Poconos cleric still exerts much
influence in Turkey
The spell of Fethullah Gulen, a
72-year-old Islamic preacher in the Poconos with schools around the
globe and supporters said to number in the millions, has long loomed
large over Turkey's constitutionally secular state.
Viewed by his followers as a tolerant,
moderating force in global Islam, Gulen, who lives in Ross Township,
Monroe County, is also spreading the influence of a country
strategically positioned between Europe and Asia, promoting Turkish
language and culture through his network of about 500 schools,
including 130 publicly funded charter schools in the United States,
three of which are in Pennsylvania.
His sympathizers, largely drawn from
the same religiously minded professional class that helped sweep
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's Islamist-rooted AK Party to power in
2002, revere Gulen as an enlightened, pro-Western face of progressive
Islam.
Secularist Turks see a more sinister
agenda, suspecting followers of the theologian of infiltrating
government and cultural institutions, exerting influence over
organizations from the police and judiciary to the central bank and
media.
Gulen's followers form a strong
constituency at the heart of the AK Party, but their relationship
with Erdogan — an autocratic figure who has centralized power
around himself over the past decade — is showing signs of strain.
After accusations on social media that
it was behind anti-government protests in June, a foundation
representing Gulen's Hizmet movement spoke out to deny any such role.
"When the protest first began, it
was completely peaceful and solely about the environment," the
Journalists and Writers Foundation, which has Gulen as its honorary
leader, said.
"At this early stage, some people
sympathetic to the Hizmet Movement may have looked supportively on
the protests out of personal choice," it said, adding this in no
way suggested it was "involved in a conspiracy" supporting
the demonstrations.
In a speech during the unrest, Gulen
himself said protesters should not be dismissed as "capulcu",
which loosely translates as "riff-raff", a term repeatedly
used by Erdogan.
The protests, which began as a bid to
stop development of Istanbul's Gezi Park, exposed chinks in Erdogan's
armor, including his delicate relations with the Gulen movement.
Turkish media reports have cited
surveys commissioned by the AK Party in recent days as putting the
level of voters the Gulen movement could sway at around 3 percent of
the electorate, while other sources have suggested they control up to
8 percent.
But Gulen's real power lies within the
AK Party bureaucracy and his ability to rally support for or against
Erdogan should he decide to run for the presidency.
Gulen, who has lived in the Saylorsburg
area for 14 years, began his movement in Turkey in the 1960s.
Followers preach religious tolerance and the importance of science
and education to create moral harmony. Gulen's critics in the United
States, however, believe the movement is a political base used to
spread Islamic law, or Sharia.
In the charter schools connected to
Gulen, included Truebright Science Academy in Philadelphia, no
religion is taught. All emphasize science, math and technology.
Two years ago, the former principal of
Truebright tried unsuccessfully to open a charter school in
Allentown.
Gulen has said he would like to go back
to Turkey but that his return might be used to stir political
trouble, or that those who had persecuted him in the past might try
to do so again. He left in 1999, shortly before the start of a case
against him on charges of plotting to destroy the secular state and
establish Islamic law.
A Rare Meeting With Reclusive Turkish
Spiritual Leader Fethullah Gulen
 |
| Chief Rabbi of Israel Eliyahu Bakshi Doron with Fethullah Gülen |
Fethullah Gulen is a Turkish religious
spiritual leader, some say to millions of Turks both in Turkey and
around the world, and the head of the Gulenist movement. His network
of followers span the globe and have opened academically-focused
schools across 90 countries, including the U.S.
The hocaefendi, meaning "respected
teacher," as he is called, left Turkey in 1998 to avoid charges
from the Turkish government of involvement in anti-secular
activities. He eventually settled in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, where
he continues to preach, write, and guide his followers through
television and the Internet.
He is sickly and doesn't travel, yet
secular Turks worry his influence in political ranks will grow
Islamist influence there and turn the country into a religious state.
He is well-known in Turkey and across Central Asia, yet here in the
United States, he remains a mystery.
The reclusive spiritualist keeps to his
home in the Poconos, attended by believers, praying, lecturing, and
claiming his influence is not as wide-ranging as his critics claim it
to be. He rarely gives interviews, but I was recently allowed to
travel to the idyllic resort-like compound he has been living in for
around 14 years and meet with Gulen for an interview. An edited
transcript of his translated answers follows:
The Atlantic: It's so rare to have
an interview with you, why is that?
Fethullah Gulen: I grew up in a humble
family with a shy personality. I accept these kind offers out of
respect for those who are requesting such interviews, otherwise, I
would prefer to live a secluded life just by myself.
We just saw your living quarters,
and I saw a very small bed, a small mat, a small room. When you can
have all the space you need, why do you use such a small area for
yourself?
