Struggle for Service

For the last 6 months or so Erdogan’s one man regime in Turkey has been waging a full on war against anything related to Fethullah Gulen or the Hizmet Movement. As a survival strategy Erdogan has chosen to shoot himself in the foot by selecting Hizmet and the person of Fethullah Gulen as a target to distract the nation from his sins. As much as it sounds crazy he is holding on to the tales of old Kemalist establishment arguing relentlessly that the Gulen movement is orchestrating a takeover of the state to establish a government for their own benefit. The teachings of Gulen, the activities of the movement and the testimony of witnesses not only disprove Erdogan’s unfounded, immoral and ignorant claims against the movement but also validate once again that Hizmet movement‘s mission is to adamantly serve humanity. More than 1500 schools (some say they are about 2000 now) in almost every country on the face of earth are enlightening the minds of the precious youth with the light of science and illuminating their hearts with moral values. Aid organizations, hospitals and their volunteers reaching out to remote corners of the world bringing relief to the poor, displaced and distressed. Dialog centers are endeavoring to bridge the different segments of society with interfaith and intercultural programs and business organizations addressing the challenge of generate prosperity. Also importantly all these activities are taking place under different regimes and conditions, which means it does not make any sense for the movement to engage in with politics or designing of a new regime.

The founders of the Turkish republic designed a secular state system and a seemingly modern monolithic society which comprised of individuals of a certain type. Until the first democratic elections of 1950, the heavy handed top down rule of the single party system created an elite dominating top levels of the Turkish society. The new system was set up as a republican democracy but it did not have a pluralistic vision. When Fethullah Gulen encouraged the traditionally conservative segments of the society to integrate with the world and maintain their presence in the modern system by presenting their traditional values with a modern approach he was seen as a threat by the establishment of the time. For example many graduates of the secular schools set up by the movement started taking jobs in the ranks of the government. These people were coming from conservative families and espousing values that were inspired by their faith. Though never Gulen nor the activities of the Hizmet movement advocate for a political system shaped by a religious set of laws, their inspiration from religion was misunderstood or rather was feared by the secularist elite, who was not thinking rationally on this issue but acting with the traumatic experience of founding years of the Turkish republic. Rise of Erdogan to the power, also coming from a conservative background was also feared by the secularist establishment. In this sense, it is ironic how Erdogan alleges Hizmet, more fiercely than his predecessors, with similar things claimed by the old establishment.

Fethullah Gulen has been know since 1960s and there is a quite big body of work consisting of audio and video recordings as well as books. If carefully examined his opus will reveal that he has no desire for obtaining political power. There is not a single shred of political indoctrination in his writings or speeches. The fruits of his teaching are embodied in the Hizmet movements activities, which does not focus on any political work. In addition as a religious scholar he understands that most of the religion is about “individual and domestic responsibilities” and only a small portion is about the system of state. He has also made it clear that there will not be any return back from the democracy in Turkey. In Gulen’s view power is a transient fading quality. As a person well grounded in faith, the most important thing is one’s relation with God . Thus power struggle is something inconsistent with his characteristic and his teachings. What defines Gulen is dedication to service and humanity. Nothing else explains the presence of Hizmet all over the world. Politics or power is not an enough motivation for mobilization of this scale.