1

UNDERSTANDING
FETHULLAH
G L E N
JOURNALIST AND WRITERS FOUNDATION
1
Who is Fethullah
Glen?: His
biography, his
values and views
2
The Glen
Movement: Its
history, and
activities in
dialogue and
education
3
Glen in the
Media: News
excertps on
Glen and the
Glen Movement
2
3
www.gyv.org.tr
Understanding
Fethullah
GLEN
4
Foreword: Why Fethullah Glen? 6
Who Is Fethullah Glen? 11
Fethullah Glens Life Chronology 14
Glens Efforts on Dialogue 18
Glens Condemnation Message of September 11th Terrorist Attacks 34
Glens Values and Views 36
5
Glen and Education 46
The Glen Movement 71
Commentaries on Fethullah Glen 92
International Conferences on the Glen Movement 102
Glen in the Media 106
Q&As on the Glen Movement 143
c
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Foreword: Why
Fethullah Glen?
Dedicating a book or any
published material to someone is
always a hard decision: At one
hand, considering the signifcance
of that person for your country,
for Muslim World, thus for the
world, you feel obliged to make
his voice heard by everyone.
Particularly, those who is seeking
for a hope against, or alternative
to Clash of Civilisations thesis.
On the other, what you are doing
could be called a propaganda,
and whatever you are saying,
true or not, could be ignored
without ever thinking. So, waiting
this person to be discovered in
time seems to be the best option.
We, Journalist and Writers
Foundation, have chosen the
frst way. The reasons are
verious, and below you can see
ten of them. However, to us,
considering that he pionereed
a movement inspired by faith
yet geared towards serving all
7
people regardless of faith and
invigorate hundreds of thousands
people around high-human values
is more than enough to dedicate
this book(let).
Fethullah Glen is an
authoritative mainstream
Turkish Muslim scholar, opinion
leader and educational activist
who supports interfaith and
intercultural dialogue, democracy,
human rights and spirituality, and
opposes violence and turning
religion into a political ideology.
Glen promotes cooperation of
civilizations toward a peaceful
world, as opposed to a clash.
Mr Glen and the civil society
movement inspired by his views,
which is known as the Glen
movement, are signifcant
and deserve attention for the
following reasons:
Glens Authority and Impact:
Mr Glen is known and respected
among Turkish Muslims as well as
Muslims from around the world
as an authoritative mainstream
Muslim scholar of the Sunni
tradition, to which 8790% of
the worlds Muslim population
belongs.
His readership in Turkey is
estimated at several million.
His infuence outside Turkey is
growing daily as his works are
translated into many languages
including English, Arabic, Russian,
German, Spanish, Urdu, Bosnian,
Albanian, Malay and Indonesian.
In addition to printed
publications, his ideas are
accessible to an ever increasing
world population through private
radio and television networks
sympathetic to his views.
Public Stance against Violence,
Terror and Suicide Attacks:
Glen has been recognized
for his consistent stance against
the combination of violence
and religious rhetoric. More
specifcally, he was the frst
Muslim scholar to publicly
condemn the attacks of 9/11
(in an advertisement in the
Washington Post).
He unequivocally rejects suicide
attacks. He helped publish a
scholarly book on the Islamic
Glen envisions a
world where people
are deeply grounded
in a moral and ethical
tradition, where
humility and service
are highly valued and
where reason, science
and technology are fully
utilised for the beneft of
all.
Bruce Eldridge, The Place of
the Glen Movement in the
Intellectual History of Islam,
Particularly in Relation to
Islams Confrontation with
Postmodernism
8
perspective on terror and suicide
attacks, condemning such acts
on humanitarian and religious
grounds.
He did not express these views
only to Western readers but
voiced them in mosque sermons
with congregations of thousands
of Muslims. He has given
interviews to Turkish, Japanese,
French and American newspapers
in which he categorically
condemned the use of political,
ideological and religious
reasons to justify acts of terror.
He has appeared on numerous
national television shows publicly
condemning such acts.
Pioneer in Interfaith Dialogue:
Glen has been actively
promoting interfaith and
intercultural dialogue for over a
decade, starting long before the
tragedy of 9/11. In Turkey, he
has been credited with bringing
about a positive atmosphere
in relationships between the
majority Muslim population and
the various religious minorities
such as Greek Orthodox,
Armenian Orthodox, Catholic,
and Jewish communities.
Outside Turkey, his ideas on
interfaith dialogue have inspired
many to establish organizations
engaging in dialogue with
the same objectives of mutual
understanding, empathetic
acceptance, peaceful coexistence,
and cooperation. His efforts
for dialogue and tolerance
were recognized by a personal
audience with the late Pope John
Paul II and an invitation from
the chief Sephardic Rabbi of
Glen was the frst
Muslim scholar to
publicly condemn the
attacks of 9/11.
9
Israel, as well as meetings with
the leaders of various Christian
denominations.
For Cooperation of
Civilizations: Glen promotes
the cooperation of civilizations
as opposed to clash, through
dialogue, mutual understanding
and gathering around shared
values.
As a civil society opinion leader
he supports Turkish efforts toward
joining the European Union and
says that this relationship will
beneft both parties.
Emphasis on the Spiritual
Dimension of Faith: Owing in
part to his early education in
the spiritual discipline, Glen is
known for his emphasis on Islamic
spirituality (known in the West
as Sufsm), and the embracing
attitude towards fellow human
beings that this emphasis brings.
Due to his representation of love,
compassion and an open-hearted
approach to all issues concerning
humanity, he is known by some
as a modern-day Rumi. He was
asked by efk Can, a late Suf
master, a descendant of Rumi
and author, to write the foreword
for his book on Rumis life and
teachings.
Glens own two-volume book on
Sufsm is used as a textbook for
university courses on the spiritual
traditions of the world.
Science and Faith in Harmony:
Glen sees science and faith
as not only compatible but
complementary. He therefore
encourages scientifc research
and technological advancement
for the good of all humanity.
Intellectual Dimension: He
is well-versed in the leading
thinkers of the Western tradition
and can converse with them
comfortably through his writings
and addresses.
Pro-Democracy: Glen
recognizes democracy as the
only viable political system
of governance. He denounces
turning religion into a political
ideology, while encouraging
all citizens to take an informed
and responsible part in political
life of their country. He stresses
Alternative views, even
views hostile to Islam,
are to be tolerated
and not persecuted,
and their adherents
respected, he argues.
Violence is anathema
to him and any form
of terrorism in support
of religious aims is
ruled out without
reservation.
Oliver Leaman, Towards an
Understanding of Glens
Methodology
10
the fexibilities in the Islamic
principles relating to governance
and their compatibility with a
true democracy.
Solutions to Social Problems
Working on the Ground: The
most striking feature of Glens
life is the fact that his vision
and ideas have not remained
rhetorical but instead have
been realized globally as civic
projects.
By some estimates, several
hundred educational
organizations such as K-12
schools, universities, and
language schools have been
established around the world
inspired by Glen and sponsored
by local entrepreneurs, altruistic
educators and dedicated
parents. Notable examples of
such schools include those in
southeast Turkey, Central Asia,
several countries in Africa, the
Far East and Eastern Europe
Regardless of their location,
these schools are symbols
of harmonious interfaith and
intercultural relationships,
successful unifcation of faith and
reason, and dedication to the
service of humanity.
Especially in confict-ridden
regions such as the Philippines,
southeast Turkey and
Afghanistan, these institutions
help reduce poverty and increase
educational opportunities, which
in turn decrease the appeal of
terrorist groups with exclusivist
agendas operating in these
countries.
In addition to contributing to
social harmony, these schools
produce winners in international
science and math competitions.
Other Civil Society Projects:
Other civic projects inspired
by Glens ideas and
encouragement include relief
organizations, sustainable
development organizations,
media organizations, professional
associations, and medical
institutions.
NB: Please be advised that
references and bibliographies
are omitted for this and remaining
articles due to limited space.
Glen is pre-eminently
a reconciler: material
and spiritual values;
positive sciences and
religion; the ideologies
and philosophies of East
and West. The way of
civilisation is the way of
democratic persuasion,
not the imposition of
force. Democracy not a
perfect system, but it is
the only viable political
system and process
appropriate to the
modern age.
Douglas Pratt, Islamic
Prospects for Interreligious
Dialogue: The Contribution of
Fethullah Glen
11
Who Is
Fethullah Glen?
Fethullah Glen was born
in 1941 in a village in the
northeastern part of Turkey. His
father, Ramiz, was an imam in the
region and his mother was the
primary caregiver of the family
and a major infuence on Glens
spiritual and religious upbringing.
Fethullah Glen attended his
formal primary education in
his home village, and after the
family moved to a nearby village
he began an informal religious
education.
In 1959, Fethullah Glen was
awarded a state preachers
license in Edirne, Turkey. He was
then transferred in 1966 to a
religious post in Izmir, Turkey.
It was in Izmir that Mr Glens
progressive ideas of education,
science, the economy and social
justice began to take shape and
his supporters began to increase.
During this time, he traveled to
12
various provinces in Anatolia
giving lectures in mosques, coffee
houses and other community
meeting places. Fethullah
Glen spoke on important
subjects ranging from peace
and social justice to theoretical
naturalism. His primary aim
always remained, urging the
younger generation to harmonize
intellectual enlightenment with
spirituality rooted in religious
tradition, and to serve humanity.
Throughout his life and until
today, Fethullah Glen has been
greatly infuenced by the ideas
and writings of many great
Muslim scholars, amongst them:
Said Nursi, Mawlana Jalaladdin
Rumi, Abu Hanifa, Ghazali, Imam
Rabbani, Yunus Emre.
In line with these great thinkers,
Fethullah Glens philosophy
and writings embody ideas
of altruistic service to ones
community and likewise to
humanity in general; harmony
between intelligence and heart;
sincerity; a holistic view of the
human; a profound devotion and
love of creation. Throughout his
life, Mr Glen has been noted for
his support of democracy, science,
dialogue and non-violence.
Fethullah Glen is regarded as
the founder and inspirer of the
global social movement known as
the Hizmet (Service) Movement,
more popularly known as the
Glen Movement.
In 1994, Mr Glen co-founded
the Journalists and Writers
Foundation and was given the
title Honorary President by the
foundation.
In March 1999, upon the
recommendation of his doctors,
Fethullah Glen moved to the U.S.
to receive medical care.
In July 2008, Fethullah Glen was
voted the top public intellectual
in the world by Foreign Policy
Magazine.
Despite the high regard millions
hold for him, Mr Glen considers
himself a volunteering member
of the civil society movement
he helped found and does not
accept any credit of leadership
for the Hizmet (Service)
What is astonishing
about his ideas is
that while effectively
convincing the reader
in this fashion by
traditional means, he
is then able to turn
adroitly to an emphasis
upon a supplementary
argument of reason
and an insistence upon
independent and critical
thinking. A consequence
of this intellectual style
is that he has become
an authoritative
intermediary between
the sunnah and the
Quran on the one hand
and modern Western
thought on the other.
Louis J Cantori, Fethullah
Glen: Kemalist and Islamic
Republicanism and the Turkish
Democratic Future
13
Movement. Fethullah Glen
devotes his time to reading,
writing, and religious devotion.
He has based his understanding
of service upon this guiding
principle, living to let others live.
Fethullah Glen currently resides
in Pennsylvania and continues to
write and give talks on various
subjects.
His Works
Glen used to contribute, still
sometimes does, to a number
of journals and magazines. He
writes the editorial page for
several magazines. He writes
the lead article for The Fountain,
Yeni Umit, Sznt, and Yagmur,
leading popular and spiritual
thought magazines in Turkey.
He has written more than sixty
books, hundreds of articles, and
recorded thousands of audio
and videocassettes. Some of
his books-many of which have
been bestsellers in Turkey have
been made available in English
translations, such as, Prophet
Muhammad: Aspects of His Life,
Questions and Answers about
Faith, Pearls of Wisdom, Prophet
Muhammad, Essentials of the
Islamic Faith, Towards the Lost
Paradise, Key Concepts in the
Practice of Sufsm. Most of his
books have also been translated
into German, French, Russian,
Chinese, Arabic, Albanian,
Japanese, Indonesian, Spanish
and others.
Seminars & Talks
Glen ran more than 500
seminars, talks and conferences,
both in Turkey and in other
countries. The list of topics in the
seminars includes morality, God
and Deity, the Quran, Prophet
Muhammed (pbuh), parenting,
worshipping and prayer,
metaphysical life, soul and
spirituality, social life, economics,
destiny, responsibility, issues &
questions on Islamic principles
and rules.
Fethullah Glen can
be truly said to be
preaching by example
and, on the front of
social activism and the
greater good through
learning and the
pursuit of knowledge,
his example is one that
speaks loudly not just
to the Muslim world but
also to the west.
Greg Barton, Preaching by
Example and Learning for
Life: Understanding the Glen
Hizmet in the Global Context
of Religious Philanthropy and
Civil Religion
14
Fethullah Glens Life Chronology
27 April 1941 Born in Erzurum, North Eastern Anatolia.
1945
At the age of fve mastered the Quran and pursued prayer. He completed the
memorisation of Quran in 1951.
1946 Began elementary school.
1953
Within a couple of months mastered classical books of madrassa education at a
relatively very early age. Upon the recommendation of his teachers he pursued
advanced classical theology education.
1956 Started preaching within the surrounding towns and villages.
1958 Went to Edirne, a border city in the Trace region.
1959
Became formally the Imam second in line at Ucserefeli Mosque, Edirne. He stayed
there for the next two and a half years.
27 May 1960 Military coup overthrew the frst elected government of the Turkish Republic.
1961
Began his military service at Mamak in Ankara serving out his preliminary duties
there before shipping out to Iskenderun.
1962 Continued religious lectures and preaching within the military.
1968
Went to Hajj, the holy pilgrimage at Mecca. This was his frst of three pilgrimage
journeys.
1969 Began institutional education activities in Izmir.
1969
Began informal preaches at the provinces and villages of the Aegean part of
Turkey.
1969
Set up student dormitories at Izmir as the frst of its kind within the Muslim community
in Turkey. (For some resources, its 1974 that the frst dormitories were set up.)
12 March 1971 Second (succesful) coup detat in Turkish republic.
3 May 1971
Arrested under the conditions of having been banned from public lectures. He was
released without charge on 5 November of the same year.
15
20 April 1975
Began a series of seminars and conferences entitled Science and the Holy Quran,
Darwinism and Golden Generation. First impressions of his perception of religion,
science, and society can be seen in these lectures and conferences.
28 September
1976

Transferred to Izmir, Bornova, where the movement frst appeared to gather around
him.
1 March 1978 His frst ever book, Hitap Cicekleri, published.
1 February 1979 The frst ever printed media of the movement, Sizinti, published.
5 September
1980
Preached for the last time prior to the coup dtat.
12 September
1980

The military coup took place in Turkey, by which a total of 1,683,000 people
were blacklisted, 650,000 detained, 230,000 were tried, 14,000 were stripped
of citizenship, and 50 were executed. His home was also raided, he averted being
arrested by the virtue of not being home.
17 September
1980

Residence where he attends as a guest was raided. He was released after a 6-hour
interrogation procedure.
20 March 1981 Resigned as offcial preacher of the Turkish Religious Directorate.
15 November
1982

First ever mainstream school of the community started teaching. This was a huge
step in Turkey since civic initiative has no mainstream schooling activies except few
schools of foreign nationals and elite educational institutions.
6 April 1986 After nearly 6 years took the podium once again.
16 June 1991 Ended his second period of preaching.
5 May 1992 Paid a visit to Turgut Ozal, the 8th President of Turkey.
29 June 1994
Founded Journalists & Writers Foundation and became the honotary president of
the Foundation.
30 November
1994
Paid a visit to Prime Minister Mrs Tansu Ciller.
11 February
1995

Attended a fast-breaking dinner of the Journalists and Writers Foundation, a an

event of utmost importance in which people from different religious, cultural and
ideological backgrounds joined together probably for the frst time around the same
table.
16
20 March 1995
Met Mr Bulent Ecevit, the Leader of the Leader of the Democratic Left Party (DSP)
and four-time Prime Minister of Turkey.
10 May 1995
Met Mr Hikmet Cetin, the Leader of the leftist Republicans People Party and Deputy
Prime Minister of Turkey of the time.
26 May 1995 Received an award from the Turk Ocaklari Foundation.
9 June 1995 Met Prime Minister Mrs Tansu Ciller second time.
15 June 1995
Met Mr Mesut Yilmaz, Leader of the Motherland Party and the three-time Prime
minister of Turkey in the 1990s.
25 July 1995
Received an award of gratitude from the Mehmetcik Foundation, Turkish army
semi-offcial aid charity.
2 August 1995 Paid a visit to the head of Parliament Mr Husametttin Cindoruk.
19 September
1995

Masterminded a sport organisation designed to beneft the wartorn children of

Bosnia.
23 January 1996 Gave his frst ever interview to a natinal daily, Sabah.
4 April 1996
Met with Patriarch Bartholemeos, a corner-stone event in which community leaders of
different religions gathered.
10 September
1997
Met Abraham Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
19 September
1997
Met Cardinal OConnor, Cardinal Archbishop of New York, in the United States.
21 November
1997

Received a visit from George Marovitch, the representative of Vatican to Istanbul of

Turkey and associates.
22 January 1998
Attended and broke fast with the leading members of the Jewish Community in
Turkey.
4 February 1998 Before visiting to the Vatican, he met Prime Minister, Mr Bulent Ecevit.
9 February 1998 Visited and had a meeting with Pope John Paul II.
25 February
1998
Met the head Rabbi Eliyahu Bakhsi Doron, religious leader of the Jews.
17
7 March 1998 Attended the Celestial Meeting of Religions.
21 March 1999 Went to the United States for medical treatment of an ailment.
11 August 2000 Trial began as he was indicted on undermining secular state.
5 May 2006
Acquitted. The supreme court of appeals penalty board has confrmed the decision
of acquittal going on for more than eight years on 25 June 2008.
26 July 2008
Was selected as the most important public intellectual that is still alive and active
in public life in the 100 Public Intellectuals Poll. The poll was conducted by Prospect
Magazine (UK) and Foreign Policy (US) on the basis of responding readers ballot.
15 July 2010 Awarded honorary doctorate by Leeds Metropolitan University
[I]n an increasingly globalised
world, this movement has been
distinguished by its consistent ability
to convert its social network and
spiritual capital into creative projects
that contribute positively to the
transformation of Islamic thought and
practice in many different settings
and socio-political contexts.
Talip Kucukcan, Social and Spiritual Capital of
the Glen Movement
Fethullah Glens works and
movement have aimed to mend the
tensions and fssures, specifcally
along racial and ideological lines on
both practical and theoretical levels
that are emerging in this rapidly
globalising world.
Wanda Krause, Civility in Islamic Activism:
Towards a Better Understanding of Shared
Values for Civil Society Development
18
Glens Efforts on
Dialogue
Fethullah Glen:
Contributions to Global
Peace and the Inter-
Religious Dialogue
by Prof Greg Barton, Monash
University, Australia 23 November
2007 (abbreviated)
There are many ways of
summarising Glens thought and
describing his social activism. He
is, frst and foremost, an alim,
a traditional Islamic scholar,
with a deep understanding of
the Quran, the Sunnah, Islamic
jurisprudence and Islamic history.
He is also a Suf, though he does
not belong to any particular
tarikah, or Suf brotherhood...
Glen has inspired a broad
social movement concerned with
practical religious philanthropy
on a grand scale.
This religious philanthropy can be
19
understood simply as revolving
around three axial themes or
elements: a deep desire for
dialogue, a love of learning and
a passion for service.
Glens profound interest
in dialogue can readily be
discerned in his writing and in his
personal activism. In February
1998, for example, Glen met
with Pope John Paul II, having
already met with many of
the senior religious leaders in
Turkey and surrounding nations.
The most overtly dialogue-
orientated group associated with
the Glen movement is found
in the Journalists and Writers
Foundation (JWF) established in
1994. This very infuential NGO
goes beyond straightforward
journalistic reporting and
analysis to support strategic
public intellectual initiatives
in the promotion of dialogue.
One of the Foundations most
important activities is the hosting
of a high-level annual summer
dialogue forum known as the
Abant Platform (named after the
lakeside location of its annual
meetings) designed to bring
together disparate elements of
the political and cultural elite to
talk face to face about issues of
pressing national importance.
Each Abant Platform produces
an Abant Declaration summing
up the issues discussed. The frst
Abant Platform was held in July
1998 on the theme of Islam and
Secularism. Subsequent Abant
Platforms dealt with the related
themes of Religion and State
Relations (July 1999), Islam and
Democracy (July 2000), and
Pluralism (July 2001). In April
2004 the JWF took the Abant
Platform offshore to America and
held a successful forum meeting
at Johns Hopkins University in
Washington DC around the
theme of Islam and Democracy.
Subsequently the Abant Platform
has also met in Europe and is
planning for an ongoing series of
international meetings.
Global Dialogue
In a broader sense, the fact that
since 1983 the Glen movement
has established more than
500 schools across Turkey and
In its sponsorship and
support for interfaith
and intercivilisational
dialogue, the Glen
movement seeks both
to counter the impact
of the more violent
fundamentalist strains
in modern Islam and to
undermine wherever it
can Huntingtons Clash
of Civilizations thesis.
Bill Park, The Fethullah Glen
Movement as a Transnational
Phenomenon
20
throughout Asia, Africa and the
western hemisphere, all of which
are secular, and many of which
are located in areas of socio-
economic hardship in both Muslim
and non-Muslim communities,
can also be seen as an exercise
in practical dialogue. Similarly,
the commercially successful
and broadly infuential Zaman
newspaper global network,
and its television analogue
Samanyolu TV, with their focus on
objective, professional journalism
and wholesome, but not overtly
religious, entertainment and
education, can also be seen as
exercises in dialogue. The closest
equivalent in Christian publishing
is arguably the surprisingly
professional Christian Science
Monitor.
The second element in Glens
thought and in the Glen
movements social activism
is a love of learning. This
can be readily discerned in
the aforementioned schools.
In addition to these schools
there also a handful of well
regarded secular colleges and
half a dozen universities such as
Fatih University in Istanbul and
Ankara. These schools, many of
which have been deliberately
established in some of the
poorest and most needy parts
of the word, are generally very
well regarded and achieve
a high standard of scholastic
achievement in neighbourhoods,
districts and nations not normally
accustomed to excellence in
education. What makes them so
remarkable in the context of the
Muslim world is their commitment
to secular modern learning open
to students of all backgrounds.
The schools, regardless of the
nation in which they operate and
the legislation that pertains to
religious instruction in schools,
adhere consistently to a secular
curriculum. In this and many other
respects they are very much like
modern Anglican, Presbyterian,
Methodist or Catholic schools.
Zaman newspaper, Samanyolu
TV and many of the books and
magazines published by Glen
movement publishers such as Isik
Publishing can also be said to
Glen rejects
conficting attitudes,
prejudice and half-
truths and entirely
understands
the growing
interdependencies of
today. Establishing and
maintaining dialogue
should be rooted in
giving precedence to
the common points and
in avoiding the divisive
issues.
Irina Vainovski-Mihai, Giving
Precedence to Common Points:
The Limits of the Otherness
in Fethullah Glens Dialogic
Methodology for Interfaith
Encounters
21
be concerned with education in
the broadest sense, much in the
manner as Americas popular
Readers Digest magazine.
The Glen movement speaks
of itself as being the Glen
hizmet and of its members
being engaged in hizmet. The
Turkish word hizmet translates
as service and for the members
of the Glen movement hizmet
- service is understood in much
the same way as active Christians
use the word to describe
their religious activism and
philanthropy. Some institutions
associated with the Glen
movement, such as Zaman and
Samanyolu TV have become so
commercially successful that they
have been able to run along
regular business lines. But many
other aspects of the movements
work, such as The Fountain
magazine, rely, at least in part,
on the contributions of volunteers.
The schools, in particular, are
very much the product of
volunteer activism. The seed
capital to set up a new school,
often in a remote part of Africa
or Asia, is typically generated
through the philanthropy of a
community of Glen movement
businessmen meeting in a certain
town or suburb. The idea is that
the schools ultimately become
self-sustaining but before this is
possible they rely on teachers
leaving behind the comforts
of Istanbul, Izmir or Ankara to
travel to the likes of Kazakhstan,
Nigeria or Cambodia to serve
out several terms as secular
missionary teachers. This, more
22
than anything, embodies the
movements notion of hizmet, or
service.
There is much more that could be
said about Fethullah Glen and
the philanthropic movement that
he has inspired. And there are
many elements in addition to a
deep desire for dialogue, a love
of learning and a commitment to
service. But these three elements
-dialogue, learning and service-
sum up the core passions of
Glen. And they explain why it
is profoundly appropriate that
the new ACU Chair for the Study
of Islam and Muslim-Catholic
Relations should be named the
Fethullah Glen Chair.
As Christians and Muslims
seeking to promote dialogue,
deepen understanding and build
relationships we do indeed live
in the worst of times and the best
of times. We certainly live in
interesting times, in challenging
times. But tonight we should take
heart. This new century promises
to see so much more achieved
in Muslim-Christian relations and
in the scholarly understanding
of Islam and Muslim society
than was achieved last century.
The launch of this Chair at this
university, I believe, represents
something very good and
something of great signifcance
that goes well beyond any
one institution and any one
appointment. This, inshallah, God
willing, is the start of something
big.
23
Glen: Dialogue is a Must
On the global stage, an
outstanding Muslim leader
promoting interreligious
dialogue is Fethullah Glen. The
movement to which his ideas
and recommendations have
given inspiration is one of the
primary advocacy groups for
dialogue in the world today.
Fethullah Glen comes to the core
point of his message: Interfaith
dialogue is a must today, and
the frst step in establishing it
is forgetting the past, ignoring
polemical arguments, and giving
precedence to common points,
which far outnumber polemical
ones.
Glen also argue that the Quran
urges Muslims to respect the
followers of other religions and
to accept former Prophets and
their Books. So he will insist that
an attitude of dialogue is not
only required by modernity but
also by the very source of Islam.
Based on the notion that Islam is
an inherently open and tolerant
religion, Mr Glen advocates
acceptance and dialogue with
the non-Muslim community.
To advocate this notion of
tolerance, he has met important
Christian and Jewish religious
leaders such as Pope John Paul
II (in 1998), Greek Eucumenical
Patriarch Bartholomeos (in 1996),
Sepharadic Chief Rabbi of Israel
Eliyahu Bakshi Doron (in 1999)
and others religious leader of
Turkey in many occations to
promote inter-religious dialogue.
Long before the Second
Vatican Council, Bediuzzaman
Said Nursi (1876-1960), one
of the most infuential Muslim
thinkers of the 20th Century,
advocated a dialogue between
true Muslims and Christians. The
earliest statement of Said Nursi
concerning the need for dialogue
between Muslims and Christians
dates from 1911, more than
50 years before the Council
document, Nostra aetate.
What motivation does Fethullah
Glen suggest for those who wish
to follow his ways in the practice
of dialogue and charity?
At the outset of a collection of
essays published as Toward a
Global Civilization of Love &
Tolerance, in an essay entitled
Love for Humankind, he
concludes with this exhortation:
As we are all limbs of the same
body, we should cease this
duality that violates our very
union. We should clear the way
to unite people; this is one of
the greatest ways in which God
grants people success in this
world, and how He transforms
this world into a Paradise. It is in
this way that the doors of Heaven
will be opened wide in order to
give us a warm welcome. Hence,
we should remove all ideas and
feelings that pull us apart, and
run to embrace one another.
Those who feel deep love run
to embrace one another. God
reaches out in dialogue with
all humanity and our response
begins with love of God and
love of one another. In Pearls of
Wisdom, Glen writes of love:
Love is the most direct and
safest way to human perfection.
One of the principles for
24
dialogue that Glen suggests is
a challenge to his fellow Muslims
to be humble and reach out to
others in imitation of the Creator
who reaches out to all in ways
that are unimaginable: Judge
your worth in the Creators sight
by how much space He occupies
in your heart, and your worth in
peoples eyes by how you treat
them. Do not neglect the Truth
even for a moment. And yet, be
a man or woman among other
men or women.
For Glen, what people have in
common is far greater than what
divides and separates them;
thus his approach is holistic:
inner harmony and peace of
humankind only occurs when the
material and spiritual realms are
reconciled.
Furthermore, in the face of
widespread unbelief (or loss
of the religious sense) Glen
believes that Muslim-Christian
dialogue is indispensable. Even
though we may not have common
grounds on some matters, says
Glen, We all live in this world
and we are passengers on the
same ship. In this respect, there
are many common points that
can be discussed and shared
with people from every segment
of society. Fethullah Glen
maintains that regular dialogue
is essential. To this end, he
pioneered the establishment of
the Foundation of Journalists
and Writers, whose activities to
promote dialogue and mutual
respect among all strata of
the society have been warmly
welcomed by people from almost
all walks of life. Again to this
end, Fethullah Glen visits, and
receives visits from, leading
fgures not only from among the
Turkish people. but from all over
the world.
