Chapter 3: Fethullah Gülen’s Thought on Education I. Introduction
IV. Education for the Global Peace
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IV. Education for the Global Peace
Nowadays the majority of the world population is suffering the impact of global conflicts and wars. Educational activities have contributed to resolution of the conflict in order to attain peace. Adherents of all religions are making efforts for the dominion of peace. In Islamic world the efforts of Gülen movement have important effects in this matter can be seen. Gülen made all efforts to extinguish the fire of conflict amidst this chaos, and made great impact on building peace. Gülen’s efforts on the educational reform may not stop the conflicts immediately; rather it will equip young people with values that prevented them from engaging in such conflicts.
Contemporary scholars of peace-building have elaborated on certain elements that are essential for making peace in any part of the world. Two of them are education and knowledge. Gülen’s greatest efforts and contributions are related to these two fields. Said Nursi ever stated that “there are three major enemies of Muslims: ignorance, poverty, and internal division.”100
Recent research suggests that civil society is more effective in providing peace than state actors, because civilian groups are less visible, less expensive and more flexible.
If one looks at modern world, one may easily understand the importance of education, particularly for Muslims. Gülen considers lack of education to be a disease requiring a cure. Education, according to Gülen, will result in peace. Today in Turkey, Central Asia and many other parts of the world, the educational institutions that were established by admirers of Gülen have continued to contribute greatly to the education of people of different religions and ethnicities.
101 Van Tongeren states that civil society groups are successful due to being less constrained by narrow mandates, and being able to talk to several parties without losing credibility. Thus they can deal directly with the grassroots population better then States actors.102 Turkish government has been in struggle with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). As a result, more than 40 thousand people died, and millions left their homes.103
100 Said Nursi, 1976, Hutbe-i Samiye, in Risalei Nur, II. Istanbul: Sozler Nesriyat. pp, 16.
101 M. Ross & J. Rothman, 1999, Theory and Practice in Ethnic Conflict Management: Theorizing Success and Failure.
New York: St. Martin’s.
102P. Van Tongeren, 1998, Exploring the Local Capacity for Peace: The Role of NGOs. Prevention and Management of Violent Conflicts: An International Directory. Utrecht: pp.45
103 Martha Ann Kirk, 2008, “Seeds of Peace: Solidarity, Aid, and Education Shared by the Gülen Movement in Southeastern Turkey.” in Islam in the Age of Global Changes. Washington, DC: Rumi Forum, pp. 407-434
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The Hizmet movement has been involving the resolution of Kurdish issue by setting up schools in Kurdish region. The Hizmet activities in the Kurdish region can be categorized into three: university preparation centers, schools, and tutoring centers.
Educational have been established in remote poor areas, where no education provided for the people beyond age of fifteen. Now, hundreds of students from those poor villages have entered university studying medicine, engineering, genetics, and business.104
Recent reports both police and organization show that in the regions where the Hizmet movement operates schools, crime rates and the PKK activities had dropped dramatically. Students who attend these educational institutions tend to avoid violent actions and protests.
As offered with opportunity to better education, young Kurdish people have become less involved in PKK’s political activities.
105 The Hizmet educational activities also increase cultural exchanges and integration between the ethnic Kurdish and the Turkish people. Kurdish issue’s expert Dogu Ergil, states that PKK leader Öcalan’s call for engagement “stems from the worry that the movement is a serious political rival and can work on the PKK’s grass roots to cut off a large number of youths from the organization. Additionally, Öcalan has come to realize that the movement has gained enough support and popularity both in southeastern Turkey and the Kurdish part of Iraq. This popularity is based on providing Schooling and training courses to enter universities.”106
Hizmet movement has been acknowledged and supported by some Kurdish businessmen, because they believe Hizmet schools would help with the region’s low socio-economic status as well as reduce PKK terrorism. At least the Atak high school in Mardin brings together students of Arab, Kurdish, and Assyrian backgrounds, who usually do not mingle. This suggests that Hizmet schools provide opportunities Gülen states that the power of the government might have blinded its reasoning to use force for suppressing the conflicts. This might solve the problem for a short time, in the long term it would create more serious problems. On the other hand, Gülen does not expect a resolution only from the government; rather he works for education, interaction between people, and dealing with the poverty. All these are right approaches to solve the Kurdish problems.
