The Gülen Movement
The Gulen Movement is a group founded in Turkey by Fetuhullah Gulen that seeks to bring back “Turkish Islam” to Turkey and the West. They emphasize a peaceful Islam that does not rely on terror and violence to spread their message. They seek to separate themselves from the terror groups and spread their “good” Islam around Turkey and the world (Lacey). The GM seeks to separate itself from the “bad” Islam that has been terrorizing the world (Lacey). They present themselves as different from the terrorists and their Islam inherently better. Gulen’s reach extends through many businesses and organizations worldwide and the movement claims up to six million members (Lacey). Because of this, Gulen is under watch from the Turkish military and is currently living in Philadelphia to avoid scrutiny (Lacey).
One thing that separates the Gulen Movement from other Islamist groups is they are advocating for a secular Turkey as well as an Islamic one. Gulen calls for a separation of religion from the government despite that the traditionally Islamic idea of Sharia law. Gulen is also a strongly nationalist figure that loves his country. He is also very anti-jihad and states that it is abhorrent to kill anyone for any reason (Dogan). He uses this rhetoric to further separate himself and his group from Islamic terrorists and attempts to show others that not all Islam is so violent (Dogan).
Gulen seeks to show off Turkey as non-Arab and show that not all Muslims are Arab and not all Muslims are the same. Gulen draws his inspiration from Ottoman Turkey and the ideas that the Empire spread and represented. To Gulen, Turkey needs to return to Ottoman ideas when the Turks were at the height of knowledge and power (Lacey). The Islam that Gulen presents is more geared to the Sufi side, and is combined with the Ottoman ideals, forming a “Turkish Islam”(Lacey). To him, there is no separation in being Muslim and being Turkish. The synthesis of these to aspects is what makes Turkey so unique and so great. He extends this identity to those in former Ottoman territories, such as the Balkins and to the Kurdish people, but not Arabs or Persians. He also tends to idealize Ottoman history and skim over not so pleasant aspects of it (Lacey).
Gulen pushes for more science and advancement, but only on Islamic terms. He thinks that science is how societies advance and you need to be a part of that, but science cannot be anti-Islamic. To him, science needs to prove and support the idea of God, not attempt to prove that the world created itself (Watson). This plays into Gulen’s emphasis on modernity and working beside the Western world. He stresses that science and technology are the way to move forward, so Islam must accept it in order to stay relevant in this world. This also helps separate the GM from the violence and “backwardness” of other Islamist groups, and keeps them relevant in the West.
Works Cited
Dogan, Recep. "Global Terrorism and Islamic Radicalization: Analysis from Fethullah Gülen’s Perspective." The International Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Society 6.1 (2015): 71-85. Print.
Lacey, Jonathan. "“Turkish Islam” as “Good Islam”: How the Gülen Movement Exploits Discursive Opportunities in a Post-9/11 Milieu."Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 34.2 (2014): 95-110. Web.
Watson, Micah. "Toward an Islamic Enlightenment: The Gülen Movement." New York: Oxford University Press,, 2013. Web.