The Vatican ambassador to
Turkey, the Patriarchs of the
Turkish Orthodox and the
Turkish Armenian communities,
the Chief Rabbi of the Turkish
Jewish community, as well as
infuential opinion-formers such
as journalists, columnists. TV and
flm stars, thinkers and writers
of diverse views, are among
the many people with whom he
frequently meets. Fethullah Glen
arguably regards interfaith
dialogue as an expression of a
divinely-inspired love, for the
primary theological verity that
binds together all peoples of
the Book -Jews, Christians and
Muslims especially- is the belief
in God as Creator. The act of
creation is not that of arbitrary
whim but intentional love of the
Creator for the creature. As
Glen states, Love is the reason
for existence and its essence, and
it is the strongest tie that binds
creatures together. Everything
in the universe is the handiwork
of God. Love issues in practical
actions, and at the level of inter-
communal and inter-religious
relations, love is expressed in
terms of dialogical engagement:
thus dialogue is the real remedy
for terror, chaos, and intolerance
25
Fethullah Glen on
Interreligious Dialogue
and Islamic Interfaith
Relations
by Prof Douglas Pratt, University
of Waikato, New Zealand
UNESCO Chair in Intercultural and
Interreligious Relations - Asia Pacifc
27 October 2007
Fethullah Glen is absolutely
correct in noting that desire
for mutual understanding, a
dedication to justice, and a
priority on mutual respect are
requisite are requisite principles
for engaging in interreligious
dialogue. Glen is of the view
that, in todays world, the task
of representing faith with its
true values has gained an even
greater importance than before.
Indeed, he regards interfaith
engagement as a function of
the necessity of increasing the
interests we have in common
with other people. He and the
movement seeking to promote his
teachings and views within the
Islamic world and beyond are
frmly committed to the cause of
interreligious engagement and
dialogue.
In the light of my general
analysis of the paradigms and
dynamics that have pertained
to Muslim interfaith relations,
what might be the paradigmatic
perspective and prospects that
are embedded in the thought of
Fethullah Glen?
Lester Kurtz, noting that, for
Glen, spiritual practice and
morality are more important than
26
ritual and dogmatism speaks
of four pillars of dialogue -love,
compassion, tolerance and
forgiveness- as descriptive of
Glens understanding. Indeed, it
is this perspective that opens the
way for dialogue with other faith
traditions for Muslims.
My own reading of Glen
expands this threefold analysis. I
suggest that, from Glen, we may
derive some seven elements for
a possible contemporary Islamic
paradigm for interreligious
relations and dialogue.
1. Distinction of Values:
Primary and Secondary
Arguably, love is a primary
word in Glens vocabulary of
dialogue. Love, he says, exists
in everyone as a seed. This seed
germinates under favorable
circumstances and, growing like
a tree, blossoms into a fower,
and fnally ripens, like a fruit, to
unite the beginning with the end.
Indeed, it is clear that, for Glen,
primary values such as peace,
love, forgiveness, and tolerance
are fundamental to Islam
whereas values such as jihad are
regarded as a secondary matter.
Keeping these categories of
primary and secondary value
distinguished and in proper
perspective is critical for, as
Glen avers, failure to establish
a proper balance between what
is primary and what is secondary
leads others to conclude that
Islam advocates malice and
hatred in the soul, whereas true
Muslims are full of love and
affection for all creation.
2. Intentionality: A Principal
Perspective
Intentionality is also an important
element of Islamic thought and
a key to Glens perspective:
In every task undertaken, there
should be a certain meaning,
sincerity should be sought, and
reason and good judgment
should be the priority. Glen
remarks that the Prophet of
God said: Deeds are judged by
intentions, and he emphasized
that the intention of the believer
is more important than the act
itself.
The Movement does not
designate internal and
external scapegoats so
as to turn aggressive
energies onto itself
or any group, so
destructive processes
are not activated.
Muhammed Cetin, The Glen
Movement: Its Nature and
Identity
27
Intentionality is applied naturally
to the sphere of interfaith
engagement. And noting the
Quran calls people to accept
the former Prophets and their
Books, Glen avers that having
such a condition at the very
beginning of the Quran seems
very important when it comes
to starting a dialogue with the
followers of other religions.
3. Tolerance: An Inherent
Element
Glen argues that Society has
to uphold tolerance. If we dont
announce jihad for anything
else, we should announce it for
tolerance. Tolerance, properly
understood, is inherent to
dialogue for, as well as being
commanded to take tolerance
and to use dialogue as his basis
while performing his duties,
Muhammad was guided toward
things in common with the People
of the Book (Jews and Christians),
as the Holy Quran (Al-Imran
3:64) bears witness: O People
of the Book! Come to common
terms as between us and you:
that we worship none but God;
that we speculate no partners
with Him; that we take not some
from among ourselves for Lords
other than God.
Tolerance -together with
forgiveness- is a virtue enjoined
throughout the Quran such that,
in the contemporary context
of today, Glen is quite clear:
Muslims are to behave with
tolerance and forbearance in
the interfaith arena. In his critique
of certain Muslim propensities he
asserts that the method of those
who act with enmity and hatred,
who view everyone else with
anger, and who blacken others as
infdels is non-Islamic, for Islam is
a religion of love and tolerance.
Yet Glen is positive overall:
We are rediscovering tolerance,
something that is inherent in the
spirit of Islam and something that
was explained to us in the Quran
and by Prophet Muhammad.
Of course, tolerance is not to
be equated with attitudes of
passive putting-up with that
which we would prefer to have
nothing to do. This is often the
default perspective that we fnd
Fethullah Glens
works and movement
have aimed to mend the
tensions and fssures,
specifcally along racial
and ideological lines
on both practical and
theoretical levels that
are emerging in this
rapidly globalising
world.
Wanda Krause, Civility in Islamic
Activism: Towards a Better
Understanding of Shared Values
for Civil Society Development
28
in our societies - what might be
better called mere tolerance.
The tolerance to which Glen
alludes, on the other hand, is far
more active and intentional, for
it has to do with an underlying
aim of dialogical engagement:
the fostering of that peace and
harmony to which the Quran
refers and for which Islam
stands: peace is better (Al-
Nisa 4:128). Glen asserts that
Muslims will lose nothing by
employing dialogue, love, and
tolerance, and that, indeed,
there are many verses in the
Quran that extol these virtues.
4. Dialogue: An Expression of a
Divinely-Inspired Love
Fethullah Glen arguably
regards interfaith dialogue as an
expression of a divinely-inspired
love, for the primary theological
verity that binds together all
peoples of the Book -Jews,
Christians and Muslims especially-
is the belief in God as Creator.
The act of creation is not that of
arbitrary whim but intentional
love of the Creator for the
creature. As Glen states, Love
is the reason for existence and
its essence, and it is the strongest
tie that binds creatures together.
Everything in the universe is the
handiwork of God.
Love issues in practical actions,
and at the level of inter-
communal and inter-religious
relations, love is expressed in
terms of dialogical engagement:
thus dialogue is the real
remedy for terror, chaos, and
intolerance. Glen is himself
succinct and to the point:
those who seek to build the
happy world of the future on
foundations of spiritual and
moral values should arrive frst at
the altar of belief, then ascend to
the pulpit of love, and only then
preach their message of belief
and love to others.
The complementarity of tolerance
and love as being not just human
virtues but in reality indicators of
primary values which the Creator
imbued the creation underscores
an essential oneness of human
existence that itself suggests
dialogue is the right and proper
mode of interaction. Even
Fethullah Glen is
unusual in providing a
distinctly Islamic voice to
the call for a non-violent
approach to confict
resolution.
Steve Wright, The Work of
Fethullah Glen & The Role
of Non-Violence in a Time of
Terror
29
though we may not have common
grounds on some matters, says
Glen, we all live in this world
and we are passengers on the
same ship. In this respect, there
are many common points that can
be discussed and shared with
people from every segment of
society.
5. Reconciliation: The Essence
of Religion
The motif of religion as a force
for and of reconciliation is very
strong with Fethullah Glen.
Indeed, love, compassion,
tolerance, and forgiveness are
at the heart of all religions. It is
thus of the nature of religion to
promote the values and virtues
that engender reconciliation.
Specif cally, for Islam, the Quran
itself enjoins reconciliation with
the wider religious context of the
Peoples of the Book, a view that
Glen derives directly from Surah
al-Baqara. Allah commands
against disputing one with
another; instead the reconciling
interaction of dialogical debate
is encouraged. In particular,
Glen notes that there are many
common points for dialogue
among devout Muslims, Christians,
and Jews. The imperative to
dialogue is therefore strong, and
must be conducted in a context
of giving precedence to common
points, which far outnumber
polemical ones.
6. Hermeneutical Authority for
Dialogue
Glen recognises the need to
read the Quran carefully and
intelligently when it comes,
for example, to the issue of
specifc relations with Jews and
Christians. Some expressions in
the Quran regarding Christianity
and Judaism are indeed very
sharp and rather negative, even
hostile in some cases. At best
there seems to be a measure
of revelatory paradox. But
such paradox may be the
effect of taking things out of
context, or at least not taking
context suffciently into account.
Thus, on the one hand verses
condemning and rebuking the
Jews and Christians are either
about some Jews and Christians
who lived in the time of the
30
Prophet Muhammad or their
own Prophets, as opposed to
all Jews and Christians at all
times; or on the other hand they
are about stubborn unbelievers
who lived during the Prophets
lifetime and insisted on unbelief
who happened to be Jews or
Christians. Such verses cannot
be taken to refer to all Jews
and Christians since, for it was
never Jewish or Christian belief
and believing at such which was
being criticised, but the presence
of unbelief - Jews and Christians
ignoring their own heritage
wherein they, together with
Muslims, are together believers
in the one God. As Glen himself
remarks, it was not Christianity
or Judaism that was the subject
of condemnation but rather
the Quran goes after wrong
behaviour, incorrect thought, and
resistance to the truth, creation of
hostility, and non-commendable
characteristics. Rather than
counting against dialogue, a
careful and correct contextual
reading of the Quran would
seem to be advocated by Glen.
In this way a proper interpretive
Muslim authority for dialogue
may be discerned.
7. Ijtihad: The Struggle for
Dialogue
The fnal element in a
possible Islamic paradigm for
interreligious dialogue and
relations has to do with the notion
of ijtihad as meaning a proper
intellectual and spiritual struggle.
Ihsan Yilmaz argues that Glen
believes that there is a need for
ijtihad in our age. He says that he
respects the scholars of the past
but also believes that ijtihad is a
31
necessity: to freeze ijtihad means
to freeze Islam and to imprison
it in a given time and space. He
argues that Islam is a dynamic
and universal religion that covers
all time and space, and renews
itself in real life situations; it
changes from one context to
another, and ijtihad is a major
tool in enabling this.
The struggle to live a life of
true faith, to follow the way
of peaceful submission to
God, has led Fethullah Glen
into signifcant arenas of
social and educational action,
not the least of which is the
promotion of interfaith dialogue
and interreligious relations.
Such dialogue inheres to the
agenda of the Glen movement
because Glen juxtaposed
the struggle to live as a good
and true Muslim with the task
of engaging with the religious
neighbour. This contrasts with
forms of ijtihad coming from
other quarters in the Islamic
world that result in advocating
jihad against the religious other.
Thus Lester Kurtz can speak of
Glens paradoxical fusion of
intense faith commitment with
tolerance, for example, thus
resulting in a paradigm of
Islamic dialogue. The essence of
Glens paradigm is nothing less
than the application of ijtihad
to the question and challenge of
Muslim interfaith relations. Hence,
tolerance of others and genuine
interfaith dialogue are not simply
a pleasant ideal that will be
fulflled in some future paradise,
but (are) at the core of what it
is to be Muslim in the here and
now. Indeed, Glen argues that
dialogue is demanded by the
very nature of religion as such.
Conclusion
... Glen reinterprets Islamic
understanding in tune with
contemporary times and
develops a new Muslim
discourse. Today, Fethullah
Glen continues to practice the
theology of dialogue, since he
believes that his teachings are
well grounded in the principles
of Islam. A relatively cursory
reading of some representative
works of Glen yield
elements for a paradigmatic
perspective that is indicative
of new possibilities for Muslim
interpretation of, and sensibilities
toward, interfaith relations and
dialogue. Where these values,
patterns and perspectives on
dialogue are not put into place,
the outcome is quite dire. Glen
himself avers that The present,
distorted image of Islam that has
resulted from its misuse by both
Muslims and non-Muslims for their
own goals scares both Muslims
and non-Muslims. In reality,
at the heart of Islam is the call
to dialogue. Peace also lies at
this heart; war and confict as
aberrations to be brought under
control with security and world
harmony the underlying divinely
desired goal.
It must be remembered that
for any faith-based movement
there is a dialectical tension in
respect to its ongoing relationship
to its founder: on the one hand
it always stands open to the
criticism of not living up as fully
as it might to the standards,
demands, or expectations of
32
its founder; on the other hand
neither must it remain bound by
the inevitable limitations that any
human founder brings. Rather,
the trick is to proceed along the
path in the direction pointed
to by the founder, cognizant of
the values and insights supplied,
but capable of applying
and developing them as new
circumstances and contexts arise.
This is the stuff of the inherent
and internal dialogical dialectic
of all faith-based movements.
The Glen Movement is no
exception. Paul Weller has rightly
observed that Fethullah Glen
himself affrms the existence of
a fundamental continuity in the
issues faced by human beings in
relation to their behavior with
one another and their place in
the universe. At the same time,
he recognizes the specifc nature
of the challenges of diversity
and plurality - challenges which
have previously been present in
individual historical societies but
which, in the 21st century, have
been elevated onto a global
stage. Glen stands against
ways of thinking and acting that
promote the illusion that the
uncomfortable plurality of the
contemporary world can simply
be abolished.
In respect to the issue of relations
between Christians and Muslims,
or more broadly speaking
between the West and Islam,
and prospects for the ongoing
dialogue between those two
faiths and their respective
cultures, we might agree with
Charles Kimball that:
For many people in both
communities the basic theological
issues constitute the primary
agenda.... Understanding
different orientations is an
important step, but it does not
resolve the seemingly inherent
conficts. Thoughtful, creative, and
persevering efforts are required
in order to bridge some of the
real and perceived differences
in foundational theological
understandings. ... Although we
all carry the cumulative baggage
provided by our deep-rooted
heritage, developments in the
past 150 years have challenged
An important
motivator for Glens
embracing views of
empathic acceptance
and respect is his view
of the inherent value
of the human. Glen
uses powerful messages
when basing human
relations on the notion
that every human is
a piece of art created
by the Compassionate
God, refecting aspects
of His compassion.
He highlights love as
the raison detre of the
universe.
David Capes, Tolerance in the
Theology and Thought of A J
Conyers and F Glen
33
traditional assumptions and
prompted the vexing questions
confronting people of faith
today.
Religious prejudice, expressed
in forms of claims to superiority
and exclusivity of one over
another, is an issue that ever
needs to be addressed. Parties
to any Muslim interfaith dialogue
-be that Jewish, Christian,
Muslim or any other religion of
the book- need to recognise
that, indeed, each religion is
an interpretive venture. The
book is ever a text requiring
interpretive understanding
and application. Triumphalism
must be countered if there is
to be any genuine eirenical
advance. As Rabbi David Rosen,
a leading Jewish fgure in the
cause of interfaith relations,
has commented: We should
indeed keep the differences
and learn to respect them.
Each religion has its particular
approach to God. But we also
have a universal dimension to
our traditions that we share, and
we must emphasize that as well.
By pursuing the challenge of
dialogue we seek to comprehend
better the respective faiths in
which we live, and move, and
have our being.
In dialogue with Fethullah Glen
Muslim and non-Muslim alike
are moved beyond prejudice,
suspicion, and half-truths so
that they might arrive at an
understanding what Islam is
really about and to see that
tolerance, love, and compassion
are genuinely Islamic values that
Muslims have a duty to bring
to the modern world. The call
of Islam is a call to dialogue.
Fethullah Glen certainly offers
Muslims a way to live out Islamic
values amidst the complex
demands of modern societies and
to engage in ongoing dialogue
and cooperation with people of
other religions. Dialogue with
Glen and the movement that
bears his name is an avenue
wherein the non-Muslim can
join with Muslims in the greater
journey of the dialogical quest.
He is thus a bridging
fgure between being a
dominant interpreter
of Islam and being an
animator of Islamic
practice.
Louis J. Cantori, Fethullah
Glen: Kemalist and Islamic
Republicanism and the Turkish
Democratic Future
34
Glens
Condemnation
Message of
September 11th
Terrorist Attacks
I would like to make it very
clear that any terrorist activity,
no matter by whom it is carried
out or for what purpose, is
the greatest blow to peace,
democracy, and humanity. For
this reason, no one -and certainly
no Muslim- can approve of any
terrorist activity. Terror has no
place in a quest to achieve
independence or salvation.
It takes the lives of innocent
people.
Even though at frst sight such
acts seem to harm the target,
all terrorist activities eventually
do more harm to the terrorists
and their supporters. This latest
terrorist activity, which is a most
bloody and condemnable one, is
far more than an attack on the
United States of Americait is
an assault against world peace
as well as against universal
democratic and humanistic values.
Those who perpetrated this
atrocity can only be considered
as being the most brutal people
in the world.
Please let me reassure you
that Islam does not approve of
terrorism in any form. Terrorism
cannot be used to achieve any
Islamic goal. No terrorist can be
a Muslim, and no real Muslim can
be a terrorist. Islam demands
peace, and the Quran demands
that every real Muslim be a
symbol of peace and work to
support the maintenance of basic
human rights. If a ship is carrying
nine criminals and one innocent
person, Islam does not allow for
the ship to be sunk in order to
punish the nine criminals; doing
so would violate the rights of the
one innocent person.
Islam respects all individual rights
and states clearly that none of
these can be violated, even if
doing so would be in the interest
of the community. The Quran
declares that one who takes a
life unjustly has, in effect, taken
all the lives of humanity, and
that one who saves a life has,
in effect, saved all the lives of
humanity. Moreover, Prophet
Muhammad stated that a Muslim
is a person who does no harm
with either the hands or with the
tongue.
I strongly condemn this latest
terrorist attack on the United
States. It only deserves
condemnation and contempt,
and it must be condemned by
every person in the world. I
appeal to everyone for calmness
and restraint. Before Americas
leaders and people respond to
this heinous assault out of their
jus-tifed anger and pain, please
let me express that they must
understand why such a terrible
event occurred and let us look
at how similar tragedies can be
avoided in the future. They must
also be aware of the fact that
injuring inno-cent masses in order
to punish a few guilty people is
to no ones beneft; rather such
actions will only strengthen the
35
terrorists by feeding any existing
resentment and by giving birth
to more terrorists and more
violence. Please remember
that terrorists represent an
extremely small minority within
any society or religion. Let us
try to understand each other
better, for only through mutual
understanding and respect can
such violence be prevented in the
fu-ture.
I feel the pain of the American
people from the bottom of my
heart, and I assure them that I
pray to God Almighty for the
victims and I pray that He give
their loved-ones and all other
Americans the necessary patience
to en-dure their pain.
I would like to take this
opportunity to once again send
my regards to everybody.
Respectfully.
Fethullah Glen
*Appeared in The Washington Post on
12 September 2001
36
Glens Values and
Views
Love
Love is the most direct and safest
way to human perfection. It is
diffcult to attain the rank of
human perfection through ways
that do not contain love. Other
than the way of acknowledging
ones innate impotence, poverty,
and reliance on Gods Power and
Riches, and ones zeal in His way
and thanksgiving, no other way
to truth is equal to that of love...
Seeing the beloveds traces in
the blowing wind, the falling
rain, the murmuring stream, the
humming forest, the dawning
morning and the darkening night,
the lover comes alive. Seeing the
beloveds beauty refected in
everything around him or her, the
lover becomes exuberant. Feeling
the beloveds breath in every
breeze, the lover becomes joyful.
Feeling the beloveds occasional
reproaches, the lover moans in
sorrow...
37
If we do not plant the seeds
of love in the hearts of young
people, whom we try to revive
through science, knowledge,
and modern culture, they will
never attain perfection and free
themselves completely from their
carnal desires...
Even if we have different feelings
and thoughts, we are all people
of this society. Even though we
may not have common grounds
on some matters, we all live in
this world and we are passengers
on the same ship. In this respect,
there are many common points
that can be discussed and shared
with people from every segment
of society.
People of Heart
People of heart are monuments
of humility and modesty who
are devoted to a spiritual life,
determined to stay away from
all the material and spiritual
dirt, always vigilant to corporeal
desires of the body, and ready
to struggle with such evils as
hatred, resentment, greed,
jealousy, selfshness and lust.
They always endeavour to give
what is right the highest esteem,
to convey to others what they
feel about this world, as well as
the next, and they are always
patient and cautious.
People of heart are too busy
fghting their selves and their
misdemeanours to be interested
in the misdeeds of others. In
contrast, they set an example
to others of what a good
person should be, leading
others to attain higher horizons.
They turn a blind eye to what
other people may do wrong.
Responding with a smile to those
who have displayed negative
attitudes, such people nullify
bad behaviour with kindness, not
thinking to hurt anybody, even
when they have been hurt over
and over again.
People of heart do not violate
the rights of any other people,
nor do they seek revenge. Even
in the most critical circumstances,
they tend to behave calmly,
and do whatever a person of
heart should do to the utmost.
[T]he Glen
movement has
defned the enemy as
attributes rather than
the objects. In other
words, bad attributes
such as selfshness,
ego-centrism, and
fraudulence that sustain
the triple enemies of
ignorance, poverty,
and disunity in Muslim
world specifcally, and
the world in general,
can only be solved
by the new human
attributes such as
love, saintliness, and
perceptive reasoning.
Mustafa Gurbuz, Performing
Moral Opposition: Musing on
the Strategy and Identity in
the Glen Movement
38
They always reply to evil acts
with kindness, and, considering
badness to be a characteristic
of evil, treating those who have
harmed them as monuments of
virtue.
People of heart never lose their
temper with anybody, nor are
they offended by those whose
hearts are attached to God.
When they see any of their
brothers or sisters-inreligion
doing wrong, they do not
abandon them. In order to avoid
embarrassment they do not
make any wrong-doing publicly
or personally known, either. On
the contrary, they blame and
question themselves for witnessing
any immoral act.
Tolerance
Be so tolerant that your heart
becomes wide like the ocean.
Become inspired with faith
and love for others. Offer a
hand to those in trouble, and
be concerned about everyone.
Applaud the good for their
goodness, appreciate those
who have believing hearts, and
be kind to believers. Approach
unbelievers so gently that their
envy and hatred melt away. Like
a Messiah, revive people with
your breath.
Remember that you travel
the best road and follow an
Exalted Guide, upon him be
peace. Be mindful that you
have his guidance through the
most perfect and expressive
revelation. Be fair-minded and
balanced in your judgment, for
many people do not enjoy these
blessings.
Return good for evil, and
disregard discourteous treatment.
An individuals character is
refected in his or her behavior.
Choose tolerance, and be
magnanimous toward the
illmannered.
The most distinctive feature of a
soul overfowing with faith is to
love all types of love that are
expressed in deeds, and to feel
enmity for all deeds in which
enmity is expressed. To hate
everything is a sign of insanity or
The story of how a soft
spoken Islamic scholar
without any explicitly
political organization
to support him has in
fact weathered this
storm and rebounded
to emerge politically
strengthened is a story
of how deeply he has
affected Muslims in
Turkey and perhaps
how representative of
religious sentiment he
has become.
Louis J. Cantori, Fethullah
Glen: Kemalist and Islamic
Republicanism and the Turkish
Democratic Future
39
of infatuation with Satan...
Take note of and be attentive to
any behavior that causes you to
love others. Then remind yourself
that behaving in the same way
will cause them to love you.
Always behave decently, and be
alert...
In sum: In order to preserve your
credit, honor, and love, love for
the sake of the Truth, hate for the
sake of the Truth, and be open-
hearted toward the Truth.
Humanity
When interacting with others
always regard whatever pleases
and displeases yourself as the
measure. Desire for others what
your own ego desires and do
not forget that whatever conduct
displeases you will displease
others. If you do this you will be
safe not only from misconduct
and bad behavior but also from
hurting others...
There is no limit to doing good
to others. Those who have
dedicated themselves to the
good of humanity can be so
altruistic that they will even
sacrifce their lives for others.
However such altruism is a great
virtue only if it originates in
sincerity and purity of intention
and if it does not defne the
others by racial preferences...
Those who regard even the
greatest good they have done
for others as insignifcant while
greatly appreciating even the
least favor done to themselves
are perfected ones who have
acquired the Divine standards
of behavior and found peace in
their conscience. Such individuals
never remind others of the good
they have done for them and
never complain when others
appear to be indifferent to them.
Personal Integrity
Those who want to reform
the world must frst reform
themselves. If they want to lead
others to a better world they
must purify their inner worlds of
hatred rancor and jealousy and
adorn their outer worlds with
[W]hat Glens
teaching offers, is
a contribution that
is devout, and looks
for the renewal of
Muslims through
deeper engagement
with the sources of
Islam. At the same
time, this Islamic depth
calls for deployment
of an appropriate
ijtihad that is directed
towards Islamically
faithful engagement
with the realities of the
current historical and
geographical and socio-
political contexts.
Paul Weller, Robustness and
Civility: Themes from Fethullah
Glen as Resource and Challenge
for Government, Muslims and
Civil Society in the United
Kingdom
40
virtue. The words of those who
cannot control and disci-pline
themselves and who have not
refned their feelings may seem
attractive and insightful at frst.
How-ever even if they somehow
manage to inspire others which
they sometimes do the sentiments
they arouse will soon wither.
If we cannot accept the criticism
of those we love and who love
us, we may lose our friends and
remain unaware of our defects.
Do not remember the promises
that others have failed to keep;
instead, remember your own
promises that you did not fulfll.
Do not blame others because
they are not doing good to you;
instead, remember the chances
you missed of doing good to
someone else.
Education
Right decisions depend on having
a sound mind and being capable
of sound thought. Science and
knowledge illuminate and
develop the mind. For this reason,
a mind deprived of science and
knowledge cannot reach right
decisions, is always exposed to
deception, and is subject to being
misled.
We are only truly human if we
learn, teach, and inspire others.
It is diffcult to regard those who
are ignorant and without desire
to learn as truly human. It is also
questionable whether learned
people who do not renew and
reform themselves in order to set
an example for others are truly
human. Status and merit acquired
through knowledge and science
are higher and more lasting than
those obtained through other
means.
Given the great importance of
learning and teaching, we must
determine what is to be learned
and taught, and when and how
to do so. Although knowledge is
a value in itself, the purpose of
learning is to make knowledge
a guide in life and illuminate the
road to human betterment. Thus,
any knowledge not appropriated
for the self is a burden to the
learner, and a science that does
not direct one toward sublime
goals is a deception.
Real Teachers
Real teachers sow the seed
and preserve it. They occupy
themselves with what is good
and wholesome, and lead and
guide the children in life and
whatever events they encounter...
In addition to setting a good
example, teachers should be
patient enough to obtain the
desired results. They should know
their students very well, and
address their hearts, spirits, and
feelings.
The best way to educate people
is to show a real concern for
every individual, not forgetting
that each individual is a different
world... Teachers should know
how to fnd a way to the students
heart and leave indelible
imprints.
From birth until death, the
teacher is a holy master who
gives shape to the world
throughout ones life. On earth,
there is no equal to him in
guiding his nation to their fate,
41
in refning their ethics and their
characteristics, and in infusing
his nation with the awareness of
eternity.
The infuence of the teacher
on the individual far exceeds
the one exerted by his parents
and by society. In fact, it is the
teacher who kneads the mother,
the father, and all members of
society. If he is not involved in the
kneading of any piece of dough,
it is left formless.
The teacher is a hand and a
tongue that God uses to exalt
or humiliate humanity. Yes, a
nomadic community that found its
instructor was sublimed as high
as angels and they all ascended
to the rank of being teachers for
humanity. With a good teacher,
Macedonia raised a great
conqueror and Anatolia reached
its prosperous era.
In a teachers hands, metals are
purifed and then turned into
solid gold and bright silver. In
this mystic hand, the crudest
and the most worthless things
become invaluable diamonds.
No factory can work as fast and
as systematic as the teacher
does. No one but the teacher
can convey the depth of the
emotional spectrum to those
around him and become a part
of their existence.
Hizmet for Glen, implies that a person
excessively devotes his life to humanity,
is interested in the others needs and
prefers their happiness rather than
his own needs. He assume that the
altruism the essential moral principle
that the educators must to have for the
humanity.
Erkan Togulu, Glens Theory of Arab and Ethical
Values of Glen Movement
By delinking Islam from the
accomplishment of traditional
practices and dressing styles, Glen
has transformed it into a kind of moral
essence that should push individuals to
act in a socially-oriented responsible
way.
Fabio Vicini, Glens Rethinking of Islamic Pattern and Its
Socio-Political Effects
42
Bringing Up the Young
Educators who have not been
apprenticed to a master and
have not received a sound
education are like blind people
trying to light the way of others
with lanterns.
A childs mischief and impudence
arises from the atmosphere in
which he or she has been raised.
A dysfunctional family life
increasingly is refected upon the
spirit of the child, and therefore
upon the society.
In schools, good manners should
be considered just as important
as other subjects. If they are not,
how can children grow up with
sound characters? Education is
different from teaching. Most
people can be teachers, but the
number of educators is severely
limited...
Our humanity is directly
proportional to the purity of our
emotions. Although those who are
full of bad feelings and whose
souls are infuenced by egoism
look like human beings, whether
they really are human is doubtful.
Almost everyone can train their
bodies, but few people can
educate their minds and feelings.
The former training produces
strong bodies, while the latter
produces spiritual people.
Freedom
True freedom is civilized
freedom. It wears the diamond
chain of religion and morals,
and the golden collar of sound
thinking.
