Textbook The Gulen Movement Transformative Social Change 1St Edition Salih Cingillioglu Auth Ebook All Chapter PDF

The Gülen Movement: Transformative
Social Change 1st Edition Salih

C■ng■ll■o■lu (Auth.)
Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://textbookfull.com/product/the-gulen-movement-transformative-social-change-1s
t-edition-salih-cingillioglu-auth/
More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...
Development Humanitarian Aid and Social Welfare Social

Change from the Inside Out Cornelia C. Walther
https://textbookfull.com/product/development-humanitarian-aid-
and-social-welfare-social-change-from-the-inside-out-cornelia-c-
walther/
Holistic engagement : transformative social work

education in the 21st century 1st Edition Adam
https://textbookfull.com/product/holistic-engagement-
transformative-social-work-education-in-the-21st-century-1st-
edition-adam/
Technology, Social Change And Human Behavior: Influence

For Impact Cornelia C. Walther
https://textbookfull.com/product/technology-social-change-and-
human-behavior-influence-for-impact-cornelia-c-walther/
What is a Social Movement 1st Edition Hank Johnston
https://textbookfull.com/product/what-is-a-social-movement-1st-
edition-hank-johnston/
The Quotable Jung C. G. Jung
https://textbookfull.com/product/the-quotable-jung-c-g-jung/
Let s Get Back To The Party 1st Edition Zak Salih
https://textbookfull.com/product/let-s-get-back-to-the-party-1st-
edition-zak-salih/
Expressive Arts for Social Work and Social Change 1st

Edition Tuula Heinonen
https://textbookfull.com/product/expressive-arts-for-social-work-
and-social-change-1st-edition-tuula-heinonen/
Activism, Change and Sectarianism in the Free Patriotic

Movement in Lebanon Joseph P. Helou
https://textbookfull.com/product/activism-change-and-
sectarianism-in-the-free-patriotic-movement-in-lebanon-joseph-p-
helou/
The transformative humanities a manifesto 1st Edition

Mikhail Epstein
https://textbookfull.com/product/the-transformative-humanities-a-
manifesto-1st-edition-mikhail-epstein/
THE GÜLEN MOVEMENT
Transformative Social Change
MET SALIH CINGILLIOĞLU
Middle East
Today
Middle East Today
Series Editors
Fawaz A. Gerges
Department of International Relations
London School of Economics
London, United Kingdom
Nader Hashemi
Center for Middle East Studies
University of Denver
Highlands Ranch, Colorado, USA
The Iranian Revolution of 1979, the Iran-Iraq War, the Gulf War, and the
US invasion and occupation of Iraq have dramatically altered the geopo-
litical landscape of the contemporary Middle East. The Arab Spring upris-
ings have complicated this picture. This series puts forward a critical body
of first-rate scholarship that reflects the current political and social reali-
ties of the region, focusing on original research about contentious politics
and social movements; political institutions; the role played by non-
governmental organizations such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Muslim
Brotherhood; and the Israeli-Palestine conflict. Other themes of interest
include Iran and Turkey as emerging pre-eminent powers in the region,
the former an ‘Islamic Republic’ and the latter an emerging democracy
currently governed by a party with Islamic roots; the Gulf monarchies,
their petrol economies and regional ambitions; potential problems of
nuclear proliferation in the region; and the challenges confronting the
United States, Europe, and the United Nations in the greater Middle
East. The focus of the series is on general topics such as social turmoil, war
and revolution, international relations, occupation, radicalism, democracy,
human rights, and Islam as a political force in the context of the modern
Middle East.
More information about this series at

http://www.springer.com/series/14803
Salih Cıngıllıoğlu
The Gülen Movement

Transformative Social Change
Salih Cıngıllıoğlu
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Middle East Today

ISBN 978-3-319-50504-6 ISBN 978-3-319-50505-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-50505-3
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017933965
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of
translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on
microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval,
electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now
known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are
exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information
in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the pub-
lisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the
material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The
publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institu-
tional affiliations.
Cover illustration: gulfimages / Alamy Stock Photo

Cover design by Jenny Vong
Printed on acid-free paper
This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature

The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
This book is dedicated to the precious memory of the person whom I would
most like to see it:
My beloved late brother,
Mustafa Cıngıllıoğlu
Acknowledgments
The completion of this book has not been easy and owes many thanks to
a number of people. I would like to start by thanking all my teachers and
professors in my educational life so far. I fully appreciate their holy efforts
and am aware that I would not be where I am now if it were not for them.
I would also like to express my gratitude to my friends, colleagues,
and students who contributed to my work with their valuable comments,
suggestions, and initiatives, and always encouraged me at times I needed
their support.
The publication of this book owes many thanks to a number of people
who offered great assistance at all levels during the process at Palgrave
Macmillan and Springer.
Finally, I would like to thank my family for their unending support to
keep me motivated and strong to complete this book. I hope they will
forgive me for all the time I have stolen from them during my research.
vii
Contents
1 Introduction 1
2 The Research and the Researcher 11
3 Social Movements, the Gülen Movement, and

Transformative Adult Education 39
4 The Participants of the Gülen Movement: First

Encounters, Reasons, Significance, and Self-Positioning 87
5 Sohbets as Adult Education 111
6 Transformative Aspects of Sohbets 179
7 Discussion and Reflections 199
Appendix 263
Index 269
ix
List of Tables
Table A.1 Distribution of businessmen participants according to

age groups 263
Table A.2 Distribution of sohbet hocaları participants according to
age groups 263
marital status 264
marital status 264
level of education 264
level of education 264
field of university education 265
field of university education 265
occupation265
occupation266
number of children 266
number of children 266
socioeconomic status 266
xi
xii List of Tables

socioeconomic status 267
years in the Gülen Movement 267
years in the Gülen Movement 267
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
The Background
The sequential, or non-sequential, and formally or non-formally orga-
nized activities of persons who no longer attend school on a regular and
full-time basis but still intend to bring about changes in their informa-
tion, knowledge, understanding, skills, appreciation, and attitudes are
defined as adult education (Knowles 1980). According to Darkenwald
and Merriam (1982), adult education is a process in which participants
whose main social roles are characteristics of adult status receive systematic
and continued learning activities for the purpose of developmental change
in knowledge, attitudes, values, or skills. Emphasizing the social dimen-
sion of adult education, Jarvis (2004) recognizes it as the liberal education
undertaken by people who are regarded as adults.
One significant goal of adult education is social transformation. A radi-
cal social change is advocated through adult education, which is consid-
ered an important means to carry values that are to be acquired by the
learners. At this point, some radical theorists place great importance on
the role of adult education in bringing about social change (Darkenwald
and Merriam 1982).
Explaining how adult education may lead to a social change, Mezirow
(2000) refers to transformative learning which involves a transformation
in the taken-for-granted frames of reference of adult learners, such as
meaning perspectives, habits of mind, and mind-sets, so that they become
“more inclusive, discriminating, open, emotionally capable of change,
© The Author(s) 2017 1

S. Cıngıllıoğlu, The Gülen Movement,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-50505-3_1
2 S. CINGILLIOĞLU
and reflective,” which then enables them to “generate beliefs and opin-
ions that will prove more true or justified to guide action” (p. 8). Taylor
(2008) emphasizes the social change function of adult education, from
the perspective of transformative learning, and refers to Brazilian educa-
tor Paulo Freire, who considers transformation at both the individual and
social levels inseparable.
According to Merriam and Bierema (2014), community offers a con-
ducive site for transformative learning to take place. They point out that
community activists and social activists, especially, undergo perspective
transformations with the collective intention of effecting a change in
the larger sociopolitical context. English and Mayo (2012), by provid-
ing examples from various social movements, state that participants in
social movements learn through the process by viewing films, listening to
lectures, surfing on the Internet, participating in teamwork, protesting,
organizing, and educating others. In explaining the nature of education in
social movements, Holst (2002) mentions that there is considerable edu-
cational activity internal to social movements, and through these activities,
“organizational skills, ideology, and lifestyle choices” are transmitted from
one participant to another informally by “mentoring and modeling” or
formally by “workshops, seminars, and lectures” (p. 81).
To explore the implications of adult education in social movements,
this book focuses on the Gülen Movement, which is the largest and most
influential Islamic group in Turkey and the most widely recognized one
internationally (Turam 2007). According to Esposito and Yılmaz (2010),
it is the largest civil movement in the country [Turkey] and “… the
actual number of Hizmet’s millions of followers and sympathizers is not
exactly known” (p. 92). Arat (2010) mentions that the group (the Gülen
Movement) provides education and boarding services to around 25,000
students in about 200 high schools, about 400 exam preparation courses
and dormitories, as well as “generous scholarships to needy students”
in Turkey (p. 877). Pointing to its global extension, El-Benna (2014)
emphasizes that the movement has now become “a worldwide network of
community service organizations, businesses, and educational, publishing
and media institutions functioning in more than one hundred countries”
(p. 2). Çetin (2012) also describes the Gülen Movement as a “transna-
tional educational, inter-cultural and interfaith movement, with partici-
pants numbering in the millions, as well as securely established, respected
institutions on every continent” (p. xv).
INTRODUCTION 3
Ebaugh (2010) highlights the recent media attention to the Gülen

