Joshua D. Hendrick
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814770986
- eISBN:
- 9780814760475
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814770986.003.0004
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Anthropology, Religion
This chapter focuses on M. Fethullah Gülen's charismatic leadership. It begins with an assessment of how Gülen was influenced by his predecessor, “Bediüzzaman” Said Nursi. It then presents Gülen from ...
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This chapter focuses on M. Fethullah Gülen's charismatic leadership. It begins with an assessment of how Gülen was influenced by his predecessor, “Bediüzzaman” Said Nursi. It then presents Gülen from the perspective of his students and his influence on the collective consciousness of the cemaat. It also considers the Gülen Movement's (GM) use of ambiguity as a mobilizing strategy in Turkey, along with the GM's relationship to the Nur Movement in Anatolia. It shows how strategic ambiguity allows GM followers to claim that Gülen is at once the reason, motivator, and instigator behind the GM's transnational efforts, and that he leads no one and manages nothing.Less
This chapter focuses on M. Fethullah Gülen's charismatic leadership. It begins with an assessment of how Gülen was influenced by his predecessor, “Bediüzzaman” Said Nursi. It then presents Gülen from the perspective of his students and his influence on the collective consciousness of the cemaat. It also considers the Gülen Movement's (GM) use of ambiguity as a mobilizing strategy in Turkey, along with the GM's relationship to the Nur Movement in Anatolia. It shows how strategic ambiguity allows GM followers to claim that Gülen is at once the reason, motivator, and instigator behind the GM's transnational efforts, and that he leads no one and manages nothing.
