, “Sufism and Modernity in the Thought of Fethullah Gülen,” The Muslim World, 95/3: 2005, pp. 341-353.
11. Mustafa Gökçek, “Fethullah Gülen and Sufism: a Historical Perspective,” Muslim Citizens of the Globalized World: Contributions of the Gülen Movement, pp. 183-193.
12. Fethullah Gülen, Key concepts in the Practice of Sufism: Emerald Hills of the Heart, Vols. I-IV, Somerset, NJ: Tughra Books, 2009-2010.
13. Said Nursi, Risale-i Nur, Twenty-first Flash, p. 217.
14. Fethullah Gülen, cited in Lynne Emily Webb, Fethullah Gülen: Is There More to Him than Meets the Eye?, Paterson, N.J.: Zinnur Book, n.d., p. 80.
15. Fethullah Gülen, The Statue of Our Souls: Revival in Islamic Thought and Activism, p. 77.
16. Fethullah Gülen, The Horizon, Istanbul: Nil, 2000, p. 34. Reprinted in Toward a Global Civilization of Love and Tolerance, p. 37.
17. Gülen, Key Concepts in the Practice of Sufism, III: 27.
18. Fethullah Gülen, The Horizon, Istanbul: Nil, 2000, p. 192. Reprinted in Toward a Global Civilization of Love and Tolerance, p. 62.
19. Fethullah Gülen, Essays – Perspectives – Opinions, Somerset NJ: The Light, 2002, p. 90.
20. I delivered a paper entitled “The Wing of the Bird: Gülen on Sincerity” at an academic congress on the thought of M.F. Gülen held in Potsdam, Germany, in May, 2009, and a revised version of the paper at a similar congress held in Munich, Germany in February, 2010. The paper has been published in German in CIBEDO Beiträge, (Frankfurt, 3/2009) as “Der Flügel des Vogels: Gülen über Aufrichtigkeit (Frankfurt, 3/2009), pp. 99-102.

This is not the first time that the world is witnessing a pandemic; previous incidents were regional in scope and did not affect the affluent segment of society. However, COVID-19 is first of its kind in modern times whose impact was felt wide across many nations precisely because of the fact that its carrier happens to be the modern upwardly mobile segment of the globalized world. Apart from this class dimension, COVID-19 has also ignited the old debate of religion vs science as its faster spread has been traced to congregation of religious faith groups across many communities amidst a worldwide call for social distancing in order to contain the spread of the virus.

Thus, the congregation of South Korea’s Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Wuhan has been widely held responsible for half of South Korea’s COVID-19 contractions and in other parts of other South East countries. A major source of COVID-19 in India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Indonesia, and further in parts of West Asia was traced to the congregation of an Indian transnational Islamist movement known as Tablighi Jamaat. The Shia religious congregation in Qom, the major center of Shia Islamic knowledge production, was identified as the major source for the spread of COVID-19 in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Bahrain. A good number of Hindu devotees defied Indian lockdown and gathered in various temples on the occasion of the Hindu festival RamNavemi. A few Sikh devotees were arrested for illegal gathering at Gurudawara, a place of worship for the Sikh community. There are several reports from the USA that many denominational Churches and orthodox Jewish religious groups continue to hold congregation for religious practices and have been found to be instrumental in the spread of COVID-19 within the country. Worst of all, in view of the conservative nature of American society, many states in USA have officially exempted places of worship from ban on gathering and stay-at-home order [1].

Given the global demonization of Islam, Islamic movements, and the widespread prevalence of Islamophobia, Islamic congregations received wide attention from the public for its blind faith and conservative, messianic, and eschatological approach towards life and religion. However, a careful observation reveals that similar approach to religion, life, and normal congregational practices during the COVID-19 pandemic has been found among segments of many religions and their communities including Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, Sikhism, and many others as mentioned above. While religious gatherings have been blamed for the spread of this virus, “secular gatherings” have also been potential carriers. For instance, one can trace the roots of this virus’ spread across Europe to an Austrian Ski resort, a famous tourist destination in the village of Ischgl in Tyrol, despite warnings beforehand from public health officials as early as March 5.

