Editing Fethullah Gulen (section)

== Personal Life:==
Born in Korucuk, near Erzurum, Turkey, on April 27, 1941 (state documents confirm this date, though some early accounts cite November 10, 1938, possibly for political symbolism tied to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s death). Gülen was born to Ramiz, an imam, and Refia, a Qur’an teacher, in a conservative, Sufi-influenced community.

Gülen completed primary school but was unable to pursue formal secondary education due to his family’s relocation. He received informal religious education from his parents and local scholars, mastering Arabic and Qur’anic recitation. Influenced by Said Nursi’s Nur movement, which reconciled Islam with modernity, Gülen studied works by Nursi, Sufi poets, and Western thinkers like Kant, Shakespeare, and Sartre through self-education.

Gülen never married and lived a reclusive life in Pennsylvania, focusing on spiritual and intellectual pursuits. He authored numerous books, including Key Concepts in the Practice of Sufism and Toward a Global Civilization of Love and Tolerance.  Gülen died on October 20, 2024, at age 83 in a U.S. hospital, likely from complications related to heart and kidney failure. His death was announced by Herkul, a website run by his followers.