Quotes by Fethullah Gulen - Page 2

A person is truly a human if he or she learns, and teaches, and inspires others. It is difficult to regard as truly human someone who is ignorant and has no desire to learn.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
Wisdom
Inspire
Islamic
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Savage people realize their aims through fighting, through conflict. Cultivated and intellectual souls believe that they will attain their aims through thought and discussion.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
Conflict
Discussion
Fighting
Aims
Attain
Cultivated
Realize
Savage
Souls
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My message is, if someone beats you, act like you don't have hands. If someone slurs you, act like you don't have a tongue. Society is already polarized enough, don't make it worse.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
Beats
Hands
Tongue
Message
Polarized
Worse
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In many places around the world, including Turkey until the 1950s, Muslims didn't have full freedom of religion. Even personal practice was not allowed, and they had to practice in secret.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
Freedom Of Religion
Freedom Religion World
Muslims
Turkey
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I am not indifferent to the appreciation of kind people. [The voters were] extremely kind in naming me the world's top public intellectual, a title to which I can never see myself as entitled.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
Appreciation
Smile
Intellectual
People
Titles
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Only a few people seem to realize that social harmony and peace with nature, between people, and within the individual only can come about when the material and spiritual realms are reconciled.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
God
Nature
Spiritual
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The purpose of our creation is obvious: to reach our utmost goals of belief, knowledge, and spirituality; to reflect on the universe, humanity, and God, and thus prove our value as human beings.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
Wisdom
Goal
Islamic
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Turkey initiated true multiparty elections in 1950 to join NATO. As a requirement of its membership, NATO can and should demand that Turkey honor its commitment to the alliance's democratic norms.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
Demand
Membership
Nato
Alliance
Initiated
Join
Norms
Turkey
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I don't see a bright future for Turkey. It pains me. But I have some hope, I pray for it to be better. It is a blessed country, a NATO member, and was an E.U. candidate. These were things we wanted.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
Bright Future
Nato
Pray
Bright
Candidate
Pains
Pray For
Turkey
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Erdogan's persecution of his people is not simply a domestic matter. The ongoing pursuit of civil society, journalists, academics and Kurds in Turkey is threatening the long-term stability of the country.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
Civil Society
Long Term
Ongoing
Persecution
Pursuit
Stability
Threatening
Academics
Domestic
Society Country People
Journalists
Turkey
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Interfaith dialogue is a must today, and the first step in establishing it is forgetting the past, ignoring polemical arguments, and giving precedence to common points, which far outnumber polemical ones.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
Giving
Past
Today
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I even reject and condemn in the strongest terms the idea, the consideration of a military coup. If I had the chance I would stand in front of the people who would attempt such a thing and open my arms and beg them to stop.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
Arms
Consideration
Attempt
Beg
Condemn
Coup
Reject
Such A Thing
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I cannot accept concepts such as Gülenism or Gülenist. I was only a writer and an official preacher among people. I can have no direct influence on any person or activity. It is inconceivable that I can exert pressure on anybody.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
Concepts
Influence
People
Preacher
Pressure
Exert
Inconceivable
Official
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I have never had, nor will I ever have, any [political] ambitions. The only thing on which I have always set my heart is being able to gain God's good pleasure and, therefore, trying to make him known correctly and loved by humanity.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
Ambition
Heart
Political
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I suffered during the military intervention of May 27, 1960, and then again on March 12, 1971 and again on September 12, 1980, and I was targeted February 28, 1997. My respect for the military aside, I have always been against interventions.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
Respect
February
Intervention
March
Military
September
Again
Aside
Suffered
Targeted
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I think the United States is mindful of its reputation for its democracy and rule of law, and if they are willing to risk that reputation by extraditing me based on the request and claims made by Turkey, I would never say no. I would go willingly.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
Claims
Reputation
Rule Of Law
Mindful
Turkey
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Tolerance, a term which we sometimes use in place of the words respect, mercy, generosity, or forbearance, is the most essential element of moral systems; it is a very important source of spiritual discipline and a celestial virtue of perfected people.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
God
Nature
Respect
Spiritual
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Islam's basic principles of belief, worship, morality, and behavior are not affected by changing times. Islam does not propose a certain unchangeable form of government or attempt to shape it. Islam has never offered nor established a theocracy in its name.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
Basic Principles
Islam
Morality
Propose
Theocracy
Unchangeable
Worship
Attempt
Established
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I consider myself an ordinary Muslim who is constantly working to put himself in the framework established by the Koran and the tradition of the Prophet Mohammed. I study the works of experts of jurisprudence, Koranic commentary, hadith commentary, and Sufism.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
