In search of legitimacy : an exploration of the Gülen Movement's strategic engagements in the Western context

Abstract

This thesis analyses the strategic engagements of the Gülen Movement (GM) in the Western context. The GM is a Turkish-originated Islamic movement named after the controversial and charismatic Turkish Islamic scholar, activist and modern-day guru Fethullah Gülen. As one of the largest and most influential Islamic movements in Turkey, the GM has been the subject of a number of scholarly investigations, most of which have focused on the movement's agenda in Turkey and Central Asia. However, despite the fact that Gülen has been living in the US for over a decade and organisations associated with the movement have sprung up throughout the West, there has been little analysis of the movement's transnational engagements westwards: a lacuna this thesis seeks to redress.