Gülen movement

As Gülen Movement (also unofficially Hizmet, türk of service) is a transnational religious and social movement called, which is led by the Turkish Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen. The movement is enjoying a great attraction in Turkey, Central Asia and increasingly in other parts of the world. It stands at the same time in the criticism. With private schools in over 140 countries, it operates in the education and interreligious dialogue, simultaneously investing in media relations, finance, health houses. The movement is called a " pacifist, modern Islamic, often praised as a response to the much more extreme Salafism " means. Others see in it a " cult-like organization," or speak of " cult-like practices ".

The movement has no official name is, but commonly used to denote its adherents as Hizmet ( service ) and called in the wider Turkish public euphemistically cemaat (Turkish the community).

Character and followers

The exact number of supporters of the Gülen movement is not known, since the movement is usually quite closed and does not publish official membership structure. It is estimated that she has one to eight million followers. The movement consists primarily of students, teachers, business people, journalists.

Some studies have put the movement represents a flexible organizational network, schools, universities, employers and charities, real estate funds, student facilities, radio and television stations and newspapers founded. Thereafter, schools and businesses are organized locally and more linked to informal because of legal nature. According to Forbes magazine, the Gülen movement would not modern secular states undermine but encourage practicing Muslims to take advantage of the opportunities offered by these countries.

In Germany, the movement with tuition centers " in almost every major city and actively strives to open private schools without having an official headquarters, which does not mean that the activities are not coordinated in the network ". These schools accept school fees of 250 to 350 euros a month, which can be reduced if the parents clearly profess the Gülen movement.

• In Cologne, the private high school is brought into dialogue with Gülen connection.
• In Berlin, the TÜDESB Education Institute Berlin-Brandenburg eV operates several schools. Also TÜDESB considered part of the Gülen movement.

The movement is accused of inside and outside of Turkey to pursue a systematic infiltration of the Turkish police and the judiciary and thereby want to build a state within a state.

On the other side of the movement is accused of missionary activities, to organize themselves in any illegal manner or to seek political power. Members of the movement counter the allegations by a hidden agenda: ". .: Who among us is a hidden agenda welcome to come to us and ask us, we have nothing to hide "

History

The Gülen movement has a particular tradition of religious reform movement Nurculuk, which dates back to the Islamic leader Said Nursi.

Since the 1980s had the Gülen movement cram schools for the central university entrance examination ( OLS ), and trailers at universities in Turkey.

New international attention learned the movement in the corruption scandal in Turkey since December 2013. In Turkey, the schools of the Gulen Movement will be closed until September 2015.

The CDU parliamentary leader in the Baden- Württemberg state parliament, Peter Hauk, demanded in February 2014 access to internal reports of the country's intelligence service, in which the Gülen movement has been accused to be in contradiction to the free democratic basic order partially. Even the Rhineland-Palatinate Interior Minister Roger Lewentz demanded in a letter to the Federal Minister of the Interior, the intensive, nationwide test of the Gülen movement by the Protection of the Constitution and the referral to the Minister of the Interior Conference with the theme.