Response to New York Times: Setting the facts straight on the (Fethullah) Gulen movement by James C. Harrington

Harrington's piece clarifies crucial misinformation about Fethullah Gulen and the Gulen Movement, it is also valuable to read the five below articles to place everything into context:

• Mehmet Ali Birand: "The General Staff was pressuring me on two topics. One was that I was not criticizing the Fethullah Gülen movement ..." FULL ARTICLE
• Turkey’s Gulen movement sees a smear campaign FULL ARTICLE
• What are The New York Times and the International Herald Tribune after? FULL ARTICLE
• The hype about the Gülen Movement FULL ARTICLE
• A serious question for a respected newspaper FULL ARTICLE
• HDN: The protocols of the learned elders of Fethullah Gülen FULL ARTICLE

Setting the facts straight on the Gülen movement

by James C. Harrington *

James C. Harrington (Photo: Today's Zaman)

25 April 2012 / JAMES C. HARRINGTON,

Much of what Dan Bilefsky and Şebnem Arsu’s recent article in the International Herald Tribune (“Shadow Force Grows in Turkey,” published on April 18) describes about Fethullah Gülen and Turkey’s recent history is accurate, but the authors cast a shadow of innuendo and loose conclusions, apparently more driven by personal predispositions than reality.


The attack on the Gülen movement is disingenuous, especially the oft-repeated but never proven claim that Gülen supporters have infiltrated the national police for some perfidious purpose. Surely, there are Gülen followers in the police, just as there are Catholics in American police forces. But attributing an unfounded agenda is unworthy without evidence. It is equally unworthy to create a fact by innuendo by reporting an American embassy cable that whether the national police is controlled by Gülen followers ‘‘is impossible to confirm, but we have found no one who disputes it.’’ How can the lack of confirmation become a fact? I recently published a book on the eight-year political trial of Gülen, 2000-2008. One of the charges against him involved the police infiltration allegation, and many others, some of which your article re-plays (such as the Islamist “hidden agenda”). The three-judge trial court painstakingly discredited each charge in a 48-page opinion, and acquitted him. An appellate panel upheld the verdict, as did the plenary appeals court. This was a courageous decision by the trial judges, who are appointed by an arm of the state because the message to convict Gülen was clear.

In fact, the judges ruled that the taped sermon of Gülen to which the article refers was fabricated, not “manipulated,” as the article puts it. It was a splice job. The court opinions in English and Turkish are posted on the website associated with my book: http://gulentrial.org/. They were easily available to the article’s authors.

Why the article ignores the gist of this trial is a mystery. Maybe because it runs contrary to its thesis. The article also ignores that Gülen folks strongly supported the recent constitutional amendments of Sept. 12, 2010, which generally are what we would consider a civil liberties Bill of Rights. Seventy-four percent of the people voted in the referendum and approved the amendments by a 58 percent margin.

It’s impossible to see how the current Ergenekon and Sledgehammer conspiracy trials, overreaching at times to be sure, can be attributed in part to the Gülen movement since the prosecutors and judges in those cases were appointed by the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), a self-selecting and self-perpetuating institution, which historically has functioned as a “border watchdog” against “non-approved” political change. The fact this institutional organ is prosecuting military officers is a significant development, something that could not have happened a few years ago -- and in sync with the European Union’s mandate that Turkey establish civilian control over the military, if it wants to enter the EU. The Gülen folks may support the prosecutions, as do most Turks; but they hardly control it.

Another critical fact the article omits is that Zaman newspaper, which associates itself with Gülen supporters, has been very sharply critical of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for his handling of free speech and free press issues and other human rights matters. Zaman columnists have repeatedly decried jailing journalists, even if they were involved in Egenekon.

Nor does the article mention the Gülen movement has strongly supported EU membership from the beginning, which means assuring civil liberty, changing the legal system to European standards and separation of the secular state from religion. Hardly what one would expect from a group with a supposed Islamist agenda.

I’m no apologist for the movement; but, in my view, it has been good overall for democracy in Turkey and has done good things in other parts of the world. And, for a journalist, what’s fair should be fairly reported.

