“Hizmet is a civic movement rooted in Islam,” Prof. Ebaugh

Helen Rose Ebaugh, professor at the University of Houston and author of The Gulen Movement: A Sociological Analysis of a Civic Movement Rooted in Moderate Islam talked about the Hizmet Movement as a civic movement with deep roots in Islam. In an interview with Prof Adnan Aslan, Prof. Ebaugh said that the Hizmet movement is different from many other movements rooted in Islam in that the Hizmet’s aim is not to proselytize but in fact it is a ”social movement and a civil social movement” which happens to root itself in Islamic teachings.

The interview was conducted as a part of the Mehtap TV program, Beyond the Horizon. Prof. Ebaugh outlined that in her opinion what makes the Gulen Movement unique is its “non-hierarchical” and “non-bureaucratic” structure. This kind of structure helps the movement root itself with their different projects in their local communities.

She said, “When Gulen first started preaching, he drew on the very rich Ottoman past and on ideas that Turkish people were already familiar with,” including hospitality. In Prof. Ebaugh’s opinion what makes the members of the movement committed is the fact that the movement is integrally based in Islam and Islamic teachings.

When Prof. Ebaugh began the book, The Gulen Movement: A Sociological Analysis of a Civic Movement Rooted in Moderate Islam, she had two main research questions: “How is the Gulen Movement being funded?” and “How is it able to sustain such enthusiasm and committment in its followers?” Looking to the future, Dr. Ebaugh wants to focus on the globalization of the Hizmet Movement.

Posted in: Gulen Movement, Helen R. Ebaugh, Hizmet Movement