Movement, referring to several articles in Forbes’ Oxford Analytica, the
New York Times, Le Monde, the International Herald Tribune, the Forbes,
and the Economist, which wrote about the ability of movement to mobi-
lize considerable resources, its moderate and flexible vision of Islam, the
achievements of schools opened by various countries in the world, its phil-
anthropic efforts in the poor regions, and its attempt to further dialogue
among cultures. In 2008, Fethullah Gülen won the online poll of Prospect
and Foreign Policy magazines for the world’s most influential public
intellectual, although Ebaugh (2010) relates the landslide victory to the
votes cast by his supporters to whom news about the poll was distributed
through the media affiliated with the Gülen Movement.
The rise of the Gülen Movement hinges upon the global and national
developments of the last century. It is stated by Norris and Inglehart
(2004) in the opening part of the secularization debate in their book
Sacred and Secular, which carries out a comparative research on religion
and politics worldwide, that the seminal social thinkers of the nineteenth
century, namely, Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim, Max
Weber, Karl Marx, and Sigmund Freud, all believed that religion would
gradually fade in importance and cease to be significant with the advent
of industrial society. Posing the question whether the world is becoming
more secular or not, Fox (2008) further adds to this statement that even
though there might be some disagreement among the aforementioned
thinkers as to the specifics of this reduced role of religion, they all con-
curred that processes within modernity would cause the religion to fade.
Put differently, the secularization theory considered religion a traditional
phenomenon, which would eventually be marginalized by the moderniza-
tion process through industrialization, urbanization, and mass education
(Bruce 2002).
However, during the last decade the secularization thesis has experi-
enced the most sustained challenge in its long history, witnessing that reli-
gion has not disappeared and is not likely to do so. Norris and Inglehart
(2004) point to multiple indicators of religious vitality, namely, the con-
tinued popularity of churchgoing in the United States, the emergence of
New Age spirituality in Western Europe, and the growth in fundamentalist
movements and religious parties in the Muslim world. Stark and Finke
(2000) take an even fiercer and sustained critique and suggest that it is
time to bury the secularization thesis.
4 S. CINGILLIOĞLU
The situation in modern Turkey clearly does not pose an exception to the
worldwide revival of religion in the social strata and state policies. Contrary
to expectations of modernization theory, in the Turkish case, seculariza-
tion also recast and inadvertently revitalized the very religious and cultural
idioms and identities it was supposed to have eliminated (Tuğal 2009;
Yavuz 2003). Although the state policy of Turkish state toward religion
was based on the legacy of Mustafa Kemal’s radical secularizing reforms
of the 1920s and 1930s, such as the amendment to the constitution of
1924 excluding the statement that the religion of the Turkish Republic
was Islam in 1928, which eventually led to the addition of the principle of
secularism to the constitution in 1937, later developments have progres-
sively increased the engagements between Islam and the Turkish state.
Yavuz (2003) at this point draws attention to the failure of the secular-
izing, state-centric elite in penetrating and transforming the traditional
society. Indeed, they were unsuccessful in developing an alternative value
system and associational life for the rural population of the country. These
failures inevitably raised previously muted social questions of identity, jus-
tice, and participation. Eventually, and not surprisingly, in the post-1982
era of burgeoning economic and political liberalism, the socioeconomic
policies of the Republican elite contributed to the political participation
of hitherto excluded social groups (Yavuz 2003). Equally important, the
state’s increasing tolerance of Islam in the 1980s, which was indeed largely
encouraged by the Turkish prime minister of that time, Turgut Özal, also
set a conducive platform for Islamic actors to step forward and seek legiti-
macy for their existence and actions, by weakening the monopoly of state
on economic and sociocultural life (Kuru 2009). Turam (2007) states in
her book Between Islam and State that Islamic actors in Turkey, who were
mostly educated, socially conscious, and faithful Muslims, found economic,
social, and political conditions favorable for the articulation of their needs
and interests in a fast-growing free market economy and civil society. They
formed their own associations, media outlets, including television stations,
radio stations, and newspapers, as well as corporations and hospitals. Most
importantly, they even dedicated themselves to raising faithful and morally
superior future generations, who would also be internationally competitive
in science business and technology. The Gülen Movement, for example,
opened schools and universities inside and outside of Turkey, whereas
other Islamic actors persisted in forming and joining successive Islamic
parties even each time their existing parties were banned by the Turkish
state. Still many others started prayer groups, religious organizations, and
INTRODUCTION 5
foundations. In brief, during this period Turkey has seen Islamic networks
and activities mushroom (Turam 2007).
Yavuz (2013) emphasizes that one of the most significant character-
istics of the Gülen Movement is its “deep involvement in the economic
development of Turkey” (p. 117). A significant call to Anatolian Muslims
by Fethullah Gülen is that they should “bring their wealth to establish
powerful firms so that they could compete in the world market” (p. 119).
Responding to the call, the young Islamic entrepreneurs of Turkey’s 1990s
utilized Prime Minister Özal’s neoliberal economic policies, as mentioned
earlier, which triggered their social mobility and enabled them to establish
their own medium- and small-sized firms. Ebaugh (2010) mentions that
the majority of these businessmen were influenced by Gülen’s perspectives
on “entrepreneurialism and wealth accumulation,” and assumed “a social
and religious responsibility” to sponsor the Gülen Movement–affiliated
projects such as opening educational institutions that offer quality educa-
tion (p. 36). Yavuz (2013) maintains that this new bourgeoisie supported
“the pietistic activism of Gülen” and became the main supporters of the
Gülen Movement (p. 120). They are inspired by Gülen to work and earn
money so that they can participate in religiously oriented communal activ-
ities of the Gülen Movement with “selfless diligence” (p. 121).
Placing these businessmen within the structure of the Gülen Movement,
Yavuz (2013) mentions that the Gülen Movement consists of three con-
centric circles, in the core of which are a group of believers who lead the
activities in a spirit of full and unconditional loyalty to the movement. The
second circle of people is comprised of small- and medium-sized mer-
chants, and businesspeople who support the Gülen Movement’s religio-
national goals by assuming responsibility in the board of trustees of the
movement’s numerous foundations, by directly and indirectly participat-
ing in the production of good deeds and work through charity gather-
ings. They also generate financial income for the activities of the Gülen
Movement in their region via fundraisings attended by local volunteers.
Ebaugh (2010), in her study that focused on people’s commitment to
the goals and projects of the Gülen Movement and the factors that moti-
vate people to donate money, as well as the source of the money, attributes
the credit of successful Gülen-inspired projects of the Gülen Movement to
the numerous local circles of businessmen. According to Ebaugh (2010),
these local circles, known as sohbet1 (conversation among people) groups,
have “no formal membership, no initiation rites, no public insignia, or no
recognition of membership” and do not require “any building to convene
6 S. CINGILLIOĞLU
the group” (p. 47). The attendees of these sohbets read Qur’anic commen-
taries and literature on prophetic tradition by Muslim scholars, share ideas
and needs of the people in the group, and discuss the Gülen Movement
projects that the group intends to sponsor financially.
Given that the merchants and businessmen are introduced to the goals
of the Gülen Movement through local circles, or sohbets, they attend and
develop a sense of commitment to the ideals of the Gülen Movement
to create a better humane society, and given that the Gülen Movement
focuses on “the spiritual and intellectual consciousness of the individual,
seeking to form an inner self that will empower the person to effect change
in society,” it can be argued that these local circles serve as the settings
where merchants and businessmen undergo a transformation in their
worldviews (Ebaugh 2010, p. 45).
Indeed, transformation in the perspective of the individual which in
turn leads to a societal transformation falls under the scope of adult edu-
cation, in the abovementioned case of businessmen. Moreover, it is well
established by research that social movements are conducive contexts
where adult education takes place.
Guiding Questions
The research on which this book is based explores the implications of
adult education in social movements. It takes the Gülen Movement as its
case. The research has examined the sohbets of the Gülen Movement from
two perspectives, namely, the educational aspects of the sohbets and the
transformation that the businessmen go through as a result of attending
to the sohbets, with regard to adult education. The study has also aimed to
contextualize sohbets of the Gülen Movement as a practice of adult educa-
tion within a social movement.
The research has addressed the following questions:
1. Why and how adults participate in the Gülen Movement, and what
level of significance do they attribute to it?
2. What are the educational aspects of the sohbets of the Gülen Movement
attended by businessmen, with regard to adult education?
3. What are the transformations in the personal and social lives of busi-
nessmen who attend to the sohbets of the Gülen Movement, with
regard to transformative aspect of adult education?
INTRODUCTION 7
What Makes This Research Significant?

