Fethullah Gulen and the Gulen Movement

We can take another example from education which constitutes the core of the movement activities. Establishing schools is the main line of contribution to each community in which the Hizmet Movement provides services. That is true not only for Hizmet or Gulen, but for many civic movements or even for individual Good Samaritans. For example, the Peace Corps or Rotary International contribute to education all over the world, and people don't seek any hidden agenda behind these activities. On a much smaller scale, with all criticism aside, most people think Greg Mortensen was a public hero as he dedicated himself to opening several schools for girls in Afghanistan. His book "Three Cups of Tea" was a bestseller for four years. But if you ask the same people about Hizmet opening more than 1000 schools in more than 100 countries, then they say "No, that's not my cup of tea!". Some even go further and predictably conspire that these schools are for proselytism, although they all follow the standard curriculum as dictated by each host country.

A third example is charity. Helping the needy is a common good that is pretty much universally accepted -- I mean if we were to think reasonably, but again that does not apply for Gulen or the Hizmet Movement. Although most people inspired by Gulen left every bit of their assets behind, and went to help needy people in another country, and opened schools, hospitals, gave out clothes, and served food, they are still accused of having insidious intentions. Some groups even claim that they have an intention for global domination? By giving charity to others? Go figure!

Seeing this movie again and again, I guess Mr. Gulen finds all these smear campaigns, predictably irrational. It is no use to look for any logic or rationale in these claims, as they seem to miss the very fact that Fethullah Gulen is a public figure for more than four decades now, and most, if not all, of his speeches are recorded, and all of his articles are periodically published. In the 50 years of recordings, only a few sentences were cherry picked out-of-context and were used in a defamation campaign in 1999. The prosecutors went through every bit of his life, and audited every institution that was remotely related to him, and after years of investigation, he was acquitted on all charges. But that did not stop his opponents, including newcomers to the party who still keep using the same old conspiracy stories in their smear campaigns. Just Google Gulen or Hizmet Movement and see it for yourself!

In a recent interview with Deutsch Tuerkische Nachrichten (German Turkish News), commenting on such claims, Fethullah Gulen responded again, that neither he nor any person affiliated with the movement has been charged with “infiltrating” a state post in Turkey or in any country in the world for that matter. “I have been in contact with the public through my articles, speeches, and activities since 1958. Lawsuits were filed against me with charges similar to the ones you have mentioned [infiltrating state posts] after military coups. Yet, no evidence has been put forward to prove the charges, and I have been acquitted in all cases. Furthermore, none of the millions of people who are said to be members of the movement have been sentenced due to the charges mentioned. So, is it not clear that the accusations are capricious?”⁴ Gulen asks.