The Nature and Role of Sufism in Contemporary Islam: A Case Study of the Life, Thought and Teachings of Fethullah Gülen

Abstract

The resurgence of Sufism in the contemporary world has necessitated reexamining the nature and role of Sufism in contemporary contexts. A series of the reexaminations reveal that contemporary Sufism cannot be fully explained by traditional theories; instead it must be understood in accordance with changing contexts. On this basis, this dissertation directs itself to an investigation of the contemporary manifestations of Sufism. It specifically examines Sufism in the life, thought and teachings of Fethullah Gülen (b. 1941), as its case study. Gülen is known to be one of the most influential contemporary Muslim leaders, and has led a fast-growing movement expanded to global proportions. Much of the research that has consequently followed the inception of the growth of the movement presents Gülen as one of the major figures in defining the contemporary global Islamic experience, and suggests that the studies of Gülen contribute to a better understanding of contemporary issues in Islamic studies including the resurgence and transformation of Sufism. Remarkably, almost all of the studies on Gülen and the Gülen movement underline the importance of further research on Gülen's approach to Sufism. Terms like 'quasi-Sufism' and 'neo-Sufism' are assigned to his thought, while such phrases as 'a Sufi order,' 'a Sufi-oriented movement' and 'a Nurcu branch in the Naqshbandiyya' are circulated to characterize his movement. However, this terminology has not been adequately examined by any extensive research to warrant its justification. This dissertation examines Gülen's view on Sufism in order to understand how Sufism manifests itself in contemporary contexts, addressing what Sufism means in the contemporary world. Viewing Sufism as a dynamic discipline interacting with given contextual conditions, I primarily argue that there are distinctive characteristics of Sufism that appeal to the contemporary world enough to allow Sufism to resurface; it is necessary to identify those characteristics to understand the nature and role of Sufism in contemporary Islam. Gülen's Sufism, as an outcome of its interaction with a contemporary context, provides a better understanding of the characteristics in a way that it represents one of the contemporary manifestations of Sufism.