Muhammed Fethullah Gülen

Muhammad Fethullah Gülen, a spiritual leader, intellectual, and author of more than 60 books, was born in Erzurum, Turkey, in 1941. A former imam and preacher, he developed an alternative teaching of Islam based on the sermons of the Sufis, Mevlana Rumi, and Said Nursi. In the 1990s, he engaged in dialogues with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope John Paul II as part of his initiatives for interfaith dialogue and tolerance. Since 1999, he has been residing permanently in Pennsylvania, USA. In 2008, he was ranked first in a joint poll by "Foreign Policy" (USA) and "Prospect" (UK) magazines for the 100 most significant intellectuals in the world ("Top 100 Global Thinkers"). In 2013, he was also included in "Time" magazine's list of the 100 most influential people ("World’s 100 Most Influential People for 2013").