Gulen - On Education

Excerpts from F. Gulen's Answers to Questions on Education and Turkish Educational Activities Abroad
Website of Fethullah Gulenh - ttp://www.fethullahgulen.org/

Turkish entrepreneurs from almost all walks of life pioneered in schools, colleges, and universities. Fethullah Gulen only gave advice to these charitable businessmen. To those who said: "We're going to build a mosque in our country," he replied: "I'd like to see a school beside it." In fact, in most places he recommended building a school instead of a mosque.

Fethullah Hodja explains his views of Turkish entrepreneurs' opening schools within Turkey and abroad:
"Due to recent developments in communication, the world resembles a globalized village. Our continued existence, and especially our becoming a country with some say in the existing balance of power, is only possible through alliances with our neighbors and the countries with whom we have much in common.

"Establishing natural alliances and being surrounded by a circle of friends rather than enemies would benefit Turkey. In such a framework, I would support opening schools even in Armenia and Israel, if so permitted.

"As for my relationship with the schools that have been opened, there is a lion in everyone's heart a purpose hidden in one's nature since birth. This purpose can be different for everyone. When I was 12 or 13 years old and studying in Erzurum, I had a book in one hand and a map in the other. I would ask: "My God, how can we become a country whose problems have been considerably solved?"

"I have never even thought of having a house, children, or a car. You can't oppose natural laws: water flows, condenses at 100 degrees, and freezes at zero degrees. If there is such a characteristic in my nature, and if it's not harmful, what could be more natural than for this seed to flourish?

"As one who grew up with the desire and objective to serve my country, and if now this service can be realized through education, my interest in education is as natural as the flow of water, the rising and setting of the sun, and the activity of the world. However, I have no power, capital, or army only an unstoppable love and enthusiasm for service. All I can do is explain this, tell those who will listen, and suggest. Such service to others resembles a 'bazaar of those seeking God's approval.'" [Hulusi Turgut, Yeni Yuzyil, 1/27/98]

Schools
That's just the point I wanted to come to. It is said that every day, schools belonging to you are being opened and that this is a kind of organization. This, too, is making a lot of people think.

Wherever I go I make some suggestions. Without being at all discriminatory, I tell our citizens: "Open university preparatory courses and raise the level of our people." (In a foreign country) I told some people who had come to listen to a teacher from Turkey: "Stay here. Prepare your children for attending a university. Let them study sciences. If the level of general culture and education isn't high enough, open university preparatory courses. Put your means together. A world that is becoming globalized will bring certain things with it. For example, small trades and small business are going to disappear. Build big business enterprises."

But what do you think about the fact that those who open schools are all people close to your views?
I talk with everyone. I am sorry to say that the government doesn't have a special policy on this issue. I met with some fellow citizens regarding this matter. Thus an opportunity was born to end this nightmare. It was understood that private schools are very beneficial. As a result of encouragement, some people who came to perceive the importance of quality began opening private schools. But some thought that they were my followers or sharing my opinions on all subjects. [Ertugrul Ozkok, Hurriyet daily, 1/23-30-95]

Relationships with Education and Media Organizations
You say you are poor. But we know that everywhere in Turkey you have special courses, schools, universities, a daily newspaper, and a television channel.
I have no organic or material connection with any of them. My only worldly possessions are the clothes I wear and my bed sheets. I donated all of my books to a foundation.

OK. How is it that you can do what the government cannot? And for what objective? On top of this, for example, children attending your school in Tiflis aren't even Turkish or Muslim. What's your aim?
The schools are not mine. I'm a poor man with nothing more than the clothes on my back. Behind the institutions you mention are many people and companies from almost all walks of life regardless their worldview, beliefs, and lifestyles. If they wish, they sometimes ask for my advice. [Oral Calislar, Cumhuriyet daily, 8/20-26/95]

Educational Rush to Asia
We hope that our understanding of Islam and Turkish culture will provide for the conditions for a mutual, vital dialogue in the world. I think we're at a fateful point of history. Actually, the expected friendship has developed to a large extent among the students. The indigenous peoples and governments must be pleased with the schools the Turkish entrepreneurs have opened; they must have left a good impression. For example, the Yakutian principal expelled the Turkish teachers from the technical school because of jealousy but later sent a message: "Come back, and you can open any kind of technical school you want under your own management."