It is in the above context, particularly the raging issue of religion vs science or religious vs secular, that I am trying to figure out a “Hizmet” approach towards dealing with this global pandemic. How does Hizmet, a civic-social Islamic movement with a good presence in many parts of the world, approach the problem of COVID-19, a highly contagious virus that has brought the world to standstill and is threatening millions of lives? One way of approaching this subject matter is to find out the official statement of Fethullah Gülen, whose pacific exposition of Islam’s universal values (based upon the examples of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and his Companions) through speeches, writings, and concerted actions has inspired this movement and continue to provide spiritual, moral, and ethical leadership to the movement while it is facing the existential dilemma in the backdrop of the brutal crackdown of the Erdogan regime in Turkey, its birthplace. However, listening to the sermon of Gülen is one thing; developing a Hizmet approach to COVID-19 is another. The latter needs to be excavated from the life trajectory of Gülen, and everyday Hizmet praxis as they have been unfolding while dealing with different contingencies of life situations from time to time.

It seems to me that Hizmet’s approaches towards the phenomenon of COVID-19 is shaped through two broad principles: (A) relationship between religion and science in general and (B) revival of ethical dimension of Islam as exemplified by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Hizmet sees the relationship between the religion and science as one of complementarity or one of organic whole, as opposed to modern discourse which presumes a perennial inherent conflict between the two, mostly shaped through Church-State struggle and development of positivism in the European Continent which eventually led to the secular’s high distrust towards religion and regulation, control, marginalization and finally banishment of religion to the other world. The more religion, science, and secular became modern, ideological, and identity discourse, the more they became bereft of their inner ethical dimension, lost their internal connectivity to each other, and finally found themselves in an antagonistic relationship, often resulting into violent responses. For Hizmet, religion and science are two mega methods and approaches to address the various aspects of the ever-changing complexities of life processes with a view to create a harmony between their physical-material, metaphysical, and spiritual aspects.

It is this ethic driven human discourse upon which Gülen constructed a philosophy of life based upon the unity of religion and science, heart and mind, universal and particular, and reason and faith which on the one hand prevents the “process of othering” – whether emanating from an exclusive understanding of religion or secular – and on the other helps in dispelling the fear of relatively conservative religio-socio segments of humanity towards scientific-technological solution to human problem such as COVID-19. We learn from history how religious bigotry and fear of treatment of medical science resulted in many deaths during the period of epidemics in the past. The resistance of Ulama (clergy) to state’s prescribed medical measures including quarantine during plague epidemic (1835) and Cholera epidemic (1848) in the Ottoman Empire, particularly in Egypt, has been well documented [2]. Today, a similar situation has come to exist in India wherein a vast segment of the Indian Muslim population is currently exhibiting a strong resistance and non-cooperative attitude towards undergoing any kind of medical testing. It must be recalled here that the quarantine system, or what is referred as “social distancing,” was first invented by the sixth Umayyad caliph Al-Walid in early eighth-century AD, in Damascus, to combat the spread of the virus.

A second aspect of Hizmet’s approach towards COVID-19 comes from its ethical understanding of Islam and its universal principles and values which arise from a human-centered Islamic theology and take form in Gülen’s vast sermons and published works as well as everyday praxis of Hizmet movement. Thus, like any Islamic movement, or for that matter like any believer, absolute belief in hereafter (life after death) is the cardinal principle of the Hizmet movement. However, unlike many other religious groups the Hizmet movement does not disassociate the “earthly life” from the Hereafter. In other words, whereas many religious movements, whether with a political or social focus, tended to pay a very less premium on building human resources with an idea that real life begins in Hereafter, the Hizmet movement, under the spiritual leadership of Gülen, invested heavily in human resources and in developing human capabilities through the combination of Islamic universal ethics, morality, and scientific knowledge. This system has an understanding that the most important call of Islam, as exemplified in the model of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, is the preservation and balanced growth of lives on Earth which demands ceaseless positive actions that will be accounted for in the Hereafter. All other principles and rituals of Islamic practices must be subjected to this fundamental principle of Islamic universalism.

