Between Thought and Action: An Intellectual Biography of Fethullah Gülen

by Ori Z Soltes

Overview

This volume has two goals. One is to explore the life and the thought of Fethullah Gülen and the important educational and peace-inducing activities in which he and those inspired by him have been engaged for several decades. The outcome of those efforts—of creating schools and providing diverse social and cultural services that bring people together people from diverse backgrounds—has been to provide the face of civic and civil Islam as an antidote to the uglier side of political Islam. The second goal has been to make clear how the accusations against Mr. Gülen by the minions of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan could hardly be more false: that what Gülen and the hizmet (service) movement that he has inspired are ultimately about is improving the world and saving it form its uglier inclinations. A brief discussion of his life and thought has been supplemented by the voices of more than 70 interviews conducted over several years, with individuals intimate and more distant but all inspired to be part of the process of serving humanity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781682060315
Publisher:	Blue Dome Press
Publication date:	10/01/2022
Pages:	292
Product dimensions:	6.31(w) x 9.09(h) x 1.03(d)

About the Author

Ori Z Soltes teaches at Georgetown University across a range of disciplines, from art history and theology to philosophy and political history. He is the former Director of the B’nai B’rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum, and has curated more than 85 exhibitions there and in other venues across the country and overseas. He has authored or edited 25 books and several hundred articles and essays.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments 9

Introduction 13

Chapter 1 A Brief Biography 17

Piety Within a Familial Context

Chapter 2 A Brief Biography of Gülen's Thought 39

From His Sources to His Expression

Chapter 3 From Words to Actions 91

Dialogue, the Hizmet Movement, and Altruistic Activities

Chapter 4 In Their Own Words 125

The Followers and Sympathizers of Gülen and Hizmet Speak

Chapter 5 Conclusions 247

Gülen, Hizmet, Social, Civil and Political Islam-and Sports

Chapter 6 Two Epilogues 267

Appendix 279

Bibliography 283

Index 286

Editorial Reviews

Soltes lays out a broad and concise overview of Fethullah Gülen, his fascinating spiritual and intellectual journey, and his idea of civic Islam to serve the community.

James C Harrington

With an encyclopedic understanding of Fethullah Gülen, erudite empathy, and rarely documented insights, Soltes sorts out the tensions between secular and spiritual values shaping modern Turkey.

Philip Elisaoph