*Harrington is a human rights lawyer in Austin, where he also teaches at the University of Texas Law School. He is the author of “Wrestling with Free Speech, Religious Freedom, and Democracy in Turkey: The Political Trials and Times of Fethullah Gülen” (University Press, 2011). The court opinions in English and Turkish are posted on the website associated with the book: http://gulentrial.org/

SOURCE: http://www.todayszaman.com/news-278603-setting-the-facts-straight-on-the-gulen-movement-by-james-c-harrington-*.html


More info on Fethullah Gulen and the Hizmet (Gulen) Movement:

• Rumi Forum official web site

• White House and the Rumi Forum

• Suggested web sites - MEDIA, ARTICLES, CONFERENCES

• Rumi Forum Corporate Video

• Rumi Forum Newsletters

• Rumi Forum Videos & Photos

• Learn Turkish at Rumi Forum

• The Necessity of Interfaith Dialogue by F. Gulen

• Fethullah Gulen Biography

• Quotes by Fethullah Gulen

• Books on Fethullah Gulen & Gulen Movement

• Fethullah Gulen & Gulen Movement

• Fethullah Gulen Blog

MEDIA - Gülen movement challenges Islamophobia, contributes to peace

An interesting piece quoting Dr Helen Ebaugh from Texas












American sociology professor Helen Rose Ebaugh, who is also the author of a book analyzing the Gülen movement, said the movement is a powerful challenge to the fears that people have after the 9/11 attacks and also praised the movement for its tremendous contribution to world peace.

The professor visited İstanbul last week upon an invitation from the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) and shared her opinion with Sunday’s Zaman. Ebaugh is known for her book titled “The Gülen Movement: A Sociological Analysis of a Civic Movement Rooted in Moderate Islam.”

“I do not think there are people in Houston who are afraid of this movement. Rather I think that a lot of people are realizing that the emphasis on education and interfaith dialogue [by the Gülen movement] is exactly what we need to hear from the Muslim world.

So I see it as a powerful challenge to the fears that people have after 9/11,” by which Ebaugh was referring to the growing trend of Islamophobia in the Western world.

The Gülen movement is inspired by internationally renowned Turkish scholar and intellectual Fethullah Gülen.

For the professor, the best way to overcome any kind of prejudice is one on one, getting to know people who challenge your stereotypes. “As long as the [Gülen] movement stays clean and there is not any terrorism or violence in it, people will continue to call it ‘peace loving’ on the whole,” she added.

Ebaugh also said the movement was contributing to world peace tremendously. She praised the launch of Abant platforms that bring together people from different positions for dialogue. She believes these efforts help to make a more peaceful world for all nations.

In response to a question about Gülen’s critics, the professor said she takes the criticisms quite seriously, but critics fail to provide data about their concerns.

“In a way I can understand their concerns. Nobody wants an Islamic state like Iran. People want women to have freedom within a movement. Nobody wants secret societies lurking around, so their concerns are legitimate. It’s just that I don’t see any data and nothing from my interviews connects those concerns with what I see in the movement. And I say to these critics over and over again: ‘Please give me data. I’m a scientist -- show me where your fears come from,’ but nobody produces data to show that it is more than just fear. It is ideology.”

Ebaugh is surprised most by “the fear that the movement is trying to infiltrate the military and the government in order to plan a takeover.” She said: “Some of these critics were convinced that that’s about to happen. I was surprised to see how sure they were of this, but they said to me, ‘Everybody knows this.’ I said: ‘I don’t know it. I need some names. I need some data,’ but that could never be produced. I was surprised how adamant people were in their convictions that this is what was happening. The other thing that surprised me was that over 50 percent of these critics had never met anybody in the movement, but they were part of a group that thought the same way; also many of them read Cumhuriyet [newspaper] and were getting a lot of their sources there. I was amazed at how few of them had first hand experience with people in the movement.”

What attracted the professor to the Gülen movement was the protest raised by Fethullah Gülen in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

“After 9/11 I was looking for Muslims who would speak up and challenge the terrorism. And 11 days after the attack, Mr. Gülen protested the attack,” she said.

For her, there are civil movements similar to the Gülen movement in other parts of the world, but what distinguishes the Gülen movement from others is that it is a “decentralized” movement. “This is very important. Because rather than going from top to down, it goes from down to top. And this gives dynamism and commitment to the movement.”

Financial transparency

In response to a question on the financial transparency of the Gülen movement, Ebaugh said: “The chief administrators of these institutions were very open about the initial money, where their current operating budget comes from. They opened up their books to me. I found a lot of transparency,” she said.

The professor started her research on the Gülen movement on its financial resources, and she interviewed people from the movement from the richest to the poorest.

She noted that everyone being suspicious about what was behind the scenes was mainly because the movement was acting in many areas of life. In her experience people have been very forthright about their financial transactions. She said she found no reason to suspect any other financial action “on the side.”

