The Gülen Movement: Between Turkey and international exile

This is a chapter introducing the Gülen Movement to a general scholarly readership, as part of a Handbook of Islamic Sects and Movements

The Sufi Mystical Idiom in Alevi Aşık Poetry: Flexibility, Adaptation and Meaning

The Alevi tradition in Turkey is characterized by a profoundly mystical religious worldview. Its poetic culture, aşıklık, is heavily influenced by the language and mystical motifs of Persian Sufism. Yet whilst the major precepts of Sufi theology and ritual practice undeniably constitute an important influence on Alevilik, there are areas of its mysticism that are uniquely Alevi. This paper explores the particularities of Alevi mysticism by analyzing the context and meaning of the Sufi poetic idiom in Alevi poetry. The subject is approached through an ethnographic study of the life and poetry of a contemporary Alevi aşık from Erzincan, called Ozan Seyfili, the span of whose life covers the past six decades. It concludes by considering the future prospects for Alevi mysticism as the community codifies and reformulates its traditions in the present day

The Gülen Movement in London and the politics of public engagement: producing 'Good Islam' before and after 15 July

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Politics, Religion and Ideology on 22nd March 2018, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/21567689.2018.1453269Since the failed coup of 15 July 2016, for which it is held responsible, the Gülen Movement (GM) has been in crisis. With no foreseeable future in its homeland, the GM is now tasked with regrouping abroad. This article investigates the GM in London, a city that, for various reasons, is likely to become a significant centre for Gülenist activity in the post-coup era. Taking the Dialogue Society (DS) as its focus, it investigates the prospects of the GM’s survival by analyzing its activities, both before and after the coup, in light of Mamdani’s discussion of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Muslims in the post9/11 world. The article shows how the GM has established itself as a voice of ‘good’ Islam in the context of British debates on Islam and radicalization. It suggests that the public presence the GM has established for itself through its public engagement activities in the UK could constitute a central part of its fight back against resident Erdoğan, and be catalytic to its creation of a dynamic future in exile

Said Nursi’s Notion of ‘Sacred Science’: Its Function and Application in Hizmet High School Education

This paper explores the teaching of natural science subjects in high schools associated with the Gülen-Hizmet movement in Turkey. It focuses on the apparent reconciliation of scientific learning in a pervasive, albeit unofficial, Sunni Islamic religious culture. The framework for such an accommodation is found in the teachings of Fethullah Gülen and his predecessor, Said Nursi. Following Nursi, Gülen encourages scientific pursuit, and intellectual knowledge in general, as a pious and spiritually meritorious act. Drawing on fieldwork conducted at two Hizmet-affiliated high schools in Turkey, this article explores the “sanctification” of science and learning in the Gülen Movement by highlighting the principle of fedakarlık (self-sacrifice), as the primary motivation of the teaching staff. Focusing also on the schools’ highly disciplined and competitive learning environments (as exemplified in preparations for the prestigious International Science Olympiads), the article suggests that although teacher commitment and prestigious competitive awards bolster the Hizmet schools’ market competitiveness, they fail in actually producing students who pursue careers in natural science fields. By contrast, this article concludes that the movement’s engagement with science, at least at present, is less interested in furthering scientific inquiry than it is in equipping what Gülen has called a ‘Golden Generation’ with the tools it needs to compete with secularist rivals in Turkey

Comparison of clinical baseline characteristics between Asian and Western COPD patients in a prospective, international, multicenter study

The study was designed and coordinated by the Respiratory Effectiveness Group (REG; www.effectivenessevaluation.org; Cambridge, UK) and delivered by Optimum Patient Care (OPC; www.optimumpatientcare.org). The following investigators participated in the study: Spain: Marc Miravitlles, Cristina Esquinas, Miriam Barrecheguren, Alexa Nuñez, Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron, Barcelona. Bernardino Alcazar, Hospital de Alta Resolución de Loja. Juan Luis García-Rivero, Karina Hueso, Hospital Comarcal de Laredo, Cantabria. Miguel Roman-Rodríguez, Primary Health-care Center Son Pisà. IB-Salut. Palma de Mallorca. Poland: Pawel Sliwinsk Sliwinski, Katarzyna Iwan, Jacek Kolakowski, Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, Warsaw. Korea: Chin Kook Rhee, Esther Ahn, St Mary’s Hospital. Seoul. Singapore: Jessica Tan, Therese Lapperre, Karen Tan Li Leng, Nicole Chia, Ong Thun How, Syifa Binte Shamsuddin, Sherine Lim Shu Gim, Yap Chwee Bee, Soh Rui Ya, Singapore General Hospital. Augustine Tee, Jun Jie Yan, Samuel Hong, William Tan, Jessica Tan, Changi General Hospital. UK: Victoria Carter, Latife Hardaker, Andrew McLaughlin, Optimum Patient Care, Cambridge. Malta: Caroline Gouder, Mater Dei Hospital. Ireland: Richard W Costello, Royal College of Surgeons. Dublin. The study was funded by an unrestricted grant from Novartis AG.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Evaluation of criteria for clinical control in a prospective, international, multicenter study of patients with COPD

