Fethullah Gülen is a Turkish Islamic scholar well known for his teachings promoting mutual understanding and tolerance between cultures. Mr.Gulen was among the top of the list of “The World’s Top 20 Public Intellectuals” according to the magazines Foreign Policy and Prospect in 2008. Fethullah Gülen has written nearly 50 books and most of them translated into multiple languages. Mr.Gulen have inspired an international education movement that extends far beyond the borders of Turkey. Actively serving to communities in over 100 different countries, Gulen inspired schools synthesizes Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education with moral teaching very successfully.
Often establishing himself in opposition to the popular “clash of civilizations” thesis, Gulen perceives in globalization the potential for peaceful, even enlightening, co-existence, as members of different religious groups learn to look beyond disparate practices and acknowledge the shared ethical values that define their respective traditions. Gülen’s thoughts have been a model for the world’s people and that this model aims to bring up a generation whose members are bred with love, are hardworking, have moral values and are open to dialogue, regardless of their religion, race and color. The schools pioneered by Fethullah Gülen across the world provide distinguished STEM education.
By encouraging the instruction of universal ethical values, Gulen sidesteps the tension between religion and secularism in education, positing an educational model that acknowledges and even depends upon the diversity offered by globalization. Gulen’s educational model proposes a fully modern, scientific curriculum enriched by ethical teaching in order to facilitate the material and spiritual development of students in a multi-religious society.
Globalization has made more scientific knowledge available to more people than at any other point in time. However, in order for this knowledge to become a catalyst for peace rather than discord, Fethullah Gulen insists that STEM education must be accompanied by instruction in universal ethical values. These values, shared by the major world religions, form the foundation for Gulen’s characteristic teachings and offer an alternative to the compartmentalization of both STEM and religion perpetuated by modern educational practice.