True freedom is the freedom of
the human mind from all shackles
that hinder it from making
material and spiritual progress,
as long as we do not fall into
indifference and heedlessness.
Freedom allows people to do
whatever they want, provided
that they do not harm others and
that they remain wholly devoted
to the truth...
True freedom, the freedom of
moral responsibility, shows that
one is human, for it motivates
and enlivens the conscience and
removes impediments to the spirit.
While remaining
a theologically
conservative Muslim,
he believes deeply in the
value of reason, science
and technology. He has
engaged intellectually
with Western thinkers
and he has personally
shared his desire for
inter-religious harmony
with leaders of other
faiths.
Bruce Eldridge, The Place of
the Glen Movement in the
Intellectual History of Islam,
Particularly in Relation to
Islams Confrontation with
Postmodernism
43
Freedom of Thought
Efforts to suppress ideas via
pressure or brute force have
never been truly successful.
History shows that no idea was
ever removed by suppressing it.
Many great empires and states
were destroyed, but an idea or
thought whose essence is sound
continues to survive.
Democracy
Democracy has developed over
time. Just as it has gone through
many different stages in the
past, it will continue to evolve
and improve in the future. Along
the way, it will be shaped into
a more humane and just system,
one based on righteousness and
reality.
If human beings are considered
as a whole, without disregarding
the spiritual dimension of their
existence and their spiritual
needs, and without forgetting
that human life is not limited
to this mortal life and that all
people have a great craving for
eternity, democracy could reach
the peak of perfection and bring
even more happiness to humanity.
Islamic principles of equality,
tolerance, and justice can help it
do just this...
Democracy is undergoing a
process of development. Its a
process of no return that must
develop and mature. I dont
know how true Darwins theory of
evolution is, but we undoubtedly
experience an evolution of
thought in our spirit.
As a result, democracy will one
day attain a very high level.
But we have to wait for times
interpretation.
Art
Art is the spirit of progress and
one of the most important means
of developing emotions. Those
who cannot make use of this
means are unfortunate indeed,
and live a numbed, diminished
life...
It is art which manifests and
defnes the power and deepest
potentials of the human psyche
[H]e sees Islam as
more of an open than
a closed system. Islam
encompasses wide
varieties of people and
beliefs, it is not seen as
something narrowly
confned to just a few
specifc forms of belief
and action. Oliver
Leaman
Oliver Leaman, Towards an
Understanding of Glens
Methodology
44
and soul. It is by means of art
that the most profound emotions
and thoughts, the most striking
observations and discoveries, and
the most heart-felt desires have
been preserved as if recorded
on a tape and gained eternity...
Art makes iron more valuable
than gold and copper more
valuable than bronze. Thanks to
art, the most worthless metals
become more valuable than gold,
silver, and diamonds.
Environment and Nature
Nature is, in its particulars and as
a whole, an exhibition of Divine
miracles. However, rather than
call it an exhibition, we prefer
to call it a book. This book or
exhibition was once much more
dazzling; like a magnifcent
vessel sailing in the ocean of
love and ecstasy or a chandelier
with one thousand and one
light, it was beautiful beyond
imagination.
With its emerald hills and slopes
and exhilarating valleys and
plains, with its forests inhabited
by thousands of kinds of cheerful
animals and paradise-like
gardens, felds and orchards and
with its singing birds and merry-
making insects, this book was
the realm neighbouring the other
world, Divine mercy poured onto
it in the form of rain to make the
earth more fertile and, in return,
hands were held open towards it
in profound gratitude.
What a pity it is that this
magnifcent book, this charming
exhibition, which the infnitely
Merciful One has created and
presented to man to observe
and study and to be exhilarated
by, is no longer given any more
care than is given to a heap of
junk or rubbish. Worse than that,
it is more and more becoming a
wasteland and like a dunghill.
Today, air, that magnifcent
conductor of Divine commands,
is a suffocating smoke and a
perilous whirlpool. Water, that
source of life and other Divine
bounties, is either a hazardous
food or forms desolate expanses
of pitch. And earth, that treasure
of Divine grace and munifcence,
45
is a wilderness no longer
productive and a ruin without any
ecological balance.
Like everything else entrusted to
us, we have deplorably treated
this book, this magnifcent
exhibition, which is an
embodiment of Divine grace and
mercy.
How deplorably and awkwardly
we have treated plains and
residential places, which we
have changed into deserts and
heaps of ruin. How deplorably
and gracelessly we have treated
seas and rivers, which we have
polluted.
Again, how deplorably and
awkwardly we have treated air
and water, and felds, forests,
and gardens, which we have
made unfavourable to any
life. Truly, by changing this
Paradise-like world to a hell, how
deplorably and awkwardly we
have treated ourselves!
Unless we improve this world,
whose order we have destroyed
and which we have polluted,
and restore it to its essential
beauty and magnifcence, it will
inevitably collapse on us in heaps
of wreckage.
Glens faith may be compared to a
glass of water, without color, without
odor, without taste, yet when held up to
the light of day it is a prism that refects
and captures all the beauty, mystery, and
wonder in the universe
Richard Penaskovic, M Fethullah Glens Response
to the Clash of Civilizations Thesis
A central concept Glen extrapolates
from tradition is hizmet, which generally
refers to religious service. According to
his socially-oriented idea of Islam he
has extended this concept to every act of
serving the beneft of others.
Fabio Vicini, Glens Rethinking of Islamic Pattern
and Its Socio-Political Effects
46
Fethullah Glen and the
Glen Schools
Prof Thomas Michel, SJ 18
February 2003 (abbreviated)
... Rather than having studied
the writings of Fethullah Glen
on education and pedagogy
and then tried to see, in what
might be called a deductive
approach, how he has put these
principles into practice, I have
instead come to know frst the
educational institutions conducted
by participants of the movement
led by Mr Glen. This has led
me in turn to study his writings
to discover the rationale that
lies behind the tremendous
educational venture that has
ensued from the educational
vision of Fethullah Glen and his
colleagues.
At the outset, it is necessary to
be precise about the relationship
of Mr Glen to the schools that
are often loosely called Glen
schools, or schools of the
Glen movement. Mr Glen
describes himself primarily as
an educator and is generally
Glen and Education
47
referred to by members of his
movement as Khoja Effendi, a
title of respect given to religious
teachers in Turkey. However, he
is careful to distinguish between
education and teaching. Most
human beings can be teachers,
he states, but the number of
educators is severely limited.
He has also tried to make clear
that he has no schools of his own.
Im tired of saying that I dont
have any schools, he affrms
with a bit of exasperation... The
schools have been established
by individual agreements
between the countries in which
they are located and the
educational companies founded
for this purpose. Each school is an
independently run institution, but
most of the schools rely on the
services of Turkish companies to
provide educational supplies and
human resources...
Operating independently, but
maintaining links of coordination
and training, the schools could
be called a loose federation of
institutions that share a common
pedagogic vision, similar
curriculum, and human and
material resources.
My Personal Encounter with
Glen Schools
My frst encounter with one of
these schools dates back to
1995, in Zamboanga, on the
southern Philippine island of
Mindanao, when I learned that
there was a Turkish school
several miles outside the city. On
approaching the school, the frst
thing that caught my attention
was the large sign at the
entrance to the property bearing
the name: The Philippine-
Turkish School of Tolerance.
This is a startling affrmation
in Zamboanga, a city almost
equally 50% Christian and 50%
Muslim, located in a region where
for over 20 years various Moro
separatist movements have been
locked in an armed struggle
against the military forces of the
government of the Philippines.
I was well-received by the
Turkish director and staff of
the school, where over 1000
students study and live in
Due to the spread and
popularity of Glen
schools, the movement
has become more than
just a faith-based
movement battling
localized issues. It
has instead become a
world-wide educational
movement that seeks to
build a more peaceful
world through dialogue
and cooperation.
Michael David Graskemper, A
Bridge to Inter-Religious Co-
operation: the GlenJesuit
Educational Nexus
48
dormitories. As I learned from the Turkish staff and
their Filipino colleagues, both Muslim and Christian,
the affrmation of their school as an institution
dedicated towards formation in tolerance was no
empty boast. In a region where kidnaping is a
frequent occurrence, along with guerrilla warfare,
summary raids, arrests, disappearances, and killings
by military and para-military forces, the school
is offering Muslim and Christian Filipino children,
along with an educational standard of high
quality, a more positive way of living and relating
to each other. My Jesuit colleagues and the lay
professors at the Ateneo de Zamboanga confrm
that from its beginning, the Philippine-Turkish
School has maintained a deep level of contact and
cooperation with Christian institutions of the region.
Since that time I have had occasion to visit
other schools of the Glen movement and
discuss educational policy with the teaching and
administrative staff. In Turkey, I have visited
several institutions in the Istanbul area and in the
city of Urfa. In Kyrghyzstan, I had the opportunity
to examine at length about half the twelve
Sebat schools, including the new Ataturk Alatoo
University, all inspired and founded by the Glen
movement. I can state without qualifcation that I
fnd these schools to be one of the most dynamic
and worthwhile educational enterprises that I have
While the schools of the Glen movement
are not relying on any confessional
instruction, they are instead seeking
to transport and expound ethical
Islamic values like honesty, hard work,
generosity and the like.
Philipp Bruckmayr, Phnom Penhs Fethullah Glen School
as an Alternative to Prevalent Forms of Education for
Cambodias Muslim Minority
Not only in Turkic speaking regions, but
also as far as Mongolia and Southeast
Asia, the so-called Turkish schools
have succeeded in creating sustainable
systems of private schools that offer
quality education to ethnically and
religiously diverse populations.
Victoria Clement, Turkmenistans New Challenges:
Can Stability Co-exist with Reform? A Study of Glen
Schools in Central Asia, 19972007
49
encountered in the world today.
These encounters led me to study
the writings of Fethullah Glen
to ascertain the educational
principles and motivation which
undergird the schools and to try
to fnd Glens own techniques
that have made him into an
educator capable of inspiring
others with his vision. These are
the questions that will occupy
the remainder of my paper. I
will concentrate mainly on the
Glen schools as the central
expression of his educational
policies, and must pass over in
silence the educational aspects
of other ventures which he has
promoted, such as the Samanyolu
television network, the Zaman
newspaper and other publishing
projects, the scholarship program
for needy students, and the
efforts of the Writers and
Journalists Foundation to promote
interreligious dialogue and
understanding.
The Educational Vision of
Fethullah Glen
Glens educational starting
point would seem to be what
he sees as a fundamental crisis
in Turkish society. Analyzing the
factors that have contributed to
bring about this societal crisis, he
concludes that an element which
cannot be dismissed is the lack of
coordination among the various
types and systems of education.
He regards the development of
education in Turkey throughout
the 20th Century as an unhealthy
competition among mutually
exclusive systems of education,
which has produced graduates
who lack an integrated
perspective towards the future
and perpetuate the existing
divisions in society. He states:
At a time when modern schools
concentrated on ideological
dogmas, institutions of religious
education (madrassas) broke
with life, institutions of spiritual
training (takyas) were immersed
in sheer metaphysics, and the
army restricted itself to sheer
force, this coordination was
essentially not possible.
Modern secular schools, he
holds, have been unable to free
themselves of the prejudices
and conventions of modernist
ideology, while the madrassas
have shown little interest or
capability to meet the challenges
of technology and scientifc
thought. The madrassas lack the
fexibility, vision, and ability to
break with past, enact change,
and offer the type of educational
formation that is needed today.
The Suf-oriented takyas, which
traditionally had fostered the
development of spiritual values,
have lost their dynamism and, as
Glen puts it, console themselves
with virtues and wonders of the
saints who had lived in previous
centuries. The educational
training offered by the military,
which had in previous times been
the representative of religious
energy and activity and a
symbol of national identity, has
devolved into an espousal of
attitudes of self-assertion and
self-preservation.
The challenge today is to fnd a
way in which these traditional
pedagogical systems can
move beyond regarding each
50
other as rivals or enemies so
that they can learn from one
another. By integrating the
insights and strengths found in
the various educational currents,
educators must seek to bring
about a marriage of mind
and heart if they hope to form
individuals of thought, action,
and inspiration. An integration
of the interior wisdom which is
the cumulative heritage built
up over the centuries with the
scientifc tools essential for the
continued progress of the nation
would enable students to move
beyond the societal pressures of
their environment and provide
them with both internal stability
and direction for their actions.
He states: Until we help them
through education, the young will
be captives of their environment.
They wander aimlessly, intensely
moved by their passions, but far
from knowledge and reason.
They can become truly valiant
young representatives of national
thought and feeling, provided
their education integrates them
with their past, and prepares
them intelligently for the future.
Despite the necessity of
modernization, he holds, there
are nevertheless risks involved in
any radical break with the past.
Cut off from traditional values,
young people are in danger of
being educated with no values
at all beyond those of material
success. Non-material values such
as profundity of ideas, clarity
of thought, depth of feeling,
cultural appreciation, or interest
in spirituality tend to be ignored
in modern educational ventures
which are largely aimed at
mass-producing functionaries of a
globalized market system.
Such students might be
adequately prepared to fnd
jobs, but they will not have the
necessary interior formation to
achieve true human freedom.
Leaders in both economic and
political felds often favor and
promote job-oriented, value-
free education because it
enables those with power to
control the trained but not
educated working cadres more
easily... The road to social justice
The Glen school
provides an alternative
both to the Muslim
private school and the
general private school.
Unlike the latter, it
gives more attention
to moral values, and
unlike the former, it
is open to all learners
irrespective of religious
persuasion. It provides
a service to society in
the transmission of
knowledge to humanity,
and in cultivating
moral values such
as responsibility,
tolerance, respect,
reliability and
compassion.
Yasien Mohammed, The
Education Theory of Fethullah
Glen and its Practice in South
Africa
51
is paved with adequate, universal
education, for only this will give
people suffcient understanding
and tolerance to respect the
rights of others.
Thus, in Glens view, it is not
only the establishment of justice
which is hindered by the lack of
well-rounded education, but also
the recognition of human rights
and attitudes of acceptance
and tolerance toward others. If
people are properly educated
to think for themselves and to
espouse the positive values of
social justice, human rights and
tolerance, they will be able to be
agents of change to implement
these benefcial goals.
The crisis in modern societies
arises from decades of schooling
having produced generations
with no ideals. It is human ideals,
aims, goals, and vision which
are the source of movement,
action, and creativity in society.
People whose education has
been limited to the acquisition of
marketable skills are no longer
able to produce the dynamism
needed to inspire and carry out
societal change. The result is
social atrophy, decadence, and
narcissism. He states: When
[people] are left with no ideals
or aims, they become reduced
to the condition of animated
corpses, showing no signs of
distinctively human life... Just
as an inactive organ becomes
atrophied, and a tool which is not
in use becomes rusty, so aimless
generations will eventually waste
away because they lack ideals
and aims.
The societal crisis is intensifed
by the fact that, in his judgment,
the teachers and intelligentsia,
who should be the guides
and movers of society, have
allowed themselves to become
perpetuators of a restrictive
and non-integrated approach
to education. Rather than raising
their voices in protest against
the elimination of humane
values from the educational
system and campaigning for
a pedagogy that integrates
scientifc preparation with
non-material values studied in
the disciplines of logic, ethics,
Students are offered
a narrative of the
past as a foundation
on which to build an
understanding of the
modern world and
their individual roles in
making it more peaceful
and just. Furthermore,
students in Glen and
Jesuit schools are
educated holistically in
the sciences as well as
ethics and social justice;
a marriage of mind and
heart, as Glen says.
Michael David Graskemper, A
Bridge to Inter-Religious Co-
operation: the GlenJesuit
Educational Nexus
52
culture, and spirituality, the
educators themselves too often
readily adapted to the new low
standard. He fnds it diffcult
to understand how intellectuals
could prefer the spiritually
impoverished and technologically
obsessed modern culture to a
traditional cultural foundation
that had grown in sophistication
and subtlety over the centuries.
It follows that if educational
reform is to be accomplished,
teacher training is a task that
cannot be ignored. Glen notes
that education is different from
teaching. Most human beings can
be teachers, but the number of
educators is severely limited.
The difference between the two
lies in that both teachers and
educators impart information and
teach skills, but the educator is
one who has the ability to assist
the students personalities to
emerge, who fosters thought and
refection, who builds character
and enables the student to
interiorize qualities of self-
discipline, tolerance, and a sense
of mission. He describes those
who simply teach in order to
receive a salary, with no interest
in the character formation of the
students as the blind leading the
blind.
The lack of coordination or
integration among competing and
mutually antagonistic educational
systems gave rise to what Glen
calls a bitter struggle that
should never have taken place:
science versus religion. This false
dichotomy, which during the
19-20th Centuries exercised the
energies of scholars, politicians,
and religious leaders on both
sides of the debate, resulted
in a bifurcation of educational
philosophies and methods.
Modern secular educators saw
religion as at best a useless
expense of time and at worst
an obstacle to progress. Among
religious scholars, the debate led
to a rejection of modernity and
religion as a political ideology
rather than a religion in its true
sense and function. He feels that
through an educational process
in which religious scholars have
a sound formation in the sciences
53
and scientists are exposed to
religious and spiritual values, that
the long religion-science confict
will come to an end, or at least its
absurdity will be acknowledged.
For this to come about, he asserts
that a new style of education
is necessary, one that will fuse
religious and scientifc knowledge
together with morality and
spirituality, to produce genuinely
enlightened people with hearts
illumined by religious sciences
and spirituality, minds illuminated
with positive sciences, people
dedicated to living according
to humane qualities and moral
values, who are also cognizant
of the socio-economic and
political conditions of their time...
His main interest in education
is the future. He wants to form
reformers, that is, those who,
fortifed with a value system
that takes into account both
the physical and non-materials
aspects of humankind, can
conceive and bring about the
needed changes in society.
Well-rounded education, by its
very nature, must thus involve
a personal transformation in
the student. Students must be
accompanied and encouraged
to move out of restrictive,
particularistic ways of thinking
and to interiorize attitudes of
self-control, self-discipline which
will enable them to make a
lasting contribution to society.
He states: Those who want to
reform the world must frst reform
themselves. In order to bring
others to the path of traveling to
a better world, they must purify
their inner worlds of hatred,
rancor, and jealousy, and adorn
their outer world with all kinds
of virtues. Those who are far
removed from self-control and
self-discipline, who have failed
to refne their feelings, may seem
attractive and insightful at frst.
However, they will not be able to
inspire others in any permanent
way and the sentiments they
arouse will soon disappear.
... Glen states this vision
succinctly: A person is truly
human who learns and teaches
and inspires others. It is diffcult to
regard as fully human someone
54
who is ignorant and has no desire
to learn. It is also questionable
whether a learned person who
does not renew and reform
oneself so as to set an example
for others is fully human. Into
this humanistic vision ft the study
of science, humanities, character
development, and spirituality
understood, as mentioned above,
in the broad sense. It is thus not
surprising that students of these
schools have consistently scored
high in university placement
tests and produced champions
in the International Knowledge
Olympics in felds such as maths,
physics, chemistry, and biology.
It is the concern for human
formation, however, that
distinguishes these schools from
the thousands of other prep
schools around the world. Glen
understands the school as a
laboratory where students not
only acquire information and
skills, but where they can begin
to ask questions about life, seek
to understand the meaning of
things, to begin to refect on the
particular contribution to life that
they would like to make, and to
understand life in this world in
relation to the next.
In some of his writings on
education, he even speaks of
the school in quasi-religious
terms, as a holy place where
sacred activities take place.
He states: The school...can
shed light on vital ideas and
events and enable its students
to understand their natural and
human environment. It can also
quickly open the way to unveiling
the meaning of things and events,
which leads one to wholeness of
thought and contemplation.
55
The Educational
Philosophy of Fethullah
Glen
By Yasien Mohamed 27 October
2007 (abbreviated)
Glen emphasized character
building as an integral part of his
educational philosophy, and his
concept of character is based on
a classical humanist conception of
the soul...
Education: Morality and
Industry
[To Glen], teachers should have
an integrated perspective so
that they are able to nurture
the heart and mind of learners
in a balanced way. The idea
is not to make a radical break
with the traditional past, for this
will lead to modernity without
morality. It is not enough to have
material success for the global
market, but also non-material
values such as clarity of thought
and moral character. The school
should not produce people who
are greedy, but people who are
generous. There is nothing wrong
with a salary, but the main motive
should service to humanity.
In Western countries such as the
USA, the focus of the curriculum
has been to prepare students
for a career that will make them
money, but not to prepare them
to be religious or moral. Wealth
accumulation for its own sake is
wrong.
Knowledge should not be guided
by utilitarian aims, but should
nurture character. School should
not be a place where moral
values are taught in a certain
period in the week; but they
should be part of the school
ethos, and teachers should
transfuse them to their students.
Glen asserts throughout
his writings that knowledge
should be combined with love.
Knowledge is the province of the
sciences and provides students
with the intellectual abilities to
beneft others; but it will only
beneft humanity if it is combined
with love, which is a persons
most essential element. By love,
56
he means self-sacrifcing love
that initiates action by absolute
obedience to God, and out of
concern for others, rather than for
utilitarian gain. This love entails
abnegation and the conviction
to transform life on earth.
Such a love is the foundation
of pedagogy. Consequently,
not all teachers are educators.
Glen asserts, Education is
different from teaching. Most
people can teach, but only a
very few can educate. Teaching
merely conveys information,
but educating includes
giving knowledge and moral
guidance. True teachers are
preoccupied with what is good
and wholesome. Teaching is a
sacred activity that brings
about positive change. Teachers
transmit knowledge with wisdom,
and moral guidance with
personal example. The goal is to
produce a Golden Generation
that integrates spirituality and
knowledge, heart and mind...
Focus should be on temsil
(example), not tebligh
(preaching). Preaching
alienates, not attracts people.
Representation, not presentation,
attracts people. Teachers should
embody universal values, know
their learners well, and appeal
to their heads and their hearts.
A Kyrgyz student said that
he prefers the school as it
develops his morality and a
positive attitude to religion.
Turkish teachers want to serve
Turkmenistan or other Central
Asian states; they identify
with, and adapt easily to the
common language and culture
57
of the learners. Parents support
the school because of the
high academic standard, and
dedication of the teachers who
share a common culture with
them.
Teachers should refne their own
minds and hearts so that they
can help students acquire a
penetrating vision into the reality
of things. Knowledge should lead
the learner to an appreciation of
the creation, and through this, an
appreciation of God.
These schools have been
established on the model of
Anatolian High Schools, with
superior technical equipment and
laboratories. Lessons are given
within the curriculum prepared
by the Ministry of Education of
respective countries. Religious
subjects are not even taught.
Activities take place within the
framework of each countrys
current laws and educational
philosophy. For example, in
Uzbekistan, after students
learn Turkish and English in the
preparatory class, they study
science in English from Turkish
teachers and social subjects in
Uzbek from Uzbek teachers.
Giving religious knowledge or
religious education is not the
goal.
For Glen, a teachers work is
holy; he is blessed, albeit that he
is teaching secular subjects. The
world is sacred; even a school
where so-called secular subjects
are taught. The teacher per-
forms one of the highest duties
in Islam, hizmet, which implies
both religious and humanitarian
service. This service for others
is also benefcial for life after
death...
Teachers are inspired by Glens
educational theory, but there
is no organic link with him
as the schools are managed
autonomously. Naturally, there
is a degree of consultation with
Turkish educators at the national
level, but this is intended to help
improve administrative effciency
and academic excellence...
Work is a religious duty or
service (hizmet) as one is
providing for ones family and
giving charity to the community.
It is called hizmet, service, to
humanity and to God, is the
one who grants the craft one
is suited to. The school benefts
from this work-ethic in two ways.
The merchants help the school
from outside, and the teachers
from the inside. The dedicated
teachers perceive their profession
as a duty to God.
Teachers who transmit
knowledge, even to non-Muslims,
are serving Islam as they beneft
humanity. Pupils can learn from
Turkish teachers how to employ
knowledge in a correct and
benefcial way. Parents trust the
teachers as pious Muslims who
teach their children knowledge
in a manner that is not perceived
as contrary to Islam. Parents are
happy with the school because
they have a good reputation
regarding both their technical
skills and their moral qualities.
The parents appreciate teachers
who neither smoke nor drink, and
are willing to make sacrifces for
the sake of others.
58
Fethullah Glen: A
Vision of Transcendent
Education
By Prof Charles Nelson 12
November 2005 (abbreviated)
... As we turn from education in
the US to the education vision of
Fethullah Glen, we see parallels.
[Like his American counterparts],
Glen sees failure in institutions
of education as a result of
veering from human values
and ethics to those of material
success, producing generations
devoid of any ideal. Scientists,
for example, have been taught
to fnd new ways to dominate
nature and other human beings,
and not taking responsibility for
the consequences of their work,
they have created major global
problems, such as environmental
pollution. On a local scale,
corruption and greed appear to
be widespread. Only until the
material and spiritual realms are
reconciled in the upbringing of
young generations will harmony
and understanding become
prevalent.
Fethullah Glen,
whose movement is
a paradigm of these
new approaches, could
be considered a far-
sighted visionary since
he anticipated the need
for Turkish people,
whether secular or
Islamist, to adapt to
the present times, and
the strong potential of
globalisation to diffuse
his vision of Islam.
Marie-Elisabeth Maigre,
The Infuence of the Glen
Movement in the Emergence of
a Turkish Cultural Third Way
59
That reconciliation, Glen asserts
throughout his writings, requires
knowledge and love. Knowledge
is the province of the sciences
and provides students with the
intellectual abilities to beneft
others. Alone, however, the
sciences are insuffcient in leading
people to beneft others. Love is
needed.
For Glen, Love is a persons
most essential element. By love,
Glen means self-sacrifcing love
that initiates action by absolute
obedience to God and out of
concern for others rather than
individual reward or utilitarian
calculations for ones happiness
... This love entails self-sacrifce,
abnegation, and the personal
conviction to transform life
on earth. Such a love is the
foundation of pedagogy.
Consequently, not all teachers
are educators. Concurring with
Russell and Huebner, Fethullah
Glen asserts, Education is
different from teaching. Most
people can teach, but only a
very few can educate. Teaching,
in other words, is merely the
conveying of knowledge.
Educating includes giving
knowledge but also imparts
sacrifcial love and moral
guidance:
True teachers sow the pure seed
and preserve it. They occupy
themselves with what is good
and wholesome, and lead and
guide the children through life
and whatever events they may
encounter.
Thus, teaching is a sacred
activity, and helping students
to develop the capacity to
bring about positive change
is a teachers foremost duty.
Teachers are responsible for
providing knowledge with
the wisdom to use it and for
providing moral guidance-not
by preaching values, but by
embodying spirituality and love.
The end of Glens educational
vision is to raise a Golden
Generation, a generation
of ideal universal individuals,
individuals who love truth,
who integrate spirituality and
knowledge, who work to beneft
society. Such a person is zul-
cenaheyn one who possesses
two wings, exhibiting a
marriage of mind and heart,
a merging of universal ethical
values with science and modern
knowledge that produces
genuinely enlightened people
who, motivated by love, take
action to serve others.
Glen-Inspired Schools
... The schools... excel in the
moral character of their staff
and teachers. For instance, the
Philippine-Turkish School of
Tolerance is in a city where half
of the population is Christian
and the other half is Muslim.
According to Michel, the school
provides more than a thousand
students more positive ways to
interact than the violent example
set by military and paramilitary
forces. He states that the school
lives up to its name, providing
a bastion of tolerance in an
otherwise religiously polarized
area of the Philippines, and that
it has excellent relations with
Christian institutions in the region.
60
Another example is the Glen
schools in Albania. Because
Albania formed its national
identity in opposition to the
Ottoman Empire, it does not
want Turkish nationalism or
Islam promoted in its schools.
Nevertheless, the schools have
gained the approval of the
public and the government due to
their quality education, focus on
science, and universal values.
Interviewing women teachers
at several of these schools,
zdalga found that they shared
certain values: love (universal
love, encompassing the whole of
humanity), pietism, humility, self-
criticism, societal (not political)
activism, and professionalism
(teaching). Another value
held by these teachers was
that of avoiding confict
and maintaining peaceful
relationships. These values
naturally lead to the movements
tolerance and understanding for
other traditions and religions, so
that rather than lecturing on their
values or teaching specifcally
about Islam, they communicate
their values by being a good
example through ones deeds.
Transforming Character
In both academic and spiritual
matters, Glen asserts, a school
must be as perfect as possible.
Glen schools excel in academics
because the instructors strive for
perfection not only in having
a command of their subject
matter but also in (1) loving and
caring for their students and (2)
developing their own character
as much as, if not more than, their
students character. To transform
others character, one must frst
transform ones own, and being
a good example is a crucial
component in the transformation
process.
Yet, a school should not depend
solely upon setting a good
example for developing
character in students. Character
development does not differ from
other learning. Whether from
a cognitivist, sociocultural, or a
social constructivist perspective,
learning is considered to be a
process of actively constructing

Y
61
knowledge and enacting
practices. Although much
learning, probably most, begins
with observation, generally
speaking, observation must be
followed by action to construct
learning...
[Glen adherents] act upon
what they know, internalizing
their knowledge in their deeds,
as evidenced by businessmen
who found and support the
schools and by teachers leaving
Turkey for other countries at
considerable sacrifce.
The Glen communitys activity
embodies the teachings of
Fethullah Glen on learning and
transforming character, teachings
that stress the need for action
governed by refection and
intention.
