Frankly, when I received the invitation to a conference titled “Fethullah Gülen’s Thought and Practice: Education, Dialogue, Peacebuilding and Identity Formation,” my first thought was: “How will they manage to cover such a comprehensive topic in just three days?”
Indeed, during my time at Drew University, one of New Jersey’s oldest institutions (founded in 1867) with its charming and intellectually stimulating campus, I realized that I was right. I missed several of the 39 presentations by scholars from around the world because many sessions overlapped. Fortunately, the organizing institution, Respect Graduate School, provided me with the papers I couldn’t attend.
Before delving into the content, a few notes on the meaning and significance of the conference itself:
At a time when the Erdoğan regime’s oppression continues both in Turkey and in various parts of the world, such a conference is in itself remarkable. Many academics avoided participating out of fear of being targeted, which is understandable. Yet, during a period when the government’s black propaganda against Fethullah Gülen remains intense, it was valuable to see scholars from different nations come together to discuss Gülen’s ideas from their own perspectives. Organizers also mentioned that a broader version of this conference would be held on another continent.
Of course, it’s impossible to summarize all 39 presentations, but I’d like to highlight a few key points that caught my attention.
Opening and Atmosphere
The conference was organized through collaboration between Drew University, Peace Islands Institute, and Respect Graduate School. Opening remarks were delivered by Dr. Hilary Link (President of Drew University), Dr. Jonathan Golden (Director of the Center for Religion, Culture, and Conflict), Dr. Süleyman Eriş (Founder of Respect Graduate School), and Dr. Nuray Yurt (Head of Merck Global AI Solutions).
Following them, Prof. Dr. Suat Yıldırım, Abdullah Aymaz, and Naci Tosun, longtime companions of Gülen, took the stage. Their speeches, in Turkish, required simultaneous translation for most attendees—but the weight of their half-century of experience made their words resonate deeply.
Enes Kanter Freedom’s personal testimony and generational perspective provided a bridge between eras, while Dr. Scott Alexander of the Catholic Theological Union emphasized reconciliation and justice in Muslim–Christian relations.
Gülen’s Multifaceted Mission
The most fruitful moments of such conferences often occur during coffee or meal breaks—when you find yourself surrounded by brilliant minds you might never otherwise meet. At one table, I spoke with guests from Latin America, Africa, and Europe. Their analyses and outlooks on the future were fascinating.
For instance, Ori Z. Soltes from Georgetown University remarked that future generations—those who will never meet Gülen personally—will nonetheless understand and internalize his intellectual legacy more deeply.
As for the presentations themselves, it might have been beneficial to narrow the scope, since 39 papers in two and a half days with parallel sessions made it difficult to follow everything closely. Still, such overlap is common in academic gatherings of this scale.
Highlights from the Papers
The first paper that caught my attention in the program was by Ori Z. Soltes, titled “Jihad and Transformation in the Life and Thought of Fethullah Gülen.”
Soltes, who has studied Gülen and the Hizmet Movement for many years, explained that Gülen initially focused on “the lost youth” of Turkey’s local context but gradually evolved into a universal vision centered on education, dialogue, and civic development.
He categorized Gülen’s concept of jihad into three dimensions:
Personal Jihad: Becoming an effective imam and rescuing youth from ignorance, poverty, and conflict.
Social Jihad: Promoting practical goodness through schools, social programs, and interfaith platforms.
Civil-Moral Jihad: Upholding the ideal of “civil Islam,” resisting both political authoritarianism and radical interpretations of jihad.
Soltes emphasized that this multi-layered approach created a principled resistance against both oppressive regimes and narrow religious dogmatism.
Prof. Oliver Leaman (University of Kentucky) discussed Gülen’s respect for traditional Sunni schools of thought while charting a Qur’an-centered and reflective path that prioritizes personal contemplation over rigid scholasticism. According to Leaman, Gülen’s theological originality lies in merging the spiritual essence of faith with the rationality of modern consciousness—through persuasion and personal responsibility rather than dogma.
Wendi Lawson See of Regent University assessed Gülen through an empirical leadership model focusing on humility, integrity, empowerment, and consistency. She demonstrated how these traits manifest in Hizmet’s institutional and volunteer structures.
Dr. Antonio Cuciniello (Italy) drew parallels between Gülen’s vision of dialogue and the 2019 “Document on Human Fraternity” signed by Pope Francis and Grand Imam Ahmed el-Tayyib, highlighting Gülen’s practical embodiment of its ideals—rejecting violence, affirming human dignity, and emphasizing education’s role in social harmony.
Dr. Fevzi Saraç related Gülen’s leadership philosophy to transformational and ethical leadership paradigms, showing how sincerity, grassroots influence, and educational empowerment function as bridges in pluralistic societies.
Dr. Muhammed Çetin compared Gülen’s leadership philosophy with models by Kouzes & Posner, Burns-Bass, and Greenleaf, showing how Hizmet advances these frameworks through transparency, accountability, and service-oriented representation.
