Gülen movement

The Gülen movement is a transnational civic society movement inspired by the teachings of Turkish Islamic theologian Fethullah Gülen . His teachings about hizmet (altruistic service to the "common good") have attracted a large number of supporters in Turkey and Central Asia and increasingly in other parts of the world.

( Learn how and when to remove this message ) The Gülen movement is a transnational religious and social movement led by Turkish Islamic scholar and preacher Fethullah Gülen . The movement has no official name but it is usually referred to as Hizmet ("the Service") by its followers or as Cemaat ("the Community/Assembly") by the broader public in Turkey. The movement has attracted supporters and critics in Turkey, Central Asia, and in other parts of the world. The movement is active in education with private schools and universities in over 180 countries as well as many American charter schools operated by followers. It has initiated forums for interfaith dialogue. It has substantial investments in media, finance, and for–profit health clinics. Some have praised the movement as a pacifist, modern-oriented version of Islam, and as an alternative to more extreme schools of Islam such as Salafism . However, others have described the movement as having "some of the characteristics of a cult".

Islamist civic movement led by Fethullah Gülen The Gülen movement ( ), or Hizmet movement ( ), or Fethullah Gülen movement ( ), referred to by its participants as Hizmet ("service") or Cemaat ("community") and since 2016 by the Government of Turkey as FETÖ ("Fethullahist Terrorist Organisation". ), is an Islamist fraternal movement led by Fethullah Gülen , a Muslim preacher who has been living in the United States since 1999. The movement is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, Pakistan, Northern Cyprus , and the Gulf Cooperation Council . Owing to the outlawed status of the Gülen movement in Turkey, some observers refer to the movement's volunteers who are Turkish Muslims as effectively a sub- sect of Sunni Islam ; these volunteers generally hold their religious tenets as generically Turkish Sunni Islam . A U.S.-based umbrella foundation which is affiliated with the movement is the Alliance for Shared Values . The movement has attracted supporters and drawn the attention of critics in Turkey, Central Asia , and other parts of the world. It is active in education and operates private schools and universities in over 180 countries. It has initiated forums for interfaith dialogue. It has substantial investments in media, finance, and for-profit health clinics. Despite its teachings which are considered conservative in Turkey, some have praised the movement as a pacifist, modern-oriented version of Islam, and an alternative to more extreme schools of Islam such as Salafism . But it has also been reported as having a "cultish hierarchy" and as being a secretive Islamic sect . The Gülen movement is a former ally of the Turkish Justice and Development Party (AKP). When the AKP came to power in 2002 the two formed, despite their differences, a tactical alliance against military tutelage and the Turkish secular elite. It was through this alliance that the AKP accomplished an unprecedented feat in Turkish republican history by securing national electoral victories sufficient to form three consecutive majority governments in 2002, 2007, and 2011. The Gülen movement gained influence in the Turkish police force and the judiciary during its alliance with conservative President Erdoğan , which saw hundreds of Gülen supporters appointed to positions within the Turkish government. Once the old establishment was defeated around 2010 to 2011 disagreements emerged between the AKP and the Gülen movement. The first breaking point was the so-called ″ MIT crisis″ of February 2012; this was also interpreted as a power struggle between pro-Gülen police and judiciary and the AKP. After the 2013 corruption investigations in Turkey into alleged corrupt practices of several bureaucrats, ministers, mayors, and family members of the ruling AKP of Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan blamed the movement for initiating the investigations as a result of a break in previously friendly relations. President Erdoğan said Gülen attempted to overthrow the Turkish government through a judicial coup by the use of corruption investigations and seized the group-owned newspaper ( Zaman — one of the most circulated newspapers in Turkey before the seizure ) and several companies that have ties with the group. Since May 2016, the Gülen movement has been classified as a terrorist organization by Turkey under the assigned names Fethullahist Terrorist Organization ( ) (FETÖ) and Parallel State Structure ( ) (PDY). After the failed coup attempt in 2016 , the government of Turkey blamed the group for the coup and authorities have arrested thousands of soldiers and judges . Over ten thousand education staff were suspended and the licenses of over 20,000 teachers working at private institutions were revoked for stated affiliation to Gülen. Fethullah Gülen condemned the coup and denied any involvement. "GCC declare Gulen group a 'terrorist organisation' " . 14 October 2016. The New York Times . 9 March 2018 . The New York Times . The New York Times . The Shadowy World of the Islamic Gülen Movement" . "Turkey as a model of democracy and Islam" . 30 May 2011 . "İstanbul'da yolsuzluk ve rüşvet operasyonu" [Corruption and bribery operation in Istanbul]. 17 December 2013. The Christian Science Monitor . 29 December 2013 . "Turkey's top judicial board HSYK orders detention of 2,745 Gülen-linked judges over coup attempt" .