104 İ. Avci, 2009, “Güney Doğu’ya Cumhuriyet tarihinin 5 katı yatırım,” Zaman, October 22.
105 Muhammad Cetin, 2008, “An Example to Curb Terror and Violence,” Today’s Zaman, July 31.
106 Ergil Dogu, 2010, “PKK-Gülen,” Today’s Zaman, December 15.
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for multiculturalism. Mehmet Kalyoncu observes that in 2007 the school’s students
“achieved a 95% success rate in university entrance and placement tests.”107 The movement founded a Kurdish TV channel, the Dunya TV which highlights spirituality, Kurdish culture and music, and even provides Kurdish language-instruction program.
Koç argues that due to the increase in the number of educational institutions in the region, crime rates have dropped, and cultural exchange and integration has increased. Hizmet affiliated foundations also grant scholarships for students from low-income families in the Kurdish region to attend high-ranking high schools in western Turkey.108
Gülen’s main ideology of education is to create “The Golden Generation” through educational reform, and he hopes that lasting peace can be achieved through the work of a generation which is peaceful, and is made up of individuals who are living examples of peace. They will build bridges of dialogue and mutual understanding to make peace. The aim of the Golden Generation is construct perfect society, and also requires young people to show a great respect for religious and national values. To Gülen, the Golden Generation has certain qualities: knowledge, faith, love, idealism, altruism, and action.
The militant numbers of PKK decline when the number of students attending to the Hizmet institutions increase. This may be caused by the fact that the Hizmet movement promotes peaceful coexistence and discourages criminal activities in general. Students who are involved with the Hizmet movement are less likely to affiliate within PKK. The movement provides education with extensive activities, and draws students’ attention to education; therefore, they are less likely to involve in any kind of criminal activities.
109
In fact, his Golden Generation has already contributed through educational endeavors to peace building in many areas of conflict, including the Balkans, northern Iraq, Northern Ireland, and the Philippines. Thomas Michel states: “The school established where armed conflict was constant between Moro separatists and the State, Philippine-Turkish School of Tolerance offers Muslims Christian Filipino children an The ideal Golden Generation will always think of positive steps to build peace.
107 Mehmet Kalyoncu, 2008, A Civilian Response to Ethno-Religious Conflict: The Gülen Movement in Southeast Turkey. Somerset, NJ: Light, p.45.
108 Dogan Koc, 2013, “Hizmet Movement’s Effects on PKK Recruitment and Attacks,”. Turkish Journal of Politics, Vol.4, No.1.
109 Bekim Agai, 2004, Between Network and Discourse: The educational network surrounding Fethullah Gülen: The flexible application of modern Islamic thought, Vol.2. (S. Conermann, Series Ed.). Hamburg: EB-Verlag, pp36.
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excellent education and more positive way of living relating to each other”. Michel finds students in this school are from all backgrounds, and describes it as a “heaven of peace”
of the area of conflict.110
Gülen strongly advocates selflessness and living for others as the most essential qualities of the peace builder. He calls them adanmış ruhlar (sacrificed souls). By living for others, he thinks an individual should always prefer the advantages of others over his/her own. Gülen argues that peace would not be possible, without a generation with such qualities. This is why he constantly asserts the need for faithful and selfless individuals to dedicate themselves to the establishment of peace. Educational institutions should serve to bring up such individuals from the realm of imagination to the realm of realization. Gülen’s educational efforts work towards this realization. He believes that the efforts of building peace in the world and attempting to create a harmonious society will bear fruit. He states, despite intercontinental obstacles, through the teaching of the Qur’an a permanent love, respect, and dialogue will be achieved. Even now, through migration of his followers, his ideas have flowed around the world, and in every corner they are creating islands of peace for stability and harmony.
Another example is Skopje in Macedonia, a school established by supporters of the Hizmet. When civil war broke out in the region, members of different ethnicities were sending their children to this school. Their parents were fighting, but the children were living peacefully under the roof of the same school.