BACKGROUND: The concept of clinical control in COPD has been developed to help in treatment decisions, but it requires validation in prospective studies. METHOD: This international, multicenter, prospective study aimed to validate the concept of control in COPD [control = stability (no exacerbations or impairment in CAT scores) + low impact (low level of symptoms)]. Data from the screening visit was used to: investigate the level of control, compare characteristics of patients according to the control status, and perform a sensitivity analysis of the levels of control using either clinical criteria or questionnaires (COPD Assessment Test -CAT- or Clinical COPD Questionnaire -CCQ-). RESULTS: A total of 314 patients were analysed, mean age was 68.5 years and mean FEV1 was 52.6% of predicted. According to the prespecified criteria 21% of patients were classified as controlled, all of them with mild/moderate COPD (Body mass index, Obstruction, Dyspnea and Exacerbations, -BODEx-index <5). A high level of dyspnea, a high CAT score or an exacerbation in the previous 3 months were found, using univariate analysis, to be the main reasons for patients not being classified as controlled. Multivariate analysis showed that female sex, chronic bronchitis and having exacerbations in the previous year were associated with uncontrolled COPD. Changing the severity cut off of BODEx from 5 to 3 did not change significantly the percentage of patients fulfilling the criteria of control. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed criteria of control were only fulfilled by 21% of patients. The suggested cut offs and their predictive value for poor outcomes need to be refined in prospective studies

Changes in control status of COPD over time and their consequences : A prospective international, study

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The study was designed and coordinated by the Respiratory Effectiveness Group (REG; www.effectivenessevaluation.org; Cambridge, UK) and delivered by Optimum Patient Care (OPC; www.optimumpatientcare.org). Funding: The study was funded by an unrestricted grant from Novartis AG.Peer reviewedPostprin

Predictive value of control of COPD for risk of exacerbations : An international, prospective study

Acknowledgements Collaborators/REG Investigators: Spain: Marc Miravitlles, Cristina Esquinas, Miriam Barrecheguren, Alexa Nuñez, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona. Bernardino Alcazar, Hospital de Alta Resolución de Loja. Juan Luis García‐Rivero, Karina Hueso, Hospital Comarcal de Laredo, Cantabria. Miguel Roman‐Rodríguez, Primary Health‐Care Center Son Pisà, IB‐Salut, Palma de Mallorca. Poland: Pawel Sliwinsk, Katarzyna Iwan, Jacek Kolakowski, Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, Warsaw. Korea: Chin Kook Rhee, Esther Ahn, St Mary's Hospital, Seoul. Singapore: Jessica Tan, Therese Laperre, Karen Tan Li Leng, Nicole Chia, Ong Thun How, Syifa Binte Shamsuddin, Sherine Lim Shu Gim, Yap Chwee Bee, Soh Rui Ya, Singapore General Hospital. Augustine Tee, Jun Jie Yan, Samuel Hong, William Tan, Changi General Hospital. UK: Victoria Carter, Latife Hardaker, Andrew McLaughlin, Optimum Patient Care, Cambridge. Malta: Caroline Gouder, Mater Dei Hospital. Ireland: Richard W Costello, Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin. The study was funded by an unrestricted grant from Novartis AG. The study was designed and coordinated by the Respiratory Effectiveness Group (REG; www.effectivenessevaluation.org; Cambridge, UK) and delivered by Optimum Patient Care (OPC; www.optimumpatientcare.org).Peer reviewedPostprin

Fine-mapping identifies multiple prostate cancer risk loci at 5p15, one of which associates with TERT expression

Associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at 5p15 and multiple cancer types have been reported. We have previously shown evidence for a strong association between prostate cancer (PrCa) risk and rs2242652 at 5p15, intronic in the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene that encodes TERT. To comprehensively evaluate the association between genetic variation across this region and PrCa, we performed a fine-mapping analysis by genotyping 134 SNPs using a custom Illumina iSelect array or Sequenom MassArray iPlex, followed by imputation of 1094 SNPs in 22 301 PrCa cases and 22 320 controls in The PRACTICAL consortium. Multiple stepwise logistic regression analysis identified four signals in the promoter or intronic regions of TERT that independently associated with PrCa risk. Gene expression analysis of normal prostate tissue showed evidence that SNPs within one of these regions also associated with TERT expression, providing a potential mechanism for predisposition to disease