meetings with high government officials in Tur-
key and was instrumental in the establishment of
the Journalists and Writers Foundation in 1994.
He also gained the attention of the international
media due to his involvement in Turkish politics
and his endorsement of democracy, pluralism,
and interreligious dialogUe. His outreach to other
religious communities is evident in the meet-
ings he has held with leading representatives of
Turkey’s Jewish and Christian communities and
his audience with Pope John Paul II in 1998. He is
credited with having written more than 60 books,
mostly in Turkish, published frequent journal and
magazine articles, and recorded many audio and
video cassettes.
Gülen has performed the haJJ several times
since his first visit to mecca in 1968. He has also
visited Europe and the United states, where he
has lived since 1999. He receives medical care
there but continues to serve as an inspiration for
his followers in Turkey and around the world. He
has taken a strong stand against radical islamism.
In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001,
attacks in the United States, he issued a statement
to the media declaring, “Terror can never be used
in the name of Islam or for the sake of any Islamic
ends. A Muslim can only be the representative and
symbol of peace, welfare, and prosperity” (Gülen,
2002).
The Gülen movement (also known as the
Fethullahcilar) has achieved remarkable advances
since the 1990s. It has established 250 schools in
Turkey, southeastern Europe, Turkic parts of Cen-
tral Asia, and other parts of the world. The curri-
cula of the movement’s schools, which enroll large
numbers of children from rural and working-class
backgrounds, emphasize a progressive attitude to
modernity and religion with the objective of mak-
ing the world a better place for all. In 1997, the
movement opened Fatih University, a private uni-
versity on the outskirts of istanbUl, which has fac-
ulties in the humanities, social sciences, business,
sciences, engineering, and vocational studies. A
branch in Ankara, Turkey’s capital, has schools
of medicine, nursing, and vocational studies. The
movement’s members have opened centers in
several American cities, where they conduct inter-
faith activities, lectures, conferences, and Turkish
cultural programs. Many of the movement’s male
members, who call each other “brother” (abi), are
involved in international education, business, and
professional careers. Women in the movement,
who typically wear headscarves, are well educated
and play visible and active roles in community
life. It also operates Zaman (Time), a leading
Turkish newspaper, and a satellite television sta-
tion that produces educational and entertainment
programming in Turkish that reflects Gülen’s reli-
gious and ethical ideals.
See also da awa; reneWal and reForm move-
ments; secUlarism.Further reading: Bulent Aras and Omer Caha, “Fethul-
lah Gülen and His Liberal ‘Turkish Islam’ Movement,”
Middle East Review of International Affairs 4, no. 4
(2000): 30–42; Mucahit Bilici, “The Fethullah Gülen
Movement and Its Politics of Representation in Turkey,”
Muslim World 96, no. 1 (2006): 1–20; Fethullah Gülen,
Essays, Perspectives, Opinions. Rev. ed. (Somerset, N.J.:
The Light, 2004); ———, The Statue of Our Souls:
Revival in Islamic Thought and Activism. Translated by
Muhammad Çetin (Somerset, N.J.: The Light, 2005);
M. Hakan Yavuz and John L. Esposito, eds., Turkish
Islam and the Secular State: The Gülen Movement (Syra-
cuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 2003).Gulf States
The Persian Gulf (also called the Arabian Gulf,
especially by Arabs) is a strategic body of water
about 93,000 square miles in area (slightly less
than the size of Oregon) separating the Ara-
bian Peninsula from iran. Its northwestern shore
receives the outflow from the Tigris and Euphra-
tes Rivers, and it opens to the Indian Ocean at the
Strait of Hormuz, located 615 miles to the south-
east. The gulf is surrounded by eight countries—
Iran, iraq, saUdi arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar,Gulf States 269 J