111 Gülen is so insistent on education, not only does it train individuals but also is the most vital factor for positive social change. In addition, he sees education as the most effective tongue for relations with others. 112
Another important activity is initiated by Gülen in the cause of global peace is his emphasis on the notion of tolerance, dialogue and intercultural and interfaith relations.
Dialogue activities are an extension of Gülen’s global educational struggle; they also serve the education of humanity. Although he has been severely criticized by some people, he bravely argues that dialogue is primarily concerned with religion and is thus a
110 Michel Thomas, 2003, “Fethullah Gülen as Educator.” In M. Hakan Yavuz & John L. Esposito (Eds.), Turkish Islam and the Secular State: The Gülen Movement. Syra Cruz: Syra Cruz University Press. pp. 69-84.
111 Fethullah Gülen, 2006, “A movement whose samples are from within itself,” Cag ve Nesil Serisi, N. 8, p. 111.
112 Fethullah Gülen, 2010, Toward a Global Civilization of Love and Tolerance. Tughra Press, p.202.
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religious duty.113 Thus for Gülen, one of the prime functions of education is to foster intercultural understanding. Failure to take into account the diverse nature of society in education resulted from the homogeneous and mono-cultural dominance in many host cultures. Denial or disregard of the diversity which already exists in society leads to misrepresentation of the others. This partisanship is the root of every turmoil and social conflict. One of the most important factors here is to eliminate causes that separate people, such as discrimination based on color, race, belief and ethnicity. Education, Gülen says, can uproot these evils.114
Gülen proposes education as an effective method to realize global peace and progress to curb extremism. He stresses that “education is vital for both societies and individuals”
The Gülen movement works very hard to promote tolerance both inside and outside Turkey. For Gülen, dialogue and tolerance mean accepting every person, irrespective of their status and learning to live together. In this regard, education is considered as an island of unity. Tolerance and dialogue need to be taught in school. Teaching differences and giving the accurate picture of the unfamiliar others give opportunities to move on. Gülen thinks that this is a key for the improvement of relationships among the world’s nations. Education is the way to transmit these universal values. Education of tolerance also contributes to the solidarity of nations and their willingness to live together.
115 to satisfy the needs of people and societies and in turn to solve the problems of humanity, such as terror, anarchy and conflict caused by ignorance, poverty and disunity. Gülen has the conviction that these problems can only be overcome with knowledge (through education), work-capital (through labor) and unification (through dialogue). The process of education for harvesting peace is a lifelong process. It is claimed that the Gülen movement has been distinguished by its special attention to establishing schools in areas where ethnic and religious conflicts are escalating. Zeki Saritoprak and Barton argue that these schools play a remarkable role in decreasing levels of conflict in these areas through educating the new generations. 116
113 Ergene Enes, 2005, Geleneğin Modern Çağa Tanıklığı. İstanbul: Yeni Akademi, p.47.
114 Ali Ünal, & Alphonse Williams, 2000, Advocate of Dialogue: Fethullah Gülen. Fairfax, VA: The Fountain, p.330.
115 Ibid.
116 Zeki Saritoprak, 2005, “Islam in Contemporary Turkey: The Contribution of Fethullah Gülen,” The Muslim World, Special Issue, 96 (1), pp. 325-471.
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In the movement schools, education of tolerance is being practiced vividly, and it is fair to say that diversity is part of their existent schooling system. In many countries students from different ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds study in the same peaceful atmosphere of these schools. For example, in Bosnia, Croatian and Serbian students study peacefully alongside Bosnian students, in spite of the brutal war. In South Africa, in the city of Johannesburg, the pupils are mainly Christian Africans; in Durban they are chiefly Hindu Indian; in Cape Town, the school population comprises a mix of Christians and Muslims. As secular schools, with pupils from diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds, the focus is on promoting ethical values. The moral ethos represented by the teachers is a distinctive feature of the schools. This is clear indication that the Gülen movement’s schools have succeeded in establishing a non-sectarian atmosphere in their educational system. Gülen is optimistic for the future of these activities and their contribution to global peace.
