The Turkish preacher Fethullah Gulen
has been living in the United States for 13 years now. An extensive
network of supporters has developed there, serving in projects under his
name.
There is no sign on the road to indicate the exit and the dirt track
which leads you through a foggy broadleaf forest, coloured in all the
shades of autumn, to an estate with eight houses. Thirteen years ago,
the most influential preacher of Turkish Islam Fethullah Gulen
retreated to this secluded place. Back then, the still powerful
military had driven him out of Turkey. Stricken with illnesses, he
decided to undergo surgery in American hospitals. Since then, he has
rarely left the estate despite being issued a visa and a residence
permit by the United States.
The voice of the 74-year-old Gulen sounds more powerful than ever, even
from afar. It was his voice which has transformed the Muslims of
Anatolia into a dynamic middle-class during the past decades. Gulen is
the voice of these “black Turks”. Many movements have challenged
Kemalism, the ideology of the “white Turks”. The urban, educated and
secular upper-class of Istanbul – and later also of Ankara – have for
decades ruled over Turkey. They looked down with contempt upon the
uneducated, rural, poor and religious people of Anatolia. Inspired by
Gulen’s teachings, many of these Turks sought education and became
wealthy, yet remained religiously devout. As Gulen effectively
challenged the Kemalist elite, he was declared as an enemy of the state.
If Gulen was to return to Turkey, it would open old wounds. This is why
Gulen, who shies away from conflicts, has decided to stay in
Saylorsburg.
The 5-and-a-half hectare estate does partially resemble Gulen’s native
region of Turkey. He was born in 1938 in Erzurum, in the remote eastern
part of Anatolia. Saylorsburg is a place dominated by nature, where deer
roam the forest and from time to time brown bears are seen. Soon, the
snow will pile up, just as it will in Erzurum. When Turkish
entrepreneurs bought the estate for $175,000 in 1993, under the name
“Golden Generation foundation”, only a few log cabins were there. The
foundation built eight stone houses, created the park, and invited Gulen
to settle down here in 1999.
Down at the lake, the visitors’ children are playing football. At noon,
everyone gathers in the clearing at the köşk – a type of garden pavilion
in which Ottomans used to dine while in the countryside. Traditional
Turkish cuisine is on the menu: lentil soup, vegetables pickled in olive
oil, köfte meat balls with rice, tea in small curved glasses. Gulen
cannot walk even this distance these days. After several bypass
operations, his knees trouble him now. He leaves the estate only for
medical exams and treatment at the hospital nearby. Gulen takes a life
away from people, but his message is reaching millions.
A lift goes up to the first floor of the house which resembles a simply
yet elegantly decorated Ottoman house which does not need more than a
minimum of furniture. This is the floor on which Hocaefendi -- as he is
reverently called by his followers -- lives and works. At his side
always is his personal doctor, as well as a few other people in whom he
trusts and confides. He very rarely gives interviews. This morning, a
normal one, he taught a dozen young theologians who are his personal
students. Twice a week, his sermons are recorded and uploaded onto the
internet (www.herkul.org), from which TV stations will rebroadcast.
Our interview has been scheduled to take place after the Islamic midday
prayer. That is when Gulen receives guests. He specifically asks them
about what is going on in the world outside and always has follow-up
questions. After this he will read again, write and pray. He is said to
get by on very little sleep. Every day is minutely structured. He
instructs his followers to use their time well and practises as he
preaches, without rushing. His followers say that he combines humility
with charisma. On the wall behind him, a clock ticks softly. It is never
switched to daylight savings hours. “The [real] time is always the
same,” says Gulen.
Beautiful calligraphic writing decorates the walls, complementing
Gulen’s words. He does not speak a sober modern Turkish. The Ottomans
would have understood him perfectly. It is a challenge for many Turkish
people to understand him. In long sentences, he intertwines chapters
from the Quran with sayings by the Prophet, the experiences of the
mystics with the requirements of the modern world, and unites the world
of faith with the reality of life. He explains the relevance of
education and success in business, the compatibility of Islam with the
modern age and democracy, as well as the incompatibility of Islam and
violence. His followers are supposed to create employment and prosperity
with their own hands, and should not forget to distribute it among
those who are in need.