Action, according to Glen,
should be the most indispensable
element or feature of our lives.
For Glen, taking action means to
be constantly striving to realize
ones goals for the service of
others, and it is essential for
keeping ones identity free from
the infuence of others.
Action needs to be guided by
refection. Fethullah Glen asserts
that people need to review and
re-evaluate the established views
of man, life and the universe.
Through refection, people
can establish clear objectives;
in fact, they need to do so if
they do not want to become
lost in the food of thoughts. If
even founders and directors
of institutions should frequently
remind themselves of why the
institutions were established, so
that their work does not stray
from its objective, but remains
fruitful, how much more so for
students in transforming their
character!
Refection prepares the way
for intention, concerning which
Glen states, Sound minds
and character develop from
pure thoughts and intentions.
Actually, intention is one of the
supreme principles of religious
life in Islam. Its importance is
underscored by being the topic
of the frst hadith in Bukharis
collection: The reward of
Glen sees the
individual human
being at the centre of
every major problem
of humanity as well as
its solution. Lasting
solutions to social
problems such as lack
of education, poverty
and division cannot
be achieved without
paying enough attention
to the individual human.
For this reason, the
underlying dynamics
of Glens approach
are education, mutual
understanding, respect,
opportunity and hope.
Y Alp Aslandogan and Bekir
Cinar, A Sunni Muslim Scholars
Humanitarian and Religious
Rejection of Violence Against
Civilians
62
deeds depends on the intentions
and every person will get the
reward according to what he
has intended. In other words,
intention determines the nature
of a particular action. Even in
secular legal systems, intention
separates between, for example,
premeditated murder and
manslaughter. In Islam, if a
religious duty is performed
without a specifc intention to
do so, [it is] unacceptable to
God. Along these lines, simply
behaving morally is not enough;
one must intend to do so.
The link between intention and
action is an important one.
Juarrero posits that actions
are behavioral trajectories
constrained top-down by
an intention. Behavior-the
enactment of meaning, moral
values, and beliefs-results from
a self-organizing process of a
persons history of reciprocal
interactions with his/her
environment, a process in which
interdependencies between
intentions and actions, individual
and society, are entrained. If
intentions are not regulated
and are not followed by action,
people will follow the thoughts,
intentions and actions of others.
In other words, people conform
to their social environment unless
they intentionally will to do
otherwise.
In the U.S., students environment
includes, along with their school
and family, competing examples
of corporate greed, political
scandals, and wide-spread (often
successful) cheating. Economic,
social, and peer pressures can
easily undermine the effect of
moral exemplars. In addition,
just as students prior experience
can distort their understanding
of moral texts, so, too, can
environmental infuences shape
their interpretation of moral
models. Consequently, students
need an education in not only
subject knowledge but also moral
refection and intentional action.
Along these lines, Fethullah Glen
writes, Although knowledge is
a value in itself, the purpose of
learning is to make knowledge a
guide in life and to illuminate the
road to human perfection.
To make knowledge a guide,
students must develop their
ability to reason morally. In fact,
one fnding in research is that in
an environment of open dialogue,
students can develop their
ability to reason through moral
dilemmas that expose children
to contradictions between their
moral structures and more
developed ones.
In addition to studying moral
dilemmas to develop their
reasoning skills, students can
study and discuss stories. Stories
are not new. Homers epics, the
Iliad and Odyssey, were used for
teaching heritage and values...
Conclusion
... [W]e see that [Glen
adherents] engage in self-
determined, intentional action
guided by a love for humanity.
Similarly, we should expect that
in the development of character,
students, too, must initiate action
to integrate into their own
identity moral reasoning and the
love embodied in their teachers.
63
Moral action embedded in a
community of moral people
who love humanity is a crucial
ingredient in producing a
Golden Generation.
More consideration needs
to be given to methods for
incorporating moral reasoning,
intentional action, and self-
determination into schools,
keeping in mind the following:
1. Moral reasoning, refection,
and judgment are
necessary to guide intention
appropriately, and
conversely, action is crucial
to entraining intentions.
2. Integrating moral principles
into ones character
requires intentional actions
that are self-determined in
an environment of love.
64
Traditional Education and
Leadership in Modern
Education: Some Answers
from Glen on Education
in Various Interviews
As one raised in traditional
educational institutions, how did
you become a pioneer in modern
educational institutions inside and
outside of Turkey?
First let me clarify it that Im not
a pioneer in anything... What I
have done is only to encourage
people. I believe that the
cooperation between Turkey and
Central Asia will be benefcial
to both parties and also will
contribute to regional and global
peace. People from diverse
walks of life have responded to
my call. They really believed.
I believed once more in the
precious quality of a nations
spirit.
Now, your question: [Traditional
vs modern education dichotomy]
began in very early periods at
the Nizamiye madrassas. For
this reason, some researchers
blame Ghazali, who struggled
against Peripatetic philosophy.
However, at that time philosophy
and experimental sciences were
studied together. His stance
against philosophy affected
the sciences, as well as those
based on rationalism and their
methods of thought. Ghazali
openly stated that he was not
criticizing the scientifc fndings
of the philosophers he opposed,
and that these were not harmful
to religion.
However, his struggle against this
type of theoretical knowledge
caused certain damage in the
Islamic world during that time,
because it was misunderstood
as a stance against the positive
sciences as well as philosophy.
Those who opposed the positive
sciences, who had made
themselves known from time
to time, began to make their
presence felt more acutely.
For example, in the Ottoman
period the Qadizade group
dismissed positive sciences from
the madrassa curriculum... And in
a certain period, the madrassa
65
closed its ears to such Quranic
expressions. Although God
says in the Quran: Our signs
and proofs will be shown to
them externally and internally,
research and investigation of
things and events were not done
thoroughly. In Bediuzzamans
approach, the universe and truths
of creation pointing to God, His
existence and Unity, and other
tenets of faith should be studied
as much as the Quran. Scholars
forgot (or ignored) that the
Quran comprises the basis of
physics, chemistry, mathematics,
and astrophysics, and that half
of a believers responsibility is to
study natural phenomena like a
book.
The spirit of the madrassa
education and the spirit of the
modern education can come
together. They can make a
new marriage, and the minds
radiance and the hearts light can
be reunited. With their union and
integration, the students zeal will
take wing and fy.
Did the madrassa throw out only
the positive sciences?
No, at the same time it threw
out Sufsm, which we can call
Islams spiritual life. It restricted
itself to religious sciences, and so
everything stagnated. Objects
and events were evaluated from
a narrow perspective of the
universe.
What is your opinion of Islamic
thought today?
There are several great
catastrophes in this area. One
is closing the Islamic education
institutions to the positive
sciences. This was true for the
madrassas, partially for the
religious secondary schools,
and completely for the divinity
faculties. They also are closed to
Islams spiritual life. The unifying
spirit of Islam has disintegrated.
Some were contented with telling
the lives, especially miracles of
past saints in the name of Sufsm;
others regarded a superfcial
study of religious sciences as
the acquisition of the whole of
Islam; and a third group, based
on scientifc materialism, rejected
Islam in all its aspects.
His assessment of the
Turkish and Ottoman
experience of Islam is
that religion should not
become a dogma, but
can be adaptive, open,
fexible, rational, and
tolerant, and not closed
and shielded from other
faiths, other ideas, and
from scientifc and
technological progress.
William Park, The Fethullah
Glen Movement as a
Transnational Phenomenon
66
But what do you think about the
fact that those who open schools
are all people close to your
views?
Turkish entrepreneurs from almost
all walks of life pioneered in
schools, colleges, and universities.
I only gave advice to these
charitable businessmen. To those
who said: Were going to
build a mosque in our country, I
replied: Id like to see a school
beside it. In fact, for most
instances I recommended building
a school instead of a mosque.
I talk with everyone. I am sorry
to say that the government
doesnt have a special policy
on this issue. I met with some
fellow citizens regarding this
matter. Thus an opportunity was
born to end this nightmare. It
was understood that private
schools are very benefcial. As a
result of encouragement, some
people who came to perceive
the importance of quality began
opening private schools. But
some thought that they were my
followers or sharing my opinions
on all subjects.
Educational Rush to Asia
We hope that our understanding
of Islam and Turkish culture
will provide for the conditions
for a mutual, vital dialogue
in the world. I think were
at a critical point of history.
Actually, the expected friendship
has developed to a large
extent among the students.
The indigenous peoples and
governments must be pleased
with the schools the Turkish
entrepreneurs have opened; they
must have left a good impression.
For example, the Yakutian
principal expelled the Turkish
teachers from the technical school
because of jealousy but later
sent a message: Come back,
and you can open any kind of
technical school you want under
your own management.
Turkey is a well-established state.
Democracy is, at least, in the
process of settling down. Instead
of dreaming about unity that
currently seems impossible with
people and countries who look
down on us and see themselves
as better Muslims than us, I found
it more benefcial to turn toward
people who have been looked
down upon and oppressed for
years, even centuries, and who
are closer to us in many respects.
... Establishing natural alliances
and being surrounded by a circle
of friends rather than enemies
would beneft Turkey. In such
a framework, I would support
opening schools even in Armenia
and Israel, if so permitted.
... As one who grew up with
the desire and objective to
serve my country, and if now
this service can be realized
through education, my interest
in education is as natural as the
fow of water or the rising and
setting of the sun. However, I
have no power, capital, or army
only an unstoppable love and
enthusiasm for service. All I can
do is explain this, tell those who
will listen, and suggest.
... Besides, everything takes place
in accordance with Destiny. When
theres a conjuncture where the
apparently necessary means
and causes, human free will and
67
decision and Divine Destiny are
agreed and united on a thing,
surprising and only dreamed-of
things can take place.
Our efforts and enterprises are
completely for humanitys sake.
In a world becoming more and
more globalized, we are trying
to get to know those who will
be our future neighbors a little
earlier.
I have been looking forward
to a better world resembling
Paradise, where humanity can
live in peace and tranquility. Our
world is tired of war and clashes.
It direly needs mercy, affection,
spiritual well-being, and peace
more than air and water. I
believe that people in every
country are ready for such a
world. For example, we made an
offer to the Greek government:
Dont be afraid of us. Come
and open a school in Turkey,
send your children here, well
take care of them and give them
scholarship. In return, well send
you students and open a school in
any city you wish.
[T]he Glen
movement is defnitively
a bridge-builder
in the expanding
European cluster of
nations, cultures and
plurality to allow
contemporary Muslims
of Europe to revisit
their fundamentals
of Islam and its
immense provision for
justice, other forms of
promoting civic life and
governance.
Shanthikumar Hettiarachchi,
Turkish Muslims and Islamic
Turkey: Perspectives For
a New European Islamic
Identity?
68
Why Education?
In recent centuries, as a result
of materalist understanding,
spiritual crises have followed
one after another. It is no
exaggeration to say that these
crises and the absence of
spiritual satisfaction were the
major factors behind the confict
of interests that enveloped the
last two centuries and reached its
apex in the two world wars.
As possessors of a system of
belief with a different history
and essence, we have some
basic things to give to the West,
with whom we have deep
economic, social, and even
military relationships, and to
humanity at large. At the head
of these are our understanding
and view of humanity. Actually
this view is neither exclusive to
us or subjective; rather, it is an
objective view that puts forward
what men and women really are.
A person is a creature composed
of not only a body or mind or
feelings or spirit; rather, he or she
is a harmonious composition of all
of these elements. A person is a
body writhing in a net of needs.
He or she is also a mind that
has more subtle and vital needs
than the body, and is driven by
anxieties about the past and
future to fnd answers to such
questions as: What am I? What
is this world? What do life and
death want from me? Who sent
me to this world, and for what
purpose? Where am I going,
and what is the purpose of life?
Who is my guide in this worldly
journey?
Moreover, each person is a
creature of feelings that cannot
be satisfed by the mind, and
a creature of spirit, thorough
which he or she acquires his or
her essential human identity. An
individual is all of these. When a
man or a woman, around whom
all systems and efforts revolve,
is taken into consideration and
evaluated as a creature with all
these aspects, and when all his
or her needs are fulflled, he or
she will be able to reach true
happiness. At this point, true
human progress and evolvement
It is not an
exaggeration to assert
that the endeavors
of Glen have, and
will continue to have,
a global impact on
building peace. Glens
philosophy of peace
and his efforts are not
considered isolated
instances in Islam;
in fact, as briefy
mentioned above, the
entire heritage of Islam
is considered to be the
foundation of Glens
understanding of
peace.
Zeki Saritoprak, Fethullah Glen
and His Global Contribution to
Peace Building
69
in relation to our essential being
is only possible with education.
Serving Humanity by Means of
Education
In Anatolia is a saying: A
neighbor is in need of his/her
neighbors ashes. If you have
no ashes needed by others, no
one will attach any value to you.
As mentioned above, we have
more to give humanity than we
have to take. Today voluntary or
non-governmental organizations
have founded companies and
foundations and are serving
others enthusiastically. The mass
acceptance of the educational
institutions that spread all over
the world, despite the great
fnancial diffculties they have
faced, and their competing with
and frequently surpassing their
Western peers in a very short
period of time should be proof
that what we have said cannot
be denied.
In short, our three greatest
enemies are ignorance, poverty,
and internal schism. Knowledge,
work-capital, and unifcation
can struggle against these. As
ignorance is the most serious
problem, we must oppose it with
education. Education always has
been the most important road of
serving our country. Now that we
live in a global village, it is the
best way to serve humanity and
to establish dialogue with other
civilizations.
But frst of all, education is a
humane service, for we were sent
70
here to learn and be perfected
through education. Saying:
The old state of affairs is
impossible. Either a new state or
annihilation, Bediuzzaman drew
attention to solutions and the
future. Saying that controversial
subjects shouldnt be discussed
with Christian spiritual leaders,
he opened dialogues with
members of other religions. Like
Rumi, who said: One of my feet
is in the center and the other is
in 72 realms like a compass,
he drew a broad circle that
encompasses all monotheists.
Implying that the days of brute
force are over, he said: Victory
with civilized persons is through
persuasion, thus pointing out that
dialogue, persuasion, and talk
based on evidence are essential
for those of us who seek to serve
religion. By saying that in the
future humanity will turn toward
knowledge and science, and
in the future reason and word
will govern, he encouraged
knowledge and word. Finally,
putting aside politics and direct
political involvement, he drew the
basic lines of true religious and
national service in this age and in
the future.
In the light of such principles,
I encouraged people to serve
the country in particular, and
humanity in general, by means
of education. I called them to
help the state educate and raise
people by opening schools.
Ignorance is defeated through
education, poverty through
work and the possession of
capital, and internal schism
and separatism through unity,
dialogue, and tolerance.
However, as every problem in
human life ultimately depends
on human beings themselves,
education is the most effective
vehicle regardless of whether
we have a paralyzed social and
political system or one operating
with a clockwork precision.

Y
Glens ideas and vision
have not remained in
audio tapes and books,
but instead they have
been realized in concrete
projects in volatile
regions of the world.
Y Alp Aslandogan and Bekir
Cinar, A Sunni Muslim Scholars
Humanitarian and Religious
Rejection of Violence Against
Civilians
71
The Glen or
Hizmet (Service)
Movement
Glen Movement in
Wikipedia
Accessed on 4 April 2011
The Glen movement is a
transnational civic society
movement inspired by the
teachings of Turkish Islamic
theologian Fethullah Glen. His
teachings about hizmet (altruistic
service to the common good)
have attracted a large number
of supporters in Turkey, Central
Asia and increasingly in other
parts of the world.
Nature and Participation
The exact number of supporters
of the Glen movement is not
known, as there is no membership
system, but estimates vary
from 1 million to 8 million. The
movement consists primarily of
72
students, teachers, businessmen,
journalists and other educated
professionals, arranged in a
fexible organizational network. It
has founded schools, universities,
an employers association, as
well as charities, real estate
trusts, lobby groups, student
bodies, radio and television
stations, and newspapers. The
schools and businesses organize
locally, and link into networks
on an informal rather than legal
basis. After an inquiry into the
effects of movements activities
in Holland, Dutch Integration
Minister Eberhard Van der Laan
described it as an alliance of
loosely affliated independent
institutions rather than a
movement.
The Economist described the
Glen movement as a Turkish-
based movement which sounds
more reasonable than most of its
rivals, and which is vying to be
recognized as the worlds leading
Muslim network. It stated that
Glen has won praise from non-
Muslim quarters with his belief
in science, inter-faith dialog and
multi-party democracy. Nilfer
Gle, professor of sociology
at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes
in Paris, who is known for her
studies on modernization and
conservatism, has described the
Glen movement as the worlds
most global movement.
One of the main characteristics
of the movement is that it is faith-
based but not faith-limited.
Movement Activities
Education
Globally, the Glen movement
is especially active in education.
In 2009 Newsweek claimed
that movement participants run
schools in which more than 2
million students receive education,
many with full scholarships.
Estimates of the number of
schools and educational
institutions vary widely, from
about 300 schools in Turkey to
over 1,000 schools worldwide.
Participants in the movement have
also founded private universities,
including Fatih University in
Istanbul.
If judged by the
words and thoughts
of Fethullah Glen, his
movement not only
embraces globalization,
but also seeks to
contribute to and shape
its direction.
William Park, The Fethullah
Glen Movement as a
Transnational Phenomenon
73
... An article in the New York
Times, described the Turkish
schools, which have expanded to
seven cities in Pakistan since the
frst one opened a decade ago,
as offering a gentler approach
to Islam that could help reduce
the infuence of extremism.
However, schools are not for
Muslims alone, and in Turkey
the general curriculum for the
networks schools prescribes one
hour of religious instruction per
week, while in many countries the
schools do not offer any religious
instruction at all. With the
exception of a few Imam-Hatip
schools abroad, these institutions
can thus hardly be considered
Islamic schools in the strict sense.
... In 2009 and 2010, concerns
emerged that U.S. charter
schools were being operated by
members of the Glen movement.
Fethullah Glen denounces the
attribution of any charter schools
in the U.S. to his name, saying,
There might be some educators
who have listened to or read
my thoughts on humanity, peace,
mutual respect, the culture of
coexistence, and keeping the
human values alive, and have
come to the United States for
various reasons and work at
private or public schools.
Interfaith and Intercultural
Dialogue
Center for Inter-religious
Understanding Director Rabbi
Jack Bemporad has said the
Glen movement aims to create a
more peaceful world and invites
all people to unity.
B Jill Carroll of Rice University
in Houston said in an Interfaith
Voices program, an independent
public radio show that promotes
interfaith understanding through
dialog, that Glen has greatly
impacted three generations
in Turkey. He also infuences
considerable masses all across
the world with his speeches and
deeds. He leads a very modest
life. Thousands of institutions have
been established all around the
globe by the Glen movement,
but he doesnt undertake the
administration of even one of
them. When people see such
Glen movement
brings Islam back to
the public sphere by
cross-fertilizing Islamic
idioms with global
discourses on human
rights, democracy, and
the market economy.
Indeed, the activities
of Glen movement in
the secular context of
France and Germany
represent an interesting
sociological object.
Emre Demir, The Emergence of a
Neo-Communitarian Movement
in the Turkish Diaspora in
Europe: The Strategies of
Settlement and Competition of
Glen Movement in France and
Germany
74
aspects of this movement, they
say these are not Muslims in
words, they are real Muslims.
Of the schools she said: These
schools invest in the future and
aim at creating a community that
offers equal opportunities for
everyone.
Since 1998 the Journalists and
Writers Foundation, whose
honorary president is Glen,
have conducted independent
working groups (i.e. voluntary,
not state-funded) with the aim
of reaching consensus on issues
which are politically or culturally
divisive in Turkey. Participants
and speakers (journalists and
academics) are invited from all
points of the political spectrum
and from the different groupings
in Turkey. Discussions end with an
agreed declaration signed by
all participants. The frst of these
working groups to be established
was the Abant Platform, named
after Lake Abant, where its
frst meeting was held. Abant
participants have discussed
Islam and Secularism (1998);
Religion, State and Society
(1999); the Legal, Democratic
State (2000); Pluralism and
Societal Compromise (2001);
Globalization: Political, Economic
and Cultural Dimensions (2002);
War and Democracy (2003).
Izzettin Dogan, a leader of Alevi
circles in Turkey and the President
of the Cem Foundation, said of
Glen:
He has made positive
contributions to the construction of
cemevis (Alevi places of worship).
Years ago, he said, Cemevis
should be constructed next to
mosques. This is a very important
statement. In addition, he is open
to discussion. In this regard, I
never had any doubts about
Glens ideas.
Media
Movement participants have set
up a number of media organs,
including Turkish-language TV
stations (Samanyolu TV, Mehtap
75
TV), an English-language TV
station in the United States
(Ebru TV), a Turkish-language
newspaper (Zaman), an English-
language newspaper (Todays
Zaman), magazines and journals
in Turkish (Sznt, Yeni mit,
Aksiyon), English (The Fountain
Magazine), and Arabic (Hira),
an international media group
(Cihan)and a radio station (Bur
FM).
Aid
The relief charity Kimse Yok
Mu?, literally means Is anybody
there?, was established in
March 2004 as a continuation
of a TV program of the same
name which ran on Samanyolu
TV for some years. The charity
operates in seven major felds:
disaster aids, medical projects,
education projects, special
day campaigns, sister-families
projects and aid for Africa
projects. It provides aid to those
in need in Turkey and the region
and in other areas including but
not limited to Peru, Bangladesh,
Darfur and Sudan, Gazze,
China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Haiti,
and Japan. For example, only
in 2007, the charity organized
medical aid projects along
with food distribution in 20
African countries and sponsored
thousands of medical ops a day.
Finance
Bank Asya, formerly Asya Finans,
was founded by Glen movement
sympathisers in 1994. It offers a
variety of interest-free banking
services and currently is the
biggest interest-free fnancial
institution in Turkey... Ik Sigorta
(Light Insurance) company
describes itself as a partner of
Bank Asya.
Movement supporters have also
formed business lobbying groups
and think tanks in Washington
and Brussels and these inter-
connected businesses constitute
one of the strongest capital bases
in Turkey. Movements activities
are supported by donations
76
coming from all classes of people
in the society.
Civic Engagement and Politics
Forbes magazine identifed
the chief characteristic of the
Glen movement as not seeking
to subvert modern secular
states but rather encouraging
practicing Muslims to use to the
fullest the opportunities those
countries offer. The New York
Times describes the movement as
coming from a moderate blend
of Islam that is very inclusive.
Prospect magazine reported that
Glen and the Glen movement
are at home with technology,
markets and multinational
business and especially with
modern communications and
public relations.
In Turkey, the Glen movement
tries to keep its distance from
Islamic political parties, but the
schools in Central Asia have
been described as supporting
a philosophy based on common
Turkish origins rather than on
Islam.
The movement is sometimes
accused of being missionary
in intent, or of organizing in a
clandestine way and aiming
for political power. Professor
Thomas Michel of Georgetown
University, who observed
schools in the Philippines, said:
This movement has never
been engaged in politics. It has
reached millions of children all
across the world and helped with
their education regardless of
their races, languages, religions
and nationalities. About the
accusations of hidden agenda,
members of the movement say
Anybody who accuses us of
having a hidden agenda, is
welcome to come and quiz us.
We have nothing to hide.
In Europe, Former Norwegian
Prime Minister Kjell Magne
Bondevik has said the ideas of
Fethullah Glen and the activities
of the Glen movement are
in complete harmony with the
approach of The Oslo Center
for Peace and Human Rights.
The Dutch government started
an inquiry in 2008 because of
a motion fled by four political
77
parties. The inquiry showed that
the Glen movement and Turkish
institutions having close ties to
the movement do not obstruct
integration in the Netherlands,
that the movement is pacifst and
prone to dialogue, believes that
Islam and modernism can coexist,
that it lacks a central unit or
hierarchical structure.
Gender Roles
In the movement there are secular
women from conservative-right
circles and women who do not
wear the Islamic head covering...
In the headscarf controversy in
Turkey, when covered girls were
prevented from going to school
and university by the headscarf
ban, the Glen movement was
the frst to insist on girls schooling
at the cost of compromising their
headscarf. Female members of
the Islamist parties who refused
to take their scarves off to go
to university were critical of the
compromising attitudes of the
Glen Movement.
Criticism
Several books have been
published in Turkish since the
1990s criticizing Glen and the
Glen movement. In March 2011
the draft for such a book written
by Ahmet k under the title of
The Army of the Imam was
banned. Abdullah Bokurt from
Todays Zaman however stated:
The book is no independent
research conducted by an
investigative journalist but rather
part of a plot designed and
put into action by the terrorist
network itself. News articles
have addressed concerns about
the rising infuence of the Glen
movement, both in Turkey and in
other countries.
In April 2009, Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty published
a piece about the Glen schools
in Central Asia. Excerpt: ...The
frst so-called Turkish schools in
Central Asia were founded in the
mid-1990s. Turkish educational
institutions there -as well as in
countries from Russia to North
America- were set up by the
Glen movement led by Turkish
78
Islamic scholar and author
Fethullah Glen. Glen is a
Sunni Muslim who advocates
tolerance and dialogue among
different religions... Yet, Turkish
educational institutions have
come under increasing scrutiny
in Central Asia. Governments
as well as many scholars and
journalists suspect that the schools
have more than just education on
their agendas...
In April 2010, Trend News
Agency published a piece about
the Glen schools in Georgia
(Asia). Excerpt: The Georgian
Labor Party protested the
opening of Turkish schools in
Georgia. The partys Political
Secretary Giorgi Gugava
called the mass opening of
Turkish schools in Georgia, the
dominance of Turkey in the
Georgian educational system,
and noted that these schools
aim to spread Turkish culture
and fundamentalist religious
ideas... Gugava said the process
is headed by Turkish religious
leader Fetullah Glen, whose
activities are banned in his
motherland... although, in reality,
they are operating freely under
government scrutiny.
In December 2009, The Tucson
Weekly, a local newspaper in
Tucson, Arizona, published an
article about parents concerns
that the Sonoran Science
Academy has ties with this
movement. The school denies
all affliation with the religious
leader. Fatih Karatas, the
schools principal, had closed the
article saying that Im hoping
that they know that these are
defamatory allegations which
may put them in trouble later
on. These are excelling schools...
I hope they are aware of
what theyre doing. However,
others believe that schools like
Sonoran Science Academy
should continue to run, as SSA
received the 2009 Arizona
Charter School of the Year by
the Arizona Charter Schools
Association, an independent
umbrella organization which
works alongside schools, parents,
policymakers, and the media.
(The Association is also a trusted
source of data and information
on Arizonas charter schools;
K-12 public student achievement
data; and K-12 public school
fnance for parents, authorizers,
legislators, policy analysts,
foundations, the press and other
interested groups.)
79
Evolution of the Glen
Movement
By Helen Rose Ebaugh Excerpt
from The Glen Movement: A
Sociological Analysis of a Civic
Movement Rooted in Moderate
Islam, NY: Springer
Scholars who study social
movements agree that the
elements of a movement must
incubate for awhile before
it emerges into the public as a
recognizable social movement.
Because of his preaching and
recorded messages, the ideas
and inspiration of Mr. Glen
were becoming well known in
Turkey by the early 1980s.
Increasing numbers of people
were joining the Glen-inspired
sohbets, the local circles of
people who met regularly to
discuss his ideas, to initiate the
dormitories and preparatory
classes he suggested, to fnance
these and other service projects
and to establish a network of
informal community relationships
among like-minded citizens. These
networks of individuals, including
businessmen with the fnancial
resources to support the service
projects, had begun to form
slowly in villages and cities where
Mr. Glen preached.
By 1980 business owners and
educators inspired by Mr.
Glen had responded to the
crisis in education in Turkey by
setting up institutions such as
student dormitories, university
entrance exam courses, teacher
associations, publishing houses
and a journal. By the mid 1980s
there were suffcient resources,
including informal networks of
motivated people and substantial
fnancial contributions, to
accelerate the service projects
already in existence and to begin
building schools and hospitals in
Turkey. At this point, the media
became aware of the movement
and newspaper articles about
the movement and its many
activities catapulted it into public
awareness.
It is at this point that the latent
phase of the network activities
gave way to a more visible
and developed phase and that
80
members began coalescing
around the idea of a social
movement. The public also began
referring to the Glen schools
and Glen followers. Mr.
Glen himself, however, never
refers to the movement as the
Glen movement or the Glen
community nor does he accept
these names. Instead he prefers
the movement to be called the
volunteers service or hizmet,
which means services for others
or the movement of humans
united around high human values.
By the middle years of the 1980s
the Glen-inspired schools were
recognized throughout Turkey
as providing quality education
to Turkish youth. Pupils from
these schools were passing the
national university entrance
exam at rates far higher than the
general population of youth who
took them, even after attending
other preparatory courses. Also,
many high school students in
Glen-run schools were winning
national and international science
competitions. The Glen schools
and the Glen movement behind
them began to achieve broader
public recognition and attracted
more and more participants who
saw value in the ideas expressed
by the movement. It was at the
point of the success of the schools
that the activities motivated by
Mr. Glens ideas of education
and non-political services began
to coalesce into what became
known as the Glen Movement.
The collapse of the Soviet Union
in 1991 and the independence
of the Turkish republics in Central
Asia provided the context in
which the Glen movement
became transnational. In his
sermons in the late 1980s, Mr.
