GIVING PRECEDENCE TO COMMON POINTS: THE LIMITS OF THE OTHERNESS IN FETHULLAH GÜLEN’S DIALOGIC METHODOLOGY FOR INTERFAITH ENCOUNTERS
Authors: Vainovski-Mihai Irina 
Published: September 2022

This paper examines Fethullah Gülen’s teaching on interfaith encounters highlighting his dialogic methodology proposed for a globalised world in which Samuel Huntington’s idea of the ‘clash of civilisations’ (Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, 1997) is still prominent. This idea, concludes Gülen, stems from the lack of trust in the religion of the “Other” and, rather often than not, from easily passing over the common points. According to Gülen, dialogue is not a superfluous endeavour, but an imperative (“Dialogue is a must”) and it should start by “Giving precedence to common points”. Gülen holds that the tendency toward factionalism exists within human nature. A meaningful and nonetheless necessary goal, he says, should be to make this tendency non-threatening and even beneficial. To fully appreciate the significance of Gülen’s accomplishments, one must understand the perspec- tive from which he approaches the subject of interfaith dialogue. Based on his thinking as noted above, the purpose of this paper is to set out in some detail the way in which this re- nowned Islamic thinker limits the “domain” of the Otherness (Homi Bhabha, The Location of Culture, 2004; Nation and Narration, 1990) to make dialogue possible through overcom- ing both Orientalism (Edward Said, Orientalism, 1978) and Occidentalism (Ian Buruma and Avishai Margalit, Occidentalism: the West in the Eyes of its Enemies, 2004). Challenging the discourse of conflict and focusing on common points may be an important strategy when mutual suspicions are still prevalent and when the field of postcolonial studies stand witness to conflicting processes of refraction (Patricia Crone, Medieval Islamic Political Thought, 2005; Amin Maalouf, Les Croisades vues par les Arabes, 1986). Those who act according to what they have seen are not as successful as those who act according to what they know. Those who act according to what they know are not as successful as those who act according to their conscience. (Gülen 2005:106) This article aims to explore Fethullah Gülen’s teaching on interfaith encounters highlight- ing his dialogic methodology proposed to a globalized world in which models and theories of clashes are still prominent. These theories, concludes Gülen, stem from the lack of trust in the religion of the “Other” and, rather often than not, from easily passing over the com- mon points. According to Gülen, dialogue is not a superfluous endeavour, but an imperative (“Dialogue is a must”) and it should start by “Giving precedence to common points”. Gülen holds that the tendency toward factionalism exists within human nature. A meaningful and nonetheless necessary goal, he says, should be to make this tendency non-threatening and even beneficial. To fully appreciate the significance of Gülen’s accomplishments and the challenges he is facing, one must understand the perspective from which he approaches the subject of interfaith dialogue. Based on the above-mentioned landmarks of his viewpoints regarding the representation constructs, the purpose of my paper is to investigate the way in which this renowned Islamic thinker limits the “domain” of the Otherness or dilutes many of the apparently instituted boundaries. My paper starts from the assumption that recognizing the Other on common grounds is a prerequisite of dialogue. The first section of the essay focuses on conceptual frameworks of defining the “relevant” alterity (Orientalism, Balkanism, Occidentalism) and theories of con- flict (models of clashes, competing meta-narratives). The second section looks into identity markers expressed or implied by Sufi thinkers (Al-Ghazali, Rumi, Nursi). The third section discusses Gülen’s awareness with the Other and, consequently (as detailed in the fourth sec- tion) his identification of common grounds for dialogue. To achieve the aim of my study, throughout all the four sections, Gülen will be presented in a textual exchange of ideas with other thinkers and authors.