However, I don't know whether they opened such a school. Yakutia is far away...
There are different factors. In fact, our people have a spirit of enterprise. But in order to display this, they have to believe. If someone like me even whispers something like a bee's buzzing, the collective conscience can become active immediately.

What I have done is only to encourage people. I believe that the cooperation between Turkey and Central Asia will be beneficial to both parties and also will contribute to regional and global peace. People from diverse walks of life have responded to my call. They really believed. I believed once more in the precious quality of a nation's spirit.

Turkey is a well-established state. Democracy is, at least, in the process of settling down. Instead of dreaming about unity that currently seems impossible with people and countries who look down on us and see themselves as better Muslims than us, I found it more beneficial to turn toward people who have been looked down upon and oppressed for years, even centuries, and who are closer to us in many respects.
Everything takes place in accordance with Destiny. When there's a conjuncture where the apparently necessary means and causes, human free will and decision and Divine Destiny are agreed and united on a thing, surprising and only dreamed-of things can take place.

I have been looking forward to a better world resembling Paradise, where humanity can live in peace and tranquility. Our world is tired of war and clashes. It direly needs mercy, affection, spiritual well-being, and peace more than air and water. I believe that people in every country are ready for such a world. For example, we made an offer to the Greek government: "Don't be afraid of us. Come and open a school in Turkey, send your children here, we'll take care of them and give them scholarship. In return, we'll send you students and open a school in any city you wish."

Our efforts and enterprises are completely for humanity's sake. In a world becoming more and more globalized, we are trying to get to know those who will be our future neighbors a little earlier. Telecommunication and transportation systems are going to make us all like people in the same room.

Social Sciences
When Turkey was knocked out by its adversaries technologically, it was decided to turn all superior minds in this direction so that they would study physics and chemistry and transfer high technology to Turkey as soon as possible. But it seems that some who gave priority to the social sciences also will be among those who will manage the future.

Raising a leader is tied, in part, to respect for free thought. A seed has the strength to sprout in the soil's bosom and grow. If the air is beneficial to growth and if it reaches water, the sapling will grow taller. People are like that. There shouldn't be any pressure. People should be able to express themselves. People, even geniuses, are not directed to their essential capabilities. This system must change. Students should choose what they want to study. Both high school and the university need this flexibility. An untalented, incapable team is controlling this nation's destiny. [Nevval Sevindi, Yeni Yuzyil daily, August, 1997]

Any political aims?
We are all human. Today everyone and every organization is working for some specific goal. I serve other people in a way appropriate to myself within the framework of my beliefs. As stated above, human beings are the most honorable of creatures. Those who want to increase their honor should serve this honorable creature. As regards international relations and humanity, one of the most important factors here is to eliminate factors that separate people, such as egoism, self-interest, and discrimination based on color, race, belief, and ethnicity. When idealized, these can cause conflict and be exploited by big powers. We can uproot these evils with education.

Also, education is the most effective and common tongue for relations with others. We are trying our best to do this; we have no other intention. I would prefer a million times over to gain permanency in this transient life with faith and service to others and to gain eternal happiness, rather than ruling this world, even if it united with others and became a single state.

Excerpts from Charles Nelson’sFethullah Gülen: A Vision of Transcendent Education

True teachers sow the pure seed and preserve it. They occupy themselves with what is good and wholesome, and lead and guide the children through life and whatever events they may encounter. (Gülen, 2004, p. 208)

Thus, teaching is a "sacred" activity, and helping students to develop the capacity to bring about positive change is a teacher's "foremost duty" (Gülen, 1998, 2004). Teachers are responsible for providing knowledge with the wisdom to use it and for providing moral guidance-not by preaching values, but by embodying spirituality and love.

The end of Gülen's educational vision is to raise a "Golden Generation," a generation of ideal universal individuals, individuals who love truth, who integrate spirituality and knowledge, who work to benefit society (Gülen, 1998). Such a person is zul-cenaheyn "one who possesses two wings," exhibiting a "marriage of mind and heart" (Gülen, 1996b), a merging of universal ethical values with science and modern knowledge (Gülen, 2004) that produces "genuinely enlightened people" (Michel, 2003; Gülen, 1996a) who, motivated by love, take action to serve others (Gülen, 2000; Yildirim & Kirmizialtin, 2004).