The major significance of this research is that it explores the implemen-
tation of adult education in social movements, which in this case is an
Islamic social movement, the Gülen Movement. The research not only
delves into social movements as a subject matter of sociology but also
examines the role of adult education in the individual and social trans-
formation that takes place through a social movement. In this sense, the
research becomes an interdisciplinary one.
Moreover, the Gülen Movement has been under the focus of the
researchers for more than 20 years since its first public visibility through
the establishment of Journalists and Writers Foundation in 1992. Among
the studies that have been conducted so far, excluding those that are still
in progress and those that may not have been accessed by the researcher,
none of them has examined the Gülen Movement and its sohbets from the
perspective of adult education; rather, they have been the studies done in
the field of sociology, political science, and theology. Although there have
been some studies conducted in the education departments of various
universities, they all focused on the educational institutions affiliated with
the Gülen Movement and examined the educational policy of the Gülen
Movement regarding formal education. Having taken all these into con-
sideration, this study is the first and unique one that examines the Gülen
Movement from the perspective of adult education and considers its func-
tion to create a social change in turn.
Furthermore, many books and studies on the Gülen Movement
point to the commitment and loyalty of the participants of the Gülen
Movement through the sacrifices and initiatives they have made and
taken. To illustrate those of businessmen, Ebaugh (2010) states that
businessmen in the various sohbet groups donate from 5% to 20% of
their yearly income, let alone few others who donate more than 20%.
The total amount of the sponsorship for the worldwide projects of the
Gülen Movement is estimated to reach tens of millions of dollars (Çetin
2012; Ergil 2012; Ebaugh 2010). What makes then these businessmen
donate a certain amount of their income after joining the local circles,
or sohbets, of the Gülen Movement? This research seeks an answer to this
and similar questions by exploring the educational and transformational
aspects of sohbets for the businessmen attending, with regard to adult
education.
8 S. CINGILLIOĞLU
Overview of the Book

The structure of the book is as follows: Chap. 1 discusses the methods
and procedures undertaken during the research. It explains the research
approach, poses the research questions, explores the design of the study, and
documents the challenges in conducting the research. Chapter 2 focuses
on the review of literature by (1) discussing what a social movement is and
why and how people participate in social movements; (2) presenting the
global and national context in which Islamic social movements emerge
and the chronology of Turkish Islamic social movements by providing
details about the prominent ones; (3) exploring the Gülen Movement in
terms of its leader Fethullah Gülen, its ideology, its perspectives on educa-
tion, its discourse and criticisms over it; (4) presenting the aims, objec-
tives, and principles of adult education and discussing the significance of
transformative adult education to social movements; and (5) making a
conceptual synthesis of adult education, social movements, and the Gülen
Movement. The chapter concludes with the conceptual framework used in
the research. The third, fourth, and fifth chapters present the findings of
the research, based on all 26 participants, using a thematic and analytical
approach. Specifically, Chap. 3 analyzes the findings concerning how the
participants were recruited to the Gülen Movement, the reasons why they
participated in it, what the significance of the Gülen Movement is to them,
and how they position themselves in the Gülen Movement. Chapter 4
presents the findings pertaining to the educational aspects of the sohbets of
the Gülen Movement. Chapter 5 presents the findings related to the con-
tributions of sohbets to the participants, their families and friends, and their
business lives. The book concludes with a final chapter, which discusses
and interprets the findings, makes criticisms over them, reflects on the
global and scientific implications of the findings, and makes recommenda-
tions for adult educators, social movements, and researchers.
Note
1. The Turkish word sohbet literally means conversation among people.
Nevertheless, it has another connotation in the Islamic jargon,
which means religious, or spiritual, conversation. A detailed expla-
nation of sohbet as a discourse of the Gülen Movement can be found
in Chap. 2.
INTRODUCTION 9
References
Arat, Y. (2010). Women’s rights and Islam in Turkish politics: The civil code
amendment. The Middle East Journal, 64(2), 235–251. doi:10.3751/64.2.14.
Bruce, S. (2002). God is dead: Secularization in the West (Religion in the modern
world) (1st ed.). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Çetin, M. (2012). The Gülen Movement: Civic service without borders. New York:
Blue Dome Press.
Darkenwald, G. G., & Merriam, S. B. (1982). Adult education: Foundations of
practice. New York: Harper and Row.
Ebaugh, H. R. (2010). The Gülen movement: A sociological analysis of a civic move-
ment rooted in moderate Islam. Dordrecht: Springer.
El-Banna, S. (2014). Resource mobilization in Gülen-inspired Hizmet: A new type
of social movement. New York: Blue Dome Press.
English, L. M., & Mayo, P. (2012). Learning with adults: A critical pedagogical
introduction. Rotterdam: Sense.
Ergil, D. (2012). Fethullah Gülen & the Gülen movement in 100 questions. New
York: Blue Dome Press.
Esposito, J. L., & Yilmaz, I. (2010). Islam and peacebuilding: Gülen movement
initiatives. New York: Blue Dome Press.
Fox, J. (2008). A world survey of religion and the state. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Holst, J. D. (2002). Social movements, civil society and radical adult education.
London: Bergin & Garvey.
Jarvis, P. (2004). Adult education and lifelong learning: Theory and practice
(3rd ed.). London: Routledge Falmer.
Knowles, M. S. (1980). The modern practice of adult education: From pedagogy to
andragogy. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall/Cambridge.
Kuru, A. T. (2009). Secularism and state policies toward religion: The United States,
France, and Turkey. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Merriam, S. B., & Bierema, L. L. (2014). Adult learning: Linking theory and
practice (1st ed.). San Francisco: Wiley.
Mezirow, J. (2000). Learning as transformation: Critical perspectives on a theory in
progress. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Norris, P., & Inglehart, R. F. (2004). Sacred and secular: Religion and politics
worldwide. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Stark, R., & Finke, R. (2000). Acts of faith: Explaining the human side of religion
(1st ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press.
Taylor, E. W. (2008). Transformative learning theory. New Directions for Adult
and Continuing Education, 2008(119), 5–15. doi:10.1002/ace.301.
Tuğal, C. (2009). Passive revolution: Absorbing the Islamic challenge to capitalism.
Stanford: Stanford University Press.
10 S. CINGILLIOĞLU
Turam, B. (2007). Between Islam and the state: The politics of engagement. Stanford:
Stanford University Press.
Yavuz, H. M. (2003). Islamic political identity in Turkey (Religion and global
politics) (1st ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
Yavuz, H. M. (2013). Towards an Islamic enlightenment: The Gülen movement.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
CHAPTER 2
The Research and the Researcher
This book is based on the research I conducted in 2015 in Turkey for my

doctoral dissertation, “Adult Education in Social Movements: The Gülen
Movement” (Cıngıllıoğlu 2015), when I was a PhD candidate at Boğaziçi
̇
University in Istanbul, Turkey. This chapter provides a brief overview
about the research and the researcher, including the methods and proce-
dures undertaken during the research. Comprehensive and detailed infor-
mation about the research approach in terms of the theoretical perspective
and strategy of inquiry that guides the dissertation, as well as how the
data were collected, recorded, and analyzed can be found in my doctoral
dissertation.
Who Was the Researcher?