Commentary
Experts
Framework
Jurisprudence
Prophet
Established
Mohammed
Muslim
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I feel the pain of people who suffer in my own neurons and sometimes cannot even watch TV. It is impossible not to be worried. But I trust that however cruel treatment they receive, Hizmet sympathizers will continue to respect to the law and will remain peaceful.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
Neurons
Peaceful
Treatment
Cruel
Receive
Suffer
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The noble position of motherhood aside, our general opinion about women is that, while taking into account their specific needs, it should be made possible for them to take on every role, including the jobs of physician, military officer, judge and president of a country.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
Motherhood
Noble
Account
Aside
Officer
Physician
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We invite our friends who hold high positions in the legislative branch of government and state institutions to master the skills of administration, so they could, when the time comes, reform the Turkish state and make it more fruitful at all its levels in the name of Islam.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
Islam
Legislative Branch
Turkish
Branch
Master
Fruitful
Invite
Legislative
Positions
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My only role in the opening of the schools has been to suggest and encourage opening them. But it is impossible for there to be a [central authority] controlling the schools. They are in more than 100 countries, and there must be many different companies that have opened and run them.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
Running
Country
School
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Lovers cannot imagine any opposition, no matter how small, to the beloved. They cannot endure to see the beloved veiled by something that causes Him to be forgotten. Moreover, lovers regard as futile any speech not about the beloved, and any act not related to Him as ingratitude and disloyalty.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
God
Love
Loyalty
Speech
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Even if, at the helm of the country there are people who would like to replace me and suppress me and oppress me at the level of blood-sucking vampires, then I do not want to remove them with anti-democratic means. This is my attitude toward any and even the idea of the consideration of a military coup.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
Consideration
Helm
Remove
Attitude Me People
Coup
Oppress
Suppress
Vampires
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[Terrorism] is formed of certain fundamental problems, [including] ignorance, poverty, and fear of others. Some people take advantage of the young and foolish. They are manipulated, abused, and even drugged to such an extent that they can be used as murderers on the pretext of some crazy ideals or goals.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
Crazy
Ignorance
People
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To defeat terrorism, we must acknowledge that we are all human beings. It is not our choice to belong to a particular race or family. We should be freed from fear of the other and enjoy diversity within democracy. I believe that dialogue and education are the most effective means to surpass our differences.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
Believe
Mean
Race
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I do not believe so many Turks suspect my activities. The idea that this movement of volunteers is suspected by many Turks arises in the same way and for the same reasons that the world hears more about those Muslims whom the media call radicals. Since those who give this impression are extremely loud, some observers can be deceived.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
Believe
Ideas
Media
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The Koran says that humanity has been created to recognize and worship God and, as a dimension of this worship, to improve the world in strict avoidance of corruption and bloodshed. It requires treating all things and beings with deep compassion. This is my philosophy, which obliges me to remain aloof from all worldly titles and ranks.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
Compassion
Humanity
Philosophy
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Turkey is a diverse country... I think that democracy is the ideal system for a country with a social foundation such as this. My view is based on my belief that everyone should be able to comfortably live what they believe, and this is only possible in a truly democratic environment. I am insistent in my views and I strongly believe in what I say.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
Diverse
Views
Comfortably
Ideal
Insistent
Strongly
Turkey
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Islam's basic principles of belief, worship, morality, and behavior are not affected by changing times. Islam does not propose a certain unchangeable form of government or attempt to shape it. Islam has never offered nor established a theocracy in its name. Instead, Islam establishes fundamental principles that orient a government's general character.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
Government
Character
Names
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Some [people] think that there is a central organization responsible for all the institutions they wrongly think affiliated with me. They ignore the zeal of many to serve humanity and to gain God's good pleasure in doing so. They ignore people's generosity. Such misunderstandings may lead others to have suspicions about the financial resources of the schools.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
Organization
School
Thinking
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Today, people are talking about many things: the danger of war and frequent clashes, water and air pollution, hunger, the increasing erosion of moral values, and so on. As a result, many other concerns have come to the fore: peace, contentment, ecology, justice, tolerance, and dialogue. Unfortunately, despite certain promising precautions, those who should be tackling these problems tend to do so by seeking further ways to conquer and control nature and produce more lethal weapons.
Fethullah Gulen / Preacher
War
Air
Erosion
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Fethullah Gulen Quotes - Page 2

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