Fethullah Gülen

Date of Birth: 27.04.1941

Place of Birth. Education. Fethullah Gülen was born in the village of Korucuk in the Hasan Kale district of Erzurum province in Turkey. At the age of five, he started school. In 1949, the family moved to the village of Alvar, as his father was appointed Imam of that village. He received a traditional religious education in various madrasas from different Islamic scholars. He took Arabic lessons from his father, Ramiz Hoca Effendi, completed the study of the Quran, and became a Hafiz (someone who has memorized the Quran and is a professional Quran reciter).

The Path of the Preacher. In 1959, he moved to Edirne, where he was appointed the second Imam of the Ushşerifli mosque. He worked here for two and a half years until he entered military service.

1961-1963 - Military Service.

In July 1964, he took on the duties of a Quran teacher in the Darulhadis mosque in Edirne and also became the Imam in the same mosque (on a voluntary basis). There, he initiated private study groups where religious discussions were held.

In 1965, he was transferred as a preacher to the city of Kırklareli, and in 1966, he was appointed as a theologian-preacher in Izmir. On his own initiative, he also began to teach and lecture in Quran courses of the Keştane Pazarı Society (until 1971).

Starting from 1969, he began holding meetings and discussions with people and preaching in various regions and districts of the Aegean region of Turkey.

1974 - After his service in Edremit, he was appointed preacher in Manisa.

In 1975, he held lectures on various topics such as the Quran and science, criticism of Darwinism, new generation, social justice, prophecy. He held conferences in many Turkish cities.

1976-1980 - Preacher in Bornova (Izmir).

After the military coup on September 12, 1980, repression began, and Gülen resigned from the position of preacher (Vezir).

In January 1986, he was arrested in Burdur, released after interrogations. In June of the same year, during a pilgrimage, he was placed under a travel ban. Gülen returned to Izmir and surrendered to the authorities, was found innocent, and released.

In June 1997 - First trip to the USA due to health problems. He underwent cardiological prophylaxis in Ohio. In September of the same year, he returned to Turkey.

In 1998, Gülen was accused of intending to overthrow the existing order in Turkey (in May 2006, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Turkey lifted all charges against him).

In March 1999, Gülen traveled again for medical treatment in the USA and did not return to Turkey. In 2004, he underwent heart surgery.

In 2002, he supported President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party during the power transition. Later, Gülen and Erdoğan fell out over their views, and the Gülen movement in Turkey was classified as terrorist. In 2014, an Istanbul court issued an arrest warrant against Gülen.

July 2016 - During the attempted military coup, some Turkish media named Gülen the spiritual leader of the insurgents, however, an official statement appeared on Gülen's website: 'I strongly condemn the attempt of the coup in Turkey. The government should not be changed by violence but through honest and free elections.' Nevertheless, Turkish President Erdoğan urged US President Barack Obama to arrest or extradite Gülen.

Gülen is the author of over 60 books and more than 600 articles on various topics of spirituality, morality, ethics, economics, and other aspects of human life. He is the founder of the Hizmet movement. The movement is particularly active in the field of education (there are about 1,400 schools opened by supporters of the movement in approximately 140 countries) and in promoting interfaith dialogue.

Since 2009, he has been among the 500 most influential Muslims (in 2013 he was ranked 11th). In 2013, he was included in Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world and in Foreign Policy magazine's list of the 500 most influential people in the world.

26.04.2022