{"id":10934,"date":"2009-04-06T22:01:16","date_gmt":"2009-04-06T19:01:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turkishforum.com.tr\/en\/content\/?p=10934"},"modified":"2023-04-06T10:17:22","modified_gmt":"2023-04-06T07:17:22","slug":"a-response-to-rachel-sharon-krespins-fethullah-gulens-grand-ambition-turkeys-islamist-danger-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/2009\/04\/06\/a-response-to-rachel-sharon-krespins-fethullah-gulens-grand-ambition-turkeys-islamist-danger-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Turkey\u2019s Islamist Danger"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
A response to Rachel Sharon-Krespin\u2019s \u2018Fethullah G\u00fclen\u2019s Grand Ambition: Turkey\u2019s Islamist Danger\u2019 (2)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

GREG BARTON, Ph.D.<\/h3>\n

ADJUNCT PROFESSOR<\/h4>\n

Area of Expertise – Southeast Asia<\/p>\n

——————————————————<\/p>\n

orijinal publication of Rachel krespin can be found with the following link<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.meforum.org\/2045\/fethullah-gulens-grand-ambition<\/p>\n

Veya turkce icin asagidaki link e tiklayip turkce okuyabilirsiniz<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.meforum.org\/2071\/fethullah-gulenin-buyuk-ihtirasi<\/p>\n

greg barton is A writer in fetullah gulen web side(*)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

It is deeply misleading and offensive to claim that “Fethullah G\u00fclen is an imam who considers himself a prophet.” This is a very strong assertion but the evidence given in support of it does not go beyond hearsay and is certainly entirely out of keeping with the vast corpus of material published by and about G\u00fclen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Were it to be true it would involve both a vast conspiracy of silence and profound doctrinal deviation on the part of the millions involved with the movement. This is frankly not plausible.<\/p>\n

It is also misleading to say that G\u00fclen’s “formal education is limited to five years of elementary school.” It is true that his early classroom education was cut short when his family moved to the village of Alvarli in the impoverished province of Erzurum. Conditions in Turkey’s mountainous far east in the 1940s was difficult. But it is noteworthy that G\u00fclen went on to complete the official imam hatip exams and graduate from secondary school. G\u00fclen certainly benefited from his studies with well-established Islamic scholars, but he is also a voracious reader and autodidact. A prolific author accomplished at writing for both ordinary laypeople and for scholars his Quranic scholarship and studies of Said Nursi are highly regarded by academic experts.<\/p>\n

By any measure he is not just one Turkey’s most significant contemporary intellectuals but also one of the world’s leading modern Islamic intellectuals. It is, of course, reasonable to disagree with him, but it is foolish to dismiss him as a lightweight.<\/p>\n

Sharon-Krespin makes brief reference to Nursi. She is correct in associating G\u00fclen with Nursi’s legacy, but the way in which she discusses Nursi’s views suggests either deep prejudice or deep ignorance.<\/p>\n

It is not clear where Sharon-Krespin gets the ideas that G\u00fclen’s followers “even refrain from marrying until age fifty per his instructions.” Her account suggests a dour and joyless community earnestly following their leader’s instructions without thinking for themselves. As a scholar of religion, I fully acknowledge that such groups do exist (including within the world of Protestant Christianity with which I am associated), but in my observation the G\u00fclen movement is not such a group. In my dealings with members of the movement, I am struck by their consistent good humor and occasionally even mischievous sense of fun. These are people who love life and enjoy each others’ company. Yes, they do tend to dress in a more conservative fashion — although not exclusively so — which is hardly surprising given the social origins of the movement and, like the vast majority of observant Muslims around the world, they do not drink alcohol. But to spend time in their company is to be reminded that one needs neither alcohol nor secular cool to enjoy laughter and good humor. Social conservatism is not necessarily a sign of fundamentalism.<\/p>\n

