How is identity gained or given in the Gülen Movement?
For the Gülen Movement identity is not something imposed by belonging and membership in a group; it is constructed by the individual in her or his capacity as a social actor. It is always in accord with social capacity. A feeling of relationship is formed at the level of the single individual, and awakens the enthusiasm and capacity of the individual for action. Through sociability people rediscover the self and the meaning of life.
The altruistic service urged by the Gülen Movement is this effort of human sociability and relationship. Therein lies the core of the distinctiveness of the Gülen Movement. It does not lead to a flight into a myth of identity. It does not draw an individual into an escapist illusion so that he or she is magically freed from the constraints of social action or behavior. It reaffirms the meaning of social action as the capacity for a consciously produced human existence and relationships.
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