Glen increasingly advised his
audiences to prepare to help
those countries that would soon
gain their independence, most
of which were Turkish in origin
and language. In 1992, very
shortly after the Soviet Union
collapsed, a group of Glen-
inspired businessmen and
teachers opened the frst school
in Azerbaijan. That same year
the frst Glen inspired school
opened in Kazakhstan and
in the following two years, a
further 28 schools were opened
in that country. Between 1992
and 1994, participants in the
movement opened schools in
Kyrgyzstan, where today there
are 12 high schools and one
university. At the same time,
20 schools were begun in
Turkmenistan.
While some movement
participants were busy opening
schools in the Turkish republics,
others were opening similar
schools in non-Muslim countries in
Eastern Europe and the former
Soviet Union, such as Bulgaria,
Romania, Moldova, Ukraine
and Georgia. Other volunteers
were establishing schools in
the Asia-Pacifc countries of the
Philippines, Cambodia, Australia,
Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam,
Malaysia, South Korea and
Japan. An amazing development
of the Glen movement is that it
is active not only in countries with
a Turkish and Muslim heritage,
but also those with Christian,
Buddhist and Hindu traditions.
Kalyoncu argues that one
81
reason for this is the fact that
the movement began in Turkey
utilizing Islamic discourse but over
time began to emphasize the
secular and humanistic elements
in its discourse such as quality
education, empathic acceptance
of others and universal ethical
values. He concludes that
although the movement has
remained Islamic at an individual
level, it is a secular social
movement overall.
Throughout the 1980s, members
of the new Anatolian bourgeoisie
who were inspired by the
teachings of Mr. Glen, began
to invest in the construction of
learning institutions across Turkey.
In the 1990s, political and
economic development in Turkey
under the policies of President
Ozal, as well as political events
worldwide, provided more
and more global routes for the
expansion of businesses. The
fall of the Soviet Union and
the weakening of Turkish state
control over information and
capital fows, increased Turkish
migration to Europe and global
developments contributed
to the transformation of the
Glen movement from a small
community in Turkey to an
international activist movement
supported by a growing class of
wealthy entrepreneurs who were
committed to the ideals of the
Glen movement.
By the 1990s, there is no doubt
that the millions of citizens
gathered around the ideas of
Fethullah Glen, along with the
hundreds of service projects
Due to the spread and popularity of
Glen schools, the movement has become
more than just a faith-based movement
battling localized issues. It has instead
become a world-wide educational
movement that seeks to build a more
peaceful world through dialogue and
cooperation.
Michael David Graskemper, A Bridge to Inter-
Religious Co-operation: the GlenJesuit
Educational Nexus
Islamic movement shifted politically
from a radical anti-western stance to
the endorsement of democracy and
religious tolerance through a moderate
communication and behaviour. Indeed,
that was what Fethullah Glen strongly
believed and had advocated for years.
Marie-Elisabeth Maigre, The Infuence of the Glen
Movement in the Emergence of a Turkish Cultural
Third Way
82
that they support, constituted a
social movement. It constitutes the
largest faith-based movement
in Turkey. What is surprising,
however, is the fact that the
movement, rooted in a Turkish
Islamic identity, was then and
continues to be, as active in as
many non-Muslim as Muslim
countries. The explanation
probably lies in the fact that the
infrastructure of the movement,
in terms of organizational
leadership, volunteers, fnancial
donors and the inspiration behind
the movement, is transported
by the Turkish diaspora settling
in countries all over the world
as students, professionals and
businessmen. Some of them
deliberately migrate to establish
Glen-inspired institutions in
other countries; others of them
migrate for educational and/
or business reasons and stay
involved in the movement and its
service projects once they settle
in a new country. As movement
supporters and participants settle
all over the world and establish
Glen-related projects wherever
they are, non-Turkish people are
learning about the movement
and becoming involved in various
ways. The result is that the Glen
movement is now global in its
outreach and impact.
Overview of the Glen
Movement
The Glen movement is a civic
initiative, a civil society movement
that is not a governmental or
state sponsored organization. It
did not emerge as the result of a
governmental policy nor a state
ideology. It started as a faith-
initiated, non-political, cultural
and educational movement
dedicated to providing
opportunity for the new
generation of youth in Turkey. It
centers on individual change and
education of the individual. The
movement focuses on the spiritual
and intellectual consciousness of
the individual, seeking to form
an inner self that will empower
the person to effect change in
society. It stresses the role that
technology and new global
networks can play in articulating
a Muslim consciousness. The
[W]ith his open-
minded and moderate
arguments, Glen
has inspired many
people in Turkey to live
Islam in a new way.
Recurring to ijtihad and
drawing from secular
epistemology specifc
ideas about moral
agency, he has proposed
to a wide public a very
attractive path for being
good Muslims in their
daily conduct.
Fabio Vicini, Glens Rethinking
of Islamic Pattern and Its Socio-
Political Effects
83
Glen movement, therefore,
differentiates itself from other
Islamic groups by stressing a
non-exclusivist form of Turkish
nationalism, the free market,
openness to globalization,
progressiveness in integrating
tradition with modernity and its
humanistic outlook.
As a person deeply rooted
in both the Islamic/Ottoman
tradition and the benefcial
aspects of modernity, as well,
Mr. Glen is a religious modernist
and a social innovator. His
audiences seek to promote
the idea that Islam is not in
contradiction to modernization
but that education, science and
technology can be used along
with Islam to promote a more
ethical and just society. As a
result, the movement is more
modern and infuential than any
other Islamic movement in Turkey
today.
The Glen Movement sets an
example in the Muslim world
not only with its activities but
also how it generates fnancial
support for these activities.
Usage of the basic Islamic ideals
and examples from the lives of
the companions of the Prophet
as well as traditional, Turkish
values of giving and hospitality
strengthens the Glen Movements
position and impact within the
Muslim world. Even though the
movement started in Turkey, in a
short time it has grown in other
parts of the world within non-
Turkish populations, not only with
educational projects but also
in terms of interfaith dialogue
activities.
The movement has never
condoned proselytization,
coercion, terrorism or violence
but rather stresses mentality
change of individuals through
science, education, dialog
and democracy. It encourages
reciprocal understanding and
respect and encourages voluntary
commitment of individuals to
sound education and altruistic
contributions and services.
The informal networks of Glen-
inspired people, along with the
many service projects which they
support, gives rise to a sense
84
of being together in a common
cause. There is an unspoken
solidarity among such people,
as well as a sense of pride in
the institutions connected to the
Glen movement. The result is a
reciprocal and public recognition
of the identity of the Glen
movement. The movement has
no formal ceremonial rituals,
symbols, slogans or uniform
dress which identify it. Rather,
participation in the movement
takes the form of friendship-
based circles that encourage an
active role in collective action.
Unlike relationships based on
family or tribal relationships,
those in the movement rest
on the voluntary and active
participation of relatively
independent individuals. These
friendship networks facilitate
and increase an individuals
willingness to get involved in
service projects through his/her
relationship with like-minded,
similarly intentioned people.
The result are numerous loose
networks of people who are
inspired by the ideals of Mr.
Glen and motivated to support,
in whatever ways they can, the
vast and varied service projects
in Turkey and around the world.
Service networks operate on their
own and not from a centralized
organization, although they
maintain links to other people in
the movement through sharing
information and professionalized
people. Information, expertise
and projects circulate through
networks and bring a degree
of collective identity to the
whole. As networks, rather than
formal organizations, the Glen
movement attracts supporters
or adherents. It does not have
membership or a membership
registry. This explains why it is
impossible to calculate the size of
the Glen movement.
The movement is an aggregate
of networks concentrated
around four main activities:
economic enterprises, educational
institutions, publications and
broadcasting and religious
gatherings. Individuals involved
in these specifc projects come
and go and replace one
another but the service projects
continue. Therefore the continuity
in the Glen movement lies in
maintaining and sustaining the
service projects. The participation
in service projects around a
specifc goal and the tangible
outcomes of the projects
strengthens social cohesion, trust
and solidarity.
85
Characteristics of the
Glen Movement
Dr Muhammed Cetin 26 October
2007 (abbreviated)
... It is always diffcult to prove a
negative, so trying to show what
the Glen Movement is not proves
harder than showing what it is.
If the Glen Movement defes
characterization as a sect, cult or
order, what is special about it? I
shall illustrate the more signifcant
and identifable features of the
movement which account for its
public visibility and success, while
continuing to highlight aspects
of its identity which distinguish it
from sects, cults and orders.
First of all, the refexivity of
the Glen Movement is very
high. The participants are fully
aware of what they are doing
and why they are doing it. They
have a clear defnition of the
services, the feld of the action,
the goals and the instruments
used to achieve them. The Glen
Movement also has the necessary
accumulated experience and
86
is successful at imparting it to
participants and to third parties.
The clarity of the general goals,
particularity of objectives, the
stress on and the observation
of legitimacy of means and
ends, and the attainability and
accountability of the projects
they take on demarcate Glen
and the Movement from cults and
sects in a clear way.
In the Movement, direct
participation in the services
given provides motivation for
highly symbolic, cultural, ethical
and spiritual values rather than
worldly goods or material gains.
Kuru notes, Glen is against
the kind of rationalism that
focuses on egoistic self interest
and pure materialistic cost-
beneft analysis. Motivation and
incentives are gained through
the relational networks and the
services given corporately and
altruistically. This ties individuals
together and means living
among people by continuously
discerning the Divine unity amidst
multiplicity. Therefore, the
Glen Movement, unlike sects or
cults, prefers being with people,
rather than avoiding them.
Participants do not draw back
into themselves, sever relations
with the outside, nor renounce all
courses of action.
Quite the contrary, Glen
reminds his readers of the current
interdependency of communities
and that any radical changes in
a country will not be determined
by that country alone because
this is a period of interactive
relations, a situation that causes
closeness between peoples and
nations. Therefore, people should
seek ways to get along with
each other. Differences in beliefs,
races, customs and traditions
are richness, and should be
appreciated for the common
good through peaceful and
respectful relationships).
Glen maintains, People must
learn how to beneft from other
peoples knowledge and views,
for these can be benefcial to
their own system, thought, and
world. Especially, they should
seek always to beneft from the
experiences of the experienced.
The important strength
of the Glen movement
is its transparency - and
those who manufacture
conspiracy theories
around the Glen
movement might be
less than forthcoming
in being as transparent
about their own motives
and connections.
Steve Wright, The Work of
Fethullah Glen & The Role of
Non-Violence in a Time of Terror
87
It seems unlikely that individuals
in a movement who have
been reading and listening to
Glen would be in a sect-like
relationship or structure.
Moreover, the Movement does
not designate internal and
external scapegoats so as
to turn aggressive energies
onto itself or any group, so
destructive processes are not
activated. Far from passivism,
though, this encourages a higher
motivational level and opens the
way for individual and collective
responsibility and mobilization.
For Glen, the frst and principal
way to realize projects is through
the consciousness and the ethic of
responsibility. As complete inertia
is a death and disintegration,
and irresponsibility in action
is disorder and chaos, we are
left with no alternative but
to discipline our actions with
responsibility. Indeed, all our
attempts should be measured by
responsibility....
Individual upward mobility
is always possible for all in
the Glen Movement because
entry and exit, commitment
and withdrawal are always
voluntary and always possible.
Competitive spirit is encouraged
and predominates over
primary solidarities. Individuals
are employed at the Social
Movement Organizations (SMOs)
for professional qualifcations
rather than Movement
experience. These features
prevent the rise of dogmatic
leaders, ideologues, rites, or
exclusivist functions. They also
prevent any attempt to construct
an ideal self-image with exclusive
values and symbolic resources
and taking refuge in myth...
The limits of the reference system
do not permit an aggressive and
non-institutionalized mobilization,
impractical and incompatible
demands or expectations, or
anything crossing over the Turkish
and international threshold that
may trigger confict...
Glen affrms that If there is no
adaptation to new conditions,
the result will be extinction. To
Glen, not only the establishment
of justice is hindered by the
lack of well-rounded education,
but also the recognition of
human rights and attitudes of
acceptance and tolerance toward
others. If people are properly
educated to think for themselves
and espouse social justice, human
rights and tolerance, they will be
agents of change to implement
these goals.
For this to come about, Glen
asserts that a new style of
education is necessary that
will fuse religious and scientifc
knowledge together with morality
and spirituality, to produce
genuinely enlightened people
with hearts illumined by religious
sciences and spirituality, minds
illuminated with positive sciences,
who are cognizant of the socio-
economic and political conditions
of their time. So, the Movement
does not try to limit the curriculum
in the educational institutions its
participants sponsor. Instead, the
institutions follow national and
international curricula. Students
are encouraged to use external
sources of information, such as
the internet and universities
88
information.
Michel argues that Glens
use of spirituality includes
not only specifcally religious
teachings, but also ethics, logic,
psychological health, and
affective openness. He adds that
the key terms in Glens writings
are compassion and tolerance,
and such nonquantifable
qualities ought to be instilled
in students by education in
addition to training in the exact
disciplines. Michel considers
that such an education is more
related to identity and daily
life rather than political and
believes that it will yield a new
spiritual search and a moral
commitment to a better and
more human social life. The
moral aspects of education are
conveyed by example in the
teachers behaviour, rather than
proselytizing...
Glens historical references
show no sign of a cultural politics
which attempts to negate any
period of history, especially not
those moments associated with
the origins of modernity). He has
not evoked a past that appears
to want to restore a sultanate
or monarchy as a paradigm for
ideas of unity, order, hierarchy,
homeland, religion, and family.
Michel maintains that Glen
does not propose a nostalgic
return to Ottoman patterns.
In contradiction to utopian
thought, since the origins of the
Movement, Glen has offered
models of self-improvement and
social transformation.
Glen relates to the past to tell
us who we were and are. He
looks for examples to follow and
mistakes to avoid. He looks for
ways to progress beyond that
which has remained in the past.
Today, it is obviously impossible
to live with out-of-date
conceptions which have nothing to
do with reality. Continuing the old
state being impossible, it means
either following the new state
or annihilation. We will either
reshape our world as required
by science, or we shall be thrown
into a pit together with the world
we live in.
Glen instils in younger
generations a historical
consciousness which enables them
to locate themselves in relation
to the past and present in a
rigorously modern, progressive
way. He clarifes the concepts
of the present that are mostly
shaped by the concepts and
events of the past. To him,
knowing history is a feeder to an
innovative and successful future.
Glen says, If keeping your eyes
closed to the future is blindness,
then disinterest in the past is
misfortune...
The Glen Movement endows
individuals progressively with a
capacity for action. Identity is
constructed by each individual
in her or his capacity as a social
actor. Altruistic services always
relate to human sociability and to
social relationships. Relationship
is formed at the level of the
single individual, awakening the
enthusiasm and capacity of the
individual for action. Through
such sociability people rediscover
the self and the meaning of life.
Herein lies all the distinction of
89
the Glen Movement. It does not
lead to a fight into the myth of
identity or an escapist illusion
that one is magically freed
from the constraints of social
action or behaviour. It reaffrms
the meaning of social action as
the capacity for a consciously
produced human existence and
relationships.
Glen frequently talks about
a renaissance, yet never of a
magical rebirth. Woodhall and
etin argue that this renaissance
is an active process, hard work
to prevent illnesses like passion,
laziness, seeking fame, self
shness, worldliness, narrow-
mindedness, the use of brute
force and replace them instead
with exalted human values like
contentedness, courage, modesty,
altruism, knowledge and
virtue, and the ability to think
universally. Acknowledgement of
diversity, multiplicity, the necessity
of division of labour, and the
power relationships within society,
subscribe the Glen Movement
to a form of rationality geared
to assessment of the relationship
between ends and means, and
to protecting people from the
imbalances and divisions created
by the forms of power required
to govern complexity. Glens
work is a constant exhortation
to greater effort, greater
knowledge, greater self-control
and restraint...
The Glen Movement does
not deny the interdependence
of the social feld in its
values, worldview or actual
organizational frame. It does not
have a totalizing ideology that
possesses and controls the social
feld and thus identifes those who
do not belong to the group in
negative terms.
The Glen Movement
acknowledges the true social
character of such conficts, and
therefore does not produce
unpredictable forms or
expressions of collective action.
It responds to the specifcity
of individual and collective
demands, without allowing them
to cancel out one another. It does
not escape into a reductionism
that cancels out the individual for
The movement should
not be envisaged as a
centrally-organized
body. It is loosely
structured and
decentralized, and
each of its ventures are
individually fnanced
and run on a voluntary
basis by members
of and sympathizers
with the network. This
explains why estimates
of the number of schools
and other educational
establishments run by
the movement can also
vary.
Bill Park, The Fethullah Glen
Movement as a Transnational
Phenomenon
90
the appropriated identity of the
Movement.
The Glen Movement shares
with the rest of society a set of
general issues and seeks common
grounds and references. Glen
says:
We believe that peoples, no
matter of what faith, culture,
civilization, race, colour and
country, have more to compel
them to come together than what
separates them. If we encourage
those elements which oblige
them to live together in peace
and awaken them to the lethal
dangers of warring and conficts,
the world may be better than it is
today.
... [T]he Glen Movement with
its participation in education,
interfaith and intercultural issues,
and transnational altruistic
projects and institutions, proves
itself able to process information
and emergent realities.
The Glen Movement
acknowledges the fact that
the common points, grounds,
references and problems
affecting humanity in general
are far more than the
differences which separate us
People can come together and
cooperate around a universally
acknowledged set of values.
The way to do so is through
education, convincing argument,
peaceful interaction and
negotiation.
[Thus] the Movement does not
engage itself with identity
politics. It does not seek
ethno-religiously, culturally
or geographically to be
different from other people.
Participants abide by Turkish and
international regulations and law,
share concerns common to people
all over the world and work to
contribute to their resolution. The
intention, world-view and efforts
of the Movement are accepted
by the overwhelming majority in
Turkey and others who know its
work outside Turkey.
The Glen Movement acts as a
reconciliating agent between
diverse communities around
the world through legal and
institutionalized means. The
Movement is already defned
in terms of its social and
multicultural relations. The
intention to seek consensus
among communities legitimates its
transnational projects, so it does
not deviate into or let others
be led into fundamentalism or
sectarianism.
Ergene argues that the Glen
Movement does not reduce
reality to a small number of
truisms. It does not attempt to
mask anything from the larger
environment. Its openness and
transparency make it effective
and strengthen faith in it.
... In contrast to comtemporary
intellectual rigidity, in the Glen
Movement the spirit of cultural
innovation and the spiritual
quest in ones own faith, along
with other faith community
members, dispense security to
others. Though everyone who
comes into contact with Glen
acknowledges and respects his
knowledge, asceticism, piety,
expertise and scholarliness on
religious, spiritual and intellectual
matters, this does not result in any
91
sacral recognition or charisma
for Glen, as discussed earlier.
The common description of him
as the leader of the Movement,
which he has never accepted, has
not resulted in the emergence
of an authoritarian personality
or personalities. He is instead
very much in favour of collective
reasoning, consultation and
consensus which cannot foster a
herd mentality among Movement
participants.
...[To sum up], the Glen
Movement has proved that it
acts lawfully within the system in
the pursuit of shared objectives.
This has had two major outcomes
which have sparked opposition
from those vested interests
in Turkey. The frst is that
the movement has provided
incentives for modernization of
the political system, consolidation
of civil society and pluralistic
democracy, and institutional
reform in Turkey. The second is
that the movement has shown
previous conceptual frameworks
to be inadequate and highlighted
the shortcomings of categorical
and biased approaches to faith-
based communities, especially to
peaceful, mainstream Muslims,
and cultural Islam.
While the schools of the Glen movement
are not relying on any confessional
instruction, they are instead seeking
to transport and expound ethical
Islamic values like honesty, hard work,
generosity and the like.
Philipp Bruckmayr, Phnom Penhs Fethullah Glen School
as an Alternative to Prevalent Forms of Education for
Cambodias Muslim Minority
Not only in Turkic speaking regions, but
also as far as Mongolia and Southeast
Asia, the so-called Turkish schools
have succeeded in creating sustainable
systems of private schools that offer
quality education to ethnically and
religiously diverse populations.
Victoria Clement, Turkmenistans New Challenges:
Can Stability Co-exist with Reform? A Study of Glen
Schools in Central Asia, 19972007
92
Commentaries on
Fethullah Glen
Bill Clinton
Former US President
Bill Clinton delivered
a message at the
3rd Annual
Friendship Dinner
organized by
Turkish Cultural
Center, NYC, on 25 Septembre
2008, emphasizing the
contributions of the Glen
Movement to the world peace.
From the former US Presidents
message:
In this interdependent world, the
fates of people on opposite sides
of the globe are increasingly
linked; and it is critical to keep
the lines of communication open
as much as we can. That is why
the communication between the
Turkish-American community
and the people of Turkey is so
important.
[I]n an increasingly
globalised world,
this movement has
been distinguished
by its consistent
ability to convert its
social network and
spiritual capital into
creative projects that
contribute positively
to the transformation
of Islamic thought
and practice in many
different settings and
socio-political contexts.
Talip Kucukcan, Social and
Spiritual Capital of the Glen
Movement
93
You are contributing to lasting
peace and security at home and
abroad; the promotion of the
ideas of tolerance and interfaith
dialogue inspired by Fethullah
Glen in his transnational social
movement. You do it through
your everyday lives and you are
truly strengthening the fabric
of our common humanity, as
well as promoting the ongoing
cultural and educational ties
that bind our world together.
I want to thank you for your
contributions to America, for your
contributions to stronger Turkish-
American relationships and better
understanding.
Bulent Ecevit
Former Turkish PM
He explains
knowledgeably and
courageously how
the Islamic world
became fanatical
and weakened as it
became more and more remote
from science and free thought,
how Islamic society was damaged
by the narrowing of the
madrassas educational scope
and religions exploitation of
political power as a vehicle.
At the same time, Glen reminds
us of the tolerant Islamic view
based on Sufsms concepts of
God and love of humanity. He
explains that instead of trying to
imitate the Islamic understanding
of some backward countries
ruled by oppressive regimes, we
must develop our own Islamic
perspective that refects our
national characteristics and
heritage. He says that Islams
universality is not an obstacle
to this, and further indicates
that Islam is compatible with
modernity, democracy, and
progress...
An important contribution of
Glens ideas to daily debates
and the search for solutions is his
emphasis that we can open up to
the West without breaking away
from our national identity, but
that we also must strengthen our
ties with Central Asia.
Haydar Aliyev
Former President of
Azerbaijan
Education is future
of the nation. These
schools help to
development of
Azerbaijans
educational system,
we hold them up as an example
and I am very pleased to it. They
invaluable in future of Turkey
and Turkic republics and I thank
respected Fethullah Glen, who
inspired the volunteers hearts,
who made great efforts for the
sake of continuation of this deed,
and turned their invaluable
potential into action.
Mehmet Salam
Former Minister of Education
of Turkiye
Those who construct
schools in Turkey as
well as abroad with
Glens inspiration
are the heroes of
education. I
94
congratulate all of them. They
really are busy doing something
of the kind that has never been
dreamt of before. I wish I was
younger so that I could
participate in what they are
involved in.
Monsigneur Georges
Marovitch
Former Representative of the
Vatican in Istanbul
Now, as you know,
Glen met with
Greek Patriarch. It is
a very brave and
kind gesture. He
also met with Senior
Rabbi and then he reached
meeting the Pope. And he
wanted to share this his
wonderful message with the
whole world and to show that
Islam is really a religion of love,
which is heaven-sent by Allah.
We all are created by Allah. We
all have the same way: we go
directly to Allah. And one day in
the paradise there will be neither
church, nor synagogue, nor
mosque. We will all live
surrounded by enormous love of
Allah. It means that we will go
along this way together, so we
need to start doing this right now.
Prof Thomas Michel
Father, Former Secretary
of the Jesuit Secretariat for
Interreligious Dialogue in
Rome
Fethullah Glen and
his movement also
demonstrated
activity in the sphere
of interreligious
dialogue and
bringing about world peace. Mr
Glen went to Rome and had a
meeting there with the Pope II.
John Paul. He met with Patriarch
of the Orthodox Church many
times. His interreligious activity
went beyond the scope of the
Muslim-Christian relations and
also involved the meetings with
Jewish leaders at both the
national and international level.
[H]e has shifted the
Suf emphasis on self-
discipline/self-denial
towards an active,
socially-oriented service
of others a form of
religious effort that
implies a strongly
secular faith in the
human ability to make
this world better.
Fabio Vicini, Glens Rethinking
of Islamic Pattern and Its Socio-
Political Effects
95
Guus ter Horst
Former Minister of Interior
and Kingdom Relations, the
Netherlands
Following the
investigations
conducted by the
government we
didnt detect
anything negative in
this movement and our
intelligence data is evidence of it
as well. There is nothing in the
basis of this movement what can
shake trust to it in any way; it has
nothing in common with violence
and terror.
Cengiz Aytmatov
Kyrgyz writer and statesman
When I see these
schools on the lands,
which suffered two
world wars, I know
that grain of the
global peace is
sown on this soil. I believe that
these schools will become
antidote against terrorism, which
became the biggest problem of
today. Teaching in these schools is
based on love to humanity, which
has different creeds, languages
and nationalities.
Two things are very important
in these schools: education and
morality. Each time when I visit
these schools, I am pleased to
see high quality of education,
which the students of these
schools receive. I view the school
and have a talk with teachers. I
like most of all that the students
of these schools can speak four
languages freely and make any
operation on the language of
contemporaneity a computer.
Lord Ahmed
The member of the House of
Lords
Glen is an Islamic
scholar with modern
views. It is
impossible to stand
aside, watching his
movement develop.
This movement functions as the
bridge over the abyss, which is
[U]nlike many
Islamic revivalist
movements, the Glen
movement shaped its
identity against the
perceived threat of a
trio of enemies, as Nursi
named them a century
ago ignorance,
disunity, and poverty.
This perception of the
opposition is crucial
to understanding the
apolitical mind-set of
the Glen movements
followers.
Mustafa Gurbuz, Performing
Moral Opposition: Musing on
the Strategy and Identity in
the Glen Movement
96
stretched out between the East
and the West.
Prof Rostislav Ribakov
The Institute of the Oriental
Studies Russia
Education gained
special importance
in public life and in
bringing up the
rising generation.
Thus, a new sphere
appeared. And this new sphere is
the sphere of the worlds ethics.
We should cooperate with each
other in this sphere. All this will
help us to love each other and to
build the empathetic relations,
the relations of empathy. Owing
to the changes in education, the
view on an enemy is changing as
well, and there appears
description of good neighborly
relations in the textbooks. Future
of Turkey is building in connection
with this. Alongside with other
things, the educational system
should develop kind relations and
warm feelings towards neighbors.
It is possible to do with a new
educational system. New
interrelations between a teacher
and a student should be formed.
The schools, which were opened
by Glen movement not only in
Turkey but in the whole world,
are the serious achievement. And
it is necessary to use this.
Prof John Esposito
It is important that
Glens ideas to be
known by people
both in the Islamic
world and in the
West.
Azam Nizamuddin
The Representative of
American Muslim Community
All the religious,
cultural and
historical researches
made until now,
neglected the ideas
of Glen movement.
I think that it is, frst of all,
related to the fact that Islam is
regarded in the scientifc circles
The Glen movement
is based on an Islamic
philosophy that
embraces a common
good, and emphasises
the universality of
values, spirituality and
principles of justice
-in short, the welfare
of society and all
individuals within that
society.
Wanda Krause, Civility in Islamic
Activism: Towards a Better
Understanding of Shared Values
for Civil Society Development
97
more often not as religion and
the system of spiritual values but
as political ideology. The
second reason is the fact that it is
diffcult to refer Glen to any
single category of people.
Prof Nilufer Gole
Glens thought
favors individual
modesty, social
conservatism, and
Islam in the founding
of civilization. It
gives examples of modest and
tolerant people who have not lost
their connection with God, and of
the individual worn down by
traditional suppression and
modern excess. Contrary to the
mental impudence and loneliness
of Western individuals, the
affection that unites faith and
knowledge in the heart culture
gives us the good tidings of a
new door of self-confdence
being opened. For the frst time
in Turkey, we are witnessing a
deep mixture of conservative
thought and liberal tolerance.
achievement.
Prof Serif Mardin
The primary
contribution of
Glens views is the
importance he
places on the tie
between faith and
environmental conditions. With a
distinguished view of such focal
points as history, society, and the
individual, his relating of faith to
religion is hardly ever seen, even
among social scientists. With this
in mind, the exceptional place of
this integrating intelligence
becomes even clearer.
The principle that society
necessarily brings of calculating
tomorrows interests now
weakens the community structure.
Thus, we should not progress too
much on this path. Faith creates
a strong basis on this subject,
and Fethullah Hodja mentions its
consolidating power. We can see
a self-sacrifce, now quite rare, in
those inspired by his ideas.
As one whose vision
and practice of Islam
was honed in the
cauldron between
Islamist and secularist
absolutisms in confict
in modern Turkey,
Glens Islamic
integrity, robustness
and civility can
contribute towards the
laying of more secure
foundations for civility
among Muslims.
Paul Weller, Robustness and
Civility: Themes from Fethullah
Glen as Resource and Challenge
for Government, Muslims and
Civil Society in the United
Kingdom
98
Prof Marcia Hermanseen
Glen is a spiritual
teacher and a
leader. Three main
factors are behind
the success of Glen
movement, which in
the course of time turned into the
project of a global scale: great
signifcance attached to the
profession of a teacher,
tolerance, which has Turkish
culture as its origin and obtains
its form in Glen movement and
absence of any expectations in
return of their service.