It is this cardinal principle which led the Hizmet movement to develop a “praxis of service, trust, and cooperation” with an eventual goal of shaping human potential towards becoming an insan-i kamil (the perfected human). Guided by the Islamic principle of preservation of life in view of challenges posed by COVID-19, Gülen promptly issued a formal statement on March 13, 2020 offering his profound condolences to all those who lost their loved ones, asked people (and he was surely not alone in doing so) to trust public health officials and to take precautions based upon medical and scientific data, to show empathy with victims, and offer help to the needy in dealing with COVID-19. When I inquired from one senior volunteer of Hizmet in India about Hizmet’s position on COVID-19 he immediately responded without any pause that “protection of life is the most important duty of Muslims in accordance with Islamic faith” and then further stated, “whom to preach to if there will be no human beings?” Unfortunately, many Islamic movement leaders and government officials in Muslim communities fumbled and did not prevent Muslim gatherings either on Friday or on other social occasions partly due to ideological understanding of iman (faith) and Hereafter with a consequence that they became the major source of COVID-19 in their respective countries.

In view of mandatory daily prayers in Islam including Friday congregation a question has emerged whether a mosque, as well as Islamic congregation on Friday, is an essential part of Islamic faith, and whether or not it is permissible to abandon or forbid these prayers. I do not have training in Islamic theology and hence I lack requisite competence to reflect on such questions. However, what is minimally clear to me in light of my understanding of Islamic history in general, and discourse of the Hizmet movement in particular, is that Islam enjoins the preservation of creation and a healthy life on this Earth which is evident from the expression of mankind as “inheritors of the Earth” in the words of Gülen. All other principles, rituals, practices and value systems connected with interpretive field of Islam must be subjected to the central maxim of Islamic faith: the duty to preserve life on Earth as God’s vicegerent/trustee.

The life trajectory of Gülen and Hizmet movement, which spans over more than 50 years, demonstrates this divine mandate: building all round human capital to manage the affairs and challenges of earthly life through rigorous ethical, moral, and spiritual training, creation of quality educational institutions and construction of cultural-dialogue centers all over the world with a view to develop a mutual understanding of each other to address the common challenges of humanity. For this reason, the Gülen (Hizmet) movement avoided giving an Islamic nomenclature to their education and dialogue institutions so as to meet the principle of Islamic universalism. Education and dialogue initiatives are for all and bring them together in the common goal of serving humanity. One is therefore not surprised when one does not find a mosque-like structure where Gülen lives in Pennsylvania.

On the other hand, the government in Muslim countries and various Islamic movements have prided in constructing mosques and Islamic madrassas in modern times and have transformed them as the most important institutions of Islamic identity at the cost of moral, ethical, and spiritual dimensions of Islamic faith. The Erdoğan regime in Turkey is spearheading the construction of mosques and madrassas within and outside Turkey with a view to wear the mantle of Caliph in coming years. As Islam has been transformed into a matter of “market identity,” one is not shocked to see how many Muslims in many countries in violation of appeal of their governments, World Health Organization guidelines, and in violation of Islamic ethics of life preservation gathered together to perform the Friday prayer! The Pakistani government had to obtain a fatwa from Al Azhar, the famous Sunni Islamic seminary, to enforce its ban on Friday congregations!

COVID-19 is a grim reminder to the globalized humanity of the spiritual call of Gülen and principles of Hizmet movement: (a) that the world is truly inter-connected and inter-dependent; (b) that the transparency in dealings, dialogue, mutual trust and cooperation and collaborative research is needed to overcome the common challenges of humanity such as COVID-19; (C) that humanity is in dire need of philosophy that restores the dialogue between mankind and nature (ecology and environment) and develops a harmonious relationship between the two and connects different cultures, traditions and economies based on the universal value of dialogue, tolerance, trust and respect; (d) that modernity must realize its limitations of establishing supremacy over nature; and (E) that mankind must undergo ethical, moral and spiritual training to overcome his/her greed and ego, to develop self-restraint and build the moral capacity to live together and cooperate.

Last, if not least, Hizmet has developed a “culture of self-disciplining” and “solution providing perspective,” which has proved to be its biggest asset in successfully confronting many challenges thrown before it from time to time, of which the most recent one is brutal crackdown of the Erdoğan regime since 2013. These two aspects of Hizmet movement is badly needed to fight the challenges of COVID-19 till the time a medical breakthrough in terms of vaccination/medicine develops.

