All humans are born within the bounds of earthly “time” and “space,” but only a select few transcend these limitations, becoming “timeless” and “spaceless.” They are immortalized in the memories and hearts of millions for one profound reason: their life journey embodies a truthful struggle for equity, freedom, and justice, an unwavering service to humanity, a story of humility, a rejection of worldly pleasures, and a steadfast refusal to yield to tyranny in any form, even amidst systematic demonization, oppression, and persecution. Fethullah Gülen (affectionately called Hocaefendi) stands foremost among this chain of noble souls in recorded history.

Fethullah Gülen was a multifaceted personality—a Sunni Turkish Muslim devoted to the well-being of the Turkish people; a renowned Sufi Islamic scholar; a mujaddid (renewer of faith); a humanist, visionary, teacher, poet, philosopher, and educationist; a preacher and motivator; a philanthropist; an ardent advocate of peace and non-violence; an Islamically grounded postmodern critic of the modernist vision of development; an ascetic and a loner; a voice for the voiceless and marginalized; a spiritual mentor and guide for millions; and the builder of one of the most vibrant Islamic civic-social movements and developmental models, known as Hizmet. This movement, originating in Turkey, has spread to approximately 160 countries across the world. Above all, he gave hope to the hopeless.

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. This inclusivity fostered interactions with diverse viewpoints, including political ones, and facilitated collaborative relationships across cultures, faith groups, languages, and civilizations, all with the aim of serving humanity through social initiatives.

For this reason, modern social science scholarship, particularly in the field of religious movements, struggles to categorize Gülen and the Hizmet movement. Labels such as modernist, reformist, revivalist, fundamentalist, traditionalist, conservative, or Islamist fail to capture their essence. This difficulty also highlights why a "modernist mindset" often fails to grasp Gülen’s Islamic moral and ethical universalism and his everyday humility, which is deeply rooted in Prophetic traditions. For example, Dexter Filkins, a writer for The New Yorker who published a largely critical piece on the Hizmet movement following Turkey’s disputed 2016 military coup, expressed surprise and disbelief at Gülen’s response to a question during their interview that same year. When asked how he wished to be remembered, Gülen replied: “I wish to be forgotten after I die. I wish for my grave to remain unknown. I hope to die in solitude, with no one becoming aware of my death, and thus, no one conducting my funeral prayer. I wish for no one to remember me.” The writer sarcastically noted that this was “an answer the like of which I’ve never heard from another leader in politics or religion.”

Filkins, unfamiliar with Sufi discourse, failed to understand the depth of Gülen’s response. In the Sufi tradition, one lives in a constant state of nothingness, or fana (self-annihilation) before God, striving to remain His humble servant and to avoid the worldly temptations of glory, power, fame, and recognition. Similarly, some Western writers reduced the Hizmet movement to the concept of “market Islam.” Such characterizations reveal the limitations of a modernist framework, which relies heavily on rigid categories, binaries, and power-centric narratives. Unsurprisingly, many Western and Westernized media outlets interpreted Gülen’s legacy narrowly through the lens of the disputed 2016 military coup in Turkey.

Gülen’s Islamic ecumenism enabled him to critically address extremist, ideological, reactionary, and exclusivist traditions—whether rooted in Islamic or secular discourses. As such, he refrained from aligning with or approving, and often directly denounced, both the anti-religious, ideological secular state, including Kemalism, and Islamist constructs, such as Erdoğanism. For Gülen, these ideological and political frameworks were inherently inimical to the common good, as they relied on divisive "us versus them" binaries. Instead, he advocated for governance by a "neutral state" that respects the boundaries and autonomy of civil society, alongside the principles of equality, freedom, non-discrimination, and citizenship. This stance explains why both Gülen and the Hizmet movement became targets of attack from various ideological factions in Turkey—Kemalist, secularist, nationalist, and Islamist—primarily from state-centric political forces. These groups perceived Gülen’s vision of a “civil society Islam” as “too autonomous,” “too democratic,” and therefore “too dangerous” for the survival of Turkey’s tradition of statism, prompting efforts to suppress the movement under various pretexts.

It is extremely challenging to encapsulate the legacy of such a multifaceted personality, one who had over five decades of active public life within and beyond Turkey. Yet, certain elements of Gülen's ideas and actions emerge as uniquely remarkable and exemplary.

First, Gülen’s Islamic hermeneutics is based on interpreting both the Qur’an and the life of the Prophet in synchrony, the latter as the explainer of the former. While many scholars of the twentieth century focused only on the Qur’an and many times on its literal interpretation. Gülen emphasized that the Qur’an is best exemplified through the life and practices of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his Companions, viewing them as inseparable. He believed that a proper, balanced, and inclusive understanding of the Qur’an—and its application to modern challenges—requires a profound knowledge of their lives and legacies.