The G\u00fclen movement’s contributions to education are indeed impressive but seem more than a little exaggerated here. And presenting them as being part of an “education jihad” based on indoctrination is more than a little unfair as it grossly misrepresents the consistently secular content of what is taught in the classrooms and the overall ethos of the schools. Different scholars will, naturally enough, have different positions on this. My own position, having observed the movement over the past five years is that it represents precisely the sort of non-Islamist, progressive, civil society movement that Muslim world needs at this point in history if it is to engage with democratic, secular, modernity. In my reading, the educational programs can be understood as broadly paralleling earlier examples of Christian and Jewish educational philanthropy in the West.<\/p>\n

Perhaps this makes me a non-credible observer as one of the many “friends, ideological fellow-travellers, and co-opted journalists and academics.” If that is the case, it would appear that I am in good company.<\/p>\n

[*] Professor Greg Barton is a Herb Feith research professor for the study of Indonesia and acting director at the Centre for Islam and the Modern World.<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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11 February 2009, Wednesday<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GREG BARTON [*]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
(*)<\/p>\n

GREG BARTON WRITE UP IN FETULLAH GULENS WEB SITE<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bat\u0131, \u0130slam\u0131 Araplar \u00dczerinden Tan\u0131yor!<\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
<\/form>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Aksiyon <\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
25.10.2004<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dr. Greg Barton: “\u0130slamiyetin temel bak\u0131\u015f a\u00e7\u0131s\u0131 H\u0131ristiyanl\u0131k veya Yahudilikten \u00e7ok farkl\u0131 de\u011fil. Avrupa’da Yahudi ve H\u0131ristiyan toplumlar demokrasiyi kurabiliyorsa, pekala \u0130slam toplumlar\u0131 da bunu yapabilir. Bu m\u00fcmk\u00fcnd\u00fcr ve olmas\u0131 gerekir.”<\/p>\n

\u0130slam\u2014demokrasi ili\u015fkisi bir\u00e7ok akademisyenin \u00fczerinde kafa yordu\u011fu bir konu. \u00d6zellikle 11 Eyl\u00fcl sald\u0131r\u0131lar\u0131, bu ili\u015fki \u00fczerindeki tart\u0131\u015fmalar\u0131 daha da yo\u011funla\u015ft\u0131rd\u0131. Sadece M\u00fcsl\u00fcman ilim adamlar\u0131 de\u011fil, bir\u00e7ok Bat\u0131l\u0131 akademisyen de “\u0130slam demokrasiyi kapsar m\u0131, yoksa onunla \u00e7at\u0131\u015f\u0131r m\u0131?” sorusuna cevap ar\u0131yor. Bat\u0131’daki siyas\u00ee k\u00fclt\u00fcrde \u00f6nemli bir yeri bulunan H\u0131ristiyan demokrat partilerin, M\u00fcsl\u00fcman demokrat ad\u0131yla \u00fclkemizdeki siyasal k\u00fclt\u00fcre ta\u015f\u0131n\u0131p ta\u015f\u0131namayaca\u011f\u0131 da tart\u0131\u015fman\u0131n di\u011fer boyutunu olu\u015fturuyor. Hatta bu \u00e7er\u00e7evede AK Parti’nin, “muhafazakar demokrat” olarak belirledi\u011fi kimlik tan\u0131m\u0131, M\u00fcsl\u00fcman demokrat partiler tart\u0131\u015fmas\u0131na da yeni bir boyut kazand\u0131rm\u0131\u015f durumda.<\/p>\n

Bir s\u00fcredir T\u00fcrkiye ve \u00fclkemizdeki M\u00fcsl\u00fcman gelenek \u00fczerine \u00e7al\u0131\u015fmalar yapan Avustralya Deakin \u00dcniversitesi \u00d6\u011fretim \u00dcyesi Prof. Dr. Greg Barton, \u0130slam ve demokrasi ili\u015fkisine kafa yoran isimlerden. Onun konuya yakla\u015f\u0131m\u0131 basit, ama etkili: “Ben bir Protestan olarak kendi inanc\u0131m\u0131n \u0131\u015f\u0131\u011f\u0131nda \u0130slam\u2014demokrasi ili\u015fkisini de\u011ferlendiriyorum. Bana g\u00f6re \u0130slamiyetin temel bak\u0131\u015f a\u00e7\u0131s\u0131 H\u0131ristiyanl\u0131k veya Yahudilikten \u00e7ok farkl\u0131 de\u011fil. Avrupa’da Yahudi ve H\u0131ristiyan toplumlar demokrasiyi kurabiliyorsa, pekala \u0130slam toplumlar\u0131 da bunu yapabilir. Bu m\u00fcmk\u00fcnd\u00fcr ve olmas\u0131 gerekir.”<\/p>\n