Notes

1. https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/religion/news/2020/03/27/482359/religious-exemptions-coronavirus-pandemic-will-worsen-crisis/
2. Birsen Bulmus, Plague, Quarantines and Geopolitics in the Ottoman Empire, Edinburgh University Press, 2012, especially Chapter 2, pp 15-38. See also Khaled Fahmy, ‘Law, medicine and society in nineteenth-century Egypt’, Égypte/Monde arabe, vol. 34, 1998, PP, 14-15 available at: https://journals.openedition.org/ema/1488, accessed on April 18, 2029.

In memory of Stanley Ridge

Prof. Stanley Ridge, the former Vice Rector of the University of the Western Cape in South Africa, was a former writer for The Fountain. He was not only an accomplished academic, but also a sincere advocate for dialogue who saw the challenges of our time and sought solutions through friendship and conversation. He recently abandoned this world for eternity. The following was his most recent talk on dialogue for the Turquoise Harmony Institute in Cape Town back in September 2017, where he courageously endorsed the Hizmet Movement and denounced the persecution they are enduring under the current Turkish government. We join with the Turquoise Harmony Institute to offer our condolences to his loved ones, the Ridge family, and to the rest of us who advocate for dialogue around the world.
The Fountain

Grace, mercy, and peace be with you all.

Perhaps I should say up front that I am a practicing Christian, a Presbyterian, and currently a senior elder in the United Church congregation of which I am a member. What am I doing here, then? I have come to tell you about some of the most faithful, humble, and loving people I have encountered anywhere. The God of grace, mercy, and peace has touched their hearts in unmistakable ways. What follows is not a deep discussion of dialogue, but a testimony to it in action.

I first encountered members of the Turquoise Harmony Institute 10 years ago. They were planning a dialogue trip to Turkey, and, through my friend and colleague, Yasien Mohamed, I was invited to come to the exploratory gathering. Much as I trust Yasien, I couldn’t help asking questions. Who was this Fethullah Gülen? Why would a group like this be so generous? Was the “dialogue” real or a guise for indoctrination? I did some homework and was astonished that I had missed a group the scale and significance of the movement. Its roots are in deep faith. In her book, The Gülen Movement, sociologist Helen Rose Ebaugh has since summed up its points of departure:

“… based on his interpretations of particular verses of the Quran, [Gülen] teaches that the Muslim community has a duty of service (Turkish: hizmet) to the ‘common good’ of the community and the nation and to Muslims and non-Muslims all over the world; 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.”

My curiosity piqued, I went to the gathering and was delighted by the people I encountered there. To my relief, it was a deep meeting of minds around notions of love, service, and dialogue. We were on the same page.

My wife and I joined the party going to Turkey. I could happily talk about the beauty and fascination of that remarkable country, but this is not a travelogue, and the times are now less happy there. My focus is rather going to be on what we have learned and been challenged by in the work of the Hizmet movement, not only on that trip, when we had some extended exposure to it, but in South Africa and the USA.

1. The fellowship of faith in awe of the living God is the starting point. Everywhere we have encountered the movement, we have been received in that fellowship. It changes the name of the game. In such company, one is not an observer, but a participant. On several occasions in Turkey, I was asked to give thanks at the start of a meal. And we have often prayed together.
2. Service is the central activity. There is no high-sounding stuff here, because you can’t serve in the abstract. The Hizmet movement is organized around local groups which share a larger vision but are sharply focused on the needs of the immediate community.
3. The most remarkable achievements are in education. Around the world there are hundreds of excellent schools started by the movement and supported towards independence. These schools are consciously open to the poorer and less developed sectors of society, whose children are liberated to learn and think and prepare themselves to contribute to the well-being of the larger community. They may do so alongside some of the children of more well-off and privileged families. In Cape Town, there are two such schools. Hizmet also founds excellent universities. None of the schools or universities is by any means confined to Muslims. At one of the superb schools we visited in Turkey, the brilliant Mathematics teacher was an atheist. He was welcomed, as he was committed to excellence. In Gülen’s words: “Our ongoing activities are for the good of all humanity. All humanity are servants of the living God” (The Muslim World, Special Issue, July 2005, Vol. 95, Issue 3, pp 325-471).
4. Dialogue is a key word for Hizmet. It means much more than talking to one another, though in the modern world even that is sometimes a major achievement! Dialogue for Hizmet is engaging with the other, taking the other seriously, and recognizing that in our limited understanding we have a great deal to learn from one another. A precondition for this kind of dialogue is humility. Using the humility which comes from awe for the living God we are able to engage respectfully and fruitfully with people from other faiths, or with no religious faith, not to mention those from other cultures.
5. Clearly, members care for one another. In any one Hizmet group the membership ranges from the wealthy to those who are struggling financially. Members have a deep respect for each other’s dignity. They need each other: the relationship between members is mutually supportive and generous. Helping one another is done respectfully and without any show or publicity. It is the order of the day. In the few cases I have become aware of despite the discreetness of all involved, the poorer people helped have certainly not received “charity”; rather, their real needs have been responded to and efforts have been made to enable them to gain independence and flourish.