Prof Y I Efimov
Glen, as an
outstanding and
consistent adherent
of an interreligious
dialogue, stands up
for the idea of
necessity of coexistence and
cooperation of the Muslims, the
Christians and the Jews as the
representatives of allied,
cognate religions. He calls upon
to mastering education and
practical actions on strengthening
the relations between people of
different cultures and creeds.
Prof Charles Nelson
The example of high
morality proposed
by Glen and his
principles encourage
us to action, self-
sacrifce and serving
for the welfare of the whole
humanity.
Prof Toktamis Ates
These schools have
no any other
purposes but
education and I will
never believe that
the schools both in
the Russian Federation and the
schools all over the world have
any other purposes but providing
good education to students.
Besides, if refer to respected
Glens words, youll be able to
see nothing but the concepts
peace, a dialogue and
tolerance.
Glens views on
democracy, secularism,
pluralism, human
rights and modernity
have helped empower
Muslims in Turkey,
who until recently
fought to withstand
the lure of these values
despite their better
judgment out of fear
that giving in would run
contrary to their faith.
Muslims in Turkey were
now able to socially,
politically and more
importantly, sincerely
and constructively,
participate in Turkeys
public life and
contemporary debates.
Ozcan Keles, Promoting Human
Rights Values in the Muslim
World: The Case of the Glen
Movement
99
Prof Paul Weller
Glen openly
opposes
identifcation of
Islam and terror. He
states that he curses
those, who kill
innocent people using religion as
a cover. He obtains support from
the authentic sources of Islam and
proposes the development
dynamics, which is based on the
Quran and Sunnah.
Prof Pierre Montandon
The signifcance of
cultural and
educational
activities in these
schools will become
more evident in
future. The teachers efforts, who
opened these schools should
necessarily be marked and
appreciated. Wonderful
education is given here, ideal,
impartial and dynamic work of
democratic character is
conducted. These schools
contribution to the worlds
security will be enormous and I
believe that it must be
appreciated correctly.
Prof Tom Boyd
This education, as
Glen said, was
based on universal
values and
principles of high
morality. They dont
just teach children here but also
demonstrate on their examples
what bringing up children must
be.
Prof John Pahl
The average age of
American soldiers,
who give their lives
in Iraq is 20.5 years
old and the
average age of
young suiciders in Palestine is
19.5 years old. Both groups of
these people murder each other
for the sake of their countries, or
murder themselves, while the
young people, who are brought
up by Glens ideas, dedicate
themselves to serving humanity
The Glen movement is
very much in tune with
globalization in terms of
an increased connection
between societies
and a freer fow of
information, ideas and
economic goods across
the boundaries of the
nation-states.
Etga Ugur , Religion as a
Source of Social Capital? The
Glen Movement in the Public
Sphere
100
and persistence of their life.
Dr Pim Valkenberg
Glen may become
one of the most
interesting
interlocutors for
Christians, who are
engaged in
establishing the dialogue with
Islam. Glens method of
establishing the dialogue is in
forgetting about the former
controversies and focusing on the
common things that we have.
Mehmet Ali Birand
Turkish Journalist
I was mostly
infuenced by his
reconciling
approach. No
matter which point
of view you would
hold, he regards from the
position of reconciliation. No
matter how you would feel angry
or even would hate, no he is
able to hear out. It is a very
important quality.
Taha Akyol
Turkish Journalist
When visiting these
schools I saw full-
scale teaching in all
the directions. The
faces of these
schools teachers
expressed sincerity and
ingenuousness. It was clear that
these teachers hearts were flled
with wonderful and pure feelings.
All this was evident. The Russian
students were the same there.
Mehmet Barlas
Turkish Journalist
Atmosphere of a
mutual dialogue,
which existed in the
80-ies and
strengthened
nowadays owing to
Fethullah Glen, took on great
signifcance for the whole world.
Cem Karaca
Turkish Singer
Can you imagine
how wonderful it is
when a person can
cry? A person, who
cries at mentioning
the name of the
Most High Allah and Prophet for
me is a person, who walked a
long, a very long, I would even
say extremely long way to
perfection. Therefore, my respect,
my love to him is unlimited. And it
doesnt make any difference to
me, who speaks what about it.
101
Glen Hodjaefendi
as a man of religion
who separates religion
from politics, opposes
a culture of enmity that
can polarize the nation,
and contributes to our
understanding of Islam
with his tolerance.
Dr Sahin Alpay, Milliyet Daily,
29 July 1995
102
International
Conferences on the
Glen Movement
Conferences have been held
to examine the theological and
intellectual contributions of Glen
in the context of the modern
intellectual history of Islam and
discuss his own interpretations.
Other central issues that have
been academically discussed
and critiqued are universal
educational, the interfaith
agenda of the Glen movement,
and its stance on key issues such
as democracy, multiculturalism,
globalisation and integration.
Glens re-reading of religious
texts in the context of a renewal
and reinterpretation of Islam,
the impact of the movement on
the contemporary Muslim world
in transition and the relations
between the West and Islam in
general have also been studied.
Please visit www.en.fgulen.com
to fnd out more.
103
Selected conferences (in
chronological order):
Islamic Modernities: Fethullah
Glen and Contemporary Islam
26-27April 2001, Georgetown
University, Washington, DC
Islam in the Contemporary
World: The Fethullah Glen
Movement in Thought and
Practice 12-13 November
2005, Rice University, Houston,
TX Co-organised by the
Boniuk Center for the Study
and Advancement of Religious
Tolerance, Rice University, A. D.
Bruce Religion Center, University
of Houston and The Institute of
Interfaith Dialog
Second International
Conference on Islam in the
Contemporary World: The
Fethullah Glen Movement
in Thought and Practice 4-5
March 2006, Southern Methodist
University, Dallas, TX Co-
organised by Dedman College,
Southern Methodist University,
and the Institute of Interfaith
Dialog
Second Annual Conference
on Islam in the Contemporary
World: The Fethullah Glen
Movement in Thought and
Practice 3-5 November 2006,
University of Oklahoma, OK
Co-organised by Department of
Religious Studies at University of
Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Petree
College of Art and Sciences,
Oklahoma City University
Muslim World in Transitition:
Contributions of the Glen
Movement 25-27 October
2007, House of Lords, SOAS
& LSE, UK Co-organised by
University of Birmingham, Irish
School of Ecumenics, Leeds
Metropolitan University, Middle
East Institute, London Middle
East Institute, SOAS, University
of London, London School of
Economics and Dialogue Society
Third Annual Conference on
Islam in the Contemporary
World: The Fethullah Glen
Movement in Thought and
Practice 3 November 2007,
University of Texas at San
Antonio, TX Co-organised by
the Department of History at
UTSA, Department of Sociology
at UTSA, Department of Political
Science & Geography at UTSA,
Increment and Community
Engagement, St Mary University,
University of the Incarnate Word
Liturgical Outreach and the
Institute of Interfaith Dialog
International Conference on
Peaceful Coexistence: Fethullah
Glens Initiatives for Peace
in the Contemporary World
22-23 November 2007, Erasmus
University, Rotterdam, the
Netherlands Co-organised by
Leeds Metropolitan University,
Fethullah Glen Chair in the
Study of Islam & Muslim-Catholic
Relations, Australian Catholic
University, Australia and Dialoog
Academie
Islam in the Age of Global
Challenges: Alternative
Perspectives of the Glen
Movement 14-15 November
2008, Georgetown University,
Washington, DC
Dialogue and Tolerance Since
Y. Has Hacip to F. Glen
27 February 2009, Bishkek,
Kyrgyzstan
104
The Fifth International
Conference on Islam in the
Contemporary World: The
Glen Movement in Thought
and Practice 6-7 March 2009,
Louisiana State University, Baton
Rouge, LA Co-organised by
Reilly Center for Media and
Public Affairs, Department of
Geography and Anthropology at
LSU, Nelson Mandela School of
Public Policy and Urban Affairs,
College of Arts and Humanities
at SUBR, Department of
Communication at SELU and Atlas
Foundation
Muslims Between Tradition
and Modernity: The Glen
Movement as a Bridge between
Cultures 26-27 May 2009,
Berlin, Germany
Glen Movement in Europe:
Case Study of North Rhine
Westphalia 7-8 June 2009,
Bochum, Germany
From Dialogue to Collaboration:
The Vision of Fethullah Glen
and Muslim-Christian Relations
15-16 July 2009, Australian
Catholic University in Melbourne
Co-organised by Australian
Catholic University and Australian
Intercultural Society
Russia and the Islamic World:
Partnership for the Sake of
Stability 24 September 2009,
Moscow, Russia Organised by
Pillar Hall of Unions
Future of Reform in the
Muslim World: Comparative
Experiences with Fethullah
Glens Movement in Turkey
19-21 October 2009, Cairo,
Egypt
Preventing Violence and
Achieving World Peace: The
Contributions of the Glen
Movement 29 October 2009,
University of Maryland
East and West Encounters:
The Glen Movement 4-6
December 2009, University
of Southern California, Los
Angeles, CA Co-organised
by Department of Theological
Studies, Loyola Marymount
University, Offce of Religious
Life, University of Southern
California, Department of
Religious Studies, Humboldt State
University, International Education
Center, Santa Monica College,
Department of Religious Studies,
Whittier College and Pacifca
Institute
Multiculturalism and World
Peace 5-6 December 2009,
National Chengchi University,
Taipei, Taiwan
Ideal Human According to
Rumi, Iqbal and Glen 9-10
February 2010, Allama Iqbal
University, Islamabad, Pakistan
Dialogue between Worldviews
and the Glen Movement
25 March 2010, University of
Copenhagen, Copenhagen,
Denmark
Humanism in Skovoroda &
Fethullah Glen 7 June 2010,
Ukraine
Mapping the Glen Movement
7 October 2010, Amsterdam, the
Netherlands Co-organised by
VISOR, VU Institute for the Study
of Religion, Culture and Society
and Dialoog Academie
The Signifcance of Education
for the Future: The Glen Model
105
of Education 19-21 October
2010, Indonesia
The Glen Movement:
Paradigms, Projects, and
Aspirations 11-13 November
2010, International House of
Chicago, IL Co-organised by
University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign, Loyola University,
DePaul University, The University
of Wisconsin, John Carroll
University, Roosevelt University,
Buena Vista University, Lutheran
School of Theology at Chicago,
Middle East Studies Center,
Chicago Theological Seminary,
Catholic Theological Union and
Niagara Foundation
Global Perspectives on the
Religious, Cultural, and Societal
Diversity in the Balkans:
Fethullah Glen Experience as
a Model and Interfaith Harmony
in Albania 25-26 March 2011,
Tiran, Albania Co-organised by
Tirana University, Fatih University,
Albanian Ministry of Tourism,
Culture, Youth and Sport and
Prizmi Center
Additonally, Glen Chairs and
Institutes have been founded on
the following universities:
Glen Institute at the
University of Houston, TX,
USA
Fethullah Glen Chair
in the Study of Islam
and Muslim-Catholic
Relations, Australian
Catholic University,
Melbourne, Autralia
Glen Chair at the Islam
University, Indonesia
106
Turkey: Fethullah Glen
Profile
International Herald Tribune 8
January 2008
Fethullah Glen is a provincial
Turkish preacher who has
inspired a worldwide network of
Muslims who feel at home in the
modern world.
The chief characteristic of the
Glen movement is that it does
not seek to subvert modern
secular states, but encourages
practising Muslims to use to the
full the opportunities they offer.
It is best understood as the
Islamic equivalent of Christian
movements appealing to business
and the professions. Like them,
it is feared by some for its
ability to mobilise considerable
resources and for its infuence
among decision-makers.
Glen was born in 1938 in a
village near Erzurum in eastern
Turkey. His father was an imam,
and Glen learnt from him the
elements of Islam as well as
some Persian and Arabic. His frst
appointment in 1957 was to a
mosque in Edirne. At roughly at
the same time he was introduced
to the teaching of Said-i Nursi
(1876-1960).
[I]t is a unique and
highly successful
manifestation of
fexible, modern Islam
in a globalised setting,
and it is likely to have
a lasting impact on
the modernisation of
Islam and its opening
to engagement with
Western ideas.
International Herald Tribune 8
January 2008
Glen in the Media
107
Nursi, whose name comes from
the village of Nurs but brings
to mind the word Nur, meaning
light in Arabic, became the
founder of the Followers of Light
movement... His message was
that Muslims should not reject
modernity, but fnd inspiration in
the sacred texts to engage with
it.
Izmir base: Glen put Nursis
ideas into practice when he
was transferred to a mosque
in Izmir in 1966. Izmir is a city
where political Islam never took
root. However, the business
and professional middle class
came to resent the constraints
of a state bureaucracy under
whose wings it had grown, and
supported market-friendly
policies, while preserving at least
some elements of a conservative
life-style. Such businessmen were
largely pro-Western, because
it was Western (mainly US)
infuence which had persuaded
the government to allow free
elections for the frst time in 1950
and US aid which had primed the
pump of economic growth.
From his base in Izmir, Glen
organised summer camps where
the tenets of Islam were taught
and started a network of
student boarding-houses known
as lighthouses. He sought to
transfer the loyalty of Muslims
from the Ottoman empire to the
Turkish secular republic, even
when the republican regime
put pressure on the Muslim
community. This explains his
support for the military coup of
1980 and for the soft coup in
1997 which forced Necmettin
Erbakan, the Islamist prime
minister, to resign.
Offcial toleration allowed Glen
to concentrate on what became
his life-work - the creation
of a network, frst of private
schools and residences, then of
universities, media outlets and
civil society groups as centres of
excellence promoting a modern,
Islam-based ethical framework.
Starting with the wealthy
businessmen of Izmir, Glen
mobilised resources allowing him
to control one of Turkeys leading
newspapers, Zaman, a television
channel and a radio station,
as well as a university with
campuses in Istanbul and Ankara.
Like his schools, Glens other
activities try to be self-fnancing,
competing on quality.
Over the years, Glen extended
his reach from Turkey to the
Turkic republics of the former
Soviet Union (Zaman runs a
successful edition in Azerbaijan),
then to other successor states of
the Soviet Union, the Balkans and
fnally the West. His embrace
of globalisation became more
pronounced after his move to the
United States in 1997, in order
to escape harassment at home,
seek treatment and infuence his
followers throughout the world.
It is not yet clear whether the
Glen movement will outlive
its founder. In any event, it is
a unique and highly successful
manifestation of fexible, modern
Islam in a globalised setting,
and it is likely to have a lasting
impact on the modernisation
of Islam and its opening to
engagement with Western ideas.
108
Fethullah Glen: A Farm
Boy on the World Stage
The Economist 8 March 2008
A Prophet who Finds Honour,
and Some Suspicion, in His
Own Country
Pious people in eastern Turkey,
where Fethullah Glen was born,
are eager to praise him. Before
hearing the preachers words
12 years ago, I led a life full
of women and alcohol, admits
Unal Sahin, a jeweller in Erzurum.
Under Mr Glens guidance, he
became devout and generous,
helping a university in Georgia,
and schools in India and
Azerbaijan. The more I gave, the
more business grew, he says. His
wife, meanwhile, donned a scarf.
Glen-affliated groups
in Istanbul can seem quite
liberalwith bare-headed
and headscarved women
mingling happily. But the social
pressure for pious ladies to
cover their heads, and generally
behave in a conservative way,
is overwhelming in places like
Erzurum.
When Glen-minded couples
exchange visits, the men sit in
one room and we sit in another,
were more comfortable that
way, explains one member
of a scarf-wearing Glenist
sisterhood that does door-to-
door preaching. Our husbands
In addition to never
having any personal
wealth, he prayed
for his relatives to
remain poor so as not
to raise any suspicions
of gaining from his
infuence
Helen Rose Ebaugh & Dogan
Koc, Funding Glen-Inspired
Good Works: Demonstrating
and Generating Commitment
to the Movement
109
dont mind that we arent home
during the day...they know its
because we are doing good for
the cause, she insists.
A place where pietys rewards
have yet to appear is Mr Glens
home village of Korucuk, east
of Erzurum. Apart from a new
mosque, its buildings are made
of mud, stone and thatch. But
its 600 souls are proud of the
hamlets famous son. God be
praised, our village is all Muslim,
and we dont have the evil
internet, says Necdet Glen,
Fethullahs cousin.
Yet for all the admiration he
attracts, many details of the
preachers life remain elusive.
Before moving to the United
States a decade ago, he had
to play a cat-and-mouse game
with the authorities. Shortly after
his emigration, he was tried in
his absence for undermining
secularism. This followed the
leaking of a tape in which he
appeared to urge his followers
to take over the state by stealth.
(He said the tape was doctored.)
The trial dragged on for many
years; he was cleared in 2006,
but an appeal court then
reopened the case.
A key asset of the Glenist
network in Turkey, which includes
a university, a newspaper
and a raft of small and
large businesses, is a chain of
dormitories for students. There
is a familiar pattern in which
youngsters turn to the movement
for accommodation and then
agree to follow a regime of
fasting and prayer.
Many of Turkeys police
are believed to be Glen
sympathisers -an interior minister
once gave a fgure of 70%-
but the army remains highly
suspicious. The movement is
apolitical but has links with
almost all Turkish political parties,
save the main secular opposition.
The Glenists have lots in
common with the ruling Justice
and Development (AK) party,
and they co-operate, but their
interests are not identical. Rumour
has it that Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
the mildly Islamist prime minister,
is holding back from replacing
the Istanbul police chief for the
simple reason that the Glen
movement wants the change
-and he doesnt want to seem
beholden.
110
Global Muslim Networks:
How Far They Have
Travelled
The Economist 8 March 2008
It is a long way from the
Anatolian plains to a campus
in the heart of London, where
eminent scholars of religion
deliver learned papers. And the
highlands that used to form the
Soviet border with China, an
area where bright kids long for
an education, seem far removed
from a three-storey house in
Pennsylvania, where a revered,
reclusive teacher of Islam lives.
That links these places is
one of the most powerful
and best-connected of the
networks that are competing
to infuence Muslims round the
globe -especially in places
far from Islams heartland.
The Pennsylvania-based sage,
Fethullah Glen, who stands at
the centre of this network, has
become one of the worlds most
important Muslim fgures- not
only in his native Turkey, but also
in a quieter way in any other
places: Central Asia, Indochina,
Indonesia and Africa.
With his stated belief in science,
inter-faith dialogue and multi-
party democracy, Mr Glen
has also won praise from many
Glen had a vision
that would take him
and his followers to a
point where no other
Muslim community in
Turkey even dreamed
of. Instead of simply
trying to create a
limited living space for
itself in public life, like
many other Islamic
groups do, Glen
movement decided to
engage with society and
create publications and
institutions that would
appeal to people from
all walks of life.
What Made the Glen
Movement Possible?
111
non-Muslim quarters. He is an
intensely emotional preacher,
whose tearful sermons seem
to strike a deep chord in his
listeners; but the movement he
heads is remarkably pragmatic
and businesslike.
As a global force, the Glenists
are especially active in
education. They claim to have
founded more than 500 places
of learning in 90 countries. A
conference they staged in London
last October was co-hosted by
four British universities, plus the
House of Lords. Its organisers
produced a slick 750-page
volume that included all the
conference papers.
In its homeland, the Glen
movement is seen as a
counterweight to ultra-
nationalism. But in places far
from home, the movement has
rather a Turkish nationalist
favour. In the former Soviet
south, it fghts the Turkish corner
in areas where the cultures of
Russia, China and Iran co-exist
uneasily. If you meet a polite
Central Asian lad who speaks
good English and Turkish, you
know he went to a Glen school,
says a Turkish observer. In
Kyrgyzstan, for example, the
movement runs a university and
a dozen high schools, which excel
in international contests. Even in
Pakistan, pupils at Glen schools
learn Turkish songs, as well as
benefting from gleaming science
labs.
Amazingly enough, the Glen
movement has built up a
signifcant presence in northern
Iraq, through schools, a hospital
and (soon) a university. Although
this arena of Turkish-Kurdish
confict is not the easiest
environment for a Turkish-based
institution, the movement has
deftly built up relationships
with all the regions ethnic and
religious groups.
The infuence that the Glen
movement has quietly
accumulated would be a surprise
to some veteran observers of
Islam. Asked to name the worlds
most active Islamic network,
many a pundit would think frst of
the Muslim Brotherhood, whose
reach has extended a long way
from Egypt, where it began in
the 1920s as a movement of
resistance to the twin evils of
secularism and colonialism. And
it remains true that in every
Western country (including the
United States) where Muslims are
politically active, the infuence
of the brotherhood -or at least
of movements that grew out it- is
palpable.
Among the brotherhoods
ideological affliates is the
biggest Muslim group in France;
a federation that aims to co-
ordinate Muslim activities all over
Europe; and a fatwa council
that offers moral guidance to
European Muslims. In Britain, the
pro-brotherhood camp has split
between a pietist wing and a
more political one, known as the
British Muslim Initiative, which
is now busy organising protests
against Israeli actions in Gaza.
On the face of things, the Glen
movement seems more benign
-from a Western point of view-
than either the brotherhood
or any of the other networks
112
that compete for a similar role.
Although the brotherhood tells
people to take full advantage
of secular democracy, it also
insists that the ideal form of
administration is an Islamic one.
The Glenists say their embrace
of democracy is wholehearted,
not tactical. If there is one group
of people who doubt this, it is
secular Turks; many view the
Glenists as chameleons who
only show their true, conservative
face in deepest Anatolia.
Still, if the Glen message is
well received in the West, that is
partly because the message from
other Muslim networks (leaving
aside the ones that openly
espouse terror) is often so dark.
Take, for example, Hizb ut-Tahrir
(Party of Liberation), which is
active in at least 40 countries,
including Britain and Australia.
Its line is that Muslims should
eschew electoral democracy
altogether, on the ground that the
only regime worth supporting is
a global caliphate. Its maximalist
stance, and the solidarity it
proclaims with embattled Muslims
across the world, can appeal
to impressionable students. Yet
another competitor is an Islamic
revivalist movement, Tablighi
Jamaat, rooted in south Asia
but active in Africa and Europe,
especially Britain. Compared
with all these groups, the Glen
movement offers a message
to young Muslims that sounds
more positive: it tells them to
embrace the Western worlds
opportunities, while still insisting
on Islams fundamentals.
This measured tone has won the
Glenists many admirers. But that
does not mean that all Western
governments automatically
accept the movements claims of
moderation. We know we are
under surveillance from Western
security services, laments a
Glenist insider. That is quite true,
but so far those services have
not detected any hidden ties with
extremism.
[T]he movement
transformed liberal
principles and practices
so as to align them with
the Islamic teachings.
This transformation,
by increasing the
legitimate room for
Muslims, increased the
followers involvement
in social and economic
life and made their
smooth integration to
liberal economic and
political structures
possible.
Ramazan Kilinc, The Patterns
of Interaction Between Islam
and Liberalism: The Case of
the Glen Movement
113
Turkish Schools Offer
Pakistan a Gentler Vision
of Islam
The New York Times 4 May 2008
(abbreviated)
Karachi, Pakistan: Praying in
Pakistan has not been easy for
Mesut Kacmaz, a Muslim teacher
from Turkey.
He tried the mosque near his
house, but it had Israeli and
Danish fags painted on the
foor for people to step on.
The mosque near where he
works warned him never to
return wearing a tie. Pakistanis
everywhere assume he is not
Muslim because he has no beard.
Kill, fght, shoot, Mr. Kacmaz
said. This is a misinterpretation
of Islam.
But that view is common in
Pakistan, a frontier land for the
future of Islam, where schools,
nourished by Saudi and American
money dating back to the 1980s,
have spread Islamic radicalism
through the poorest parts of
society. With a literacy rate of
just 50 percent and a public
school system near collapse, the
country is particularly vulnerable.
Mr. Kacmaz is part of a group
of Turkish educators who have
come to this battleground with an
If Islam is to be
rediscovered and
redeemed in Europe
then Turkish model
through the thought
processes of Glen
and the faith-based
movement need to be
taken seriously as it
offers and outshines as
a living precursor to
this antinomy.
Shanthikumar Hettiarachchi,
Turkish Muslims and Islamic
Turkey: Perspectives For
a New European Islamic
Identity?
114
entirely different vision of Islam.
Theirs is moderate and fexible,
comfortably coexisting with the
West while remaining distinct
from it. Like Muslim Peace Corps
volunteers, they promote this
approach in schools, which are
now established in more than 80
countries, Muslim and Christian.
Their efforts are important in
Pakistan, a nuclear power whose
stability and whose vulnerability
to fundamentalism have become
main preoccupations of American
foreign policy. Its tribal areas
have become a refuge to the
Taliban and Al Qaeda, and the
battle against fundamentalism
rests squarely on young people
and the education they get.
At present, that education is
extremely weak. The poorest
Pakistanis cannot afford to send
their children to public schools,
which are free but require fees
for books and uniforms. Some
choose to send their children to
madrassas, or religious schools,
which, like aid organizations,
offer free food and clothing.
Many simply teach, but some
have radical agendas. At the
same time, a growing middle
class is rejecting public schools,
which are chaotic and poorly
fnanced, and choosing from a
new array of private schools.
The Turkish schools, which have
expanded to seven cities in
Pakistan since the frst one
opened a decade ago, cannot
transform the country on their
own. But they offer an alternative
approach that could help reduce
the infuence of Islamic extremists.
They prescribe a strong Western
curriculum, with courses, taught
in English, from math and
science to English literature and
Shakespeare. They do not teach
religion beyond the one class in
Islamic studies that is required
by the state. Unlike British-
style private schools, however,
they encourage Islam in their
dormitories, where teachers set
examples in lifestyle and prayer.
115
Whatever the West has of
science, let our kids have it, said
Erkam Aytav, a Turk who works in
the new schools. But let our kids
have their religion as well.
That approach appeals to
parents in Pakistan, who want
their children to be capable of
competing with the West without
losing their identities to it...
Private schools cant make our
sons good Muslims, Mr. Niazi,
a retired Urdu professor, said.
Religious schools cant give them
modern education. PakTurk does
both.
The model is the brainchild of a
Turkish Islamic scholar, Fethullah
Glen. A preacher with millions
of followers in Turkey, Mr. Glen,
69, comes from a tradition of
Sufsm, an introspective, mystical
strain of Islam. He has lived in
exile in the United States since
2000, after getting in trouble
with secular Turkish offcials.
Mr. Glens idea, Mr. Aytav said,
is that without science, religion
turns to radicalism, and without
religion, science is blind and
brings the world to danger.
The schools are putting into
practice a Turkish Suf philosophy
that took its most modern form
during the last century, after
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Turkeys
founder, crushed the Islamic
caliphate in the 1920s. Islamic
thinkers responded by trying to
bring Western science into the
faith they were trying to defend.
In the 1950s, while Arab Islamic
intellectuals like Sayyid Qutub
were frmly rejecting the West,
Turkish ones like Said Nursi were
seeking ways to coexist with it.
In Karachi, a sprawling city
that has had its own struggles
with radicalism -the American
reporter Daniel Pearl was killed
here, and the famed Binori
madrassa here is said to have
sheltered Osama bin Laden- the
two approaches compete daily.
The Turkish school is in a poor
neighborhood in the south of the
city where residents are mostly
Pashtun, a strongly tribal ethnic
group whose poorer fringes have
been among the most susceptible
to radicalism. Mr. Kacmaz, who
became principal 10 months ago,
ran into trouble almost as soon
as he began. The locals were
suspicious of the Turks, who, with
their ties and clean-shaven faces,
looked like math teachers from
Middle America.
They asked me several times,
Are they Muslim? Do they pray?
Are they drinking at night? said
Ali Showkat, a vice principal of
the school, who is Pakistani...
Abdul Bari, a 31-year-old
teacher of Islam from a religious
family, lives in a neighborhood
without electricity or running
water. Two brothers from his tribe
were killed on a suicide mission,
leaving their mother a beggar
and angering Mr. Bari, who says
a Muslims frst duty is to his
mother and his family.
... He decided that one of his
brothers should be educated,
and enrolled him in the Turkish
school. The Turks put the focus on
academics, which pleased Mr.
Bari, who said his dream was for
his brother to lift the family out of
116
poverty and expand its horizons
beyond religion... They are
totally against extremism, Mr.
Bari said of the Turks. They are
true Muslims. They will make my
brother into a true Muslim. Hell
deal with people with justice and
wisdom. Not with impatience.
Illiteracy is one of the roots of
problems dogging the Muslim
world, said Matiullah Aail,
a religious scholar in Quetta
who graduated from Medina
University in Saudi Arabia.
In Baluchistan, Quettas sparsely
populated province, the literacy
rate is less than 10 percent,
said Tariq Baluch, a government
offcial in the Pasheen district.
He estimated that about half of
the districts children attended
madrassas.
Mr. Aail said: Doctors and
lawyers have to show their
degrees. But when it comes to
mullahs, no one asks them for
their qualifcations. They dont
have knowledge, but they are
infuential.
That leads to a skewed
interpretation of Islam,
even by those schooled in it,
according to Mr. Glen and his
followers. Theyve memorized
the entire holy book, but they
dont understand its meaning,
said Kamil Ture, a Turkish
administrator.
Mr. Kacmaz chimed in: How we
interpret the Quran is totally
dependent on our education.
In an interview in 2004,
published in a book of his
writings, Mr. Glen put it like this:
In the countries where Muslims
live, some religious leaders
and immature Muslims have no
other weapon in hand than their
fundamental interpretation of
Islam. They use this to engage
people in struggles that serve
their own purposes.
