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In Memoriam
Fethullah
Gülen

In Memoriam
Fethullah
Gülen

This is a special edition dedicated to M. Fethullah Gülen, our beloved teacher and writer, who contributed to our magazine from the very beginning. After a life of service to God and to humanity, Gülen returned to his Creator on October 20, 2024.

Writers
from Around the World

Writers
from Around the World

Fethullah Gülen

In Pursuit of the Brightest Stars

Fethullah Gülen, an influential Islamic scholar, dedicated his life to promoting education, dialogue, and peaceful coexistence. His teachings inspired the global Hizmet movement, which established numerous schools worldwide and fostered cross-cultural communication. Despite facing opposition and ex…

Fethullah Gülen

Hand in Hand, Heart in Heart

M. Fethullah Gülen

This compilation of excerpts from Fethullah Gülen's writings was read by Professor Scott C. Alexander during the funeral service on October 24, 2024 at the Skylands Stadium, Frankford Township, New Jersey.

Scott C. Alexander

The Light Remains

Scott C. Alexander

If our desire is to honor the memory and precious legacy of Hocaefendi, let us do what I know he would want us to do. Let us recognize and affirm that, although the lamp of his earthly life is no longer, the light of God endures.

Reverend Thomas Michel, S.J.

A True Companion

Fr. Thomas Michel, S.J.

Like many in Hizmet and beyond, I mourn his loss but find solace in the belief that he has achieved his eternal reward.

Jalal Ahmad Arabi

Exit of a Colossus

Jalal Ahmad Arabi

God has shown grace to Hocaefendi, a man of peace, understanding, and boundless humility. He exemplified simplicity and piety, teaching the world the beauty of sacrifice, the rewards of hard work, and the value of perseverance.

Charles Panganiban

The True Measure of Greatness

Charles Panganiban

Speaking of admiring greatness, I want to pay a humble tribute to a person who loved and cared for others in the same way one would take care of their family, even though he never saw them at all.

Lyndsey Eksili

Arriving at Eternal Love

My first meeting with Hocaefendi is a memory I will always hold dear. I shared with him how deeply his teachings had moved me, expressing how they had touched my life in ways words could hardly convey.

Khalif Syed Mohammed Sadiq Raza

To Allah we belong, and indeed to Him we shall return

Khalif Syed Mohammed Sadiq Raza

Paul Weller

Hodjaefendi Fethullah Gülen: A Personal Appreciation

The creative inheritance of Gülen will not be found so much in the substantive body of his inherited teaching, pregnant though that remains with matters that will remain important into the future

Ahmad Rehab

He Lived Because He Loved

Inna lilah wa inna ilayh rajeoon اللهم ارحم و اغفر لعبدك محمد فتح الله جولن و ارزقه الجنه و صبر اهله و اصدقائه We must remember one thing: Bodies leave but legacies live Souls “return” to Allah (what better place?) Legacies don’t leave us. and bodies never were the point. From dust to dust…

Sister Laila Muhammad

Education and Peace for All

This is his legacy: education and peace for all. As an African American (Bilalian), I resonate with and look forward to continued collaboration with the Hizmet movement. May their grief be comforted, and may it inspire them to work even harder for the causes of education and peace.

Rajendran Govender

A Beacon of Peace: Honoring the Legacy of Fethullah Gülen

Rajendran Govender

The passing of Mr. Fethullah Gülen is a profound loss to the global community. His life’s work was dedicated to service, education, and the unification of humanity through principles of dialogue, peace, and respect.

Arzu Ahmadzai

In Memory of Our Esteemed M. Fethullah Gülen

Our teacher’s passing has cast a profound sadness upon us all, for “the death of a scholar is the death of a world.” Thousands of students from every continent shed tears at our loss.

Felix Kaiza

God’s Voice Gift Which Has Suddenly Got Silenced

When a Turkish friend approached me strongly suggesting an article for The Fountain magazine on Fethullah Gülen’s death, from the African perspective, I wondered what he was up to. This left me with more questions than answers. How do I download the life of a moral philosopher, cleric, once declare…

Beyond the Cage of Flesh

Beyond the Cage of Flesh

M. Fethullah Gulen

Christoph Bultmann

Commemorating Fethullah Gülen

Christoph Bultmann

In this sense, as a biblical scholar, I would like to characterize Fethullah Gülen by quoting a verse from the Biblical Psalms: “By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life” (Psalm 42.8).

Kareem Irfan

Not a Void, But an Inspiring Force

There was a unique personal connection, a spiritual exuberance, love, and goodness that surrounded him. He inspired this movement of millions to act gracefully in all circumstances, with affection and humility.

