Gulen Movement

Our next stop was at the Journalist and Writers Association.  Warning, a lot of details in this post!

One of the reasons we decided to come on the trip was because it was by invitation and all of the in-country costs were being paid for by a foundation (of sorts).  We just paid for our airline tickets.  After some queries before the trip, we were told that local associations inspired by the Gulen movement (or Hizmet) were sponsoring our visits in each of their cities.  We did not hear a lot about this Gulen movement directly, but each school that we visited was inspired by the movement and supported by generous contributions from patrons who were part of the movement.  With our visit to the Writers association we finally got the 'big picture' of this movement which was inspired by Fethullah Gulen starting in the late 1970s.  During this period  Turkey was very much a divided country with Marxist movements on the left and ultra nationalist groups on the right.  Mr. Gulen had a vision for a more unified country.

The movement is very loosely and locally organized without any strong overarching hierarchy.  There are five sectors in which people are organized:  education (like the universities and high schools we visited), dialogue (consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council), relief organizations (like Kimse Yok Mu), business associations, and media (like Zaman - seeking moderate views and being solution oriented).  

This movement is not really ideological in the rigid sense of a specific set of beliefs, but is based on guiding principles including tolerance and mutual understanding, learning to love others, and respect for all.  It allows for personal interpretation, understanding and application of these ideals.  It is focused on commonalities, not differences, and seeks solutions to problems faced by people around the world on many fronts. 

One of the things we have grappled to understand throughout our visit has been where the intersections are of politics and religion.  Americans aren't well equipped to understand the nuances in this system.  We tend to think in a bipolar sense because we have a two party system and a constitution that permits freedom of religion and a separation of religion and politics.  Turkey seems to be trying to achieve a similar balance.  It is a multiparty system, although the current majority party (the party of the Prime Minister) received over 50% of the votes in the last parliamentary election (a very strong endorsement).  People's stance on things crosses party lines depending on the issues, rather than being so polarized as in the US.  

Turkey has a secular government, but is a 99% Muslim population.  For decades the military has protected the enforced secular nature of the state to the point of engaging in several coups.  This had included banning women from wearing head scarves in universities, as well as banning Kurdish as a language of instruction (not a religious issue, but an effort to enforce "Turkishness").  The last coup effort actually failed in part because the media did not provide the legitimation that the military needed to succeed (as it had in the past).

Our host at the Writers Association tried to explain that Gulen is a blending of "tradition" embracing modernization.  So the tradition reflects the Islamic culture of the people, but the modernization reflects the dedication to democratic principles and equal treatment for all.  The focus of the movement is not overtly political, but has clear political impacts.  The movement is focused on service and social responsibility - it is an altruistic civic movement.  To the extent that the government is pursuing policies that extend rights to all people in Turkey, they support the government.  When rights are curtailed, they are critical of the government (but clearly supportive of the democratic process).

I had mixed feelings about being invited on a trip sponsored by an organization with an agenda of sorts.  If the overarching purpose of bringing us here was to show us a different Turkey than we see in the media and help us understand that Turkey is much more than most Americans recognize, then the trip was certainly successful in this effort.  Do I feel like I've gotten the whole picture?  No. Do I know where to draw the line on truth and propaganda?  No.

I've read a few more articles since arriving that are critical of the Gulen movement, some of what they say resonates with what we've seen to an extent (that children the schools are under significant pressure to conform to the beliefs of the movement - we heard about how teachers are mentors and counselors to the students for example, this could be involve unnecessary pressure, or it might not).  I don't tend to lean toward believing in grand conspiracies, so I discount commentaries that talk about a plan to impose an Islamic govn't in Turkey when the right people come into power.  I can't discount the degree of good that these wealthy businessmen are doing in the country and around the world.  Education is a powerful and lifelong gift that they are giving to many disadvantaged children, as well as the emergency relief efforts.

Our host was an extremely well spoken man who served as a physics instructor in a school, then as a writer, now as a PR person for the association.  He is going to school for his MA in International Studies at the moment and who knows where he will end up.