My whole life has been this way, during
my years as a student, and later on in life I have always lived in
such humble spaces. It's because I would like to live like my fellow
citizens because I consider myself among them. By no means do I
consider myself superior in any sense. Also, it is in my nature. I
believe in the hereafter; I believe that's the true life, therefore I
don't want to attach myself too much to this world.
Do you still teach every day?
I try to spend time with the students
here every day as much as my health allows me. Some days my health
prevents me from doing so, but I'd like to continue to study with
them for as long as I am alive.
I heard you had no female students.
In Turkey, our friends are running a
program in which female students are taking graduate-level courses in
divinity. Here, the same system couldn't be replicated, but there are
ladies who regularly follow the lectures.
According to Islamic tradition, is
the role of women limited to motherhood?
No, it is not. The noble position of
motherhood aside, our general opinion about women is that, while
taking into account their specific needs, it should be made possible
for them to take on every role, including the jobs of physician,
military officer, judge and president of a country. As a matter of
fact, in every aspect of life throughout history Muslim women made
contributions to their society. In the golden age (referring to the
years during Mohammed's lifetime) starting with Aisha, Hafsa, and Um
Salama (the Prophet's wives), had their places among the jurists and
they taught men.
When these examples are taken into
consideration, it would be clearly understood that it is out of the
question to restrict the lives of women, narrowing down their
activities. Unfortunately, the isolation of women from social
activities in some places today, a practice that stems from the
misinterpretation of Islamic sources, has been a subject of a
worldwide propaganda campaign against Islam.
If there is one thing that you would
say to people here in this country who don't know a lot about you,
your beliefs and your teachings, what would that message be?
I don't have a need to promote myself.
I've never sought to be known or recognized by people. I simply share
ideas I believe in with people around me. If people recognize me
despite that, that's their mistake. But my core belief is to seek
peace in the world, helping people eliminate certain malevolent
attitudes through education as much as possible. An Arabic proverb
says: "If something cannot be attained fully, it shouldn't be
abandoned completely."
What message do you have for
Americans who are concerned about the number of charter schools
founded by people you inspire? How do you expect that influence to
reflect on that educator's life?
First of all, let me clarify that I
have never been personally involved in the founding or operation of
any school. My influence, if any, has been through my sermons, talks
and seminars. If I have any credit among the people who listen to my
words, I have channeled that credit or credibility to encouraging
them to establish institutions of education. I have tried to explain
that we can achieve peace and reconciliation around the world only
through raising a generation of people who read, who think
critically, who love fellow humans and who offer their assets in
service of humanity.
You don't seek to be noticed, yet
you were one of TIME's 100 people, and called a voice of moderation
that is desperately needed. Why? And what more could other moderate
voices do to be heard today?
Although there are voices of moderation
around the world, it's sometimes hard to reach a consensus among
them. Perhaps what is more important is to be an example. Could
Turkey be an example in this regard? Could this movement be an
example, could this community be an example? I believe if we're to
face ourselves, ask ourselves, perhaps because we haven't been able
to set a good example and fully represent our values, there hasn't
been great interest or sympathy in the world. But we are hopeful,
that God willing this will happen. These views were not welcome in
Turkey, but now they are slowly being embraced. If you remember, when
I said 20 years ago that democracy was a process from which there
would be no return, certain media organizations that are now
supportive of the present government were very skeptical and they
criticized me severely.
Turkey needs to cooperate with EU,
Islamic scholar Gülen says
Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen
said Turkey needed to make use of certain dynamics to take on a more
active role in its region in an interview with the American Atlantic
magazine.
Gülen, a self-exiled theologian living
in the United States’ Pennsylvania and the leader of the “Hizmet”
(Service) Islamist religious movement, was defined as a “Turkish
religious spiritual leader.”
He also said Turkey’s ongoing
relationship with the European Union is partly to be commended for
the level of democratization Turkey has achieved so far when he was
asked how he viewed Turkey’s current political ambitions and place
in the world. “It is crucial for Turkey to preserve and advance its
achievements in democratization, thanks in part to its ongoing
relationship with the European Union,” he said.
“If there is a favorable view and
positive perception of Turkey due to its historic ties in the region,
Turkey should be careful to protect those perceptions. It should
protect its reputation. Good relationships and influence depend on
love, respect, and good will, and collaborating around mutually
agreeable goals. Is Turkey doing these fully today or not? This is a
question that deserves discussion. If Turkey is indeed able to
develop good diplomatic relations in the region, I believe it will be
in the interest of Europe, the United States and the world. But I
don’t think Turkey is doing what it can toward this end at the
moment,” he said.
“His network of followers span the
globe and have opened academically-focused schools across 90
countries, including the U.S.,” the magazine said. Gülen left
Turkey in 1998 to avoid charges of involvement in anti-secular
activities.