Religious people wanting to live their faith far away from the vibrant
cities were always drawn to the State of Pennsylvania. The early
immigrants that settled on the fertile grounds of Pennsylvania must have
been religious people. If you set out west from Philadelphia towards
Saylorsburg, then you will drive through Quakertown and Emmaus. Road
signs indicate exits to Hamburg as well as Lebanon and also to New
Tripoli. The road to Saylorsburg also leads you through Bethlehem and
Nazareth.
Manhattan is only a few hours drive away from Saylorsburg. And yet there are worlds between them.
Alp Aslandogan is looking down from the sixth floor onto the urban
canyon out of stone in the 5th Ave. In 1991, he came to New York from
Turkey to do his PhD in IT and today he teaches at a university. In his
spare time, he works many hours on a voluntary basis
for “hizmet” [service] – which is how Gulen’s followers describe their
movement. The movement, which in Germany is known as the Gulen movement,
is also growing in the United States. Entrepeneurs close to Gulen have
founded more than a thousand educational institutions in 130 countries,
including Germany and the United States. Aslandogan founded the “Milky
Way Foundation” in 1993 to help tutor children of Turkish immigrants on
the weekends, so that they could succeed in school. In 1999, the
foundation became a private school.
“We neither wanted to emulate the dominant culture, nor isolate
ourselves from it to preserve our roots,” says Aslandogan. “We wanted to
help parents to understand the American culture, and the children to
preserve their parents’ values, but also be productive citizens of this
country.” Over two decades, activities such as these in New York turned
into an extensive network of diverse social activities. The Turkish
Cultural Center in Manhattan and the Peace Islands Institute are two examples.
The cultural centre, for instance, organises English and Turkish
language courses, prepares children for exams, helps adults to register
themselves as voters and assists those who are self-employed to find
success. After a large forest fire in Israel, it helped reforest the
area, and built a new school in Haiti after the earthquake. After the
terror attacks on September 11th, the Pacific Islands Institute was
founded as a platform for dialogue. Under its framework, American
politicians and foreign ambassadors have met, rabbis and Buddhist monks
talk to each other, and Muslim families invite non-Muslim families home.
The cultural centre and the Pacific Islands Institute are two of the 218
social organizations which are associated with Gulen in the United
States, which have united in May 2010 under the umbrella organization,
the Turkic American Alliance. Its main offices are in Washington DC,
between Capitol Hill and the CNN studios. Just as in its New York
offices, the personality cult around Atatürk has vanished, and there is
no relief on the wall depicting the forever-smiling founder of the
republic. What importance the umbrella organization has already gained
can be seen by the fact that at a recent gala evening, seven senators
and 53 members of the Congress were present. Fevzi Bilgin, a 38-year-old
political analyst and former professor at the University of Pittsburgh,
compiles studies about relevant issues in Turkey and the Middle East
and assesses the American political sphere in his work. He is the head
of “Rethink”, the only private Turkish think tank in the United States.
Emre Çelik, an Australian IT specialist of Turkish descent living in the
United States, is another strong supporter of Gulen. He started two
decades ago in Sydney, trying to give Turkish youngsters a jump-start in
subjects such as math, physics and chemistry in garages. Today, he is
in charge of the Rumi Forum, named after a Turkish saint, which is
located a stone’s throw away from the White House. On its board sit Jews
as well as secular Americans. Prominent politicians or diplomats often
speak at luncheons held at the forum, broadcasted by four TV channels.
Çelik considers himself to be a “mainstream Muslim” and this is the type
of Islam he wants to foster in the pluralistic society of America.
Initially in Australia, he was fascinated by Said Nursi (1876-1960), a
spiritual mentor for Gulen. Nursi introduced to Islam raising scientific
questions and doubt, taught his students to see the good in Western
civilisation and adopt it, and called them to overcome the three basic
evils of poverty, division and ignorance. “What Nursi formulated in
theories, is carried out by Gulen in practice”, says Çelik. He considers
the concept of pleasing God to be the decisive contribution of Gulen.