Barton’un \u0130slam’a ilgisi lise y\u0131llar\u0131nda Hindistan’a yapt\u0131\u011f\u0131 bir ziyaretle ba\u015flar. Doktora tezini Asya \u00fclkeleri \u00fczerine yapar ve Endonezya’daki \u0130slam\u00ee hareketi analiz eder. Barton, bu \u00fclkeyi T\u00fcrkiye’ye benzetiyor ve toplumsal g\u00fcc\u00fcn y\u00fcksekli\u011fine i\u015faret ediyor. Portre \u00e7al\u0131\u015fmas\u0131 yapt\u0131\u011f\u0131 Endonezya Devlet eski Ba\u015fkan\u0131 Abdurrahman Vahid’i \u0130slam’la demokrasinin uyumuna \u00f6rnek g\u00f6steren Barton, her iki \u00fclkede de modern hareketin ve demokratik d\u00fc\u015f\u00fcncenin M\u00fcsl\u00fcman gruplardan \u00e7\u0131kt\u0131\u011f\u0131 tespitini yap\u0131yor. T\u00fcrkiye’den \u00f6rnek olarak da Bedi\u00fczzaman Said Nursi ve Fethullah G\u00fclen’i veriyor.<\/strong> Bu iki ismi, geleneksel \u0130slam’dan gelen; ancak modern d\u00fc\u015f\u00fcnceye sahip din\u00ee \u00f6nderler olarak tan\u0131mlayan Greg Barton, Abdurrahman Vahid’i <\/strong>de ayn\u0131 kategoride ele al\u0131yor.<\/p>\n

Her \u00fc\u00e7 ismin, geleneksel \u0130slam\u0131 temsil etmelerine ra\u011fmen moderniteye yak\u0131n g\u00f6r\u00fc\u015fleri ile etkili olduklar\u0131n\u0131 s\u00f6yleyen Barton, Said Nursi, G\u00fclen ve Vahid’in din\u2014devlet ayr\u0131m\u0131n\u0131 desteklemelerine dikkati \u00e7ekiyor. 20. y\u00fczy\u0131ldaki \u0130slam\u00ee d\u00fc\u015f\u00fcn\u00fcrlerin devletin de\u011fi\u015fmesi, \u015feriat\u0131n gelmesi ve bir \u0130slam devleti kurulmas\u0131n\u0131 savunduklar\u0131n\u0131 hat\u0131rlatarak ekliyor: “Halbuki Said Nursi ve Fethullah G\u00fclen bireyin d\u00f6n\u00fc\u015f\u00fcm\u00fcn\u00fc \u00f6nemsiyor, e\u011fitime b\u00fcy\u00fck \u00f6nem veriyorlar. B\u00f6ylelikle modern bilim e\u011fitimini klasik \u0130slam\u00ee bilimlerle birle\u015ftiriyorlar. Eski f\u0131kh\u00ee konulara ve bunlar\u0131n yorumlar\u0131na tak\u0131l\u0131p kalm\u0131\u015f de\u011filler. Onun yerine iman ve inan\u00e7 gibi \u0130slamiyet’in as\u0131l meseleleriyle ilgileniyorlar.”<\/p>\n