Moderate as that sounds, some
Turks say Mr. Glen uses the
schools to advance his own
political agenda. Murat Belge,
a prominent Turkish intellectual
who has experience with the
movement, said that Mr. Glen
sincerely believes that he has
[T]he Glen
movement has
addressed the issues
facing them and
remained relevant by
developing a counter-
trend through proactive
measures to oppose
extremist ideology and
enhance inter-religious
discussion in the
Southeast Asian region.
Muhammad Nawab Osman,
Glens Contribution to a
Middle Way Islam in Southeast
Asia
117
been chosen by God, and
described Mr. Glens followers
as Muslim Jesuits who are
preparing elites to run the
country.
Hakan Yavuz, a Turkish professor
at the University of Utah who has
had extensive experience with
the Glen movement, offered a
darker assessment.
The purpose here is very much
power, Mr. Yavuz said. The
model of power is the Ottoman
Empire and the idea that Turks
should shape the Muslim world.
But while radical Islamists
seek to re-establish a seventh-
century Islamic caliphate, without
nations or borders, and more
moderate Islamists, like Egypts
Muslim Brotherhood, use secular
democracy to achieve the goal
of an Islamic state, Mr. Glen is a
nationalist who says he wants no
more than a secular democracy
where citizens are free to
worship, a claim secular Turks fnd
highly suspect...
The schools, which also operate
in Christian countries like Russia,
are not for Muslims alone, and
one of their stated aims is to
promote interfaith understanding.
Mr. Glen met the previous pope,
as well as Jewish and Orthodox
Christian leaders, and teachers
in the schools say they stress
multiculturalism and universal
values. We are all humans, said
Mr. Kacmaz, the principal. In
Islam, every human being is very
important.
Pakistani society is changing fast,
and more Pakistanis are realizing
the importance of education, in
part because they have more
to lose, parents said. Abrar
Awan, whose son is attending the
Turkish school in Quetta, said he
had grown tired of the attitude
of the Islamic political parties
he belonged to as a student.
Now he sees real life as more
complicated than black-and-
white ideology.
America or the West was
always behind every fault, every
problem, he said, at a gathering
of fathers in April. Now, in my
practical life, I know the faults
are within us.
Glen is promoting
Anatolian Muslimness
among Muslims to
fne-tune the rigid,
conformist and literal
Muslimness in practice
in some parts of the
Muslim world today.
This is signifcant for the
development of human
rights values in the
Muslim world.
Ozcan Keles, Promoting
Human Rights Values in the
Muslim World: The Case of the
Glen Movement
118
Turkish Islamic Preacher -
Threat or Benefactor?
Reuters UK 14 May 2008
(abbreviated)
Istanbul: Nine-year-old Burak
says his favourite subject is maths,
he loves studying and writing in
English, and when he grows up he
wants to be a policeman.
Smiling 11-year olds Serra
and Liyna, fellow pupils at
the 5,000-pound-a-year
Fatih College primary school
in Istanbul, chime in similarly
confdent English that their
favourite subject is science and
they want to be doctors.
This is the 640-pupil school run
by followers of Fethullah Glen
-a Turkish Muslim preacher who
advocates a moderate Islam
rooted in modern life, and whose
teachings have inspired millions
of Turks to forge a powerful
socio-religious community active
in publishing, charity and above
all education.
But if the Glen movement is seen
by outsiders as a moderating
force in an increasingly
fundamentalist Muslim world, it
rings alarm bells for some Turks
because it encapsulates the
tensions between secular state
and religious power.
Glen, 67, has a reputation
[Glen] is genius in
redeeming Islam
and Muslims from
historically in-
built sense of undue
protectionism, as if a
burden and a feeling
of guilt bestowed on
them by their bygone
generations.
Shanthikumar Hettiarachchi,
Turkish Muslims and Islamic
Turkey: Perspectives For
a New European Islamic
Identity?
119
abroad as a Muslim who
preaches tolerance and
engagement with other faiths.
But many in Turkeys secularist
establishment say he has a
political agenda and wants to
create a religious state and
a cadre of people to run it, a
charge his followers vigorously
deny.
Attitudes to the Glen movement
in Turkey are deeply entrenched
and refect a wider struggle for
the countrys identity and power
base.
The movement has built up a
network of some 800 schools
around the world, teaching a full
curriculum focusing on science
and technology, and encouraging
pupils to aim high.
In Turkey it follows the national
curriculum and teaches only
comparative religion according
to strict outlines set by the state.
However, most teachers adhere
to Glens views.
Some parents send their children
here because they are religious.
Others know the schools are very
successful and want their children
to go to university, while other
parents are scared that if their
children go to a government
school they will start smoking and
drinking, said Ahmet Yalcin, an
English teacher at Fatih Colleges
high school...
Religious Professionals
Glens readiness to interact with
other faiths took him to a meeting
with Pope John Paul II in Rome in
1998 and he has also met Jewish
and Orthodox leaders.
Though predominantly Muslim,
Turkey was founded as a fercely
secular state in 1923 and a
powerful elite of military, judicial
and academic offcials acts as
custodians of this role.
Now a shift in society is bringing
to the fore a rising class of
religious professionals, from
which Glen gleans much of his
support, to the alarm of the old
guard such as the army.
This shift helped sweep the
Islamist-rooted AK Party to
power in 2002.
Glen has even been charged,
then later acquitted, with plotting
to destroy the secular state and
establish Islamic law. He left for
the United States shortly before
the case began.
His supporters estimate there
are 5 million Glen sympathizers
among Turkeys population of
70.5 million and people on all
sides recognize the movement has
grown in infuence in a country
where the military were long
dominant.
Educator
Fethullah Glen is the frst
person in the history of Turkish
Islamic thought who realized
that the world is changing,
said Kerim Balci, a columnist for
Todays Zaman, a Turkish English-
language newspaper close to the
Glen movement,
He changed the conservative
discourse of scholars, changed
it radically ... to look for the
common ethical roots of all
religions, he said, adding Glen
has bought Islam to the global
market, teaching his followers
120
how to adapt to new realities,
unlike more Middle-East rooted
interpretations of the faith.
Glen build up his reputation with
intense sermons that often moved
him to tears. From his base in
Izmir, he toured Turkey stressing
how to embrace scientifc
progress, shun radicalism and
build bridges to the West and
other faiths.
Since he moved to the United
States in 1999 he has kept in
contact with books, videos and
an extensive website full of
free texts and videos. He rarely
speaks to the press.
The frst Glen school opened
in 1982. As the number of his
followers increased, so have the
schools. There are now about
300 schools, night schools and a
university in Turkey. Schools have
also opened across Central Asia.
Cemal Usak, chairman of
the Journalist and Writers
Foundation, which has Glen as
its honorary leader, said surveys
showed 83 percent of Turks were
sympathetic to Glen educational
institutions, which adhere to strict
government guidelines banning
overt religious education...
Their focus is on uplifting secular
and religious Turks alike through
education, said Timothy Winter,
an expert in Islam at Cambridge
University. Ambitious upwardly
mobile Turkish families are keen
for their children to be involved
with them.
Columnist Balci said he owes
much to the community and
became interested at age 12.
The movement took me out
of the village, helped me to
get educated... It made me
into somebody I wouldnt have
dreamed of.
Glen wants to see a renaissance
of the modern Muslim world with
Turkey at the forefront, deriving
from its historical position as
head of the multi-ethnic Ottoman
empire.
Political Ambitions?
His supporters say he has no
political ambitions and backs the
division of state and religion -but
his critics think otherwise.
It is a political movement ... and
it has always been political. They
think power is very important.
They want to train an elitist class
which will then turn Turkey into
a centre of the religious world,
Islamise the country, said Hakan
Yavuz, a professor of political
science at the University of Utah.
It is the most powerful movement
right now in the country. They
are powerful in the media, the
education ministry and the police
force... The point where they
are today scares me. There is no
other movement to balance them
in society.
People within the Glen
community dismiss such views as
paranoid and alarmist, arguing
they have no secret agenda.
Our main problem is working
with secular fundamentalists ...
They dont know us and they dont
want to know us. They have great
prejudice... They are suspicious of
everything, said Usak.
121
Turkey Balances
Democracy and Islam
Indystar.com 12 June 2008
Konya: For the past week Ive
been traveling around Turkey
with eight other Hoosiers
on a trip sponsored by the
Indianapolis-based Holy Dove
Foundation. Our group from
Indianapolis is diverse: Catholic
and Protestant, Muslim and
Jewish, Caucasian and African-
American. For all of us, this is our
frst trip to Turkey.
As I write this, we are in the city
made famous by the great 13th-
century Suf Muslim poet and
philosopher Rumi, whose mystical
approach to Islam inspired the
Whirling Dervishes and Ottoman
sultans as well as centuries of
devotees worldwide.
Holy Dove Foundation is part of
the Glen movement, a Turkish
Muslim organization that is
committed to fostering interfaith
and inter-cultural dialogue and
understanding. The offcially
non-political movement includes
professional associations, media
outlets and dialogue centers. It
has established well-respected
schools throughout the world that
stress science education.
We have encountered groups
similar to our own from
Today the Glen
movement represents
the most powerful
element of the rising
Muslimhood of
Turkey, as sociologist
Jenny B. White defnes
as an alternative
to Islamism. This
Muslimhood is in
favour of democracy,
secularity, pluralism
and even capitalism
something which even
many modern Muslims
perceive as alien to
Islam.
Mustafa Akyol, What Made the
Glen Movement Possible?
122
California, Colorado, Missouri
and Oklahoma. An important
goal of these dialogue
trips is to expose American
clergy, academics and other
professionals to the moderate
Islam found in Turkey. Islam as
practiced in Turkey represents
a tolerant and open-minded
approach to the faith, one which
is rarely if ever covered by the
U.S. media.
In our travels we have enjoyed
dinners and conversations
in the homes of local Turkish
families, and we have all been
overwhelmed by the genuine,
heartfelt hospitality. We were
provided with feasts of delicious
Turkish cuisine and the evenings
ended with our hosts presenting
us with gifts. We brought our own
gifts to exchange, unique items
from Indiana.
These were the homes of
traditional, middle-class Muslim
families, with most of the women
wearing the Muslim headscarf. It
was their understanding of Islam
that inspired their warm and
welcoming hospitality.
The Turks I have observed
here seem to approach life
with a live-and-let-live attitude
toward others. Women in the
latest revealing fashions walk
down the street hand in hand
with girlfriends in traditional
Muslim dress, and secular Turks
and foreigners openly consume
alcohol at restaurants without
rebuke from observant Muslims
seated nearby.
Umar al-Khattab, the imam of
Masjid al-Fajr, the mosque just
south of Marian College, and
a member of our tour group,
has traveled throughout the
Muslim world but sees something
unique in Turkey. Islam in Turkey
appears to offer more fexibility
in how people choose to practice
their faith, he observed. In
other countries, there is a
perceived norm of how people
are supposed to practice Islam.
Those who dont do as expected
are seen as going against
the grain of society. Turkey is
different.
Turkeys democratic political
system can offer an important
counter-model to the repressive
theocracies of Iran and Saudi
Arabia.
But Turkey is engulfed in a
constitutional crisis. The 85-year
old Republic of Turkey is offcially
secular. Whereas Iran requires
women to wear headscarves,
Turkey bans the headscarf from
public buildings and universities.
This effectively bars observant
Muslim girls from acquiring a
college education in Turkey...
Observant Turks are asking for
greater freedom to practice their
faith, but their secular opponents
fear this could be the frst step in
turning Turkey into another Iran.
The great irony is that Turkeys
approach to Islam is far more
moderate and welcoming of
diversity than what exists in many
other Muslim-majority countries
today.
Turkey can show the world that
democracy and Islam can be
compatible. The tougher question,
however, may be whether
Turkeys hard-line secularism and
democracy are compatible.
123
Islamic Scholar Voted
Worlds No 1 Thinker
The Guardian 23 June 2008
(abbreviated)
A hitherto largely unknown Turkish
Islamic scholar, Fethullah Glen,
has been voted the worlds top
intellectual in a poll to fnd the
leading 100 thinkers.
Glen, the author of more than
60 books, won a landslide
triumph after the survey -which is
organised by the British magazine,
Prospect, and Foreign Policy, a US
publication- attracted more than
500,000 votes.
The top 10 individuals were all
Muslim and included two Nobel
laureates, the novelist Orhan
Pamuk the Iranian human rights
lawyer Shirin Ebadi...
Glen, 67, is known for a
modernist brand of Islam. He
was cleared of trying to topple
the state in 2006 after being
charged over footage in which
he apparently urged civil service
supporters to await his orders to
overthrow the system. He said the
flm had been doctored.
Glen, who has lived in the US
since 1998, is credited with
establishing a global network of
schools which preach Islam in a
spirit of tolerance. He has been
praised in the west for promoting
dialogue and condemned Osama
bin Laden as a monster after
September 11.
The Glen community
brings different sectors
of society together to
facilitate collective
intellectual effort and
offer civil responses
to social issues, seeing
this as a more subtle
and legitimate way
of infuencing public
debate and policy.
Etga Ugur, Religion as a
Source of Social Capital? The
Glen Movement in the Public
Sphere
124
A Modern Ottoman
Prospect July 2008 (abbreviated)
Is it possible to be a true
religious believer and at the
same time enjoy good relations
with people of other faiths or
none? Moreover, can you remain
open to new ideas and new ways
of thinking?
Fethullah Glen, a 67-year-old
Turkish Suf cleric, author and
theoretician, has dedicated much
of his life to resolving these
questions. From his sick bed in
exile just outside Philadelphia,
he leads a global movement
inspired by Suf ideas. He
promotes an open brand of
Islamic thought and, like the Iran-
born Islamic philosophers Seyyed
Hossein Nasr and Abdolkarim
Soroush, he is preoccupied with
modern science (he publishes
an English-language science
magazine called the Fountain).
But Glen, unlike these western-
trained Iranians, has spent most
of his life within the religious and
political institutions of Turkey, a
Muslim country, albeit a secular
one since the foundation of
Mustafa Kemal Atatrks republic
after the frst world war.
Unusually for a pious intellectual,
he and his movement are at
home with technology, markets
Glen offers his
supporters a world
view that is grounded
in Islam and more
specifcally in the Suf
tradition. Fethullah
Glen is an advocate
of interfaith dialogue
between different
Muslim groups and
different religions.
Jonathan Lacey, Dialogue
Work through NI-TECA, A
Glen-inspired Organization
Based in Northern Ireland
125
and multinational business,
and especially with modern
communications and public
relations -which, like a modern
televangelist, he uses to attract
converts. Like a western celebrity,
he carefully manages his public
exposure- mostly by restricting
interviews to those he can trust.
Many of his converts come from
Turkeys aspirational middle
class. As religious freedom comes,
falteringly, to Turkey, Glen
reassures his followers that they
can combine the statist-nationalist
beliefs of Atatrks republic
with a traditional but fexible
Islamic faith. He also reconnects
the provincial middle class with
the Ottoman traditions that had
been caricatured as theocratic by
Atatrk and his Kemalist heirs.
Oliver Leaman, a leading scholar
of Islamic philosophy, says that
Glens ideas are a product of
Turkish history, especially the end
of the Ottoman empire and the
birth of the republic. He calls
Glens approach Islam-lite.
Millions of people inside and
outside Turkey have been
inspired by Glens more than 60
books and the tapes and videos
of his talks. Why? A combination
of charisma, good organisation
and an attractive message. What
Glen says is that you can be at
home in the modern world while
also embracing traditional values
like faith in God and community
responsibility -a message which
resonates strongly in Turkey.
Glen insists that he is not a Suf
leader, but his thinking is certainly
infuenced by Suf ideas: he says,
for example, that a reader who
wants to truly understand the
Quran needs to invest his heart
as well as his intellect. Another
belief he shares with Sufsm is the
idea that God, humanity and the
natural world are all linked, and
might even be part of a single
entity, a sort of cosmic trinity. This
idea has practical consequences.
For example, it suggests that a
believer will love and respect
humanity and the natural world
as they would God. It also means
that no one should be seen as an
outsider. Hence Glens insistence
on friendship among people of
all faiths and none.
Hakan Yavuz, co-editor of Turkish
Islam and the Secular State: the
Glen Movement (Syracuse),
describes the Glen movement as
comprising a small inner cabinet
along with a network of perhaps
5m like-minded volunteers and
sympathisers, rather than an
organisation with a hierarchy
or formal membership. Others
say it is more like a cult, with
no deviation from Glens word
allowed. The networks largesse
has meant that the movement
now boasts newspapers and
magazines, television and radio
stations, private hospitals and,
by some estimates, more than
500 fee-paying elite schools
in dozens of countries. These
schools are mostly in Turkey and
the Turkic-speaking ex-Soviet
republics like Azerbaijan, but a
few can also be found in Africa,
China and the US.
... [Glen endeavours to
accommodate] Islam to
modernity and fnding harmony
between scientifc reason and
religious revelation. Science and
126
technology are important to
Glen for two reasons. First, he
attributes the underdevelopment
of many Muslim nations to a
neglect of modern knowledge.
For Glen, a failure to study
science is a dereliction of Islamic
duty, as learning is repeatedly
emphasised in the Quran. More
controversially, he says there can
be no confict between reason
and revelation...
... The ruling AK Party leaders
and Glen too, have been
pushing hard for EU membership
for Turkey, partly to entrench
religious freedom... Even in the
event of EU-enthusiasm returning
in Turkey, there remain many
objections in Brussels to Turkeys
political norms. One of them,
of course, is the continuing
involvement of the military in
politics. There is also the issue of
minority rights, only now being
tackled. The republic has hitherto
functioned on the basis that all
Turks are Turkish-speaking Sunni
Muslims. All other expressions
of faith, language and culture
have been suppressed. Even
AK, in favour of more religious
freedom, has been slow to
promote the rights of Turkeys
Kurdish and Alevi minorities.
Glen has always publicly
supported the establishment and
its organs of state, including the
National Security Council. He has
had the backing of both former
centre-right president Sleyman
Demirel and Blent Ecevit, hero
of the Turkish left in the 1970s.
However, many Kemalists do not
trust him, and see his support
for the AK government as
vindication of their stance that
he is a Trojan horse for political
Islam. Glen has been indicted on
anti-secularism charges, but was
acquitted in 2006.
For the past several years, he
has lived in self-exile in the US,
where he has not been in good
health. Rumours persist that he is
ready to return to Turkey, though
in the current climate, with talk of
political bans in the air, this seems
unlikely.... Whether or not he
returns to the country of his birth,
Glens legacy as a thoroughly
modern Suf is secure.
If we can promote the
Glen understanding
of what it means to be
a Muslim and convert
Muslims to authentic
Islam, then we will not
only save Islam from
the clutches of terrorist
ideology and rhetoric
but also facilitate
constructive citizenship
among Muslim
communities in Britain.
Asaf Hussain, Combatting
Terrorism in Britain: Glens
Idea
127
Glen Movement, Role
Model In Representing
Islam Positively
Bernama News Agency 30 July
2008
The Muslim community, non-
governmental organisations and
society in general would do well
to follow the footsteps of the
Glen Movement, founded by
Turkish philosopher and modernist
Islamic scholar Fethullah Glen, in
advocating the message of Islam.
For its work which includes
promoting peaceful coexistence
and supporting communities on a
voluntary basis, the movement is
said to have a powerful, positive
impact in the eyes of the West
and the world.
The Glen Movement is an
unoffcial organisation that has
around fve million followers and
supporters worldwide.
International Islamic University of
Malaysia (IIUM) Communications
Department head and Glen
Movement associate, Assoc
Prof Dr Azmuddin Ibrahim, said
the international movement
had managed to bridge the
boundaries of Western and
Islamic civilisations through
interfaith dialogues, community
service and open discourses.
Glens
understanding of
the external jihad to
include the struggle
to guarantee an
individuals freedom
to believe as he or she
pleases is refective
of the Qurans own
concern for the
protection of this basic
human right.
Asma Afsaruddin, Striving
in the Path of God: Fethullah
Glens views on Jihad
128
For the movements members,
it doesnt matter whether
youre a Muslim or not. What
matters is education and
helping everyone, he said
when presenting his paper titled
The Glen Movement: A Case
of Positive Representation at
the International Conference
on the Representation of Islam
and Muslims in the Media, here,
Wednesday.
Azmuddin said Fethullah Glen
was known as one of the
foremost Islamic intellectuals
in the world who has so far
written 60 books. By preaching
tolerance and acceptance, he
was for many years the unoffcial
Turkish ambassador to America.
He met with many Western
leaders, including Pope John Paul
II and other religious and political
leaders.
He said the movement had
established more than 500
schools in more than 50 countries
covering Europe, Asia, America,
Africa and Australia plus six
universities in Turkey and Central
Asia.
The Glen Movement promotes
Muslim voluntary services in many
parts of the world, including
Third world countries. Its efforts
have included building a school
in Myanmar, the Philippines,
Cambodia and even in
Malaysia.
Azmuddin said many Western
countries, including the
Netherlands and the US, were
receptive to the movement
because of the clear message of
peace that it preached.
For instance, he said, the Dutch
government had sponsored the
building of a Glen school and
funded its administration and the
teachers salaries. Asked why the
Glen Movement had failed to
penetrate and received coverage
by the Western media to make
a signifcant impact on the minds
of the Western masses, Azmuddin
said the bottom line for the
Western media was money.
They only focus on news that
make money, he explained.
Even though we are trying
to understand each other,
only people associated with
academics and those interested
in inter-religious dialogues are
interested in what the movement
does.
But the media themselves are
cold towards its discourses and
other activities to put them in
print and on TV and radio for the
consumption of the masses. So the
ordinary people are still ignorant
about the movement, he added.
The Glen Movement has strong
support from the business circle,
including one of the fastest
growing fnancial institutions in
Turkey, Bank Asya, and media
institutions such as Zaman Media
Group, Samanyolu TV Media
Group and New Jersey-based
Tughra Books.
129
Movement Educates
Kurds
The Economist 19 February 2009
(abbreviated)
There is a studious silence in the
basement foor of the Rose Pink
Womens Education and Mutual
Aid Association in Diyarbakir,
the largest city in Turkeys mainly
Kurdish southeast.
In three classrooms, 70 12-year-
old girls are hard at work
studying for exams that will
decide their secondary school
future. Wearing headscarves that
bar them from working in Turkish
state schools, volunteer teachers
advise struggling students. In
the library across the corridor,
Ministry of Education-required
course books rub shoulders with
encyclopedias and a copy of
Charles Dickens Hard Times, in
English.
Like 24 other facilities newly
opened in Diyarbakir to provide
free after-school education, Rose
Pink was set up by followers of
Turkeys most infuential religious
leader, Fethullah Glen.
A former state imam who has
lived in the United States since
2000, the 67-year-old Glen
has always prized education.
With an estimated following of
between 3 million and 5 million,
The local people
who have placed
their children in these
institutions comment
that they see the Glen
movement institutions
as a way to keep their
children immune to the
infuence of both the
PKK and Hezbollah.
Mehmet Kalyoncu, Civilian
Response to Ethno-Religious
Terrorism
130
he has established hundreds of
schools worldwide, including in
the United States, sub-Saharan
Africa and Pakistan.
Over the last two years, however,
Glens movement has focused
attention much closer to home: on
Kurds in Turkey and across the
border in Iraq.
Almost every town in southeastern
Turkey now has a Glen school.
In Iraqi Kurdistan, where the
movement opened its frst school
15 years ago, there are now 15
of them. And last November, a
university opened in the regional
capital of Erbil.
On both sides of the border,
the movement has gained many
admirers... These Turks actually
value their children says Tarza
Pirbal, whose daughter attends
an English-language girls
school operated by Glens
organization in Erbil.
It is simply the best education
you can get, adds Mazhar Bagli,
a Diyarbakir-based academic.
People are falling over each
other to get their kids into these
schools, whether or not they like
Fethullah Glen.
Ms. Pirbal and Mr. Bagli
are referring to the Glen
organizations fee-paying
schools. The non-fee-paying
establishments like Rose Pink are
even more popular. At an after-
school program for boys in the
Sur district of Diyarbakir -a semi-
slum inhabited mostly by families
who fed their villages in the
1990s at the height of Turkeys
ongoing war against Kurdish
militants- teachers say 5,000
families applied for 250 spots.
Seven-hundred-thousand people
in Diyarbakir are younger than
18 -over 50 percent of the total
population- and most are very
poor, says Aziz Nart, chairman
of the Diyarbakir Entrepreneurial
Businessmens Association, a
Glen-linked business group that
sponsored the construction of
the 25 reading rooms. This is
something the state should be
dealing with. We are just trying
to fll the gaps.
Central though the schools are to
the Glen organizations activities
in the region, many think its
interests go beyond education.
Unique among Turkish Muslim
groups in preferring cooperation
with the state to confict, the
movement has tended to develop
its activities in parallel with state
policies. In the early 1990s,
when Turkey was trying to
build relations with the newly-
independent Turkic states of
Central Asia, it concentrated on
opening schools in that region.
Its discovery of the Kurds
coincides with Turkeys efforts
to improve traditionally tense
relations with Kurds north and
south of the border. Once
banned, Kurdish has been
broadcast 24 hours a day on
Turkish state television since
January 1. While Turkey still
baulks at acknowledging the
existence of a federal Iraqi
Kurdistan, unoffcial relations
are deepening, as the two sides
discuss ways to persuade 4,000
former Kurdish militants to drop
their guns and return home.
Traditionally noted for its political
131
neutrality, the Glen organization
has openly supported the Justice
and Development Party (AKP)
government since it came to
power in 2002. There is evidence
that the state has repaid the
compliment in Kurdish areas.
When authorities in Cizre paid
for hundreds of village children
to attend after-school classes
late last year, locals say, they
chose not an independent one,
but a local one run by the Glen
organization. When 100 Turkish
intellectuals met in Erbil in mid-
February under the aegis of
the Abant Platform, a discussion
forum set up by the organization
in 1998, the key-note speech
was given by Turkeys consul in
northern Iraq...
Yet the Glen organization has
one major obstacle to overcome
if it is to succeed in Kurdish
areas: its deep roots in the
Turkish nationalist tradition.
Just three years ago, the
organizations newspaper,
Zaman, still showed a preference
for euphemisms like eastern
tribes, instead of using the
word Kurd. Today, many of
its columnists have a strikingly
liberal approach to the Kurdish
issue. But it remains one of very
few newspapers that still avoids
printing the letters q, w and x,
used in Kurdish, but not in Turkish.
The letters are still offcially
banned in Turkey, but the start
of state Kurdish television on
January 1 effectively rendered
the ban irrelevant.
... A moderate Islamic intellectual
and a Kurd who attended the
Abant Platform earlier this month,
Altan Tan agrees that programs
like One Turkey hamstring the
Glen movements efforts to
play a part in the solution to the
Kurdish issue.
But he warns against seeing the
organization as homogeneous.
Think of the AKP: 367 MPs with
political views all the way from
liberal to nationalist, he says.
The [Glen] movement is the
same.
Like all sections of Turkish
society -the politicians, the
intelligence services, the army-
its members are realizing that
the old mindset is unsuited to the
realities of the country. They are
changing, Tan continued.
Aziz Nart, the businessman, has
witnessed the change at frst
hand. At the end of a week-long
visit to Diyarbakir hosted by his
association, an Istanbul factory
owner confessed to him that he
had always avoided employing
Kurds. From now on, Ill go out
of my way to employ them, the
factory owner said.
132
A Different Jihad
The Age 23 July 2009
(abbreviated)
To one side are the now
familiar faces of Islams radical
extremists, men like Indonesian
cleric Abu Bakr Bashir, al-
Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden
and Egyptian-born supporter
of terrorism Abu Hamza al-
Masri, now jailed in Britain, all
infuenced by Saudi Arabias
Wahhabi theology.
To the other is a Turkish scholar
and philosopher, Fethullah Glen.
He may be little-known in the
West, but in the global battle for
the hearts and minds of Muslims,
the movement he founded is
starting to make inroads against
the hardline fundamentalism of
the Wahhabis.
In the past 35 years, the oil-rich
Saudis have poured at least
$100 billion into exporting
the exclusivist and puritanical
Wahhabi version of Islam. This
theology, which Wahhabis insist is
the one pure Islam, has provided
fertile ground for violent
extremists worldwide, though it
is far from the only source of
radicalism.
By building mosques, schools,
providing religious literature
and training imams, they have
fomented tensions in many areas
Glen also argues
that the interpretation
of Islam which can
best ft the needs of the
modern times is possible
since Islam leaves the
type of government
to the human reason.
He does not see any
contradiction between
Islamic teachings on
governance and liberal
democracy.
Ramazan Kilinc, The Patterns
of Interaction between Islam
and Liberalism: the Case of the
Glen Movement
133
with a history of a more tolerant
Islam, such as Bosnia, Indonesia,
Pakistan, the central Asian
republics and parts of Europe.
In Australia, where the Saudis
have helped fund mosques and
Islamic schools, senior Muslim
leaders agree that Wahhabis,
who comprise a minority of the
local community, are those least
inclined to integrate.
Now the Wahhabis have a rival
for Islamic infuence in the Glen
movement, a Turkish-based group
shaped by the more refective
Suf form of Islam, which is setting
out to counter the Wahhabis.
Named for Fethullah Glen,
a 71-year-old Turkish Islamic
scholar and philosopher, it has
built about 800 schools in some
50 countries, several universities,
and owns Turkeys highest-
circulating newspaper, Zaman,
television and radio stations, and
a bank. Glen was named the
worlds top public intellectual
in a Foreign Policy magazine
public poll last year, though this
was heavily slanted after Zaman
wrote about the poll on its front
page and sparked hundreds of
thousands of votes.