International Islamist fraternal movement The Gülen movement ( Turkish : Gülen hareketi ) or Hizmet movement ( Hizmet hareketi ) is an Islamist fraternal movement. It is a sub-sect of Sunni Islam based on a Nursian theological perspective as reflected in Fethullah Gülen 's religious teachings. It is referred to by its members as the "Service" (" Hizmet ") or "Community" (" Cemaat ") and it originated in Turkey around the late 1950s. It is institutionalized in 180 countries through educational institutions as well as media outlets, finance companies, for-profit health clinics, and affiliated foundations that have a combined net worth in the range of 20–50 billion dollars as of 2015. Its teachings are considered conservative in Turkey but some have praised the movement as a pacifist , modern-oriented version of Islam, and an alternative to more extreme schools of Islam such as Salafism . On the other hand, it has also been reported to have a "cultish hierarchy" and as being a secretive Islamic sect . The movement is also known for initiating forums for interfaith dialogue . The movement was previously led by the Islamic preacher , Hoca Fethullah Gülen, who left Turkey in 1999 after being threatened by lawsuits and settled in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania . The Gülen movement was a former ally of the Turkish Justice and Development Party (AKP). When the AKP came to power in 2002 the two groups formed an alliance against military and the Turkish secular elite despite their differences. It was through this alliance that the AKP secured national electoral victories sufficient to form majority governments consecutively in 2002, 2007, and 2011. During this time, hundreds of Gülen supporters were appointed to positions within the Turkish government. Once the old establishment had been defeated, disagreements began emerging between the AKP and the Gülen movement. The first breaking point was the so-called ″ MİT crisis″ in February 2012 which has been interpreted as a power struggle between the AKP and the pro-Gülen police and judiciary. After corruption investigations in 2013 into several politicians and family members of the ruling AKP of Turkey by the Gülen friendly judiciary, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan claimed the movement had initiated the investigations as a result of a break in previously friendly relations. President Erdoğan said Gülen had attempted to overthrow the Turkish government through a judicial coup using the investigations. In response to the investigations, the government seized the group-owned newspaper Zaman , which was one of the most circulated newspapers in Turkey , as well as several companies that had ties to the group. Since May 2016, the Gülen movement has been classified by Turkey as a terrorist organization under the names Fethullahist Terrorist Organization ( Turkish : Fethullahçı Terör Örgütü ) (FETÖ) and Parallel State Structure ( Turkish : Paralel Devlet Yapılanması ) (PDY). The movement has also been designated as a terrorist organization by Pakistan , Northern Cyprus , and the Gulf Cooperation Council . After the failed coup attempt in July 2016, the government blamed the group for the coup and authorities arrested thousands of soldiers and judges . Other members of the group who worked for Turkey's governmental agencies were dismissed and over ten thousand education staff were suspended and the licenses of over 20,000 teachers working at private institutions were revoked due to their affiliation to Gülen. Gülen condemned the coup and denied any involvement. However, the Gülen movement is not recognized as a terrorist organization by the European Union , the United States , the United Kingdom , Canada , Australia and New Zealand . The Gülen movement was included in the declaration in the trilateral memorandum signed by Turkey, Finland and Sweden during the NATO summit in Madrid on 28 June 2022, but did not define it as a terrorist organization. The New York Times . The New York Times . 9 March 2018 . The Shadowy World of the Islamic Gülen Movement" . The New York Times . The New York Times . "Turkey as a model of democracy and Islam" . 30 May 2011 . "İstanbul'da yolsuzluk ve rüşvet operasyonu" [Corruption and bribery operation in Istanbul]. 17 December 2013. The Christian Science Monitor . 29 December 2013 . Hürriyet Daily News . 16 July 2016 . The New York Times . EU says needs concrete evidence from Turkey to deem Gulen network as terrorist , Tulay Karadeniz, Tuvan Gumrukcu, November 30th 2017, Reuters "US: We See Neither Gülen Movement nor YPG as Terror Organization" . UK's relations with Turkey , Parliament.uk, 25 March 2017 "NATO deal with Sweden and Finland: Ankara celebrates 'national victory,' worries mount in Stockholm" .