Gülen introduced a methodological framework: an inclusive understanding of Islamic universalism requires an intra-textual approach that integrates the Qur’an and other Scriptures with the lived world of Prophetic Traditions, as narrated in multiple Islamic sources. He argued that an ahistorical, literal, and mechanical reading of the Qur’an and other Islamic texts has, in some cases, led to distorted, radicalized, power-centered, and violence-prone interpretations of Islam and its history. These misinterpretations, depending on the individuals or groups propagating them, have significantly harmed the image of Islam.

For this reason, Gülen emphasized that Muslims must prioritize the accurate representation of Islam in both private and public domains, both among themselves and in their interactions with others. Notably, he was one of the first Islamic scholars to unequivocally condemn the 9/11 attacks and global terrorism. Drawing from his understanding of Islamic universal ethics and morality, he boldly stated: “A Muslim cannot be a terrorist, and a terrorist cannot be a Muslim.”

Second, Gülen’s Islamic ontology and praxis, following the footsteps of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), has developed a human-centered theology. This paradigm, rare in the annals of Islamic philosophical and theological thought, advocates for the peaceful coexistence of diverse cultures, religions, civilizations, nationalities, races, political ideologies, and governing systems in the rapidly globalizing world. It is grounded in God-ordained universal human values such as love, tolerance, peace, friendship, trust, altruism, respect, compassion, forgiveness, solidarity, and social responsibility.

For this reason, Gülen, departing from conventional understandings of the Divine, boldly declared that “diversity is divinely intended.” This entails that promoting and preserving diversity in its various forms is a sacred act. Notably, for Gülen, the concept of diversity extends beyond collective differences to include diversity within each collective. He believed that faith in diversity is fundamental to any conception of democracy, as it necessitates an accommodation of differences. Most violent conflicts, in his view, arise from the politics of intolerance and a rejection of differences.

It is therefore unsurprising that Gülen prioritized “dialogue” and “consultation” as the two most essential principles for the functioning of any democratic society and state.

These humanistic values were crushed under various forms of modernity, pursued in the name of "science," "positivism," and "systems," which have produced and continue to foster violence and homogenization. For Gülen, the challenge of his era—and for future generations—was to re-center these humanistic values within global developmental and political discourses. He believed that the promotion and expansion of these values are the true measure of sincerity, worship, and service to both God and humanity.

For this reason, Gülen strongly advocated for the need to "humanize and spiritualize" modernity and modern governance systems. Such an approach, he argued, would prioritize "human security" over the narrower concept of "national security."

A third prominent legacy of Fethullah Gülen is his groundbreaking work in education, for which the Hizmet movement is renowned across the globe. One of the key reasons behind Gülen’s success in the field of education, both within and beyond Turkey, is his framing of access to and attainment of education as a fundamental expression of Islamic universal faith, identity, and humanity. While many have advocated for education, few have transformed their call into a vibrant social movement that has significantly contributed to the democratization of Turkish public life. This peaceful, democratic assertion of the "Muslim periphery" has made Turkish society more inclusive and diverse—a remarkable legacy in the Turkish context.

Gülen viewed education not only as a prerequisite for attaining iman (faith) but also as an equalizing force and a means of building capabilities to navigate the complexities of the modern world. This perspective inspired a dedicated generation, who, within a short span of time, carried the educational mission to many parts of the world, often in the face of great challenges and difficulties. I believe Gülen’s educational model as a "social movement" is desperately needed in underdeveloped regions across the globe to help reduce social and economic inequalities and contribute to the common good.

Gülen considered education as a vocation, an ethical enterprise, a holistic experience, and a social process with the potential to transform human beings. The high modernism of the West, while making significant positive contributions to humanity, has also produced a "scientific-technocratic, heartless mind" that has failed to prevent cycles of violence and destruction. Gülen’s educational model seeks to balance the virtues of the heart with the rational mind, ensuring that softer humanistic values guide and temper the destructive ambitions often associated with unchecked scientific and technological advancement. I believe this model of education, particularly in schools, is highly relevant to today’s globalized world, which stands at a crossroads marked by high nationalist-populist politics. The unpredictable impulses of these movements risk pushing the world toward greater conflict and violence on a global scale.

Above all, Gülen will be remembered as an apostle of peace and non-violence. This is evident in his resolute commitment to ensuring the Hizmet movement remained peaceful despite decades of relentless, systematic attacks by the Erdoğan regime. These attacks included the illegal appropriation of Hizmet properties, estimated at approximately $50 billion, and the widespread persecution of its volunteers. Few instances of such prolonged persecution exist in recent human history. Despite these immense challenges and false accusations, he responded with unwavering peace, legality, and non-violence. He lifted the "Gülen community" from a "slumber of hopelessness" and guided them to continue their hizmet—service to humanity for the sake of Allah—without expectation of reward.