From India, Dr. Rafeeq Karimpanackal analyzed how a modest Qur’an study circle from 1960s Turkey grew into a global civil movement spanning Muslim-majority Indonesia, Hindu-majority India, and Christian-majority Western regions. He attributed this to Gülen’s integrative faith, emphasis on knowledge and infrastructure, and creation of an Islamic “counter-public sphere.”
Dr. Bilal Ansari applied the Qur’anic metaphor of the shepherd (ra‘y) to show how Gülen balances spirituality with institutional engagement, offering a practical theology relevant to universities, healthcare, and prison chaplaincy contexts.
Celil Akgöbek, Mahmut Yılmaz, and Dr. Yetkin Yıldırım aligned Gülen’s educational vision with the “peacebuilding framework” of Barnett et al., arguing that Hizmet schools generate peace “from below” through academic excellence, character education, and intercultural dialogue.
Dr. Züleyha Mary Fikret linked Wael Hallaq’s critique of modern education to Gülen’s revelation-centered pedagogy—focused on human dignity, universal values, and spiritual refinement.
Ekrem Dumanlı discussed media ethics in Gülen’s thought, while Abdülhamit Bilici explained Gülen’s three-dimensional understanding of peace, using journalistic examples from his own experience.
Prof. Inamul Haq (Elmhurst University) examined Gülen’s idea of “mutual religious learning”—the conviction that people of different faiths can learn from one another. For Haq, Gülen’s call to “understand the other” represents not mere tolerance but mutual enrichment—rooted in theological humility: “No one possesses absolute truth; therefore, dialogue is essential.”
Catholic theologian James Puglisi observed that Gülen’s emphasis on compassion, humility, and the common good aligns with Pope John Paul II’s notion of “mutual recognition,” creating an atmosphere for sincere encounters across faiths.
Why Would a German Choose a Hizmet School?
One of the most intriguing presentations was by Dr. M. Evrim Altın, who analyzed Hizmet schools in Germany. When I asked her, “Why would a German parent choose a Hizmet school? What makes it different?” she summarized:
“Gülen’s educational model differs from pioneers like Montessori, Dewey, or Steiner. Its innovation lies not in pedagogy but in restructuring educational governance. Hizmet schools combine multilingual curricula with technology literacy and integrated STEM education.
They provide counseling, tutoring, and global competition opportunities. Initially sustained by teacher dedication, they have now evolved into professional institutions.
Their independence from government funding allows them to remain politically neutral.
Academic success is important, but moral growth and universal values are central.
Sociologically, they act as catalysts for social change: promoting girls’ education and gender inclusion in the East, while emphasizing moral and spiritual development in the West.
Each school adapts locally while maintaining a global vision—creating pluralistic, inclusive environments that challenge radical ideologies and contribute to global peace.”
Dr. Yakov Nagen delivered a paper on “Fethullah Gülen, Hizmet, and the Improvement of Jewish–Muslim Relations,” emphasizing Gülen’s faithful yet open approach to interreligious reconciliation.
The session on “From Complementarity to Transformation: Women’s Agency in the Hizmet Movement” was also compelling. Dr. Derya İnler argued that Gülen’s view is gender-neutral, emphasizing moral and ethical maturity. Hilal Akdeniz highlighted women’s growing visibility and participation in service fields, while Dr. Lyndsey Eksili showed how women in the movement now take active roles in leadership, ethics, and spirituality.
Insight from 160 Sermons
One fascinating paper came from Semih Kıyma, who analyzed Gülen’s Bamteli sermons between 2016 and 2022. His study showed how Gülen framed resistance to post–July 15 persecution not as mere survival but as preserving moral and spiritual integrity—a profoundly ethical form of endurance.
Finally, Dr. Paul Weller, a religious studies scholar, highlighted that Gülen’s methodology offers an ethical-theological framework enabling both believers and nonbelievers to express their truths freely while engaging respectfully with others. Weller argued that Gülen’s legacy will continue to serve as a social and theological resource—a roadmap for coexistence across Europe’s diverse societies.
Conclusion
Overall, the conference offered a comprehensive examination of Fethullah Gülen’s impact on education, dialogue, peacebuilding, and women’s leadership. It presented his philosophy not merely as an intellectual construct but as a scalable civil model emphasizing conscience over power, example over authority, positive action over reaction, and moral formation over mere technical skill.
Participants agreed that in an age of polarization and crisis, Gülen’s synthesis of faith and reason, local and global, individual and community, offers both a moral compass and a practical framework for peace and pluralism.
Leaving Drew University’s historic campus, two questions lingered in my mind:
First—why don’t we have such beautiful university campuses in Turkey?
And second—how can it be that a man so widely studied and discussed by scholars across the world faces such treatment in his own country?
So, one wonders: When will such a conference ever be possible in a Turkish university?