Anwar Alam

Syed Muhammed Fethullah Gülen and the Relevance of His Legacy

The inclusivity of Gülen’s Islamic thought, along with its philosophy of positive action and adaptive culture, enabled him and the Hizmet movement to thrive in diverse contexts—be they political, social, economic, modern, or traditional.

Greg Barton

A Hero Who Does Not Disappoint

I'm grateful for the opportunity of having known Hocaefendi. I mourn with his many friends and large global family at his passing. But I'm also grateful for a long life of service, a life filled with much sickness and being forced into exile, suffering persecution, but using that opportunity as a w…

Fethullah Gülen

One Who Has Reached (Wasil)

M. Fethullah Gulen

"Emerald Hills of the Heart" is one of the departments of The Fountain, which features an essay by Fethullah Gülen in the order as they appear in his eponymous collection. "One Who Has Reached (Wasil)" is published in this issue, not because of the choice of the editors, but simply according to the…

John Ederer

A Lifetime Dedication to Service

Many of his followers became journalists and writers; a large number of them – thousands and thousands of them actually – became schoolteachers, from elementary all the way to the top academics of graduate studies. Hizmet is this civilizational, Islamic grassroots movement started by Fethullah Güle…

Ceyda Sablak

Childhood Memories With Fethullah Gülen

I was 4 or 5 years old, so my memories are mostly snippets. Still, one is clear: I felt completely comfortable around Hocaefendi, free to be myself, even when the adults always told me to act differently —“Be quiet, stop running around, be respectful.” I was being respectful; I loved my Hocaefendi.

Simon Robinson

Seeing the World Differently Through Gülen

We had come to talk to him about dialogue and responsibility, and he was showing us what dialogue was about. At its heart is humility, a letting go of power.

Imam Syed Soharwardy

A Great Visionary

Syed Soharwardy

Mr Fethullah Gulen was a man of high moral and spiritual values. His message of tolerance and respect for difference of opinions will guide generations to come. May Allah grant him Jannatul Firdous and give patience to his family and the followers.

Ori Z Soltes

Ruminations on the Transition of Hocaefendi

More subtle is the sense of mourning for all of those younger people who are drawn to the values, principles, and teachings associated with Hocaefendi who had not yet met him in person and who will be deprived of that opportunity.

Azam Nizamuddin

Building Bridges

Azam Nizamuddin

His teachings are manifested not just in ideas that I read, but in people that we've all met and known. May his life inspire us to build bridges, seek understanding and serve humanity with love and compassion.

Joyce M. Davis

A Movement of Peace

Gülen advocated for education as the best way to lift people from poverty and to spur economic development in some of the poorest nations on the earth.

Dr. Jochen Thies

Farewell to Fethullah Gülen

Dr. Jochen Thies

We know from many sources that Fethullah Gülen had a gift for inspiring many people. They listened to him, they followed him and spread his sermons.

Alex Morel

Fethullah Gülen’s Gift to the World

I did ask him if I could take his picture. He said, “I am not important. Hizmet is all you have already seen, but if you think this can help in any way, I will do as you ask.”

Janet A. Maulbeck

The Legacy Is Released

Janet A. Maulbeck

His love, his compassion, his view of a world that was inclusive, that was one that listened, that heard the heartbeat of the One who brings us all together, was clearly seen and heard through you.

Joshua Ocheja

Gülen: A Life of Service

Adieu Hocaefendi, yours was a life of service, and posterity would be kind to you.

Inamul Haq

A Lasting Legacy

When I saw the room where he was living in Pennsylvania, I noticed he had nothing in his room—just a bed, an ordinary bed, and a couple of simple items.

A Life of Service

By the time of his passing on October 20, 2024, Gülen’s message of education, dialogue, and service had reached 170 countries through schools and relief initiatives, inspiring countless individuals across nations and faith traditions.

Yakov Nagen

Fethullah Gülen, Hizmet, and the Path Forward

I join you in mourning the passing of Hocaefendi, known to the world as Fethullah Gülen. It is with a deep sense of respect and reverence that I share my impressions of his profound impact on those who met him and studied his works.

Yakov Nagen

Fethullah Gülen: A Man, A Vision, A Movement

Francesco Zannini

Fethullah Gülen was a man of the people, thanks to his modest origins and the difficulties and sufferings he faced throughout his life, from which he drew the ability to deeply understand the needs of ordinary people, with a profound sense of empathy and altruism.

Paolo Branca

Destined to Leave a Lasting Impact

The late charismatic leader, founder of the expansive movement aptly named Hizmet (Service), was truly one of the most significant contemporary Muslim intellectuals.

Farid Esack

Humanitarian legacy of Fethullah Gülen

Wherever the Hizmet Movement has planted its seeds, its work has been characterised by serious attempts to engage — not proselytise — people of various communities.

