25 February 2019, Mumbai: The launch of For the Sake of Allah: The Origin, Development And Discourse of The Gulen Movement by Anwar Aalam was organised by CSSS and Indialogue Foundation, on 25 February 2019 at. It featured a panel discussion on the book, with Prof. Nasreen, Prof. Ranu Jain, and Hasan Kamal as panelists, and Irfan Engineer as the moderator.
The book revolves round modern understanding of Islam and, specifically, the Gulen Movement. The panelists at the book launch spoke on how book is the culmination of ten years of research by Mr. Aalam on the Gulen Movement. He spent around five years in Turkey, interviewed around 70 people and analysed the effects of the movement via them. They discussed how the book highlighted all the aspects of the movement and did not glorify it.
The panelists noted that the author did not want to categorize the movement into any kind of ‘ism’, as Fethullah Gulen believed all kind of isms creates the distinguishing between us and them. The book kept a lot of people thinking about the Gulen Movement’s effects in India, but hardly any conclusion was derived. This book would help Indians to have a better understanding of Islam and its teachings.
Mr. Anwar Aalam visited Turkey without any great understanding or intention to know the movement but it changed his life. He says, “This is the accidental book of my life.”
Prerna Laddha is the Program Officer, One Future Fellowship at One Future Collective.