“Several years ago, I became acquainted with a Turkish-originated movement that sponsored interfaith dialogue. The members of the group, most of whom are Turkish, are also Muslims. I later discovered that this group was part of a movement known as Hizmet, which is Turkish for service. I’ve come to know and respect the members of this movement, at least those whom I’ve encountered. They are faithful Muslims who embrace service to others and interfaith dialogue and partnerships. Since these are core values for me as a person, it seemed appropriate to build on the relationships that were developing.”

The above quote was gleaned from a book titled Fethullah Gülen: A Life of Hizmet written by Jon Pahl, a Professor of the History of Christianity. Jon Pahl indeed captured the life of Fethullah Gülen, the man whose ideology inspired millions across the world in what is known as the Hizmet Movement. Hizmet Movement is an international social movement of moderate Muslims committed to fostering peaceful interactions, humanitarian social responsibility, and human development through educational, media, dialogue, and service initiatives.

Fethullah Gülen was a Muslim intellectual, thinker, and religious scholar. He grew up in a very religious environment. His first teachers were his parents. He was loved by many for his understanding of Islam. He believed that “love is the strongest and most powerful weapon in the universe”. In his teachings, he preached tolerance, dialogue, and intercultural and interfaith relations. These formed the cardinal objective of the Hizmet movement and explain why it can inspire a generation of moderate Muslims to impact the world through service to humanity. 

For Fethullah Gülen, “A person is truly a human if he or she learns, teaches, and inspires others. It is difficult to regard as truly human, someone who is ignorant and has no desire to learn.” He encouraged his followers to build schools if they had the means. It signified the beginning of the Gülen schools’ concept, a nomenclature by which schools were christened around the globe, and whose founders were inspired by the teachings of Fethullah Gülen. To date, these schools run independently.

The onslaught against the Hizmet Movement was massive. In some instances, Hizmet movement volunteers outside the shores of Turkey were kidnapped and extradited to Turkey on the orders of the Turkish government. Recently in Kenya, four Turkish citizens were kidnapped and extradited to Turkey to face persecution. In Nigeria, the Turkish government made several requests, which were rebuffed by the authorities for lacking in merit.

Fethullah Gülen was called Hocaefendi (revered master) by millions around the globe in service to humanity. He died at the age of 83 [sic] due to age-related illnesses. He passed a fulfilled patriarch and left a legacy of love, tolerance and peaceful coexistence. He authored many books that touched on the understanding of Islam. One of them is Toward a Global Civilisation of Love and Tolerance translated in 30 major languages in the world. In the book, he advocated for “greater awareness to Muslims that Islam teaches the need for dialogue and that Muslims are called to be agents and witnesses to God’s universal mercy. He also highlighted the need for non-Muslims to move beyond prejudice, suspicion, and half-truths to arrive at an understanding of what Islam is really about.”

Fethullah Gülen was not a terrorist until he breathed his last on 20 October 2024. The Turkish government could not prove it. In 2008, he topped the Top 100 Public Intellectuals Poll and came out as the most influential thinker. In an essay by Ehsan Masood thereafter, he argued “Is it possible to be a true religious believer and at the same time enjoy good relations with people of other faiths or none? The author stated that “millions of people inside and outside Turkey have been inspired by Gülen’s more than 60 books and the tapes and videos of his talks.”

The death of Fethullah Gülen was aptly captured by Tushar Arun Gandhi, an Indian author and great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. “Rest in Peace Fethullah Gülen in exile from his beloved country. Another voice of peace muted, a great loss to humanity.” Indeed, the death of Fethullah Gülen is a great loss to humanity. I say this because I have researched extensively on the Hizmet Movement in the aftermath of the failed coup in Turkey in 2016. My research findings were in tandem with the tributes that have poured in torrents after his death.

Some have asked questions about the survival of the Hizmet Movement after the death of Fethullah Gülen. Can his legacies be sustained? My research findings indicate that the Hizmet Movement outlived Fethullah Gülen many years ago. The movement was not about him. It was about service to humanity. And his life was for the benefit of humanity.

Adieu Hocaefendi, yours was a life of service, and posterity would be kind to you.

First published in its original version in Leadership, Nigeria, October 30, 2024.

The real, profound worth of life is revealed when one’s life is dedicated to the well-being of humanity. It thus gains an otherworldly dimension and attains a quality comparable to that of the dwellers of heaven. Centering life around such an ideal renders one’s life many times more fruitful. Those awakened souls experience such a state of rapture that it cannot be contained in a single lifetime. Then they begin to feel this cramped world as if it were but one of the spacious relieving climes of the eternal realms. Such individuals aspire to breathe life into everybody. With every revival they inspire, their hearts overflow with exuberance, as if they too are experiencing a resurrection on the path of being a life for other souls. Saving a single person is akin to saving all of humanity, says the Divine word, and this message constantly rings in the ears of their hearts.

Given that even a single human life in this transient world bears this much importance, it isn’t an exaggeration to say that an endeavor for a worldwide revival is likely to break the scales of good deeds on the Day of Judgment. With a zest for blowing life into others, a champion of revival is ever-conscious of the fact that humanity has been blessed with the best pattern of creation amongst all living creatures. These champions feel that the consciences of those who are spiritually paralyzed resemble a grim autumn scene. They are so compelled by their mission that ceasing it would qualify as a sinful act. They compose melodies of revival from the tongues of their hearts for those in spiritual death throes; they run to help these lost ones, as if running from one intensive care unit to the next.

This exhausting run is nothing to be overstated in their eyes. They spur their free will on toward the horizons of lofty ideals as being truly human necessitates. They serve as guides on this path of idealism for those who do not know the way, blow energy into those weary of walking, and become compasses for the masses who are without navigation. To those who have their backs to the sun and so keep following only their own shadow, they inspire them always to return to the source of light. These people become a support and prop for those who are weak and prone to stumble, and provide guardianship for those who are left crawling in misery from the impact of various calamities. They try to soothe sobs echoing on all sides, share the troubles of the wearied ones, forbear various separations with the resolve to keep company with the needy, and come between the growls of oppressors and groans of the oppressed. They keep running like firemen to extinguish one fire after another. As this sense of revival is preserved deep in their consciences, they strive to fulfill this spiritual endeavor in sincerity and only for Divine approval.

A person with this depth of feeling and thought brings to mind the notion of the “journey from God”; they are in a constant state of metaphysical vigilance. Their groans are their pain at how to bring happiness to others instead of themselves. They seek to effect peace in the hearts of others instead of self-indulging in the pleasures of this world. They view life always from a perspective of the sufferings and joys of others and build torches along the path of those who try to make their way through darkness. Reaching success is dependent on making others succeed; they regard indifference to laments as akin to being a mute devil and see remaining lively as conditional to blowing life into others; walkers on the path of Divine guides are their inheritors.

These actions by champions of revival yield such surprise fruits when the due time comes; they are like a kernel in the soil that flourishes into some 20-30 ears. It gives messages of being modest to hundreds of thousands of people and encourages smiles all around as hundreds of new ones have begun walking as one.