Braam Hanekom

Gülen for a Reconciled World

Fethullah Gülen was a leader, a reformer, but above all a spiritual leader who was true to his spiritual foundations, but strived for a new, united, reconciled world.

Margaret A. Johnson

In Memoriam Fethullah Gülen

Margaret A. Johnson

Although some might describe Hocaefendi as “old-fashioned,” there’s no doubt, but that he was a man of the times in which he lived. He encouraged the community to read their time well.

Wahbi Long

The Wellspring of Humility

I never had the honour of meeting Ustadh Fethullah Gülen, but the only answer to these questions that suggests itself is this: the faithfulness of the student is surely a reflection of the immeasurably greater faithfulness of the teacher.

John Cardinal Onaiyekan

He Lives On

John Cardinal Onaiyekan

The late Gulen was a man of great reputation for many people all over the world as an advocate for peace and harmony in our modern, divided and ever dividing world.

Tushar Gandhi

Rest in Peace

A great loss to humanity

Yasien Alli

Ghurbah: A Pillar of Ethical Strength in Turbulent Times

The movement's concept of ghurbah, originally denoted the selfless sacrifices of teachers leaving their homeland to educate others globally, but since their forced displacement, ghurbah has taken on a deeper psycho-spiritual significance.

Walter Ruby

Tribute to Fethullah Gülen

Based on my interactions with Hizmet leaders over two decades, I can only conclude that Fethullah Gülen was a great spiritual leader whose influence will continue to expand exponentially for decades and centuries to come through the beautiful movement he built.

Aaron Cohen

In Honor of Mr. Gülen

Despite the depredations they continue to suffer, the students of Mr. Gülen I know are not bitter. Indeed, they continue to plant the seeds of respect, human kindness, learning, charity, and peace, for those are the pillars of their faith.

Sudheen Kulkarni

Respected Teacher

Sudheen Kulkarni

May Gülen's legacy of Islamic contribution to a peaceful and spiritually evolving multi-religious world continue to guide both Muslims and non-Muslims.

Mehmet Enes Ergene

Fethullah Gülen Hocaefendi and His Will

Mehmet Enes Ergene

As a note for history, I can attest to this through my own observations, using Rumi’s metaphor: not only was Hocaefendi’s pillow thorny, but his entire bed and cover seemed laden with thorns. He lived his entire life that way.

Jon Pahl

The Fethullah Gülen I Came to Know

When we last met, he was very frail, but still mentally sharp. He shared with me a copy of the Albanian translation of my biography of him. And he paid me a compliment I’ll never forget: “Jon, you’ve done more than a thousand Muslims.”

Naveed Sheikh

The Rain That Gives Life: In Memoriam of Hocaefendi

Gülen’s philosophy emphasized that true faith is a source of empathetic engagement and understanding. He believed that love for one’s own beliefs does not diminish the capacity to respect and appreciate the beliefs of others.

Daniel Skubik

Models of Education: Fethullah Gülen, Hizmet Schools, and Formation of Conscience

This is the tapestry of well-formed consciences and sustainable peacemaking that is finally the hallmark of Gülen’s interfaith dialogue initiatives.

Gérard Siegwald

A Spiritual Legacy and a Call to Peace

Gérard Siegwald

The loss of a spiritual figure of such magnitude resembles a seed planted in the earth, destined to grow in its time. History, and ultimately, the final judgment, will discern in Fethullah Gülen’s work what transcends life’s trials and death, and what will continue to bear fruit for generations to…

Asuman Celik

A Reminder for Those Who Remember

He is with us still, closer now, unfettered by the limitations of flesh. As close as a greeting, he lives on in our hearts and in each act of service we perform. May love be with you always, Hocaefendim, my dear teacher.

In Memory of Hocaefendi Fethullah Gülen: A Life of Devotion and Divine Acceptance

Mohammed Ibn Ahmed

Hocaefendi’s life bore witness to a movement born from sincerity: Hizmet, meaning “service.” The Hizmet movement became a transformative force, one rooted in the belief that serving others is an act of worship.

Alaaka Association

His Doors Were Always Open

Alaaka Association

The kindness he showed to the elderly, the patience he had with children, and the respect he gave to everyone regardless of their background truly embodied the prophetic character he taught others to do.

Myrna Chayo

Awakening of Consciences

Muhammed Fethullah Gülen Hocaefendi was not a mere witness to these changes, much more than that he gave a personal strong contribution to the awakening of consciences and to peace.

Jon A. Yasin

The Rewards of Service

In the spirit of our teachers – Warith Deen Mohammed (raa) and Fethullah Gülen (raa) – let us commit to working harder to assist and serve humanity, for humankind needs positive solutions to serious contemporary problems to remake the world.

When commanded by the One, I will march across as if to my 'wedding night."

When commanded by the One, I will march across as if to my 'wedding night."

M. Fethullah Gülen