Gülen Movement’s role on London conference agenda

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The Gülen movement’s past, present and potential future influence on the Muslim world will be explored in a conference titled “Muslim World in Transition: Contributions of the Gülen Movement,” to be held on Oct. 25-27 at the House of Lords in London.

Organized by the Middle East Institute, the London Middle East Institute and Leeds Metropolitan University, the conference will examine the theological and intellectual contributions of Fethullah Gülen, situate him within the context of modern Islam’s intellectual history and discuss his own interpretations of faith-based issues. The movement’s projects regarding East-West relations, inter-civilizational cooperation, and global terrorism are of particular interest for the purposes of the conference. The radical social, economic, political and intellectual change, which the Muslim world has been undergoing since its encounter with the West several centuries ago, will also be discussed throughout this conference, the aim of which is to examine the nature and depth of this change and the impact of the Gülen movement on the contemporary Muslim world as well as the relations between the West and Islam in general.

Two parallel sessions -- “The Gülen Movement in Redefining Turkey and Anatolian Muslimness” and “Euro-Islam, Identity and Integration” -- will be held throughout the conference, during which Turkish Muslim writer and columnist Mustafa Akyol will address the audience with a speech titled “What Made the Gülen Movement Possible,” and columnist and writer Fatih Tedik will deliver an address titled “The Gülen Movement as a Mechanism for Integration of the Muslim Community in Europe: Potential and Constraints.” In addition, Muslim scholar Professor Marcia Hermansen will get across to the audience with her speech “The Cultivation of Memory in the Gülen Community,” and psychodrama psychotherapist Kate Kirk with “Modern Ideals and Muslim Identity: Harmony or Contradiction? A Text Linguistic Analysis of Gülen’s Teachings and Movement.”

As a religious intellectual and peace activist from Turkey, Gülen has influenced a whole generation of Muslims worldwide and inspired them to play an important role in charitable and educational projects and foundations. Setting off with the objective of bringing out the universal mission of Islam, which is to serve people worldwide regardless of faith, color or national origin, Gülen will bring several scholars and religious thinkers together at the conference to highlight the serious dialogue between Islam and the West.

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Lord Ahmed

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As humanity is suffering from a lack of understanding among cultures and widespread hatred and enmity, it is looking for a solution at the same time that will change the course into the opposite direction.

The scarcity of ideas and groups that will respond to such a search render those that are available more valuable. The movement of volunteers inspired by the thoughts of Fethullah Gülen that have flourished in the Turkish-Muslim geography is seen as just such a “solution,” gaining a more global dimension with every passing day. As a result, it has inevitably become a phenomenon that is closely monitored, examined and discussed by even the most successful circles in the world.

The Gülen movement, which has influenced a whole generation of Muslims worldwide and inspired them to play an important role in charitable and educational projects, succeeded in affecting the House of Lords as well. A conference titled “Muslim World in Transition: Contributions of the Gülen Movement,” which is being held in London on Oct. 25-27, kicked off on Thursday at the House of Lords. Many scholars, ministers and journalists flocked to the inaugural session of the conference.

Those participating in similar conferences organized in previous years were all of the same opinion that the inaugural session of the conference attracted more attendees than expected. A Turkish academic said he appreciated the importance attached by the international community to the conference, saying: “Fethullah Gülen seems to be gradually addressing a greater group as he aims at serving people worldwide, regardless of faith, color or national origin. Such conferences and organizations offer a good opportunity to serve to this end. We should all know that the presentation of a conference is not sufficient on its own unless its content satisfies the participants. We are pleased that the Gülen Movement is worthy of an excellent presentation. In our day, the philosophy of the Gülen Movement and its influence on the Muslim world is worth being explored in international conferences.”

A striking aspect of the movement, which will also be explored throughout the conference, is that almost every segment finds something within the movement to deem worthy of respect and appreciation. The English community, like several other Western communities, evaluates the Gülen movement on the basis of its influence on the Muslim world.

Lord Ahmed, in his inauguration speech, described Gülen as “an Islamic scholar with a new and modern vision” and stressed that the movement inspired by Gülen’s thoughts has enabled Muslim Turks to internalize values such as democracy, human rights, pluralism and mutual respect. He also noted that the Gülen movement had a positive influence on British Muslim youth by preventing them from engaging in any radical groups.

Professor Paul Weller, who was among the speakers, said the most significant act of Gülen was his development of a universal discourse that has remained through time which has its essence in the religion, rather than developing a discourse on a short-term basis according to conjecture, which was the most striking analysis of the day in my own view.

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The Gülen movement was explored by many scholars and academicians at the London School of Economics during the three-day conference.

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No research on Islamic world is possible without making mention of Gülen
“It is not possible to conduct research on Muslims or the Islamic world in the West by neglecting Fethullah Gülen or the Gülen movement.”

This statement was made by Marcia Hermansen, professor of Islamic Studies from the Divinity School of Loyola University in Chicago. Hermansen is only one of the many academics who participated in the three-day conference titled “Changing Islamic World: Contributions of the Fethullah Gülen Movement,” which was opened at the House of Lords by Baron Nazir Ahmed and also held at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and the London School of Economics.
Noting that she was impressed by the well-prepared papers submitted at the conference, Hermansen talked about the emphasis of the Gülen movement on collective memory and symbols. She also said academic interest in the movement would gain momentum following the London conference.