Hizmet schools in the Kurdistan region of Iraq have played the role of building trust between different ethnic groups. As non-governmental organization, they prepared and set up the preconditions for understanding each other’s needs, and in so doing they are able to make confidence among antagonistic parties. Unlike the standard of the Kurdish schools, in Hizmet schools students have to study four languages, Turkish, Arabic, Kurdish and English in the first year, thus it improves the opportunities for effective dialogue. This policy clearly demonstrates how Gülen’s inclusiveness and how his movement works within fragmented societies by valuing each group and by constructing the desired societal model in their schools. Schools are the best places to transform individuals into members of a more tolerant and peaceful society. There is no doubt that Gülen schools fill an extremely important gap in terms of creating the space of multi-culture. By including all regional languages in their curriculum, they not only value the significance of each language in communication, but also provide a channel for solution on the creation of a cohesive and cooperative community.
V. Conclusion
Islamic Education seeks to achieve the distinct role of the human being, which is to reform and construct human life. This Islamic concept of life is based on the
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fundamental concepts as individual, society and education in the world all work to find a balanced relationship and equal position among the parties. This relationship is based on the Qur’anic ethics which is the sources of Islamic education; therefore the task of education is to link every human activity or behavior with ideal moral value. Islamic education is interested in all activities of the individual at the physical, mental, psychological, and spiritual level, and tries to find a balance among these forces. For example education on independent thinking and creativity takes a great interest in Islamic culture. Islamic philosophy of education aspires to shape the human being by matching the three dimensions of sense, mind and religious faith, in the belief that harmony among those dimensions may attain the human values in reality. This kind of education believes that human life progress is a duty of every Muslim; progress achievement is done by activism of the three dimensions.
Based on Islamic teachings, Gülen has successfully motivated and mobilized many young people across the globe to establish schools that put into practice his discourse on individual character development and universal values. Gülen’s idea is helpful in disproving the thesis of clash of civilization, and provides healing of this paradigm in two ways. First, to live in peace as a result of dialogue and education is vital in today’s world, where globalization, mass communication, and technology have pushed individuals and groups together in ways never seen before in the human history. In global connection, people must develop the capacity to dialogue and create coexistence of different peoples. Developing strategies and capacities for peaceful coexistence amidst radical difference and shrinking natural resources is the central challenge of our era.
Second, Gülen pursues an inclusive middle way between fundamental futures of modernity and the Muslim traditions.
Regardless of the differences of race, faith and color, Gülen schools and organizations aim to serve as a bridge between the peoples of different countries for the world peace. Gülen’s vision of devotion and tolerance is tied with the Islamic understanding of education as a necessary component of religious commitment. As have being seeing in Gülen’s works, the goals of inter-religious dialogue are two-sided with respect to promoting education and removing ignorance.
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The aforementioned shows that as a pluralist, a dialogue activist and peace maker, Gülen’s ideology of education has been creating harmony and world peace in the twenty-first century. He sees dialogue as a framework for mutual acceptance and respect for each other’s identity. At the same time, it would be an important stepping stone to a new world order of peace and justice for all human beings. Gülen’s conviction is that respecting differences is necessary to avoid mutual destruction, which means avoiding the earth turning into living hell. Real dialogue and the four dimensions of peace are possible only when accompanied by moral values and mutual knowledge and acceptance of cultural and religious identity. Gülen’s discourse of “dialogue of civilizations” is not to create a paradise on earth, but, rather and in the first instance, to come to a common vision for an alternative world order in the international agenda.
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Chapter 4: The Hizmet Movement in Kazakhstan I. Introduction
Islam has been existing in Kazakhstan for a very long period, and educational institution in the region has also a long history of development. In the chapter, first the history of Islam and Islamic education during the Soviet and post-soviet in Kazakhstan shall be discussed to highlight the impact of Soviet Union’s policies on local Islamic education. In addition, the remarkable boom of Islam and Islamic education in the post-Soviet period, especially after 1991, will be paid more attention. Dynamics of Islamic
Islam has been existing in Kazakhstan for a very long period, and educational institution in the region has also a long history of development. In the chapter, first the history of Islam and Islamic education during the Soviet and post-soviet in Kazakhstan shall be discussed to highlight the impact of Soviet Union’s policies on local Islamic education. In addition, the remarkable boom of Islam and Islamic education in the post-Soviet period, especially after 1991, will be paid more attention. Dynamics of Islamic