I have always been a conservative, or religious, person throughout my
life. The primary source of religiosity in my life was undoubtedly the envi-
ronment where I was raised. My parents and grandparents were deeply
religious people and they were the primary people who were influential
in shaping my worldview during my childhood. By using the adjective
“deeply religious,” I do not mean they were lost in spirituality and left
the entire material world behind. What I mean by “deeply religious” is
that my family believed strongly in Islam and obeyed its rules carefully.
Observing them practice Islam and the availability of Islamic literature
at my convenient reach enabled me to learn a lot about Islam. However,
© The Author(s) 2017 11

S. Cıngıllıoğlu, The Gülen Movement,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-50505-3_2
my parents did not force me to learn about the rules of religion and to
observe those rules in my life; rather, I was a keen observer and an avid
reader—I had learned how to read a couple of years before I started pri-
mary school—and therefore I was able to develop my religious knowl-
edge, and above all, the practice of religion in my private life has always
stayed between me and God. To be more specific, I was never criticized or
forced by my family to practice Islam, except for parental advice especially
by my mother several times.
My first encounters with Islamic social movements were when I was
at high school. During those years, I read books by Islamic scholars on
various subjects such as interpretations of the Holy Quran, hadiths of the
Prophet, political Islam, and education. I even took private courses to
learn Arabic in order to be able to better understand the Islamic literature
I was reading. It was during these years that I chanced upon the Gülen
Movement literature and read Risale-i Nur (see Chap. 3 for more details
about the compilation of books and its author) by Bediuzzaman Said
Nursi extensively. I also listened to the lectures preached by Fethullah
Gülen and read some of his books and articles. My interest in the Gülen
Movement continued when I moved from my hometown to a metropol-
itan city for university education. While I was studying at the Faculty of
Education, I made many friends, among whom there were participants
of the Gülen Movement. I was occasionally invited by them to some
sohbets (spiritual conversations) or programs such as conferences, trips
to nearby cities, or club activities. During these interactions, I had the
opportunity to observe who the participants of the Gülen Movement
were and what they were doing. Upon my graduation, I searched for
a teaching position at privately founded universities and accepted the
offer from a university affiliated with the Gülen Movement. I worked at
this position for five years until I had to leave for military service, which
was then, and still now, compulsory for male Turkish citizens after a
certain age. During these five years at the university affiliated with the
Gülen Movement, I met many participants of the Gülen Movement and
had valuable intellectual exchanges with them, but I should also men-
tion that there were other academicians at the university who were not
participants of the Gülen Movement and with whom I also made good
friends. After returning from compulsory military service 16 years ago,
I accepted the post of director of studies at a private educational insti-
tution and later founded my own adult education institution and have
managed it since then.
THE RESEARCH AND THE RESEARCHER 13
What Was the Research About?

The research analyzed the perceptions of businessmen and sohbet hocaları1
to explore how businessmen who participated in the sohbets of the Gülen
Movement were educated in these sohbets and how they were transformed
as a result of this education.
Which Research Approach

Did the Researcher Employ?
The research was an exploratory qualitative research. Having evaluated
the strong and weak sides of qualitative and quantitative research design,
I came to the conclusion that a qualitative paradigm would be a better
choice because an in-depth qualitative research would enable me
1. to explore the reasons why businessmen attended the sohbets of the

Gülen Movement;
2. to explore the educational aspects of the sohbets of the Gülen
Movement;
3. to explore the transformations participants of the sohbets of the
Gülen Movement go through.
Furthermore, what made this research exploratory was the fact that
there was almost no empirical research on the educational aspects of soh-
bets of the Gülen Movement. That is to say, the studies on the Gülen
Movement until then had considered, or examined, sohbets as one of the
concepts that underlay the structure and operations of the movement
(Kalyoncu 2011; Çetin 2012; Çobanoğlu 2012). Within the research
projects that had studied the Gülen Movement until then which I was able
to access, several of them tapped sohbets of the Gülen Movement but did
not examine their educational functions. From this perspective, by explor-
ing the sohbets of the Gülen Movement, I intended to discover the process
of these sohbets and understand their educational aspects, if any.
What Was the Strategy of Inquiry?

The strategy of inquiry I was informed by was grounded theory. In its
brief definition, grounded theory approach is a way to generate a theory
based on data that are systematically gathered and analyzed (Edmonds and
Kennedy 2013). According to Cresswell (2013), the researcher employing

the grounded theory approach derives a general, abstract theory of a pro-
cess, action, or interaction grounded in the perspectives of participants in
a research. “The two major characteristics of grounded theory design are
the constant comparison of data with emerging categories and theoretical
sampling of different groups to maximize the similarities and the differ-
ence of information” (Cresswell 2013, p. 14). Corbin and Strauss (2007)
list the essentials of a good grounded theory as follows:
1. Fit the phenomenon

2. Provide understanding
3. Provide generality, in that the theory excludes extensive variation and
is abstract enough to be applicable to a wide variety of contexts
4. Provide control, in the sense of stating the conditions under which
the theory applies and describing a reasonable basis for action
Using grounded theory was appropriate since there was little, or even no,
prior information as to the educational aspects of the sohbets of the Gülen
Movement as mentioned earlier.
Which Research Design Did the Researcher

Use While Conducting the Research?
The research was exploratory in the sense that the sohbets of the Gülen
Movement and the education and transformation of the participants
through these sohbets had not been examined in the field of educational
sciences until then. In this research, there are two units of analysis. One is
sohbets in terms of their educational aspects, and the other is businessmen
in terms of the changes they have experienced in their lives as a result of
attending sohbets. I first interviewed 21 businessmen in two different cities
of Turkey. The interviews were made face-to-face and covered a variety of
areas including the reasons why they participated in the Gülen Movement,
what they did in the sohbets of the Gülen Movement, and what changed
in their personal, business, and social lives through sohbets, as well as some
demographic details and life stories. I also interviewed five sohbet hocası2
in order to collect information about the sohbets of the Gülen Movement
from the trainers’ point of view and compare their responses to those of
businessmen while generating my theory. Then, I interpreted and analyzed
their responses through the perspective of conceptual framework I built

with respect to transformative adult education. The immediate aim was to
identify the educational aspects of the sohbets of the Gülen Movement and
the transformations the participants undergo.
Where Did the Researcher Conduct the Research?

The sites for the research were two cities in Turkey: one big city (City A)
and one relatively small city (City B). City A was selected because it is one
of the most cosmopolitan cities in Turkey. A center of education and busi-
ness, City A attracts people from almost all other cities of Turkey, which
results in the formation of hybrid identities and different dynamics in the
population of this city. Moreover, City A is one of the first cities where the
Gülen Movement started sohbets for businessmen. In addition, I had lived
in City A for 24 years, so regardless of how long the research took, it was
convenient to me.
City B, on the other hand, was a mid-Anatolian city renowned for
its successful businessmen, and a considerable majority of businesses
operating in this city were supporters of the Gülen Movement, based
on the observation that their owners appeared in the vision of the Gülen
Movement organizations, such as board members of schools or charity
organizations affiliated with the Gülen Movement. Furthermore, this
city was the place where I spent my childhood and where my parents
still live, so I had numerous contacts and a good reputation thanks to
my family name. Utilizing all these conveniences made it possible for
me to carry out my interviews without any adversaries. To illustrate a
few, I had a positive answer to every interview request and I did not
have to travel long distances or spend time to locate addresses of the
interviewees.
Who Were the Research Participants?

There were two groups of research participants: businessmen who attended
the sohbets of the Gülen Movement and sohbet hocaları who preached to
and answered the questions of businessmen. By asking businessman ques-
tions about what was done at the sohbets they attended, I intended to
explore the educational aspects of the sohbets. In addition, by asking them
further questions about what changes the sohbets caused in their personal
and social lives, I intended to explore the transformative aspects of the