By this, Gulen motivates people to act in this world, in order to gain
rewards for the hereafter.
The movement is being attacked from two sides, says Gulen. Gulen
describes those who equate the activities of “hizmet” with Islamism as
ignorant. When it comes to other Turkish critics, he can only shake his
head. They accuse him of being “a traitor to Islam, being a slave of the
United States and Israel as well as carrying out propaganda for
Christianity and Judaism”. A public prosecutor in Turkey once called him
even a secret cardinal in the service of the Pope. The biggest
accusation against the Movement is that it wants to carry out a
revolution in Turkey, through cultivating a secret Islamist elite. It is
also claimed that the movement is not transparent and works as a secret
society. These kind of critics of the movement assert a hierarchical
structure which does not exist. They attribute this claimed hierarchy to
an asserted Islamic sufi lineage. During recent decades, periods where
Turkey was ruled by generals, such a structure could be dangerous.
“My life and my work are open to everyone”, asserts Fethullah Gulen.
“Nothing is kept secret.” The activities of “hizmet” are carried out in
public with people from the entire spectrum of life, from all countries
and religions. They have been observed and even under the control of
public authorities. “I would like to know what is not transparent.”
Education and building schools are issues particularly close to his
heart. He says it is through education that a human being contributes in
the most constructive manner to his or her family, society and
humanity. "I am convinced that we as God’s creatures will only achieve
our full individual maturity through worldly and spiritual education."
He has been promoting this idea his entire life, as well as through the
construction of schools, which are built by companies that claim to be
inspired by him. His name appears neither as a founding nor board member
on any of the institutions ascribed to him.
The continuous reference to entrepreneurs does not mean that everything
is related to money, but he advises his followers to be successful. A
major Turkish business association is ascribed to Gulen. The economic
boom in Anatolia is linked to his name. "I have always called for a
sincere entrepreneurial spirit," says Gulen. He advises entrepreneurs to
carefully assess risks, and encourages them to invest and expand
abroad. “I always remind them of their social and societal
responsibilities.” And he reminds them to adhere to ethical principles:
to avoid involvement in fraud, speculative or black-market trading,
stand for trust and reliability, not to display greed and squander God’s
riches while enjoying them, to show respect for the rights of
employees, not to forget that the society they live in should also
benefit from their benefits and to live aware of the fact that
ultimately everything is given by God.
Tevfik Emre Aksoy is one of those businessmen who seeks God’s pleasure
following Gulen’s advice. He made his fortune as a building contractor
in Brooklyn, New York City. Self-employed and successful people like him
donate a considerable share of their income to the "hizmet" movement
and finance many projects. He is a board member of the Amity School in
Brooklyn along with four other businessmen. Tuition fees only partially
cover the costs of running the school. The rest comes from supporters
like Aksoy.
Yet despite his generous donations, he does not interfere in the day by
day operations of the school, whose principal is Cengiz Karabekmez.
Founded in 1999, 300 students attend the school. One hundred live in the
adjacent student hostel. They come from 17 countries, and represent
five different religious faiths. The majority are of Turkish descent.
The school advertises that for many years all students have been
accepted to college. The best go on to Harvard, Columbia and Yale. “Last
year’s 25 graduates got scholarships in the amount of 4 million
dollars”, Karabekmez says proudly.
The focus, as with all other “Gulen schools”, is on teaching sciences.
“We do not compel religion upon our students”, stresses Karabekmez. “We
are not a religious school.“ The course on “personality development”
teaches universal values such as respect, altruism and work ethics. Most
of the 36 teachers are American citizens. “Language barriers?” Andrea
laughs. "Sure, many parents speak only a little bit of English", says a
teacher. “But the school community ensures that everyone speaks English
very well, starting from year one.”
The English teacher, Adamir, knows Germany and the United States well,
but he does not know Gulen. His parents fled the war in the Balkans, and
along with their children, went first to Germany, and then settled down
in New York 12 years ago. He had never heard the name of the “hizmet”
movement. He opted for the Amity School because he has more opportunity
to express himself as a teacher than at other schools. Worship of God is
not compelled. “God loves everyone”, Aksoy asserts. “God loves in
particular good deeds.”