Foreign Policy noted: Glen
is both revered and reviled in
his native Turkey. To members
of the Glen movement, he is
an inspirational leader who
encourages a life guided by
moderate Islamic principles. To his
detractors, he represents a threat
to Turkeys secular order. He has
kept a relatively low profle since
settling in the United States in
1999, having fed Turkey after
being accused of undermining
secularism.
His followers deny they
proselytise, saying their schools
follow the secular curriculum
wherever they are based, which
has led them to be welcomed
particularly where Wahhabis
are having an impact. Oil-
rich Central Asia is a key
battleground, and the outcome
is critical for the West. A two-
day international conference
in Melbourne last week
highlighted the importance of
the Glen movement as the only
international Islamic movement
aiming at dialogue, tolerance
and modernising Islam...
Monash professor Greg Barton,
a specialist in new Islamic
movements, compares the Glen
movement with other international
reforming Islamic groups. He
divides the reformers into
reactionaries, trying to restore
an imagined original 7th century
Islam -they are like the Amish,
but without the sense of humour,
he says- and progressives, trying
to synthesise classical Islamic
scholarship with modern critical
thinking.
Reactionary reformers include
most of the Islamist movements,
such as the Wahhabis, the Muslim
Brotherhood and al-Qaeda. The
only progressive international
group is the Glen, but it is
serving as a role model for other
groups, for example in Indonesia,
Barton says.
Reactionaries build activist
networks with a strong sense
of purpose, usually framed in
terms of struggle and combat.
Most progressives do not build
134
extensive networks, which is
why the Glen movement is
important, Barton says. It is the
only extensive transnational
reformist Islamic movement, it is
well-organised and effective,
though Glen himself is more a
fgurehead than an active leader.
The movement began in Izmir,
Turkey, when local businessmen
and others took up Glens ideas
on education, philanthropy and
public service. In the mid-1970s
they began opening schools,
combining his philosophy with a
modern curriculum.
The big change, turning the
movement into an ambitious
international one, came with the
collapse of the Soviet Union after
1991, Barton says. The Turkic
republics in Central Asia were in
dire straits so they helped there,
then moved on to Turkish youth in
the West.
... The movement arrived in
Australia in 1981... Today it
has several thousand Australian
members in all state capitals, not
all of Turkish background, and
has opened 16 schools -eight in
Victoria.
It became an early and
important advocate of interfaith
dialogue and bridge-building.
Through its public arm, the
Australian Intercultural Society,
it has run conferences for
Muslims, Christians and Jews,
started or joined other interfaith
programs, and hosted dinners
during the Muslim fasting month
of Ramadan. These range
from massive affairs at State
Parliament and Government
House to small private dinners
in family homes. Last year it
endowed the chair in Muslim-
Christian studies at the Australian
Catholic University. All this is
funded by the local Turkish
community... Glen-inspired
schools make (a) way for
Australian Muslims to integrate to
society and be productive...
His conclusions are
inevitably attractive,
and link up nicely with
each other in presenting
a view of the faith that is
coherent, moderate and
rational. Here we fnd
the ethos of the Ottoman
Empire reborn, this
time not as an empire in
physical territory, but in
virtual space.
Oliver Leaman, Towards an
Understanding of Glens
Methodology
135
Turk Who Leads a
Movement Has Advocates
and Critics
The New York Times 12 June 2010
Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania: Here
in northeastern Pennsylvania,
where fertile farmlands yield
suddenly to the hauntingly
beautiful foothills of the Pocono
Mountains, quietly resides one of
the most infuential men in Turkey.
And one of the most
controversial.
Admirers describe Fethullah
Glen, 69, a soft-spoken
Muslim preacher, author and
teacher with a huge following, in
reverential tones.
John L. Esposito, a Georgetown
University professor who has
studied Mr. Glen, said that if he
were to compare Mr. Glen to
another public fgure it would be
the Dalai Lama.
Mr. Glens talk is of peace
and tolerance, the strength of
U.S.-Turkish relations and the
importance of a free-market
economy. When he says things
like There is no place for terror
in true Islam, as he did in a rare
and recent interview, Western
offcials take heart.
Both former Secretary of State
Madeleine K. Albright and one
[Via Glens new
interpretation of Islam],
religious people in
Turkey have modifed
their views towards
business activities
into a more rational
way. Secondly, the
new interpretation of
Islam with its fexible
ideas and its high
compatibility with the
modern world might
come in handy in
Turkeys modernization
project that the Turkish
state has been trying
to achieve from the
very beginning through
an uncompromising
secularism inimical to
religious sentiments.
Selcuk Uygur, Islamic
Puritanism as a Source of
Economic Development: the
case of the Glen Movement
136
of her predecessors, James
A. Baker III, have spoken at
events sponsored by Glen
groups, praising his advocacy of
democracy and dialogue.
But his detractors have a darker
view. They say that Mr. Glens
deeply nationalistic followers in
Turkey are moving into positions
of power, perhaps with a secret
agenda...
Some see Mr. Glen as
part of a slow-motion but
powerful backlash against the
secularization of Turkey nearly
a century ago under Kemal
Ataturk, which Muslims saw as
a wrenching blow to traditional
values but which secularists
deemed vital to modernization.
Mr. Glens approach seeks,
in some ways, to meld the
traditional and the modern.
He and perhaps a dozen
supporters live in a rural haven,
a 25-acre, or 10-hectare, retreat
lushly dotted with ferns and blue
spruce, with modern residences
for visitors, a meeting lodge and
a sparkling pond full of orange
carp.
Mr. Glen, in poor health, rarely
leaves this bucolic spot.
Speaking over a lunch of classic
Turkish food, the insistently
modest Mr. Glen, the son of a
small-town imam, did not appear
to be to be the type of man to
wield the infuence he does.
A Quran student from age 5
and preacher at 14, Mr. Glen
gradually built a vast following.
He has inspired the founding
of an international network of
schools, hospitals and businesses.
There is an Islamic bank, Asya,
with billions in assets; newspapers
including Zaman, Turkeys largest
daily; and a television station,
Ebru TV in Somerset, New Jersey.
All these are part of what others
call the Glen movement but
its self-effacing leader refers
to as the Volunteer Movement.
Mr. Glen said it had brought
him no personal gain, that his
only belongings were a quilt,
bedsheets and a few prized
books. He said he did not
know how many countries this
Again, the central
goal of [Glen-inpired
publications in the
Muslim world] is to
move Muslims beyond
defensiveness by
teaching a religiosity
that can confdently
interact with
modernity.
Paul L. Heck, Turkish in the
Language of the Quran: Hira
137
movement is active in, nor do I
know how many teachers and
students there are.
Asked at one point about the
work of his followers, he replied,
I believe that calling this
movement the Fethullah Glen
movement is not right, and
doing so is disrespectful to many
people dedicated to carrying
out its activities. My role in this
movement is very limited, and
there is no leadership, no center,
no loyalty to a center, and no
hierarchy.
But others say that there are
more than 1,000 schools in more
than 110 countries, and perhaps
fve million members. Emre Celik,
a Turkish-Australian who presides
over the Rumi Forum, a Glen-
affliated institute in Washington,
recently visited one of the more
farfung schools, on the island
of Zanzibar, and says more in
Africa are likely.
There are several such schools
in the United States, even one in
Burma. They impart Islamic values
but, unlike madrassas, employ the
offcial curriculum of whatever
state they are in and emphasize
modern science and technology.
The quality of education is
considered high, and competition
for spots is keen.
Hes inspired a lot of people,
said Mr. Celik, who is trained
in computer science. People
like myself, second-generation
Australian Turks, the Turkish
diaspora, were moved by his
ideas.
But in the late 1990s, Mr.
Glens movement collided with
the former secular government
of Turkey. Having come to
the United States for medical
treatment -he suffers from
diabetes and heart problems-
he stayed on after a Turkish
prosecutor accused him of urging
the overthrow of secular power.
A taped sermon appeared to
have Mr. Glen telling supporters
to creep silently into state
institutions until you reach all
the power centers. But he insists
his words were manipulated,
and the charges were ultimately
Glen wants to show
such an audience that
there are good reasons
for respecting the
contribution that Islam
can make to what is
sometimes referred to
as our modern spiritual
crisis, and the way to
do this is to concentrate
on those aspects of
Islam that are in tune
with contemporary
democratic life. This
means stressing the
role of tolerance and
freedom of thought, the
equality of the sexes and
love, all ideas that are
widely popular and can
be shown to have links
with aspects of Islam.
Oliver Leaman, Towards an
Understanding of Glens
Methodology
138
dropped.
Analysts say some offcials in
the current Muslim-friendly
government are Glen followers.
So are many police offcers,
according to the authoritative
Janes Islamic Affairs, which
said the infuence extends to
the polices powerful domestic
intelligence wing. That is a highly
sensitive issue at a time when
Turks have been riveted by
recent wire-tapping scandals.
In Turkey, where the movement
is strong, Mr. Glens supporters
display a kind of cult-like
devotion. A veil of secrecy
surrounds the workings and
leadership hierarchy of the
movement. His opponents allege
that his followers in Turkey,
having worked their way not
only into the ranks of the police
but the judiciary, are the driving
force behind a sprawling court
case against the Islamic-inspired
governments most outspoken
enemies. Supporters of Mr. Glen
deny the charge.
This is not a type of Islam
which wants to create protective
spaces for the vulnerable and
the marginalized, but rather
to control, to be in power, like
Opus Dei, said Hakan Yavuz,
a political science professor at
the University of Utah who has
written about the movement.
Opus Dei is an ultra-conservative
Catholic organization.
But one longtime observer
offered a more benign
interpretation.
The Police Academy is one of
the best and most prestigious
educational institutions in Turkey,
said the Reverend Thomas Michel,
a Jesuit priest and former top
adviser on Islamic matters to the
Vatican who now lives in Ankara.
Because Glen-school graduates
frequently do well on entry
exams, he said, a good number
of their graduates are getting
accepted.
These people, he said, tend to
be well-motivated, intelligent,
139
enjoyable -not at all fanatic,
weird or cult-like.
Mr. Glen insists that his
movement keeps equal distance
from every Turkish government,
seeking no offce -and also from
foreign governments.
But some analysts say American
offcials have at least tacitly
supported the movement as a
moderating presence in places
like Turkic parts of Central Asia,
where Mr. Glen sent hundreds
of volunteer teachers after the
Soviet breakup.
These schools provide
alternatives to youths so they
dont have to join terrorist
groups, said Helen Rose
Ebaugh, a University of
Houston sociologist who studied
the movement. She said an
administrator of the Glen-
linked Fatih University in Istanbul
told her that Mr. Glen had
adamantly opposed the notion
of accepting education funds
offered by Saudi Arabia,
because itll be interpreted
as support from the Saudi
government.
... Since 1999, Turkeys heated
politics and his own poor health
have kept Mr. Glen restricted
to his compound in Pennsylvania,
which has a constantly manned
gatehouse. He largely keeps to
two or three rooms in a large
chocolate-brown building.
In a room lined with Turkish art
and artifacts, Mr. Glen reads
extensively -from Shakespeare
to Kant to the Suf poets. Health
permitting, he emerges every few
days to answer visitors questions
in a large adjoining room. A
loft, protected from view, allows
women to listen without mixing
with men.
In the U.S., he said, I have
hoped not being disturbed or
harmed by those who carry
radical ideologies from Turkey,
Afghanistan, Pakistan or some
other countries. I am Americas
guest.
...and a brief list of selected news overleaf d
140
Medium Date Article Title
Turkish Review 18 Feb 11
A Turkish Citizen Spreads A Message of Love and Coexistence from
the US
PBS 24 Jan 11 The Glen Movement
Zaman 9 Dec 10 Catholic University of Leuven Establishes Fethullah Glen Chair
Todays Zaman 19 Jul 10
Fethullah Glen Awarded Honorary Doctorate by Leeds
Metropolitan University
The New York Times 12 Jun 10 Turk Who Leads a Movement Has Advocates and Critics
Todays Zaman 27 Mar 10 Glen Movement is a Supranational Civil Society Movement
The Daily Mail 3 Feb 10 Follow Thoughts of Iqbal, Rumi and Glen of Ideal Humanity
Islam Online 24 Nov 09 The Glen Movement and the Dialogue of Civilizations
News Wire Canada 22 Oct 09 Meet the Worlds Top Living Public Intellectual
Financial Mail 9 Oct 09 Turkish Mission
The National 8 Oct 09 Faith Community
The Denver Post 7 Sep 09 Aurora Families Share Ramadan for All Faiths
Los Angeles Times 3 Aug 09 Christians, Muslims Forging New Bonds in Southland
The Age 23 Jul 09 A Different Jihad
AllAfrica.Com 1 Jul 09 Uganda: Gaggawala Woos Turkish Investors
Todays Zaman 19 Jun 09 Abant Platform Convenes to Discuss Democratization
Dow Jones News 13 Jun 09 Turkish Army to Probe Alleged Anti-government Plot - Report
Global Atlanta 11 Jun 09 Turkey Developing Trade with Africa
Islam Online 8 Jun 09 Worlds Glen Brotherhood
141
Medium Date Article Title
Reuters 7 Jun 09 Turkish Language Fest Shows Preachers Global Reach
Kairos Catholic
Journal
31 May 09 Deepening of Faith in the Golden Age
Todays Zaman 30 May 09 Turkish Schools a Continuation of Historical Responsibility
TRT World 20 May 09 1st Turkish School Inaugurated in Egypt
Los Angeles Times 20 May 09 The Turks Are Coming!
Eurasia Net 3 Mar 09 Movement Educates Kurds
The Economist 19 Feb 09 An Unusual New Friendship
Todays Zaman 14 Feb 09 Abant Platform to Discuss Kurdish Issue in Arbil
Todays Zaman 7 Jan 09 Turkish NGOs Collaborate to Help Palestinians in Gaza
The Muslim News 19 Dec 08 Turkish Exceptionalism
Ebru New 15 Dec 08 Turkish Charity Feeds Poor in Vietnam
Gauteng Online 12 Dec 08 Early Christmas Gifts Given to the Needy
Ebru News 3 Nov 08 Scholars Praise Glen Movement
International Herald
Tribune
17 Oct 08 Green Card Coming to Prominent Turkish Leader
Statesman 12 Oct 08 Austinites Tour of Turkey
Bernama News
Agency
30 Jul 08 Glen Movement, Role Model In Representing Islam Positively
NPR 27 Jun 08 Muslims Top New List of Public Intellectuals
The Daily Etalaat
Srinagar
24 Jun 08 Islamic Scholar is Worlds No 1 Thinker
142
Medium Date Article Title
Foreign Policy 23 Jun 08 The Worlds Top 20 Public Intellectuals
Weekly Cutting Edge 21 Jun 08 An Icon of Universal Peace
Interfaith Voices 5 Jun 08 Fethullah Glen, Turkeys Most Famous Preacher
Reuters 14 May 08 Turkish Islamic Preacher
The New York Times 4 May 08 Turkish Schools Offer Pakistan a Gentler Vision of Islam
The Peninsula 8 Mar 08 Turkish Court Acquits Muslim Preacher
The Economist 6 Mar 08 A Farm Boy on the World Stage
The Kentucky Kernel 17 Feb 08 Author Promotes Friendship of Cultures Through Glen Ideals
The Nation 10 Feb 08 Rift Between East, West Unnatural
The Herald News 7 Feb 08 Muslims, Catholics Share Ancient Dessert
Lawrence Journal-
World
26 Jan 08 Sharing a Spirit
Islamic Horizons 15 Jan 08 Out of Turkey
The Times of India 23 Dec 07 The Scarf Scrap
Asharq Al-Awsat 3 Dec 07 Fethullah Glen: A Man Loved and Feared in Turkey
JWF 3 Dec 07 Australian University Launches Fethullah Glen Chair
Berkley Center 23 Nov 07
Practitioners, Faith Based Organizations and Global Development
Work
ABC Radio National 7 Oct 07 Fethullah Glen on ABC Radio Nationals Encounter
Pocono Record 9 May 07 A Muslim cannot be a Terrorist and a Terrorist cannot be a Muslim
The Dallas Morning
News
28 Apr 07 Turkish Group Promotes Tolerance in Texas
143
Medium Date Article Title
Todays Zaman 26 Feb 07 EU Member Turkey Could be Model for Muslims
Zaman 30 Sep 06 Turks Organize 1st Ramadan Dinner at US Congress
Zaman 12 May 06 Moldovan Turkish Schools Help Underprivileged
Zaman 9 May 06 Turkish Charity Opens 10 Schools in Pakistan
Turkish Daily News 6 May 06 Glen Acquitted of Trying to Overthrow Secular Government
Leeds Today 25 Nov 05 The Peace Heroes
Aksiyon 14 Nov 05 Fethullah Glen: Violence can not be a Remedy for Violence
FGlen.Com 26 Oct 05 UNESCO Grants Glen with Award of Tolerance
F18News 12 Oct 05 Turkey: Is There Religious Freedom in Turkey?
Zaman 25 Jul 05 Glen Terms Terrorist Attacks Strike Against Human Dignity
Zaman 3 Nov 04 Kyrghyz Grants Glen Contribution to Peace Award
Turkish Daily News 27 Oct 03 Glen Takes Place in the List of Peaceful Heroes As Only Turk
Anadolu Agency 21 Jun 03 Fuller: Glen is Defnitely Not Radical Islamist
Turkish Daily News 1 Feb 02 Glen: Islam Suits Modernism
Turkish Daily News 14 Sep 01 Glen Rewarded With Superior Service Award By TYB
Turkish Daily News 31 May 01 Marowitch: Glen Discussed Religious Issues With Pope
Turkish Daily News 6 Jan 01 Glen: Interfaith Dialogue is a Must
Turkish Daily News 2 Sep 99 Fethullah Glen Meets With Pope
144
Q&As on the
Hizmet (Glen)
Movement
When and how did the frst stage
of the institutionalization of the
services and the movement take
place?
In 1974, the frst university
preparatory courses were
established in Manisa, where
Glen was posted at the time.
Until then, it had been largely
the children of very wealthy and
privileged families who had access
to university education. The new
courses in Manisa offered the hope
that in future there might be better
opportunities for children from
ordinary Anatolian families. The
idea took hold that, if properly
supported, the children of ordinary
families could take up and succeed
in higher education.
Word spread of these achievements,
and the following year Glen
was invited to speak at a series
of lectures all over Turkey. The
service idea became frmly rooted
in various cities and regions of
the country. From this time on, the
country-wide mobilization of people
drawn to support education and
non-political altruistic services can
be called a movement - the Glen
Movement.
How can the SMOs (Social
Movement Organization) of the
Glen Movement be categorized?
At the time of writing the SMOs of
the Glen Movement operate in the
following felds and categories:
Education: pre-school -
kindergarten; primary;
secondary, high school
(normal, science and
vocational); higher education
- university, language courses,
computer courses, university
entrance examination
preparation courses; study
centers for all ages; student
dormitories and hostels.
Health: polyclinics, hospitals,
health and diagnostic centers.
Media: TV, radio; and daily,
weekly, quarterly (religious,
social, literary, scientifc,
popular, ecology, children)
journals; Writers and
Journalists Foundation
Publishing: publishing houses,
printing frms, bookshops,
145
art-design and graphics
companies.
Business and Finance: a
bank; an insurance company;
an international and other
regional business associations;
human resources and
consultation bureaus; holiday
resorts and accommodation.
Humanitarian Aid and
Relief: local/regional,
national and transnational
aid organizations; reading
halls and study centers
for the poor and under-
privileged; womens clubs and
foundations; cultural centers;
interfaith dialogue centers.
Is there a covert system of
regulations within SMOs of the
Glen Movement?
With legal constitutions, SMOs have
obvious internal differentiation,
functional division of labor, and
limits to the area of infuence; they
work within a limited territory,
employ mechanisms of horizontal
and vertical co-ordination, and have
leadership and personnel selection
criteria. They also keep written
records. So, except for what is in
the legal constitution of each SMO
and the law of the country where it
is based, there is no other system of
laws and regulations that governs
procedure or behavior in particular
circumstances, or within a particular
SMO.
There is no hidden (or informal)
disciplinary procedure in any
organization. However, in
interpersonal social relationships, it
is obvious that individuals share their
perception of the issues and action.
This can have socialmoral infuence
on or implications for individuals in
a specifc service-network, just as in
any day-to-day social relationship
anywhere in the world.
How are the Glen-inspired
schools fnanced?
Probably because of its
transnational growth since the
1990s, the fnancing of the Glen
Movement is occasionally queried.
Some allege that it is impossible for
the movement to have accomplished
so much and achieved such rapid
expansion without other fnancial
resources or some kind of covert
funding. However, all academic
research on this issue so far has
found that each institution and
project network in the movement
is legitimate and transparent in its
book-keeping and accounting, and
that all fnancial management is
done at the local level and is subject
to local inspection. A number of
studies of how projects are fnanced
could remove any suspicion of
backing by vested political interests.
On this topic insider perspectives
also need to be taken into account.
Firstly, attitudes to donating time
and money to charity vary across
cultural traditions. In Islamic and
therefore Turkish tradition it is often
considered more blessed to give
donations anonymously. Onlookers
need to be aware of peoples
sensitivities about such matters.
Secondly, in attempting to account
for the scale of the movements
activities in relation to funds
available, it is essential to take note
of how much of the movements
resources consist of voluntary,
unpaid work, rather than money.
For fndings of an extensive research
on this issue, please see The Glen
Movement: A Sociological Analysis
of a Civic Movement Rooted in
Moderate Islam by Helen Rose
Ebaugh, Publisher: Springer, Year:
2009, ISBN-13: 978-1402098932.
146
How and to whom are the Glen-
inspired institutions accountable?
There is no community vs
organization or organization vs
community attitude. However,
since the various SMOs of the
Movement grow and consolidate
in widely varying environments,
this necessitates division of labor,
a variety of different models and
specialization in function with more
specifc defnition of roles and norms.
Participants in the Glen Movement
modify SMOs in secondary details
in response to stimuli and limits
deriving from peculiarities in the
local environment where they
operate. However, the SMOs
are all accountable to the local
authorities (the State) and to their
own offcial inspectors, and comply
with the state and international law.
This quality of openness, visibility
and accountability to the System
legitimates the SMOs.
How are the different parts of the
Glen Movement connected?
The institutions and service projects
are formally independent of
one another; however, they are
informed of each others activities
through networks of volunteers
and professionals who set a good
example for one another, and
provide alternative perspectives
and forums that can be emulated or
improved on by others.
The various SMOs which comprise
the collective actor of the Glen
Movement are autonomous because
they work within the limits allowed
by the law and the System; they
are independent because of their
interaction, exchange and benefting
from collective outcomes, and
recognizing these as their own and
being recognized by others as such.
Since individuals or service-groups
are connected by interdependent
relationships, any variation in one
element has effects on all the others
in the Movement. There are mutual
relationships which are negotiated,
and institutionalized relationships
which are contractual. Participants
and networks use their cumulative
experience to adapt, negotiate,
devise strategies, restructure the
feld of activities in which they are
active, and adjust future projects
and ways of carrying them out.
[S]ocial and
spiritual capital
invested in educational
establishments lead to
changes in perceptions
and attitudes of people
involved as envisioned
by Fethullah Glen
who advocates peace
and non-violence as
important elements of
democratic political
order.
Talip Kucukcan, Social and
Spiritual Capital of the Glen
Movement
147
What social backgrounds do
people in the Movement come
from?
People are attracted to the
Glen Movement by exemplary
friends from the Glen Movement,
by people in their immediate
environment, neighbors, and
relatives and by their conduct and
sincerity, by reading Glens works
and listening to his lectures, by the
overall meaning and the message
of the altruistic services, and by the
worldview of the Glen Movement.
The overwhelming majority of
participants are young university
students. The next largest group
(almost as numerous) consists of
university graduates. The average
age in the Movement is 25-30.
Most of the students or people in
the service-networks are middle or
upper-middle class. They are from
better integrated backgrounds,
urban, with a high level of academic
achievement.
The volunteer-participants are
educated and urban middle class,
relatively privileged and better
integrated: they hold the technical
and cultural competence or an
economic-functional position that
makes them more likely to mobilize
because they see the contradictions
of the system, and their educational
level and intellectual milieu foster
egalitarian and anti-authoritarian
values.
Participation among university
students and educated newcomers
from a wide variety of social
experiences and backgrounds has
grown, but this has not radicalized
the Glen Movement, nor caused
cleavages to emerge either in it
or Turkish society. The participants
in fact prioritize individual
achievement in private, and
expansion of freedom of expression,
and democratic participation.
What is the nature of membership
of the Glen Movement?
There is no formal membership as
such in the Movement. Individuals
do not belong to any single
community or network only. What
distinguishes the Glen Movement
is the multiplicity of its participants
affliations; they participate
simultaneously in a number of areas
of social life and in associations of
various kinds.
One participate in several networks
due to his/her place of residence,
profession, interests, hometown,
Glen movement is a
transnational actor on
a major scale, through
both its educational
and its interfaith
programmes. Its non-
state nature is clear
and its global reach
substantial. Its activities
will impact on the Clash
of Civilizations and the
evolution and image
of Islam in the modern
world.
William Park, The Fethullah
Glen Movement as a
Transnational Phenomenon
148
education, and so forth.
In each of these settings only a
part of the self, and only certain
dimensions of the personality
and experience, are activated.
In a religiously-motivated search,
alternative affliations are a
journey for personal and spiritual
development and meaning.
What is the cost for the individual
of entry to and exit from the Glen
Movement?
The low or zero cost of entry into,
and exit from, project-networks
means that participation can be
temporary, short-term and does
not demand denial or rejection of
the participants other affliations,
relationships or worldviews.
Participation in a specifc project
might be short-term but an
individuals commitment to values
and meaning in the collective action
of the Glen Movement is not.
Individuals rarely go out of the
Movement but offer to participate
in another project. This movement
from one project or institution to
another is not hindered by the
project-networks in the Movement if
a participant wishes to do so.
The great number of other projects
and networks available makes it
easy for the individual to move
into another service-network or
-project. The sharing of short-term
goals means that only one segment
of individual experience is placed
at stake. In this way, individuals or
groups of people in any service-
network do not develop any false
assumptions of individual failure,
exit or betrayal.
What goals take priority in the
Glen Movement?
As a result of the diversity of
backgrounds of the people in
the service-networks, the Glen
Movement focuses on general,
precise, concrete, unifying and
constructive goals rather than
changeable and unattainable goals
and passing interests. This focus
produces within the Movement an
understanding of a permanent
hierarchy of interests in society.
The priorities in the Movement are
education, interfaith dialogue, and
non-political, non-confictual and
non-violent community services,
improving oneself and developing
social and cultural potential.
The pattern of development, phase
and specialization may change in
secondary details from country to
country. However, the central theme
or goal of the Glen Movement has
been never to turn into a political,
ideological, oppositional, confictual
or violent movement at any time
or in any location. Participants are
of course never required, but they
are also not allowed, to challenge
the constraints established by law
or general public norms: the history
of the Movement so far has never
shown any departure from this
principle.
What kinds of goals are not
permitted in the Glen Movement?
Political, personal and violent
goals are not permitted; action
without consensus, that is, any
action or initiative taken without
any collective reasoning, discussion
and consultation is not permitted;
personal and material gain by
means of services is not permitted;
extremism, immorality, and bad
habits are not permitted.
Movement participants have a clear
defnition of the services, the feld
of their action, the goals and the
instruments used to achieve them.
As a result, they know what to
expect and what not to expect in
return for what they are doing. The
Movement also has a great deal of
149
accumulated experience, and it is
very successful at imparting this to its
participants and to those outside the
Movement. The Movement therefore
does not experience a gap between
unattainable goals and expectations
and rewards. The Glen Movement
can be distinguished from direct
action, protest movements, cults and
sects in a clear way because of its
clear general goals and particular
objectives, its attainable projects,
the legitimacy of the means that it
uses and the ends it aspires to, and
its accountability about projects.
Is the Glen Movement trying
to build a separate, exclusive
society?
The majority of people who
participate in the services are
introduced by friends. The fact that
it is not via relatives or through
some kind of clan system shows that
relationships in the Movement can be
inclusive, transformative and lasting.
Also, the fact that introduction to
and participation in the Movement
or service-projects occurs through
acquaintances in everyday life and
through work colleagues indicates
that the cultural perspective or
worldview of the Glen Movement is
regarded as legitimate and rational.
The participation of individuals
who did not grow up within the
Glen community or its networks is
also signifcant: it indicates purely
individual choices and a strong
subjective identifcation; people
make an active rationalizing
and reckoning of the decision to
participate in the collective action of
the Movement.
Dont participants have to give up
many things and devote their
lives to the Glen Movement?
There is no such obligation on
participants. Individual commitment
to a specifc project or a specifc
service-network does not demand
a life-term involvement. Individuals
pass from one service-network to
another, and involvement may be
temporary.
Participants in the Glen Movement
belong to many social networks and
enjoy the full complexity of human
relationships. This permits individuals
to look for and take up practical
opportunities for the self-planned
integration of personal experience
in everyday life. Self-fulfllment
is through self-willed formation
of meaning, and self-planned
integration and experience.
.
Glen on the Web
For further information on
Glen including his life, his
opinions and views, news
and columns and for an
multimedia archive, please
visit
www.fgulen.com,
the official site of Fethullah
Glen.
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