The importance of this discussion is partly in helping set the record straight. For the last few years, the Hizmet movement has been banned and its members mercilessly persecuted in Turkey. This came after the Erdogan government’s corruption was revealed. The movement has bizarrely been accused of terrorism. Its many thousands of dedicated members have been arrested and tortured and even killed. All their assets have been confiscated. And the superb schools and universities and hospitals, which were making such a difference to modern Turkey, have been taken over by the state and closed down. Hizmet has also been subject to the kind of false news and disinformation campaign that is all too familiar in the world today. The modern world faces a crisis – the cynical use of social media to spread millions of false messages generated by computer and to shape ordinary people’s opinions. When this goes along with ruthless autocracy and corruption, we all have reason to be very concerned.

There is risk in dialogue, but for any real bridges to be built between cultures, people of faith must take that risk.

The Hizmet movement is not above criticism and has never claimed to be, but genuine criticisms are minor. I am trained to be a skeptical reader, but in ten years of fairly frequent contact with the movement I have seen no sign at any stage of the kinds of things Hizmet is accused of. If it has terrorist or state-undermining intentions, it has surely chosen the least efficient ways of giving effect to them.

Let me close with a brief theological reflection which I think is true to core Christian and Islamic belief. Without awe for the living God, we move off the path of life and end up trapped in the tangle of our own limitations, often arrogantly sure of ourselves and unable to engage with others. We become dogmatic, self-centered, dismissive and unapproachable, treating those who don’t agree with us as lacking in passion for truth or as flabbily committed to prevailing world values. From there we cling to the false certainties of fundamentalists, substituting limited and limiting ideas for the limitless glory of God, and fostering a fellowship of self-proclaimed “righteousness,” which is used to justify contemptuous dismissal of “others,” sometimes making them the subject of rage, hatred, and violence. Fundamentalists have never been in short supply. Some define themselves in religious terms. Some are openly secular. Some are political under the guise of religion. And some draw genuinely religious people into their gambit. Of course, none of us is immune to the enticements of fundamentalist rhetoric, but “forewarned is forearmed.” Fundamentalists of any form lead to profound traumas in religious, social, and public life. They turn faith into ideology.

The alternative is a spirituality based on awe for the living God. This spirituality enables us to enter into dialogue, talking to others with respect, whatever their sincere beliefs, and listening for what we can learn from them. In our wonder at God’s greatness, we recognize how little we know and how all our intellectual certainties are in need of ongoing qualification. As we study the scriptures, the Holy Quran and the Holy Bible, we are confronted again and again with new, life-giving perspectives and the recognition of how much we still have to learn in our relationship with the loving and gracious Lord of all. It is in response to His love that we are able to go beyond friendship and passion and show the most profound care for others. It is in response to His grace that we are able to be gracious to others. And it is in response to His mercy that we are able to care and serve, entering into the risk of real dialogue and the joy of mutual support.

As-salaam aleikum, peace be with you, or in the voice missing so far from the People of the Book, Shalom aleichem.

***

We, as Turquoise Harmony Institute, are deeply saddened by the passing of one of our advisory board members, Professor Stanley Ridge, who died on the morning of 30 January 2018 at the age of 76, after a long battle with cancer. He was a man of great compassion and love, implausible persuasive eloquence and wide generosity. His efforts in making interfaith dialogue meaningful and sustainable through his actions and his eloquent articulation will never be forgotten.