Papers by 49 academics from different countries were presented at the conference’s 12 panels, each with four presenters who had the close attention of the audience. It was evident even during the opening reception hosted by Lord Ahmed that the conference would be of the highest intellectual caliber and academic quality. A friend of mine told me about the low participation in an event held at the House of Lords and sponsored by the Armenian diaspora but said he was impressed by the attendance and participation at the Gülen conference. The 150 distinguished invitees included international academics, researchers and politicians as well as British ministers, members of parliament, members of the House of Lords, high-level bureaucrats and editors from prominent British papers.

The interest by young academics and leading experts in their respective fields at the conference implies that the Gülen movement will receive more thorough coverage in academic studies. Associate Professor Turan Kayaoğlu from the University of Washington told me in an informal conversation that the conference, which brought together tens of academics working on the Gülen movement, offered great opportunities for these academics to take notice of their shortcomings in regards to their fields of research.

Both halls at the SOAS and the London School of Economics were extremely crowded; the audiences in both halls were upset at missing panel discussions going on simultaneously in the other room. However, the organizing committee has already taken preliminary measures on this matter. The committee coordinated by SOAS faculty member Dr. İhsan Yılmaz published a book containing the papers presented at the conference for distribution to participants.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, SOAS Center for Islamic Studies Director Professor Muhammad Abdulhalim said: “I cannot help but admire the organizing committee of the Gülen movement, the most dynamic movement in the world. We collect papers only months after a conference to publish them in a book; however, the papers of this conference had already been published as book chapters before the event.” Moreover, the frequently heard joke noting that the “London/Gülen criteria will be followed in similar academic meetings from now on” was really just expressing satisfaction with the performance of the committee.

Professor Doğu Ergil, who followed the meeting with great interest, noted that the interest in conferences of this sort depended on the strength of their subject matter, implying that the great interest in the event should be attributed to the growing importance attached to the Gülen movement. Paul Weller, a professor in interfaith relations from Derby University who also served on the academic board of the conference, stressed that the importance of the Gülen movement stemmed from its impact on the Islamic world and its ability to influence Islamic movements. As a British academic, Weller was particularly curious about the results of the interaction between the Gülen movement and the Islamic approaches prevalent in India and southern Asia. Weller also noted that meetings of this kind facilitated exchange of different ideas and perspectives.

Maybe time will tell whether Weller satisfied his curiosity, but we can spread the good news now -- a similar conference consistent with the London/Gülen criteria will be held in the second half of November in the Netherlands.

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Gülen sees peace wherever Huntington sees clash
On the last day of a conference titled "The Changing Islamic World: Contributions of the Fethullah Gülen Movement" held in London, Gülen's interfaith and inter-cultural dialogue activities were discussed.

During the discussions, it was strongly stressed that Gülen opposed the "clash of civilizations" thesis through dialogue endeavors launched years ago. American academic Richard Penaskovic, who presented a paper titled "Gülen's Response to the Clash of Civilizations Thesis" at the session on coexistence and dialogue of the conference held at the prestigious London School of Economics, said Gülen responded to the thesis with tolerance, interfaith dialogue and love. Noting that Huntington and Gülen have very different understandings of the future, Penaskovic observed: "Gülen sees peace wherever Huntington sees clash. Gülen talks about hopes and optimism where Huntington is persistently pessimistic about relations between Islam and West."

The American researcher, who drew attention to Gülen’s emphasis on education and knowledge, expressed his belief that Gülen also maintained a strong distinction between knowledge and power, hoping that the future would be designed based on knowledge. An academic from Auburn University in Alabama, Penaskovic said: “Gülen’s belief may be compared to a colorless, odorless and tasteless glass of water. It becomes a prism catching and reflecting all beauties and mysteries in daylight. The truth does not change; yet, the image of the truth changes depending on our location and perspective.”

Researcher Douglas Pratt from New Zealand described Gülen as a dialogue champion in his paper titled “Islamic Approaches to Interfaith Dialogue: Gülen’s Contributions” where he analyzed the dialogue activities of the Gülen movement. Noting that dialogue was at the very center of Islamic faith and that Gülen attached great importance to this central concept, Pratt also said that non-Muslims were able to appreciate the fact that values like tolerance and love were actually Islamic through the dialogue proposed by Gülen.

‘Devoted teachers’

British researcher Ian Williams, in a paper on schools in Turkey and Great Britain, drew attention to the teachers at the schools sponsored by Gülen. Noting that the Gülen movement viewed teaching as a spiritual activity, Williams also said that the teachers at these schools were committed to their profession. Admiring their devotion to teaching, Williams also said he regretted that this was not achieved at other British schools despite intense efforts. An academic at the faculty of education at the Central England University, Williams disagreed with criticisms alleging that the schools sponsored by the Gülen movement were elitist enterprises established mainly for the rich, further stressing that these schools were based on meritocracy, a system that promotes rewards and advancement based on individual merit rather than class or social standing.

Helen Rose Ebaugh from Houston University responded to a question on the financial resources of the movement and its schools, saying that the answer should be sought in the Turks’ culture of giving and charity. Adding that it is impossible to calculate the magnitude of the movement’s financial resources because its activities are not funded by a specific center, the American academic said, “The answer is the philosophy of giving without expecting anything in return.”

The participating academics and journalists were hosted at a dinner at the Wisdom School in North London. The school, which offers educational activities in a historical building from the Victorian Era, has 35 students. The academics were informed about the school’s educational activities by the school principal and other representatives.

British researcher Ian Williams, in a paper on the schools in Turkey and Great Britain, drew attention to the teachers at the schools sponsored by Gülen. Noting that the Gülen movement viewed teaching as a spiritual activity, Williams also said that the teachers at these schools were committed to their profession. Admiring their devotion to teaching, Williams also said he regretted that this was not achieved at other British schools despite intense efforts.

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