Book Review: Islam and Peacebuilding

Stanley Ridge*

Fethullah Gülen's work and thinking starts and ends in faith. In a world that commonly extends conflict by speaking of religion either in stereotyped or in ideologized terms, this is a refreshingly engaged perspective.

Faced with the challenge of mounting hostility between the Islamic world and the West, and with belligerent and increasingly fundamentalist groups on both sides supposedly speaking in the name of religion, the need for peacebuilding with integrity is pressing. The writers of different traditions whose essays resonate here explore the faith-based ideas of one of this century's seminal thinkers and tease out their implications and potential for peacebuilding.

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Freedom award recipient Bartholomew praises Gülen's peace efforts

On May 13th, 2012 Sunday's Zaman reported, "Freedom award recipient Bartholomew praises Gülen's peace efforts"

Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew poses to cameras with Dutch Queen Beatrix after receiving one of a Roosevelt Institute's Four Freedoms Award on May 12, 2012. (Photo: Cihan)

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Abdulhamit Bilici poses a “serious question for” the New York Times and Herald Tribune

Abdulhamit Bilici

In an article that appeared in the Sunday’s Zaman on April 29th, 2012, Abdulhamit Bilici questions the reporting of the New York Times and the International Herald Tribune in regards to a recent story about the Gulen Movement.

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Setting the facts straight on the Gülen movement

James C. Harrington

In response to an article by Dan Bilefsky and Şebnem Arsu in the International Herald Tribune, titled “Shadow Force Grows in Turkey” Professor and human rights lawyer, James Harrington wrote an article in Today’s Zaman.

Prof. Harrington says that much of what the article “describes about Fethullah Gülen and Turkey’s recent history is accurate, but the authors cast a shadow of innuendo and loose conclusions, apparently more driven by personal predispositions than reality.”

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Mr. Gülen is concerned with the world of thoughts, not individuals, institutions, or political ambitions

Fethullah Gulen


In response to an article titled “Shadow force grows in Turkey” by Dan Bilefsky and Sebnem Arsu which appeared in the International Herald Tribune on April 18, 2012, Mr. Fethullah Gulen’s representative released a statement.

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“The problem is not political Islam but authoritarian Islam," says Mustafa Akyol

Mustafa Akyol (Photo: Today's Zaman)

Speaking to the Washington Times’ Luke Montgomery, columnist Mustafa Akyol said:

In Islamic history, we have a tradition of pluralism. At times, pluralism was attacked and those were bad times for Islamic civilization, so I think we need to have more pluralism. In order to have that, you need neutral states without an official doctrine. I’m not advocating a strong separation between religion and politics, but I’m an advocate of the secular state in the sense that it is neutral towards different religious communities. In other words, the problem is not political Islam but authoritarian Islam.

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