Greg Barton’un \u00fczerinde durdu\u011fu konulardan biri de, Bat\u0131 d\u00fcnyas\u0131ndaki \u0130slam imaj\u0131. Bu konuda \u00e7ok dertli. Bat\u0131’da \u0130slam imaj\u0131 denilince, hemen “\u0130\u00e7ine d\u00fc\u015ft\u00fc\u011f\u00fcm\u00fcz \u00e7ukur bundan kaynaklan\u0131yor” diyerek s\u00f6ze giriyor. Onun \u015fikayeti bu imaj\u0131 belirleyenin b\u00fcy\u00fck oranda Arap \u00e2lemi olmas\u0131. Bat\u0131’da \u0130slam’\u0131n do\u011frudan Araplarla ba\u011fda\u015ft\u0131r\u0131ld\u0131\u011f\u0131n\u0131 s\u00f6yleyen Barton, ciddi bir reform s\u00fcrecinden ge\u00e7meyen ve bask\u0131c\u0131 rejimlere sahip Arap \u00e2leminin \u0130slamiyet i\u00e7in bir imaj k\u0131r\u0131c\u0131 oldu\u011funu vurguluyor. \u0130slam hakk\u0131ndaki g\u00f6r\u00fc\u015f\u00fcn\u00fc Araplara bakarak belirleyen Bat\u0131’n\u0131n, bu d\u00fcnyadaki \u0130slam\u00ee hareketlerin tamam\u0131n\u0131 radikal ve yer alt\u0131 \u00f6rg\u00fctleri olarak g\u00f6rd\u00fc\u011f\u00fcn\u00fc s\u00f6yl\u00fcyor. Prof. Dr. Barton, bu problemin \u00e7\u00f6z\u00fclebilmesi i\u00e7in Bat\u0131 d\u00fcnyas\u0131n\u0131n T\u00fcrkiye ve Endonezya gibi \u00fclkelerden \u00f6\u011frenece\u011fi \u00e7ok \u015fey oldu\u011funu s\u00f6zlerine ekliyor.<\/p>\n

Peki Arap \u00fclkeleri d\u0131\u015f\u0131ndaki M\u00fcsl\u00fcman toplumlar neden Bat\u0131 d\u00fcnyas\u0131nda fazla tan\u0131nm\u0131yor? Greg Barton, \u00f6nyarg\u0131lar ve subjektif yakla\u015f\u0131mlar d\u0131\u015f\u0131nda bu sorunun en temel sebebini dil problemi olarak g\u00f6r\u00fcyor. \u0130ngilizcenin halen bu iki \u00fclkede yeteri kadar yayg\u0131n olmad\u0131\u011f\u0131n\u0131 hat\u0131rlatarak, “Geleneksel olarak Bat\u0131da bir ara\u015ft\u0131rmac\u0131 \u0130slamiyet’i \u00f6\u011frenmek istedi\u011finde Arap\u00e7a \u00f6\u011frenir. Bu y\u00fczden de \u0130slam d\u00fcnyas\u0131n\u0131 ara\u015ft\u0131ran uzmanlar Araplar’a bakarak T\u00fcrkiye, Malezya ve Endonezya gibi \u00fclkeleri atl\u0131yor” diyor. Samuel Hantington’\u0131n medeniyetler \u00e7at\u0131\u015fmas\u0131 tezini ele\u015ftiren Barton, Amerikal\u0131 akademisyenin \u0130slam \u00e2leminde az\u0131nl\u0131\u011f\u0131 temsil eden radikal gruplara y\u00f6nelik de\u011ferlendirmelerini genele mal etme \u00e7abas\u0131 i\u00e7inde oldu\u011funu s\u00f6yl\u00fcyor.<\/p>\n

T\u00fcrkiye’de gerek dinler gerekse k\u00fclt\u00fcrleraras\u0131 diyalog konusunda b\u00fcy\u00fck bir istek g\u00f6zlemledi\u011fini belirten Barton, “G\u00f6rd\u00fc\u011f\u00fcm kadar\u0131yla Said Nursi Risale\u2014i Nur ile \u00e7ok g\u00fczel bir zemin olu\u015fturdu. Fethullah G\u00fclen ise bu zeminin \u00fczerine ta\u015flar\u0131 dikiyor. Said Nursi imkanlar\u0131 bak\u0131m\u0131ndan daha k\u0131s\u0131tl\u0131yd\u0131, dar ve k\u00fc\u00e7\u00fck \u00e7evrelerde hayat\u0131n\u0131 ya\u015famak zorunda kalm\u0131\u015ft\u0131. Fakat G\u00fclen’in \u00f6\u011frencileri d\u00fcnyan\u0131n her yerine da\u011f\u0131lm\u0131\u015f ve aktif \u015fekilde diyalog \u00e7al\u0131\u015fmalar\u0131n\u0131 destekliyor. Bu ger\u00e7ekten b\u00fct\u00fcn d\u00fcnyan\u0131n ihtiyac\u0131 olan bir \u00e7al\u0131\u015fmad\u0131r” diyor.<\/p>\n

