Fethullah Gulen Tolerance, Dialogue and Peace
Fethullah Gulen has always promoted peace and been against any kind of violence and terrorism. He was one of the first Islamic scholars condemning the 9/11 attacks. He also denounced the terrorist acts in Moscow, in Syria, in Benghazi, in Boston, and in many other cases. He reiterated his condemnation once again, against the recent attacks in Kenya. He has unequivocally rejected terrorist attacks and bombings committed in the name of Islam, adding that a terrorist cannot be branded a real Muslim.
A news article notes Gulen explaining terrorist attacks can never be associated with Islam in any way, underlining that a terrorist cannot be a Muslim and a Muslim cannot be a terrorist. “A real Muslim who properly understood Islam never becomes a terrorist or takes part in terrorist activity. Suicide [bombers] will go to hell forever and they will be called to account for the innocent people they killed,” he adds.
Fethullah Gulen clarifies the misunderstandings saying “The rules to follow in peace and war times have been determined in Islam, and in peace time people cannot individually rage a war and kill people for no reason” adding “even in war time people cannot attack another’s house of worship, according to Islam.”
Gulen does not only condemn the terrorist acts but denounces all kinds of violence. He emphasizes that his views are based the very basic principles of Islamic faith, and that doing harm to any human life is an awful crime, even if it is one’s own life. In a recent sermon he delivered Gulen denounces suicide and explains, “Human life is an important trust from God. In other words, just as faith is a God-granted trust in the name of serving the religion, the blessing of life, which makes all of these possible, is such a trust as well. For this reason, a person’s taking his or her own life willfully means ruining this Divine bestowal through which people are commissioned to fulfill certain responsibilities.”
Gulen then clarifies the regulations on war, “In Islam, laws and disciplines explicitly define the acts that are permissible during peace and wartime. Nobody can declare a war or decide to kill another person by himself, and nobody has the right to kill children, women, or the elderly on the opposite side during battle. This being the case, suicide attacks or other similar acts of terrorism can never be compatible with Islam. To shed light on the issue, we take the statement of the noble Prophet that a person does not commit adultery as a believer, does not drink wine as a believer, does not steal as a believer, and does not commit murder as a believer.2 We understand from this hadith that a murderer is not a believer while committing murder. In other words, a person committing these sins cannot be called a Muslim in terms of their state, intents and plans while committing them. When you study their character during these moments, what appears before you is not the portrait of a Muslim; indeed, such character cannot fit within the Islamic frame. For this reason, let us emphasize once more that a person who acts as a suicide bomber and kills innocent people, no matter what country or religious group they are from, the murder they commit has absolutely nothing to do with being a Muslim.”
Fethullah Gulen’s strong opposition against the suicide bombings or any kind of terrorist act should not come as a surprise, as his reasoning is based on the very basic principles of Islamic faith. God Almighty considers taking one life equal to killing all of humanity: “He who kills a soul unless it be (in legal punishment) for murder or for causing disorder and corruption on the earth will be as if he had killed all mankind” (Qur’an 5:32).
“In conclusion, those horrible murders committed under the name of suicide attacks are hidden under the guise of religion, which takes the issue to much more dangerous dimensions. In this respect, let us state once more that no matter what motive and method such brutality is committed, it is a condemnable act God Almighty dislikes and is not pleased with and is never compatible with Islam whatsoever.”