Gülen-inspired Schools
That vision has led Gülen and his followers in the early 1980's to begin a zealous educational project of building educational institutions all over the world. In Turkey and in other countries, hundreds of schools, along with seven universities, have been founded.

These institutions resemble other schools in terms of curriculum and materials. Laboratory and computer equipment for science and language classes is up-to-date, the quality of education is excellent (Agai, 2003; Balci, 2003; Özdalga, 2000; Yavuz, 2003). Thomas Michel (2003), Secretary for Interreligious Dialogue of the Society of Jesuits and ecumenical secretary of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences, reports that the students have outstanding performance in academic competitions in the natural sciences, information sciences, and languages, and he considers them "to be among the most dynamic and worthwhile educational enterprises ... in the world" (p. 70).

These schools also excel in the moral character of their staff and teachers. For instance, the Philippine-Turkish School of Tolerance is in a city where half of the population is Christian and the other half is Muslim. According to Michel (2003), the school provides more than a thousand students more positive ways to interact than the violent example set by military and paramilitary forces. He states that the school lives up to its name, providing a bastion of tolerance in an otherwise religiously polarized area of the Philippines, and that it has excellent relations with Christian institutions in the region.

Another example is the Gülen schools in Albania. Agai (2003) notes that because Albania "formed its national identity in opposition to the Ottoman Empire" (p. 44), it does not want Turkish nationalism or Islam promoted in its schools.

Nevertheless, the schools have gained the approval of the public and the government due to their quality education, focus on science, and universal values.

Interviewing women teachers at several of these schools, Özdalga (2003b) found that they shared certain values: "love (universal love, encompassing the whole of humanity), pietism, humility, self-criticism, societal (not political) activism, and professionalism (teaching)" (p. 63). Another value held by these teachers was that of avoiding conflict and "maintaining peaceful relationships" (p. 69). These values naturally lead to the movement's tolerance and understanding for other traditions and religions, so that rather than lecturing on their values or teaching specifically about Islam, they communicate their values by "being a good example through one's deeds" (Özdalga, 2003a, p. 86).

Transforming character
In both academic and spiritual matters, Gülen (2004) asserts, a "school must be as perfect as possible" (pp. 206-207). Gülen schools excel in academics because the instructors strive for perfection not only in having a command of their subject matter but also in (1) loving and caring for their students and (2) developing their own character as much as, if not more than, their students' character. To transform others' character, one must first transform one's own, and "being a good example" is a crucial component in the transformation process.

Yet, a school should not depend solely upon setting "a good example" for developing character in students. Character development does not differ from other learning. Whether from a cognitivist, sociocultural, or a social constructivist perspective, learning is considered to be a process of actively constructing knowledge and enacting practices (e.g, DeVries & Zan, 2005; Engeström, 1987; Lave & Wenger, 1991; Piaget, 1985; Vygotsky, 1978; von Glasersfeld, 1995). Although much learning, probably most, begins with observation (cf. Bandura, 1977), generally speaking, observation must be followed by action to construct learning (cf. Gülen, 1998, p. 99).

Looking at the activity of the Gülen community, we see that Gülen adherents are not limited to observing the moral example of Fethullah Gülen. Rather, they read, study, discuss, and reflect on his writings, along with Said Nursi's and the Qur'an. Moreover, they act upon what they know, internalizing their knowledge in their deeds, as evidenced by businessmen who found and support the schools and by teachers leaving Turkey for other countries at considerable sacrifice.
The Gülen community's activity embodies the teachings of Fethullah Gülen on learning and transforming character, teachings that stress the need for action governed by reflection and intention.

Action, according to Gülen (1996b), "should be the most indispensable element or feature of our lives" (p. 85). For Gülen, taking action means to be constantly striving to realize one's goals for the service of others, and it is essential for keeping one's identity free from the influence of others.

