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American professor says criticism against Gülen ideological
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07 Apr 2011 Thu 08:15 am |
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American professor says criticism against Gülen ideological
07 April 2011, Thursday / ŞABAN GÜNDÜZ , ANTALYA
Helen Rose Ebaugh
| American sociology Professor Helen Rose Ebaugh, who has written a book analyzing the Gülen movement, inspired by the well-respected Islamic scholar Fethhullah Gülen, has said criticism leveled at Gülen is based completely on ideological fears. |
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Ebaugh, the author of a book titled “The Gülen Movement: A Sociological Analysis of a Civic Movement Rooted in Moderate Islam,” was speaking at a conference organized by the Antalya Intercultural Dialogue Center over the weekend and titled “Gelişen Türkiye’de Sivil Toplum Hareketleri: Hizmet Hareketi” (Civil Society Movements in Developing Turkey: The Hizmet Movement). Stating that recent claims that members of the movement are trying to infiltrate state posts -- including the police force, the military and others -- are groundless, she said she did not encounter such efforts while researching the movement. She said these allegations are based on ideological fears rather than facts.
The Gülen movement is a group of volunteers engaged in interfaith and intercultural dialogue inspired by the ideas of Gülen, a Turkish Islamic scholar well known for his teachings promoting mutual understanding and tolerance between cultures. Now residing in the US, Gülen has pioneered educational activities in a number of countries, along with efforts to promote intercultural and interfaith activities around the world.
According to Ebaugh, who has no doubts about the movement’s success, the reason behind the success of the movement is that it favors democracy, modernization, education and dialogue, which she says make the movement unique. Noting that she has been researching the movement since 1990 when the volunteers of the movement opened up to the world and began educational and dialogue activities around the world, she said the movement is taking on a global dimension with schools in 120 countries and dialogue centers in 180 countries worldwide. Noting that the movement is a pioneer in maintaining global peace, Ebaugh stated that one of many contributions of the movement to Turkey is the promotion of the country in the world.
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| 2. |
08 Apr 2011 Fri 04:29 am |
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Well, there are people who believe Mr. Gülen himself is an ideological tool used by the US to mitigate the much feared nationalist sentiment in Turkey and to replace it with what is called a soft-Islamic democracy. All this is done with a healthy dose of anti West sentiment which is easy to tame. Like it always happens, those nations which are criticized severely enjoy strong economic ties with Turkey. Turkey as a nation proceeds on the path of the countries whose political and educational practices are severely criticized by the man. Meanwhile, he lives in the US and funds keep flowing in to make him one of the most affluent and influential persons in the country.
Under the circumstances, nothing associated with Gülen is free from politics, his understanding of Islam, the attitude of this writer when she praises him are not exceptions. Recently, the raw draft digital copy of a book claiming to have pulled off the curtain over this person´s secret activities has been confiscated. This is peculiar because, no matter how antidemocratic, censorship must normally come after a book is officially published; in this case, it happened in a very hasty manner before the book could be printed and distributed.
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08 Apr 2011 Fri 05:40 am |
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gülen is a social terrorist
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08 Apr 2011 Fri 01:37 pm |
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gülen is a social terrorist
When you make a statement like that, you should explain it a bit. Just saying that doesn´t really open up a debate.
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08 Apr 2011 Fri 03:11 pm |
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As a one who knows closely this Gülen´s movement, I can say this is the most devious movement in the history of Republic, anything licit to them to reach their aim...
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08 Apr 2011 Fri 04:09 pm |
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As a one who knows closely this Gülen´s movement, I can say this is the most devious movement in the history of Republic, anything licit to them to reach their aim...
Closely, hmmm! 
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08 Apr 2011 Fri 06:12 pm |
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As a one who knows closely this Gülen´s movement, I can say this is the most devious movement in the history of Republic, anything licit to them to reach their aim...
This still doesn´t enlighten me on why you think so. I know that a lot of people think Gülen is dangerous, but nobody has ever really explained to me why. What did he say that makes people think he is a danger to the state?
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08 Apr 2011 Fri 07:19 pm |
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Dear Barba,
Firstly I totally agree with what Burak said. Let me tell you shortly, this movement is domineering the young brains with their fallacious ideology and lies starting from primary school till these young brains have a voice in their life, and when they have a good job particularly in important positions, then they use them for their aim simply which is why Burak called him a social terrorist I think. They love the successful students and fuss over them especially by the way. I do not want to go in details, it is a huge subject, if you want to learn more about it, go and make your research. For instance you can start from your country; why did the Netherlands which claimed to be known as a country of pluralism and tolerance suddenly opt to cut the fundings of Gülen schools? Or why did Russia outlaw his schools for example? Maybe they did think these schools are a threat to their social order??
This still doesn´t enlighten me on why you think so. I know that a lot of people think Gülen is dangerous, but nobody has ever really explained to me why. What did he say that makes people think he is a danger to the state?
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08 Apr 2011 Fri 09:00 pm |
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This still doesn´t enlighten me on why you think so. I know that a lot of people think Gülen is dangerous, but nobody has ever really explained to me why. What did he say that makes people think he is a danger to the state?
well imagine that theres a thick catholic author in your country that keeps writing against the queen, the ministry system and the democracy, keeps defending the race-driven philosphers of 45s germany and tries his (and hundred thousands of peoples) best to show the world how catholic the netherlands is. and he succeeds horribly. then you hear his plans about bringing down the current democratic government in netherlands and make it a theocratic state of the church. and that he cant be prosecuted bcs hes very rich. wouldnt you think hes a social terrorist also?
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09 Apr 2011 Sat 08:53 pm |
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It´s difficult for me to find out the exact things that Gülen did wrong. They had a research towards the Gülen movement in the Netherlands, like was said before, to see if it was wrong for the Dutch government to give aid to schools that had some links with this movement. But the research didn´t show anything illegal or dangerous. I have tried to google for criticism of Gülen, but pro-Gülen sympathies are over represented on English and Dutch websites. The only anti-Gülen things I can find are more opinions, but not really stating why these people have opinions. They all talk about a hidden agenda of Gülen, but I just wonder where this all comes from. Does anybody have any links that are not "we love Gülen"?
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