Balance is possible: we do not have to choose between love or hate

Sadly Hizmet Movement and Gulen has always been drawn into contemporary current and political discourses in Turkey. In the past it has been accusations of turning Turkey into an Islamic (Sharia) state and now ruling party and President are accusing them of infiltrating the state for sectarian interests.  

We are yet to see whether or not the latest claims will stand the test of time and historical and logical scrutiny. But one thing is clear that such times deprive one of the most significant and unique movements in Islamic world of the attention it deserves. 

Scholar of the field would agree that Hizmet bears unique characteristics compared to other modern Islamic movements. It is definitely different to contentious or advocacy movements of the West. Firstly its founder, on the one hand, engages in profound expositions of some of the deepest spiritual traits of Islamic thought and on the other hand he engages in and offers striking discourses on contemporary issues. Along this is the undeniably successful activism in fields which are not common to Islamic movements. 

Gulen and Hizmet have always avoided contentious activism and chose to promote positive action through establishing institutions to contribute to education, dialogue, ethical business practice and building bridges between rich and the poor through outreach programmes. 

A careful pondering about the journey of Hizmet reveals that although it avoids conflict and contention, they would meet it at some stage. Firstly it is a movement inspired by Islam in a staunchly secular country (do not be carried away by the current dominant seemingly pro-Islam discourse in Turkey) and secondly they established schools which spread all over the country and they were among the best. Consequently they were on the educational map pf Turkey offering quality education in modern sciences blended in universal ethics such as freedom, democracy, work and business ethics, social justice and morality. Hence graduates would eventually be in social life having to confront many dilemmas. 

Despite relatively long history of democratic experience, it is hard to claim that Turkish democracy has made much progress in terms of internalising some the universal values and freedoms. The mindset of the people is still that of sanctifying the state over the people and assumption that the state is always right! This approach overrides the desire to fair treatment by the state and demanding rights, recognition and services. A scene from an animation movie explains this: the village director tells followers of Nursi that if there is a need for books to be written, State will take care of that. Who are you to do so? 

The developed nations are those where the state and society with all its dimensions are at ease with one another and especially the state is at ease with being harshly criticised and attacked. Criticism is not seen as a matter of “national security” as it is the case in Turkey. 


In conclusion, it is of importance that all civil society initiatives are given the freedom they deserve so that the value of their worth can be judged and established better. Otherwise they are either overvalued or undervalued as the unfortunate case for Hizmet as we are unable to establish its true potential and value for people of Turkey. Currently public opinion of Hizmet in Turkey oscillate between love and hate! We must strike a balance.

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