Fethullah Gulen

Trouble in Paradise (Turkey)

published by You on 24 March, 2014 - 23:35

I'm not sure if many people are following this, but recently there has been a civil war of sorts going in turkey, with control of the government at stake.

It's big news, especially as Turkey has recently been one of the Muslim countries in the world where Muslims have been doing well - doing the right thing and being prosperous. So much so that I am a big fan of the Turkish Prime Minister - Recep Tayyip Erdogan in my books is the finest Muslim leader of the last decade.

However, there is trouble brewing in Turkey right now with his government being accused of many crimes including corruption.

There is a lot of history to this, but the current bombshells could result in the current government falling and maybe even a return to the dark past.

Fethullah Gulen and his beliefs?

published by You on 28 October, 2010 - 22:28

Anyone know of Fethullah Gulen and his beliefs?

Someone mentioned to me that he is a perennialist and that this is a bad thing. (Said Nursi was also mentioned)

However online, I cannot seem to find anything on this and he seems rather mainstream.

So the questions I have is:

  1. What is perennialism?
  2. Why is this bad?
  3. What are the views of Fethullah Gulen and are they mainstream?
  4. What of Said Nursi?
  5. Is there anything else that would be interesting to know?

Thanks.

The Turkish Imam and His Global Educational Mission

published by You on 29 April, 2010 - 01:02

October, 1992. the Soviet Union has disbanded and chaos reigns in its former territories. Three times a week, a rattly Russian charter plane filled with young Muslim devotees flies east from Istanbul across barren, low-lying steppes to the capitals of Central Asia. The men are clean-cut, sharply dressed in dark suits and ties, trim of mustache and purposeful. It is the first foray out of their hometown for most, let alone on a plane, but such is their faith in Fethullah Gulen, the Turkish Muslim imam they revere. "Fly like swallows," Gulen exhorted, "to these countries that are newly free, as an expression of our brotherhood."