The Gülen Movement in Turkey : The Politics of Islam and Modernity

What is the Gulen Movement and why is Turkey's President Erdogan so convinced that the organisation and its charismatic leader were behind the failed military coup of 15th July 2016? The Gulen, or Hizmet, movement in Turkey was until recently the country's most powerful and affluent religious organisation. At its head is the exiled Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, who leads from a gated compound in the Pocono Mountains of the USA. The movement's central tenet is that Muslims should engage positively with modernity, especially through mastering the sciences. At hundreds of Gulen-run schools and universities, not only in Turkey but also worldwide and particularly in the United States, instructors have cultivated the next generation of Muslim bankers, biologists, software engineers and entrepreneurs. In this groundbreaking study, Caroline Tee, an expert on the Gulen Movement, analyses the complex attitudes of Gulen and his followers towards secular modernity. Considered against the backdrop of Turkish politics, Gulenist engagement with modern science is revealed as a key source of the influence the movement has exerted. Cover Half-title Endorsement Title page Copyright information Table of contents Acknowledgements Turkish Spelling and Pronunciation Abbreviations Introduction Islam, Politics and Society in Turkey Science and Education in the Gülen Movement Aims and Theoretical Approach Methodology Structure of the Book Part One: Background 1 Gülen: Leader and Community Early Life and Career Izmir The Genesis and Growth of a Movement in Education Early Expansion of the Movement Gülen’s Move to the USA and the Globalisation of the Movement Gülen’s Teachings: Core Themes Structure and Organisation: Defining the Gülen Movement Degrees of Affiliation: Core Affiliates Hizmet and Himmet Hidden Hierarchies Recruitment and Alumni Networks Conclusion 2 A Nursian Spiritual Framework for Modernity Historical Context Major Phases of Nursi’s Life Nursi and a New Paradigm for Islamic Renewal The Risale as Text Intellectual Themes in the Risale: God and Nature Gülen and the Nursian Legacy Part Two: Science and Education 3 The Gülen Movement’s Science-focused Schools The Gülen Schools in Turkey Organisation of the Gülen Schools Reconciling Science and Faith Turkish School Catchments Studying the Gülen Schools in Turkey Religious Motivation and Pedagogy Extra-curricular Input Religious Mentoring and Instilling Islamic Ethics Teachers’ Community Classroom Pedagogy Religious Themes in the Science Classroom The ‘Science Olympiads’ Strategies for Success Conclusion 4 Islamic Creationism in Gülenist Thought Fethullah Gülen on Evolution: Sources ‘Darwinism’ in Gülen Thought The Turkish Context Homo Sapiens as Vicegerent Evolutionary Theory as Conspiracy Evolution as ‘Bad Science’ Historical Trajectories The Rise of Islamic Creationism in Turkey: Harun Yahya Harun Yahya and the Gülen Movement Teaching Evolution in the Gülen Schools Concluding Remarks 5 Higher Education, Networking and Careers in Science Irfan University2 The Gülen Movement and Higher Education: New Initiatives Administrative Structure Patronage, Networking and Recruitment Science in Higher Education Science in the Muslim world: A New Direction? Part Three: The Wider Context 6 Intercultural Dialogue A Brief History of Gülen Dialogue Gülen’s Philosophy for Dialogue Functions of Dialogue in the Gülen Movement: Interpersonal Encounter and Networking Local Variations Defending Islam in a Post-9/11 World Promoting Turkish Culture Pluralism in Gülenist Dialogue: Shi’is and Alevis Conclusion 7 Globalisation of the Movement, and Gülen in the USA The Movement in America: Education and Controversy Promoting Turkey in the USA Gülen in Pennsylvania: A Reclusive Persona Coordination of the Movement from Pennsylvania The Movement’s Spiritual Home: Turkey Cords of Connection between the Movement in Turkey and the USA: Schools Universities The Appeal of the USA to the Gülen Movement The Globalisation of the Movement Global Coordination Conclusion 8 Political Influence and the AKP Turkish Political Islam United Around a Common Goal Gülen’s Record on Secular Democracy The Beginnings of the End: Early Signs of a Breakdown in the Alliance The December 2013 Scandal and its Aftermath Implications for the Global Gülen Movement The Future of the Gülen Movement Afterword Notes Introduction 1 : Gülen : Leader and Community 2 : A Nursian Spiritual Framework for Modernity 3 : The Gülen Movement’s Science-focused Schools 4 : Creationism in Gülenist Thought 5 : Higher Education, Networking and Careers in Science 6 : Intercultural Dialogue 7 : Globalisation of the Movement, and Gülen in the USA 8 : Political Influence and the AKP Afterword Bibliography Index The Gulen, or Hizmet, movement in Turkey is the country's most powerful and affluent religious organisation. Its central tenet, advanced by its founder, the charismatic Sunni preacher Fethullah Gulen (b. 1941), is that Muslims should engage positively with modernity. A prime means of advancing this philosophy has been education: at hundreds of Gulen-run schools and universities, not only in Turkey but also worldwide, instructors aim to cultivate the next generation of Muslim bankers, biologists, software engineers and politicians. But how does the Gulen movement resolve the sometimes conflicting positions of Sunni Islam and contemporary science for example, on evolutionary theory? Drawing on sustained ethnographic research conducted among Gulen communities in Turkey, Caroline Tee analyses their complex attitudes towards secular modernity. She focuses on education, science research and industry to explore how pious Muslim practitioners engage in science at high levels, arguing that the Gulen movement's success in this critical area of modernity has facilitated its rise to prominence in recent decades. Considered against the backdrop of Turkish politics, and particularly the acrimonious power-struggle between the Gulen movement and its erstwhile ally, Turkey's ruling AK Party, Gulenist engagement with modern science is revealed as a key source of its influence and success "What is the Gulen Movement and why is Turkey's President Erdogan so convinced that the organisation and its charismatic leader were behind the failed military coup of 15th July 2016? The Gulen, or Hizmet, movement in Turkey was until recently the country's most powerful and affluent religious organisation. At its head is the exiled Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, who leads from a gated compound in the Pocono Mountains of the USA.The movement's central tenet is that Muslims should engage positively with modernity, especially through mastering the sciences. At hundreds of Gulen-run schools and universities, not only in Turkey but also worldwide and particularly in the United States, instructors have cultivated the next generation of Muslim bankers, biologists, software engineers and entrepreneurs. In this groundbreaking study, Caroline Tee, an expert on the Gulen Movement, analyses the complex attitudes of Gulen and his followers towards secular modernity. Considered against the backdrop of Turkish politics, Gulenist engagement with modern science is revealed as a key source of the influence the movement has exerted."--Bloomsbury Publishing