T\u00fcrkiye’nin AB \u00dcyeli\u011fi Avrupa’y\u0131 da Geli\u015ftirecek<\/strong><\/p>\n

T\u00fcrkiye’nin AB’ye kat\u0131l\u0131m\u0131 i\u00e7in \u00e7ok g\u00fczel gerek\u00e7eleri oldu\u011funu s\u00f6yleyen Greg Barton, bu \u00fcyelikten her iki taraf\u0131ndan da \u00f6nemli \u00e7\u0131karlar\u0131 olaca\u011f\u0131 tespitini yap\u0131yor. T\u00fcrkiye’nin kat\u0131l\u0131m\u0131n\u0131n Avrupa’y\u0131 da geli\u015ftirece\u011finin atlanmamas\u0131 gerekti\u011fini vurguluyor. AK Parti h\u00fck\u00fcmetinin Avrupa’ya y\u00f6nelik \u00e7abalar\u0131n\u0131 da olumlu buluyor. Greg Barton’un dikkat \u00e7ekti\u011fi hususlardan biri de, sek\u00fclerizmle din ili\u015fkisi. Ona g\u00f6re \u0130slam\u00ee toplumlar\u0131n ya\u015fad\u0131\u011f\u0131 modernle\u015fme s\u00fcreci sadece sek\u00fclerizme g\u00f6t\u00fcren bir s\u00fcre\u00e7 de\u011fil ve modernite de dinin bir alternatifi olamaz. Bu konuya en iyi \u00f6rne\u011fin eski Sovyetler Birli\u011fi oldu\u011funu s\u00f6yl\u00fcyor: “Eski SSCB’de din yok edilmeye \u00e7al\u0131\u015f\u0131ld\u0131 ama bunu kimse ba\u015faramad\u0131. Kom\u00fcnizm dahi dini yok edemedi. As\u0131l soru \u015fu: Din modernle\u015fmeye yard\u0131mc\u0131 m\u0131 olacak yoksa bir engel mi? G\u00fclen hareketinin \u00f6nemi bu noktada ortaya \u00e7\u0131k\u0131yor. Bu gibi hareketler \u0130slam\u00ee toplumlar\u0131n ya\u015fad\u0131\u011f\u0131 reform s\u00fcrecinin devaml\u0131 olmas\u0131na katk\u0131 sa\u011fl\u0131yor. \u00c7\u00fcnk\u00fc G\u00fclen hareketi devleti de\u011fi\u015ftirmekten ziyade daha \u00e7ok bireye y\u00f6nelik \u00e7al\u0131\u015f\u0131yor. Sava\u015f ve kavgadan yana de\u011fil, bar\u0131\u015f, uzla\u015fma ve diyalogdan yana tav\u0131r al\u0131yor. Bar\u0131\u015f\u00e7\u0131 kavramlar\u0131 \u00f6ne \u00e7\u0131kar\u0131yor ve bunlar\u0131 devaml\u0131 olarak savunuyor.” (Zafer \u00d6zcan)<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A response to Rachel Sharon-Krespin\u2019s \u2018Fethullah G\u00fclen\u2019s Grand Ambition: Turkey\u2019s Islamist Danger\u2019 (2) GREG BARTON, Ph.D. ADJUNCT PROFESSOR Area of Expertise – Southeast Asia —————————————————— orijinal publication of Rachel krespin can be found with the following link https:\/\/www.meforum.org\/2045\/fethullah-gulens-grand-ambition Veya turkce icin asagidaki link e tiklayip turkce okuyabilirsiniz https:\/\/www.meforum.org\/2071\/fethullah-gulenin-buyuk-ihtirasi greg barton is A writer in fetullah […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":36905,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[89],"tags":[120],"class_list":["post-10934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-turkey","tag-gulen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10934"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10934\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}