He was a sincere Christian who believed that religion embraces all beliefs and races in brotherhood, and exalts love, respect, tolerance, forgiveness, mercy, human rights, peace, brotherhood, and freedom.

As Rumi says, “Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation.

We are all poorer for his loss, but richer for having known him. He will be dearly missed.

Ayhan Cetin
Executive Director
Turquoise Harmony Institute

This article is being written at a time of national stress in the UK and Turkey. In the latter, following the July, 2016, coup attempt, Hizmet followers have faced extraordinary pressure, most of it illegal, from the ruling AKP government. Without providing any evidence, the government has claimed Hizmet – a hitherto benign, pro-social, pro-democratic, and apolitical movement – plotted and carried out the coup attempt. Thousands of citizens suspected of association with the Hizmet movement have been imprisoned, exiled, or dismissed from their professions by the AKP government. A critical analysis of such hostility is essential.

In the UK, the same time period has been marked by a divisive Referendum on the nation’s membership in the European Union, four terrorist attacks in Manchester and London, and a housing tower block fire in London, which claimed over 80 lives, including those of many immigrants.

When looking at the UK, one must examine the key role faith communities such as Hizmet have played in uniting divided societies over racism, Islamophobia, economic inequalities, and weakening public services. Christian, Muslim, and Jewish national and local leaders have come together to establish a common platform of accord and mutual respect. Hizmet, with its educational and inter-faith dialogue centres in major English cities such as London, Birmingham, and Manchester, has offered both spaces and opportunities for mutual engagement, as well as Qur’anically based understandings of the dynamics of successful religio-socially plural national cultures.

Islam, a rich and strong tradition that thrives across many diverse societies, is both a living faith and has enabled generations of Muslims to address social developments, justice, and both corporate and individual questions of identity and ethics. Drawing on the Qur’an, Hadith, Sunnah, and fiqh, new Islamic social movements have constantly formed fresh public spaces in which new identities and lifestyles could emerge, not least in the UK.

Some of the finest expressions of Islam have occurred under the most pluralist, religio-social circumstances, where intellectual discourse, educational achievements, and social harmony have flourished. Amongst contemporary Islamic thinkers who are professedly concerned with interpreting historical sources and practicing their faith in an “Islamically correct” manner, Fethullah Gülen is the spiritual father of what is probably the most active Turkish-Islamic movement of the late 20^th and early 21^st centuries.

In considering Hizmet, one soon realizes that Fethullah Gülen is neither an innovator with a new and unique theology nor a revolutionary. His understanding of Islam is oriented within the conservative mainstream, and his arguments are rooted in the traditional sources of Islam. They stand in a lineage represented through al-Ghazali, Mevlana Jalal ud-Din Rumi, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, and in company with Muhammad Asad and Muhammad Naquib Syed Al-Attas, and Seyyed Hossein Nasr.

This movement – one amongst many on a spectrum which verges from pro-social civic based groups to aggressive factions – is distinctive in emphasizing high quality educational institutions, both in Turkey and internationally. Schools have been founded and staffed by Turkish nationals in developing states as well as in powerful, economically developed countries such as the USA and the UK. Hizmet members have also organized many academic conferences throughout the last 20 years, drawing international panels of academics and researchers to explore issues of human exploration and co-operation.

While Hizmet members have been organizing these schools and conferences, the current AKP government has adopted an aggressive version of “Political Islamism,” which brooks no contrasting expressions of a benign Islam, asserting its autocratic style by dismissing academics, teachers, judges, public servants, and military officers, amongst others, in an effort to consolidate its power over the Turkish state. This has led to a “state in exile” for many suspected of association with the Hizmet approach.

What, however, mechanisms have allowed these extremist elements to emerge and seize such power? It’s worth examining, so we can fully understand the value Hizmet brings to the world.

Defensiveness is pathogenic

In today’s complex and globalized world, migration and inter-culturalism have become the norm. In many countries there is no official, shared, “public” religion.