sohbets. Likewise, sohbet hocaları were interviewed in order to explore what
was done at the sohbets through the perspective of trainers and reveal the
educational aspects of the sohbets. Moreover, by asking about the changes
that the businessmen observed in their personal and social lives, I intended
to reveal the transformative aspects of sohbets from the perspective of the
trainers. Eventually, collecting data from two groups of research partici-
pants, either of whom is the sine qua non of sohbets, enabled me to explore
the answers to my research questions both from the perspective of busi-
nessmen and from the perspective of trainers and also to compare the two
perspectives.
Pilot Study
Having formulated my research questions based on an extensive litera-
ture review on the Gülen Movement and on adult education in social
movements, I was ready for my pilot study in which I expected to see
if any “refinement” to my questions and interview protocol is needed
(Yin 2011, p. 37). My reading and research so far had revealed that the
Gülen Movement offered education to its participants through trainers,
referred to as sohbet hocası. It was these sohbet hocaları who organized
teaching sessions, referred to as sohbet, as an adult education activity
of the Gülen Movement. The data collection of my research involved
interviews both with sohbet hocaları and with businessmen who attended
the sohbets. For my pilot study, I decided to conduct interviews with
one sohbet hocası and two businessmen. At this point, I had to make a
choice whether I should first contact a businessman or a sohbet hocası.
Considering the well-known strict hierarchical organization of the Gülen
Movement, it seemed plausible to start with a sohbet hocası since it was
highly probable that the businessmen would not accept an interview
request without the consent of their sohbet hocaları, just as attending a
university course, even as a guest, practically requires the consent of the
instructor. On the other hand, contacting a sohbet hocası directly would
not be easy because there was not a specific place where sohbet hocaları
would get together, or such a title would not be claimed explicitly at first
encounter even if that person is a sohbet hocası himself. Indeed, getting
inside the circles of the Gülen Movement would definitely require some
effort and a careful strategy which involved contacting the right people
in an appropriate manner.
First Encounters
Busy with the abovementioned thoughts in my mind, I decided to call
one of my friends whom I had met during my undergraduate studies at
university during the 1990s, who was not a very close friend but enough
to know that he was a participant of the Gülen Movement at the time.
I told him briefly about the purpose of my research on the phone and
requested his help to introduce me to some sohbet hocaları and partici-
pants of the Gülen Movement, if possible. He responded to my request
positively and we decided to meet at his office on a Monday afternoon.
He was the General Manager of a company which offered professional
career planning and coaching services to adults. At our meeting, I had
the opportunity to provide him with more details as to the content and
purpose of my research, which he approached positively and stated that
he believed my research would enable the Gülen Movement to express
itself more clearly. Then, he said that he especially wanted to meet me on
that Monday evening at his office because he attended a sohbet program
of the Gülen Movement at a nearby place on Monday evenings. This
invitation at once was much quicker than I originally expected and in
fact I was not prepared for an interview with a sohbet hocası or business-
man; yet it would not be a good idea to start interviews so quickly with-
out establishing a good rapport with them (Yin 2011; Creswell 2013). I
kindly accepted his invitation and we went to the place where sohbet was
held by his car.
The sohbet place was the apartment of one of the participants. The
host was a business owner and lived in that apartment with his family. I
later learned that this periodic Monday sohbet had been hosted by him
for the past few years. My friend introduced me to the other participants
who came one after another, and almost on time the sohbet hocası of
the sohbet arrived. There were a total of six people in the spacious guest
room of the apartment. We were all seated comfortably and could see
each other; the sohbet hocası sat next to one of the participants. Just
before the sohbet started, my friend demanded to give a brief introduc-
tion about me and my purpose for being among them, from which I
could understand that my presence had previously been discussed and
informed. His introduction allowed me a short speech in which I was
able to express more clearly about my intentions. Others in the room lis-
tened to me carefully and each of them, including the sohbet hocası, artic-
ulated their consent and comfort for my attendance to their sohbet. In
the following two hours, the sohbet involved watching a video-preaching

of Fethullah Gülen and reading excerpts from various religious books,
with occasional breaks of tea, cookies, and fruit treatments which cut
for a while but the sohbet continued. From a general perspective, the
sohbet was predominantly administered by the sohbet hocası who mostly
spoke about the issues in the video and he read the book excerpts aloud.
Nevertheless, each person in the room was often given the chance to
express their ideas on the issues and asked questions. It was obvious that
the sohbet hocası was much more knowledgeable on the religious issues,
and I was not surprised when he mentioned that he held a bachelor’s
degree in Theology and was continuing his graduate studies. At the end
of the sohbet that evening, the host kindly invited me for the next sohbet
so that I could find more opportunity for my observations. This invita-
tion was confirmed by others in the room.
The First Interview Attempt

With the intention that I needed to establish a good rapport with people
whom I would ask for an interview, I attended the sohbet for several weeks,
which also provided me with lots of valuable observational notes about
the process (Yin 2011; Creswell 2013). Feeling sure that I broke ice with
participants of the sohbet, I asked them and the sohbet hocası, during a tea
break of the sohbet, whether they could be available for an almost two-
hour interview during the day. They all responded positively and the soh-
bet hocası invited me later in the week to make a plan for the interviews.
During our meeting with the sohbet hocası, I presented him my interview
protocol and preliminary interview questions (Yin 2011). He was quite
interested in them and asked how many interviews I intended to make.
On learning that I needed at least 15 people for the City A section of
the research, he mentioned that other sohbet groups should be contacted
to ensure the sufficient number. Although I proposed that three people
would be enough for the pilot study, he insisted that we should organize
everything at the beginning, and thus I was invited to a meeting where
several sohbet hocaları were getting together. In this way, I would be able
to contact more people and find enough number of people for my inter-
views. The following week, I went to meet other sohbet hocaları and after
their meeting was over, I was taken in and had the opportunity to talk
about my research project and expressed my intention for the interviews.
Like in the first sohbet I attended, I obtained positive responses and one of
the sohbet hocaları accepted to have an interview at that time, although it

was late evening. Others gave me their phone numbers and invited me to
their sohbet groups.
The First Sohbet Hocası Interview

The place where I interviewed the sohbet hocası was a school building where
one of the other sohbet hocaları worked as a teacher of religion. Before we
started the interview, I gave him a copy of the consent form, and we went
over it together. He also requested to see the questions beforehand, which
indeed I was originally not planning to do so but later realized during
the interview that it was a good idea to show the interviewees the ques-
tions beforehand which eased their apprehension, if any. After signing the
consent form and thereby accepting that the interview could be recorded,
the sohbet hocası started to answer my questions. I used my cell phone
to record the interview and placed it randomly on the table between us
among other items, so I think I made sure that it did not distract the natu-
ralness of his speech by reminding that his voice was recorded (Yin 2011;
Creswell 2013). However, I felt stressed frequently to wonder whether it
was properly recording the interview or not, so I definitely decided at that
time that I would bring a second recording device for the following inter-
views (Yin 2011). During the interview, I was lucky to see a clock on the
wall and keep flow of time, but the interviewee sometimes looked at his
watch. Therefore, I decided to place a small non-distracting time keeper
on the table in the following interviews. During the interview, I had the
chance to test my interview protocol and took occasional notes for future
revisions (Yin 2011). The interviewee was very enthusiastic to answer my
questions which also reflected the vast extent of his knowledge on the
issues. I was good at establishing a good rapport with the sohbet hocası and
creating a relaxing speech context. The interview took almost one and a
half hours as planned and I was able to ask all my questions. Nevertheless,
the interviewee was willing to continue at a second interview if I felt the
need and asked him.
The First Businessman Interview

Two days after my first interview with a sohbet hocası, I called one of
the sohbet hocaları I met who had invited me to his sohbet group whose
meetings were held on early Wednesday mornings at the student dor-
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
The old man left the place accordingly, and Arthur, seizing the
opportunity, retired to one corner with Edith, where the nature of
their conversation could be only guessed from the animated looks
and gestures of the affectionate pair.
The stranger in the meantime strode up and down the place,
regardless of the affrighted servants, singing to himself—
“O whaur will I get a bonny boy,
That will win hose and shoon;
That will rin to Lord Barnard’s yett,
And bid his ladye come?”
“What say you, my little man?” he continued, addressing a boy of