Asked whether she was satisfied about the answers she got regarding the funding of the movement, Ebaugh said: “I felt I had answered my basic question. When you realize that most people are giving an average 10 percent and multiply that by millions in the world, you get big figures. Plus, many of these projects become self-supporting, such as the schools.”

Ebaugh said she believed the main reason for the worldwide respect for the Gülen movement -- such as some countries allocating land for Gülen schools -- was the movement’s “good works” and “good hearts.” She said: “Everybody wants to educate young people. I mean that’s the start of a basic human value, so here are these people coming and emphasizing basic human values, tolerance and interfaith dialogue. And this isn’t just wishes floating in the sky. The volunteers in the movement are effective, they get results.”

What impresses the professor about volunteers in the movement who travel to other parts of the world to educate people is their “dedication.” She said the “education volunteers” are very dedicated to the beliefs and values of the movement, and they are willing to give of themselves to have the movement attain its objectives.

Social status of Gülen school students

Ebaugh also shared her opinions about the class structure of the followers of the movement. She said: “I think it’s appealing to all ranks of society in different ways. With Kimse Yok Mu [Is Anybody There], it’s addressing people in dire need, in disasters, in whatever. Many of the schools are in minority areas, but they are also attracting middle class and wealthier children who can afford the tuition, and then a lot of the luncheons and dialogue activities are drawing politicians, businessmen and leaders in the community. So I think it is addressing all different levels, maybe in different ways, but there is something for everybody.”

In her book, Ebaugh tells of her experiences talking to people who donate to the movement. During the interview, she shared a similar story. “I was touched by these workers. For example, one of the workers said he was laid off from his job and had no income so for several months he couldn’t give anything to the movement; however, he went and volunteered in one of the schools while he was looking for a job because he felt that that if he couldn’t give his money he could give his time.”

“For many of them it is a burden, but they still do it,” she said.

She also underlined that she did not meet Fethullah Gülen and does not want to because she is more interested in how his words and opinions impact people’s lives.

“I am basically a social scientist. And I am very committed to the use of the scientific method to study a phenomenon. So I was afraid that if I met Mr. Gülen, my readers would say I was saying what he wants me to say. I needed to keep a distance. I wanted to be objective as an outsider. I could give a better analysis in this way.”

SOURCE: click here

SEE ALSO :

'Gülen movement makes Turkey more noticeable'

Greek broadcaster praises contributions of Gülen movement Civic engagement, success and the Gülen movement

Academics: Interfaith dialogue is the only solution to Islamophobia - RUMI FORUM NOSTALGIA

Rumi Forum has been committed to overcoming misunderstanding between communities, another example from 2007.

Academics: Interfaith dialogue is the only solution to Islamophobia

Academics: Interfaith dialogue is the only solution to Islamophobia
Dr. Sidney Griffith of the Catholic University of America delivers a presentation titled
Dr. Sidney Griffith of the Catholic University of America delivers a presentation titled "Abraham in the 'Abrahamic' Religions: Theologies in Counterpoint" during the "Inter-Religious and Intercultural Discourse: Christians and Muslims in Dialogue" conference at the CUA.
In today's enduring atmosphere inter-religious contention, the Rumi Forum picked the American capital Washington D.C. as the venue for last week's conference "Inter-Religious and Intercultural Discourse: Christians and Muslims in Dialogue" at the Catholic University of America with the cooperation of the University's Semitics Department and Institute for Inter-Religious Study and Dialogue.


In his keynote speech, Dr. David Smock, vice president of USIP's Center for Mediation and Conflict Resolution, summarized the attributes that religious leaders and institutions can offer in promoting peace and reconciliation as follows:

Credibility as a trusted institution; a respected set of values; moral warrants for opposing injustice on the part of governments; unique leverage for promoting reconciliation among conflicting parties, including an ability to rehumanize situations that have become dehumanized over the course of protracted conflict; a capability to mobilize communities, nations and international support for a peace process; an ability to follow through locally in the wake of a political settlement; and a sense of calling that often inspires perseverance in the face of major.



Dr. Sidney Griffith of CUA, in his presentation titled "Abraham in the 'Abrahamic' Religions: Theologies in Counterpoint," said "Islam was born already in dialogue with Jews and Christians," and given their common origin in the prophet Abraham, Christians and Muslims should always approach each other as brothers "united by the same spirit of faith and sacrifice."....

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