In a sociological analysis of why high rates of strict religion for developed countries such as the UK and other European states, Steve Bruce formulated the concept of “cultural transition and defence,” explaining how defensiveness can bolster extreme types of religiosity, including those that advocate violence (Bruce 1996, p. 165, 197). A significant issue here is lack of a Western center of Islam that makes it necessary for Muslims to study abroad. Cesari and Ramadan assert strongly that an independent Western Islam must emerge in order to solve problems associated with radicalization (Cesari 2004, and Ramadan 2004). The Hizmet movement is in prime position to offer such a model of Islam.

The central majority of a religion often used social pressure to control extremists. If the central mass of believers dwindles in numbers, the growth of literalist and extremist factions will likely continue unchecked.

Sectarian literalism

Historically, there has always been a contention between monotheistic traditions and other traditions of faith, just as that contention has existed among themselves. While the Abrahamic religions affirm monotheism, resist deviation, and oppose constructed deities, their core values emphasize openness to diversity. Textual literalism, however, has made the new monotheism politically sectarian, schismatic and aggressive, while social and moral laws have been deemed inferior by this new emphasis. This development has heralded a new type of political order inevitably hostile to all other civic ideals (Fenn 2009, 135). This irrationality has had, and does have, serious and deadly consequences.

Typically, uncritical literalists aim to cleanse “false believers” from their midst, or to separate themselves from them. This is why literalism can lead to violence and usually leads to schisms (Harris 2004, 409). To be a literalist is to destroy the majority of depth and emotion of any written religion. The only advantage of the literalist’s uncritical attitude to scripture is that it caters to the simplistic mind craving order. Such is the strategy and mindset of the AKP leadership and its persecution of devout people influenced by Hizmet and Fethullah Gülen.

Disdaining pluralism

Extremists enforce strict moral codes in accordance with their beliefs, and sometimes, such as during the Christian Medieval periods, they violently suppress dissent. They disdain pluralism as abnormal: cuius regio, eius religio.

During such times, minority religious groups have no choice but to argue for religious plurality as a matter of self-survival. But even during less stressful times it is critical to value pluralism, which lifts up minority voices and ensures a diverse society, where different voices and beliefs are given equal footing.

When a singular political ideology such as the AKP’s Islamist ideology becomes entrenched and encroaches upon the arenas of public education and politics, a dangerous possibility emerges: its leaders, comfortable in power, will no longer see the need for pluralism, which is the seed-bed of a healthy normal society. Such an order needs to be reminded of a possible new dark age.

The need for fixed stars, for certainty in the midst of our tenuous lives on an unpredictable planet, is real and understandable. Political and religious leaders who can package and deliver absolute truths find receptive audiences, but do not create healthy societies. A movement such as Hizmet, with its openness to contemporary human enterprise, research, education, democracy, and diversity, threatens such rigidities. We need to think of such an expression of Islam as the Hizmet movement does: with support for a full menu of pluralism, democratic and constitutional freedoms, universal human rights, and religious diversity.

These beliefs are exemplified by Hizmet, a de-centralized polymorphic social movement, which in less than thirty years has made significant contributions to inter-communal and national peace, inter-religious dialogue, economic development, and education. These contributions are evident in the Movement’s activities, research, platforms, and creative influence in the UK and around the globe. In a time of anxiety and despondency, Hizmet represents a “Caravan of Hope” rather than a train of despair.

Rev. Dr. Ian G. Williams teaches and supervises research in Islamic Studies at the Markfield Institute of Higher Education / Newman University, UK.

References

• Bruce, Steve. 1996. Religion in the Modern World: From Cathedrals to Cults, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Cesari, Jocelyne. 2004. When Islam and Democracy Meet, London/New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Citlak, M. Fatih & Bingul, Huseyin. 2007, Rumi and his Sufi Path of Love. Istanbul/New York: Tughra Books.
• Fenn, Richard K. 2009. Key Thinkers in the Sociology of Religion. London: Continuum International Publishing Group.
• Harris, Harriet A. 2004. “Fundamentalisms” in “Encyclopedia of New Religions,” Partridge, Christopher Oxford, Lion Publishing.
• Ramadan, Tariq. Western Muslims and the Future of Islam Oxford, Oxford University Press. 2004.