twelve or thirteen years, who sat before the fire, sharing, with a
shaggy collie, the contents of an ample cog, altogether unheeding the
agitation which reigned around him; “will you run to Wemyss Castle
with a message to Sir David?”
“I’ the noo!” said the boy, looking up with an air expressive of the
sense of the unparalleled oppression proposed in interrupting him
during the sacred ceremony of supper.
The stranger laughed, and drawing from his bosom the purse we
have so often spoken of, he displayed a Jacobus, and offered it to the
boy. “Na, I’ll no gang for the yellow bawbee,” said the urchin; “but if
ye’ll gie me the braw whittle, I’ll rin.” The stranger immediately put
into his hand the dagger he coveted, and drawing him aside,
conveyed to him in whispers the message he was to deliver.
Walter Colville now re-entered, and informed them that he had
reconnoitred the Egyptians, who, including women and children,
seemed to amount to above a hundred.
“Could I but get this younker beyond their clutches,” said the
stranger, “a short half hour would disperse them like the leaves in
autumn.”
Colville stared at this avowal, but was silent. The conviction of
Arthur, that the speaker was not what he seemed, now seized on his
mind also, but it appeared to inspire him with no pleasant feeling; on
the contrary, anxiety deepened on his countenance the more and
more he gazed on the handsome features of his guest, and the wild
shouts of the Egyptians, which he had previously heard with
comparative indifference, now evidently inspired him with the
deepest terror.
It was agreed at length that the boy should make the attempt. To
get him out of the house, without endangering the inmates, was
comparatively easy, as the Egyptians as yet stood at some distance
from the door. Once out, they had only his own ready wit and speed
of foot to trust to. While Colville and Arthur therefore undid with due
caution the massive bars and bolts which protected the oaken door,
the stranger, anxious to witness the success of his messenger,
ascended to the upper storey, and stood at the open casement. He
was immediately observed by the Egyptians, who set up a yell of
savage impatience at the sight, the men brandishing their weapons,
and the women waving their arms, as if threatening vengeance
against him.
Their attention was now, however, directed from him to the
youthful messenger, who approached towards them undauntedly.
They went forward to meet him.
“The master sent me to see what ye’re a’ here for,” said the boy.
“Tell him,” said one of the Egyptians harshly, “we are come to
demand the two strangers who have just entered his dwelling. Let
him give them to our vengeance, and we will depart peaceably—not a
feather or a rag of his shall be scathed by us.”
“And what if he shouldna just agree to this?” said the boy, edging
towards the west, covering the manœuvre, as if retiring towards the
house.
“If he refuse us, woe unto him. We will leave him neither corn nor
cattle, kith nor kin; burn his house with fire, and his own red blood
shall lapper on his cold hearth-stone.”
“Haith, carle, you maun tell him that yoursel,” said the boy, as with
one wild bound he sprung from the group, and, with the speed of a
grayhound, made for the wood.
There was a cry of disappointment burst forth from the Egyptians
as they perceived his intention, and many set out in pursuit. The
chase was viewed with deep interest by the inmates of the house—for
Colville, Edith, and Arthur Winton had now joined the stranger. The
wood was not far distant; the boy was famous for his swiftness of
foot; and they could see that his pursuers were falling fast behind. To
their dismay, however, they perceived at length that there was a
powerful dog among the number, who continued the chase after all
his human competitors had abandoned it in despair. He gained fast
upon the boy. “He is lost!” said Edith, piteously; “that villanous dog
will tear him to pieces.” But the event belied the maiden’s fear. Just
as the ferocious animal seemed about to seize him, the boy was seen
to turn upon his pursuer. The dog gave a loud howl, and fell to the
ground, and the stranger could perceive his own dagger gleaming in
the stripling’s hand, as he waved it in triumph o’er his head ere he
disappeared among the trees.
“I could stake an earldom,” said the stranger exultingly, “on that
boy’s proving a noble soldier! By the soul of Bruce, he can both fight
and flee.”
Colville’s terror, as he listened to these words, fairly mastered the
composure which he had hitherto affected. He took off his bonnet,
and bending lowly to the stranger, said in a tremulous voice—
“In Heaven’s name, say, oh! say, sir, you are not the king!”
“Even so, good Walter, James of Scotland stands before you. Are
you sorry to see me? By Saint Andrew, I had hoped I should be
welcome to every honest house,—ay, and every honest heart, in my
dominions.”
Walter had dropped on his knee as the truth, which he had for
some time suspected, was confirmed to him, and, looking up to his
royal guest, while tears stood in his eyes—“Welcome, my noble
prince; what is it of Walter Colville’s, from the bodle in his purse to
the last drop of his heart’s blood, that the king’s not welcome to? I
and mine, my liege, have fought, and bled, and died for the royal
house. But to see your grace here in peril, surrounded by so many
villains, and this old arm alone left to assist you! Oh! for the six braw
fellows that I have seen prancing on yonder lea,—they would have
cleared a way for your highness through them all!”
“Never fear for me, Walter Colville; I am not doomed to fall by a
brawl of this kind, or in mine own land;—so runs the rede.”
The king now turned round, and perceived Arthur and Edith, who
had retired to a little distance. When they saw they were observed,
they advanced and would have kneeled; but the prince prevented
this. He took them both by the hand, and imprinted on the lips of
Edith a kiss, savouring as much of warm affection as of kingly
courtesy.
Their attention was now directed to the operations of the
Egyptians. They perceived, with some surprise, that a considerable
number of them left the rest, and made for the wood, and that those
who remained ceased the yelling manifestations of sorrow and
revenge which had so affrighted Edith.
“They are meditating a retreat, methinks,” said the king.
“I fear, my liege,” said Colville, “they are rather planning some
mode of successful assault;” and the return of the Egyptians too soon
verified the apprehension. They bore with them the trunk of a fallen
tree, and the besieged at once saw the use for which this powerful
engine was intended.
“My door can never withstand the shock of a ram like this,” cried
Walter; “they will force a passage, and out and alas! your highness
will be murdered—murdered in the house of Balmeny!”
James was proverbially brave, but it cannot be denied that he
looked a little grave as he perceived the ponderous engine borne
along, which in all probability would, in a few minutes, lay open the
passage to a band of miscreants thirsting for his blood, and against
whose rage the bravery of himself and his friends seemed a poor
defence.
“Let the worst come to the worst,” said he at length, “we three will
make good this staircase for a stricken hour at least; before then the
rescue must arrive.”
The king, Colville, and Arthur now sought the floor below; Edith,
with the serving-maidens, being stationed above, to be, in case of the
Egyptians forcing an entry, still within the defence of the stair.
The door was of massive oak, studded with iron nails, and
supported by three iron bolts of considerable thickness. An
additional defence was now added in the shape of planks placed
diagonally under these bolts, and for a few moments the besieged
imagined it might withstand the efforts of the assailants. But a few
strokes of the tree soon showed the fallacy of this hope. The door
shook under the first blow, and ere a score had been given, the
yielding hinges showed that the Egyptians had well calculated the
force of their instrument.
“It must be cold steel that saves us after all,” said the king,
retreating to the staircase.
“Oh, that I and all my kin were stark dead on this floor, and your
highness safe on Falkland green!” exclaimed Colville, wringing his
wrinkled hands, and following.
They had scarcely gained their intended position at the upper
landing of the staircase, when, yielding to a desperate stroke, the
door flew open, and the infuriated Egyptians, shouting, made their
way to the interior. Not finding those they sought below, they next
proceeded to ascend the stair. This, however, was an ascent fatal to
all who attempted it. Corpse after corpse fell backward among the
enraged ruffians under the blows of the king and Arthur, until no one
could be found daring enough to attempt the passage.
“Let us smeek them in their hive,” at length cried a hoarse voice,
“and so let them either roast or come forth.”
A shout of approbation followed this advice, and, while a chosen
few remained to guard the stair, the remainder roamed about the
house collecting together everything which could assist their
diabolical design.
The king’s heart, and that of his brave companions, sunk as they
heard this resistless plan of destruction proposed and set about. It
was for a moment only, however, for suddenly they heard the clear
sweet voice of Edith exclaiming, “We are saved, we are saved! yonder
comes the Lord of Wemyss and his gallant followers!” and
immediately after the maiden herself appeared to reiterate the
tidings.
“Are you sure of what you say, Edith?” asked the king eagerly.
“How do the horsemen ride?”
“As if their coursers were winged,” replied Edith, “all of them; but
one who backs a gray steed of surpassing power, is far before the
rest, and ever and anon turns round, as if upbraidingly, to his
followers.”
“My trusty David!” exclaimed the king, with emotion, “well wert
thou worthy of the gallant gray!”
There was now heard a peculiar shout from among the Egyptians
without, which was rightly interpreted as a signal of retreat; for it
was immediately followed by the evacuation of the house; and so
speedy and simultaneous was their flight, that the king could only
perceive the latest of the tribe as they made for the wood, leaving to
Wemyss and his companions a deserted field and an open entrance.
“Thanks, David, for this timely rescue,” said the king, as the knight
bended the knee before him. “By my crown, the spurs were well
bestowed on one who can so fairly use them!”
James, followed by Sir David, Walter, Arthur, and the rest, now led
the way to the upper chamber where the immoderate joy and
hospitality of the old man displayed itself in the most substantial
form. When they had caroused for some time, the king, turning to
Colville, said,—
“Mine host, did I hear rightly when you said there was nothing
beneath this roof-tree to which I was not welcome?”
“Your highness heard rightly.”
“Give me then this fair maiden. We kings, you know, seldom
choose the least valuable of our subjects’ chattels.”
“Your grace may command me,” said Colville, though somewhat
hesitatingly, for he saw the turn which things were taking.
“And you too, sweet Edith?” said the king, again saluting the
blushing girl; and then, without waiting for an answer, continued,
“that you may all know, my lieges, that we accept your benevolences
merely for your own benefits, I give away this treasure, tempting as it
is, to one who has well deserved the favour at our hand. Take her,
Arthur, and confess that I have found a way to repay the debt I owed
you. Receive his hand, fair maiden, and if it will add anything to its
value in your eyes, know that it has this day saved a king’s life.”
The old man’s sentiments in regard to Arthur Winton had been
undergoing a change imperceptible even to himself, from the
moment he had perceived him the companion and probable
favourite of the king; but the revolution was completed when he was
made acquainted with the particulars of his interference in the royal
behalf,—a merit which in his eyes would have outweighed a thousand
faults in his intended son-in-law.
King James shortly afterwards left the house of Balmeny amid the
blessings of its inmates; and to close our tale, we have only to add,
that the gift of the monarch was shortly after confirmed at the altar,
where Edith became the happy bride of Arthur Winton; and that the
royal gratitude flowed freely on the wedded pair, as any who chooses
to pursue the time-worn records of the Great Seal may satisfy
himself.
HELEN WATERS:
A TRADITIONARY TALE OF THE ORKNEYS.
By John Malcolm.
The lost, the castaway on desert isles,
Or rocks of ocean, where no human aid
Can reach them more.
The mountains of Hoy, the highest of the Orkney Islands, rise