Action needs to be guided by reflection. Fethullah Gülen (1998) asserts that people need "to review and re-evaluate the established views of man, life and the universe" (Gülen, 1998, p. 8, italics in original). Through reflection, people can establish clear objectives; in fact, they need to do so if they "do not want to become lost in the flood of thoughts" (Gülen, 2000, p. 64). If even "founders and directors of institutions should frequently remind themselves of why the institutions were established, so that their work does not stray from its objective, but remains fruitful" (p. 65), how much more so for students in transforming their character!

The link between intention and action is an important one. Juarrero (1999) posits that actions are "behavioral trajectories constrained top-down by an intention" (p. 151). Behavior-the enactment of meaning, moral values, and beliefs-results from a self-organizing process of a person's history of reciprocal interactions with his/her environment, a process in which interdependencies between intentions and actions, individual and society, are entrained. If intentions are not regulated and are not followed by action, people will follow the thoughts, intentions and actions of others (Gülen, 1998, p. 85). In other words, people conform to their social environment unless they intentionally will to do otherwise.

In the U.S., students' environment includes, along with their school and family, competing examples of corporate greed, political scandals, and wide-spread (often successful) cheating. Economic, social, and peer pressures can easily undermine the effect of moral exemplars. In addition, just as students' prior experience can distort their understanding of moral texts (Narvaez, 2001), so, too, can environmental influences shape their interpretation of moral models. Consequently, students need an education in not only subject knowledge but also moral reflection and intentional action. Along these lines, Fethullah Gülen (2004) writes, "Although knowledge is a value in itself, the purpose of learning is to make knowledge a guide in life and to illuminate the road to human perfection" (p. 206).

To make "knowledge a guide," students must develop their ability to reason morally. In fact, one finding in research is that in an environment of open dialogue, students can develop their ability to reason through moral dilemmas that expose children to contradictions between their moral structures and more developed ones (Kohlberg, 1999).

Stories work well at developing moral reasoning because "they recreate the open, nonlinear dynamics of the real processes they purport to explain" (Juarrero, 2002, p. 241), thus having the potential to challenge readers to reconsider familiar ideas from new perspectives. Not all stories, of course. Stories need to be open ended and invite thoughtful discussion rather than indoctrination.

For now, looking at Gülen adherents again, we see that they engage in self-determined, intentional action guided by a love for humanity. Similarly, we should expect that in the development of character, students, too, must initiate action to integrate into their own identity moral reasoning and the love embodied in their teachers. Moral action embedded in a community of moral people who love humanity is a crucial ingredient in producing a Golden Generation. More consideration needs to be given to methods for incorporating moral reasoning, intentional action, and self-determination into schools, keeping in mind the following:

1. Moral reasoning, reflection, and judgment are necessary to guide intention appropriately, and conversely, action is crucial to entraining intentions.
2. Integrating moral principles into one's character requires intentional actions that are self-determined in an environment of love.

Conclusion
Many have been inspired by Fethullah Gülen to spend their time and wealth to establish schools of excellence. Why? It is not that he teaches something new or different. Rather, in part, I imagine that it is due to a unique confluence of time, place, and context. In part, it is due to Fethullah Gülen himself. His stories, his moral example, and his teachings inspire others to take action, to sacrifice, and to serve humanity rather than themselves. From Gülen (2000), we read:

Preferring the sacred cause over all worldly and animal desires; being steadfast in truth, once it has been discovered, to the degree that you sacrifice all mundane attachments for its sake; enduring all hardships so that future generations will be happy; seeking happiness, not in material or even spiritual pleasures, but in the happiness and well-being of others; never seeking to obtain any posts or positions; and preferring oneself to others in taking on work but preferring others to oneself in receiving wages-these are the essentials of this sacred way of serving the truth. (p. 84)

Such a call to sacrifice inspires educators to strive to perfect their own character and to love their students, a combination that can transform students into living lives worth living.

Even so, findings in educational research and Fethullah Gülen's teachings on intention and action suggest that while Gülen educators practice the most important role of being exemplars of love and knowledge, they can further the reach of their modeling by engaging students in moral reasoning and action that is self-determined. It is through the interaction of a school's environment of sacrificial love and the students' autonomous practice of moral reasoning and intentional action that Gülen's transcendent vision of raising a Golden Generation may come to pass in the U.S.