The Journalists and Writers Foundation (JWF) and Peace Islands Institute New York (PIINY) organized a book signing event for Professor Dogu Ergil, the author of Fethullah Gulen and the Gulen Movement in 100 Questions, in Manhattan on April 9, 2013.
There are some scholars who try to produce violence out of religion. Mr. Gulen directly opposes that understanding. He says Islam is a religion of compassion, just like any other religion.
Prof. Dogu Ergil
Ergil talked about his motivations for writing a book about Fethullah Gulen and his movement, saying, “A civic movement, such as Mr. Gulen has inspired, is something unknown in Turkey. It’s creating its own momentum, setting its own agenda, creating its own financial resources, and so forth.” For these reasons, Ergil said that the establishment of such a civic movement and a leader like Fethullah Gulen were sometimes considered to be threats to the state-centric system in Turkey.
Ergil defined the Gulen movement as endorsing pluralism, democracy, education, and unity within diversity. He said the movement is “incredibly in harmony with globalization.” He also emphasized that one of the reasons that made him write this book was Gulen’s clear stance against terrorism in the name of Islam. He said, “There are some scholars who try to produce violence out of religion. Mr. Gulen directly opposes that understanding. He says Islam is a religion of compassion, just like any other religion.”
The program ended with a Q&A session.
[flickr_set id=”72157644281818226″]