abruptly out of the ocean to an elevation of fifteen hundred feet, and
terminate on one side in a cliff, sheer and stupendous, as if the
mountain had been cut down through the middle, and the severed
portion of it buried in the sea. Immediately on the landward side of
this precipice lies a soft green valley, embosomed among huge black
cliffs, where the sound of the human voice, or the report of a gun, is
reverberated among the rocks, where it gradually dies away into faint
and fainter echoes.
The hills are intersected by deep and dreary glens, where the hum
of the world is never heard, and the only voices of life are the bleat of
the lamb and the shriek of the eagle;—even the sounds of inanimate
nature are of the most doleful kind. The breeze wafts not on its wings
the whisper of the woodland; for there are no trees in the island, and
the roar of the torrent-stream and the sea’s eternal moan for ever
sadden these solitudes of the world.
The ascent of the mountains is in some parts almost
perpendicular, and in all exceedingly steep; but the admirer of nature
in her grandest and most striking aspects will be amply compensated
for his toil, upon reaching their summits, by the magnificent
prospect which they afford. Towards the north and east, the vast
expanse of ocean, and the islands, with their dark heath-clad hills,
their green vales, and gigantic cliffs, expand below as far as the eye
can reach. The view towards the south is bounded by the lofty
mountains of Scarabin and Morven, and by the wild hills of
Strathnaver and Cape Wrath, stretching towards the west. In the
direction of the latter, and far away in mid-ocean, may be seen,
during clear weather, a barren rock, called Sule Skerry, which
superstition in former days had peopled with mermaids and
monsters of the deep. This solitary spot had been long known to the
Orcadians as the haunt of seafowl and seals, and was the scene of
their frequent shooting excursions, though such perilous adventures
have been long since abandoned. It is associated in my mind with a
wild tale, which I have heard in my youth, though I am uncertain
whether or not the circumstances which it narrates are yet in the
memory of living men.
On the opposite side of the mountainous island of which I speak,
and divided from it by a frith of several miles in breadth, lie the flat
serpentine shores of the principal island or mainland, where, upon a
gentle slope, at a short distance from the sea-beach, may still be
traced the site of a cottage, once the dwelling of a humble couple of
the name of Waters, belonging to that class of small proprietors
which forms the connecting link betwixt the gentry and the
peasantry.
Their only child Helen, at the time to which my narrative refers,
was just budding into womanhood; and though uninitiated into what
would now be considered the indispensable requisites of female
education, was yet not altogether unaccomplished for the simple
times in which she lived; and, though a child of nature, had a grace
beyond the reach of art, untaught and unteachable. There was a
softness and delicacy in her whole demeanour, never looked for and
seldom found in the humble sphere of life to which she belonged. Yet
her beauty did not startle or surprise, but stole over the heart almost
insensibly, like the gentle fall of the summer evenings of her own
native isles, and, like that, produced in the beholder an emotion
almost allied to sadness.
Such a being was not likely to be appreciated by the rude and
commonplace minds by whom she was surrounded, and with whom
a rosy cheek and a laughing eye constitute the beau-ideal of woman;
but she awakened a world of romance in one young heart, with which
her own gentle bosom shared the feelings she inspired.
Henry Graham, the lover of Helen Waters, was the son of a small
proprietor in the neighbourhood; and being of the same humble rank
with herself, and, though not rich, removed from poverty, their views
were undisturbed by the dotage of avarice or the fears of want, and
the smiles of approving friends seemed to await their approaching
union.
The days of courtship were drawing towards a close, and the
period of their marriage was at last condescended upon by the bride.
Among the middling and lower classes of society in the Orkneys, it is
customary for the bridegroom to invite the wedding-guests in
person; for which purpose, a few days previous to the marriage,
young Graham, accompanied by his friend, took a boat and
proceeded to the island of Hoy, to request the attendance of a family
residing there; which done, on the following day they joined a party
of young men upon a shooting excursion to Rackwick, a village
romantically situated on the opposite side of the island. They left the
house of their friends on a bright, calm, autumnal morning, and
began to traverse the wild and savage glens which intersect the hills,
where their progress might be guessed at by the reports of their guns,
which gradually became faint and fainter among the mountains, and
at last died away altogether in the distance.
That night and the following day passed, and they did not return to
the house of their friends; but the weather being extremely fine, it
was supposed they had extended their excursion to the opposite
coast of Caithness, or to some of the neighbouring islands, so that
their absence created no alarm whatever.
The same conjectures also quieted the anxieties of the bride, until
the morning previous to that of the marriage, when her alarm could
no longer be suppressed. A boat was manned in all haste, and
dispatched to Hoy in quest of them, but did not return during that
day nor the succeeding night.
The morning of the wedding-day dawned at last, bright and
beautiful, but still no intelligence arrived of the bridegroom and his
party; and the hope which lingered to the last, that they would still
make their appearance in time, had prevented the invitations from
being postponed, so that the marriage party began to assemble about
mid-day.
While the friends were all in amazement, and the bride in a most
pitiable state, a boat was seen crossing from Hoy, and hope once
more began to revive; but, upon landing her passengers, they turned
out to be the members of the family invited from that island, whose
surprise at finding how matters stood was equal to that of the other
friends.
Meantime all parties united in their endeavours to cheer the poor
bride; for which purpose it was agreed that the company should
remain, and that the festivities should go on,—an arrangement to
which the guests the more willingly consented, from a lingering hope
that the absentees would still make their appearance, and partly with
a view to divert in some measure the intense and painful attention of
the bride from the untoward circumstance; while she, on the other
hand, from feelings of hospitality, exerted herself, though with a
heavy heart, to make her guests as comfortable as possible; and, by
the very endeavour to put on an appearance of tranquillity, acquired
so much of the reality as to prevent her from sinking altogether
under the weight of her fears.
Meantime the day advanced, the festivities went on, and the glass
began to circulate so freely, that the absence of the principal actor of
the scene was so far forgotten, that at length the music struck up, and
dancing commenced with all the animation which that exercise
inspires among the natives of Scotland.
Things were going on in this way, when, towards night, and during
one of the pauses of the dance, a loud rap was heard at the door, and
a gleam of hope was seen to lighten every face, when there entered,
not the bridegroom and his party, but a wandering lunatic, named
Annie Fae, well known and not a little feared in all that country-side.
Her garments were little else than a collection of fantastic and party-
coloured rags, bound close around her waist with a girdle of straw,
and her head had no other covering than the dark tangled locks that
hung, snake-like, over her wild and weather-beaten face, from which
peered forth her small, deep-sunk eyes, gleaming with the baleful
light of insanity.
Before the surprise and dismay excited by her sudden and
unwelcome appearance had subsided, she addressed the company in
the following wild and incoherent manner:—
“Hech, sirs, but here’s a merry meeting indeed,—a fine company,
by my faith; plenty o’ gude meat and drink here, and nae expense
spared! Aweel, it’s no a’ lost neither; this blithe bridal will mak a
braw burial, and the same feast will do for baith. But what’s the folk
a’ glowering at? I’se warrant now ye’re cursing Annie Fae for spoiling
your sport. But ye ken I maun just say my say, and that being done,
I’ll no detain you langer, but jog on my journey; only I wad just hint,
that, for decency’s sake, ye suld stop that fine fiddling and dancing;
for ye may weel believe that thae kind o’ things gie nae great pleasure
to the dead!”
Having thus delivered herself, she made a low curtsey, and
brushed out of the house, leaving the company in that state of painful
excitement which, in such circumstances, even the ravings of a poor
deranged wanderer could not fail to produce.
In this state we, too, will leave them for the present, and proceed
with the party who set off on the preceding day in search of the
bridegroom and his friends. The latter were traced to Rackwick; but
there no intelligence could be gained, except that, some days
previous, a boat, having on board several sportsmen, had been seen
putting off from the shore, and sailing away in the direction of Sule
Skerry.
The weather continuing fine, the searching party hired a large
boat, and proceeded to that remote and solitary rock, upon which, as
they neared it, they could discover nothing, except swarms of seals,
which immediately began to flounder towards the water-edge. Upon
landing, a large flock of sea-fowl arose from the centre of the rock
with a deafening scream; and upon approaching the spot, they
beheld, with dumb amazement and horror, the dead bodies of the
party of whom they had come in search, but so mangled and
disfigured by the seals and sea-fowl, that they could barely be
recognised.
It appeared that these unfortunates, upon landing, had forgot their
guns in the boat, which had slipt from her fastenings, and left them
upon the rock, where they had at last perished of cold and hunger.
Fancy can but feebly conceive, and still less can words describe,
the feelings with which the lost men must have beheld their bark
drifting away over the face of the waters, and found themselves
abandoned in the vast solitude of the ocean. Their sensations must
have resembled his who wakens in the grave from a death-like
trance, to find himself buried alive!
With what agony must they have gazed upon the distant sails,
gliding away over the deep, but keeping far aloof from the rock of
desolation, and have heard the shrieks which they sent over the
flood, in the vain hope of their reaching some distant ship, mocked
by the doleful scream of the sea-fowl! How must their horrors have
been aggravated by the far-off view of their native hills, lifting their
lonely peaks above the wave, and awakening the dreadful
consciousness that they were still within the grasp of humanity, yet
no arm stretched forth to save them; while the sun was riding high in
the heavens, and the sea basking in his beams below, and nature
looking with reckless smiles upon their dying agonies!
As soon as the stupor of horror and amazement had subsided, the
party placed the dead bodies in their boat, and, crowding all sail,
stood for the Orkneys. They landed at night upon the beach,
immediately below the house where the wedding guests were
assembled; and there, while they were debating in what manner to
proceed, were overheard by the insane wanderer, the result of whose
visit has already been described.
She had scarcely left the house, when a low sound of voices was
heard approaching. An exclamation of joy broke from the bride. She
rushed out of the house with outstretched arms to embrace her lover,
and the next moment, with a fearful shriek, fell upon his corpse!
With that shriek reason and memory passed away for ever. She was
carried to bed delirious, and died towards morning. The bridal was
changed into a burial, and Helen Waters and her lover slept in the
same grave!
LEGEND OF THE LARGE MOUTH.
By Robert Chambers, LL.D.
“Here’s a large mouth indeed!”

