1. TURKEY’S
GÜLEN
MOVEMENT
Hacking State Secularism Through
Religious Civil Engagement

2. Modern Turkey
 Question: What political impact can a religious
movement have in a country that excludes religion
from the public sphere?

3. Modern Turkey
 Question: What political impact can a religious
movement have in a country that excludes religion
from the public sphere?
 Turkey - Laicité secularism since fall of Ottoman Empire
 Rule by “laity” vs. clergy
 Absence of state religion
 Religion is only a private matter
 Religious considerations considered incompatible with reasoned
political debate.

4. Modern Turkey
 Modern Turkish state founded on Kemal Ataturk’s
vision:
 Constitutional Republic
 Power held by the people vs. tribal and religious leaders
 Banished (Ottoman) religious interference from public sphere
 Turkish nationalism emphasized over a various of ethnic/religious
identities
 Embrace of modern secular (European) ideas and institutions

5. Modern Turkey
 Religion in Public Sphere
 Mosques managed by the government’s Directorate of
Religious Affairs
 Prevents mosques from being a locus of political mobilization
 Religious groups not allowed to form political parties
 Approves state-friendly Sunni Islamic teaching vs. ethnic, Sufi
variations

6. Modern Turkey
 Religion in Public Sphere
 Restrictions on religious freedom
 Closure and confiscation of Christian churches and seminaries
 Denial of access to government-held sacred spaces for religious
observances
 Denial of full legal status to religious minorities

7. Modern Turkey
 AKP (Justice and Development)Party
 In power from 2002-Present
 Center-right politics, liberal market economy, socially conservative
 Considered Pro-Western & pro-American
 Seeks to loosen some restrictions on public expression of religion
 Constrained by Kemalist establishment in military, judiciary, etc.

8. The Gülen Movement
 Founder: Fethullah Gülen
 Lives in exile in Saylorsburg,
Pennsylvania
 Background in Sufi teaching,
Sunni (Hanafi) thought
 Argues that liberal democracy
is compatible with Islam
 Openly looks to Western
religious and political thought
to augment his own vision

9. The Gülen Movement
 Controversial Movement
in Turkey

10. The Gülen Movement
 Founder: Fethullah Gülen
 “When I was in elementary school around the
age of 6 and when I did my noon prayer during
recess once, I was locked in the basement as
punishment by the principal. Such pressure
was real.
Today, on the one hand, some Muslims face
oppression and in response, certain individuals
commit suicide attacks. Religion doesn't
condone or justify responding to those who
oppress with oppression.”

11. The Gülen Mopvement
 Gülen’s Teachings: Shades of Karl Barth
 Stresses that the inner dimension of Islam should drive how a
Muslim acts in society
 Muslims should practice service to the community, and make
their goal to serve common good (hizmet)
 Advocates religious freedom and interreligious dialogue
 Political sphere should not restrict private or public
expressions of religion

12. The Gülen Movement
 Gülen’s Political Theology
 “Companion Model” of State-Religion Relationship
 Muhammad listened to all of his companions when considering
civil issues. Modern states should follow this example.
 Very limited number of divine decrees regarding religion and state
 “Secondary matters” are the domain of the state, yet should reflect
the judgment and wisdom of the people.
 Citizens should cultivate their faith, and bring the wisdom they
receive through their faith into the public square.

13. The Gülen Movement
 Parallels in Western Political/Religious Thought
 Two Ideas About Faith and the Public Square
 John Rawls (Much like Kemalist Turkey):
 Religion and Faith entirely separate
 Faith a private issue
 State policies argued from Reason alone
 Equal footing for all faiths, with Reason as common ground

14. The Gülen Movement
 Parallels in Western Political/Religious Thought
 Two Ideas About Faith and the Public Square
 John Rawls (Much like Kemalist Turkey):
 Religion and Faith entirely separate
 Faith a private issue
 State policies argued from Reason alone
 Equal footing for all faiths, with Reason as common ground
 Alfred Stepan/Twin Tolerations (Much like Gülen’s Vision):
 No interference by State on Church, and vice versa
 Citizens do not leave religious identity behind in public dialogue
 Right of religious groups to mobilize in civil and political space

15. The Gülen Movement
 Movement in Turkish civil society

16. The Gülen Movement
 Turkish civil society
 Growing influence in
education, business and
other sectors
 Viewed with suspicion by
political figures (still a mysterious group to many Turkish
citizens)
 Movement aims for long-term goals of changing Turkish
political and religious life.

17. Modern Turkey
 Question: What political impact can a religious
movement have in a country that excludes religion
from the public sphere?
 The Gülen Movement aims to have a profound impact
 Activism and Influence in Civil Society is the Key
 Education
 Business
 Media
 Social Services

18. TURKEY’S
GÜLEN
MOVEMENT
Hacking State Secularism Through
Religious Civil Engagement