Shakspeare—King John.
Arriving one evening at an inn in Glasgow, I was shown into a

room which already contained a promiscuous assemblage of
travellers. Amongst these gentlemen—commercial gentlemen chiefly
—there was one whose features struck me as being the most ill-
favoured I had ever beheld. He was a large, pursy old man, with a
forehead “villanous low,” hair like bell-ropes, eyes the smallest and
most porkish of all possible eyes, and a nose which showed no more
prominence in a side-view than that of the moon, as exhibited in her
first quarter upon a freemason’s apron. All these monstrosities were,
however, as beauties, as absolute perfections, compared with the
mouth—the enormous mouth, which, grinning beneath, formed a
sort of rustic basement to the whole superstructure of his facial
horrors. This mouth—if mouth it could be called, which bore so little
resemblance to the mouths of mankind in general—turned full upon
me as I entered, and happening at the moment to be employed in a
yawn, actually seemed as if it would have willingly received me into
its prodigious crater, and consigned me to the fate of Empedocles,
without so much as a shoe being left to tell the tale.
The company of a traveller’s room is generally very stiff, every man
sitting by his own table in his own corner, with his back turned upon
the rest. It was not so, however, on the present occasion. The most of
the present company seemed to have been so long together in the
hotel as to have become very gracious with each other; while any
recent comers, finding themselves plumped into a society already
thawed and commingled, had naturally entered into the spirit of the
rest. Soon discovering how matters stood, I joined in the
conversation, and speedily found that the man with the large mouth
was one of the most polite and agreeable of mankind. He was one of
those old, experienced gentlemen of the road, who know everything
that is necessary to be known, and are never at a loss about anything.
His jokes, his anecdotes, his remarks, were all excellent, and kept the
rest bound, as it were, in a chain. The best of him was, that he
seemed quite at ease on the subject of his mouth.
No doubt he was conscious of his preternatural ugliness—for
whatever may be said about the blinding effect of self-love, and so
forth, I hold that the most of people know pretty nearly how they
stand as to personal attractions; but he had none of that boggling,
unsteady, uncomplacent deportment, so remarkable in the generality
of ill-looking people. On the contrary, there was an air of perfect self-
satisfaction about him, which told that he either was so familiar with
the dreadful fact as to mind it not, or that he was a thorough man of
the world, above considering so trivial a particular, or that he was
rich, and could afford to be detested. It was curious, however, that
even while he almost convulsed the rest with his jokes, he never
laughed in the least himself. He evidently dared not; the guffaw of
such a man must have produced consequences not to be calmly
contemplated. Part, indeed, of the humorous effect of his
conversation arose from the cautious way in which he managed his
mouth. A small aperture at one side, bearing the same proportion to
the whole that the wicket of a carriage-gate does to the whole gate
itself, served for the emission of his words. Anything else would have
been a mere waste of lip.
On my ordering refreshment, I was informed by the company, that
in consideration of this being the anniversary of a distinguished
historical event, they had agreed to sup together in a rather more
formal way than usual, and that they would be happy if I would join
them. Having assented to the proposal, I began to reflect with some
anxiety upon the probable conduct of the Mouth at table. How so
extraordinary a feature would behave, what it would ask for, after
what manner it would masticate, and, above all, how much it would
devour, were to me subjects of the most interesting speculation. The
wicket won’t do there (thought I to myself), or I’m much mistaken.
Yet again,—so ran my thoughts,—many large men have been known
to eat very little, while your true devourers are found to be lean,
shrivelled creatures, who do not seem to be ever the better of it. “A
large mouth,” says the Scottish proverb, “has always a good luck for
its meat.” That may be, thought I, and yet the large mouth may be
quite indifferent to what it is so sure of getting. All kinds of ideas
connected with this subject ran through my mind; but in the end I
found it all a riddle. The Mouth might prove either gluttonous or
abstemious, without exciting more surprise by the one event than by
the other.
By-and-by some one asked a waiter if supper was nearly ready, and
on an answer in the affirmative being given, I observed the Mouth
suddenly bustle up, and assume an air of eager promptitude that
almost seemed to decide the question. The man rose, and, going to a
corner of the room where his greatcoat was hanging, brought forth a
small package, which he proceeded to untie at a side-table. The only
article it contained was a spoon, which he immediately brought
forward and laid upon the table, accompanying the action with an air
that might have befitted a surgeon in arranging his instruments for
an operation. I had no longer any doubt as to the gastronomical
character of the Mouth, for here was an article that might have
served in the nursery of Glumdalclitch. It was an antique silver
implement, with a short handle, and a rim about four inches in
diameter, like an ordinary saucer. Observing the curiosity of the
company to be strongly excited, the old man showed it round with
good-natured politeness, telling us that he had been so long
accustomed at home to the use of this goodly article, that he could
now hardly discuss either soup or dessert without it, and therefore
made a point of carrying it along with him in his travels.
“But, indeed, gentlemen,” said he, “why should I make this a
matter of delicacy with you? The truth is, the spoon has a history,
and my mouth—none of the least, you see—has also a history. If you
feel any curiosity upon these points, I will give you a biographical
account of the one, and an autobiographical account of the other, to
amuse you till supper is ready.”
To this frank proposal we all cordially agreed, and the old man,
sitting down with the spoon in his hand, commenced a narrative
which I shall here give in the third person.
His mouth was the chieftain and representative of a long ancestral
line of illustrious and most extensive mouths, which had flourished
for centuries at a place called Tullibody. According to tradition, the
mouth came into the family by marriage. An ancestor of the speaker
wooed, and was about to wed, a lady of great personal attractions,
but no fortune, when his father interfered, and induced him, by the
threat of disinheritation on the one hand, and the temptation of great
wealth on the other, to marry another dame, the heiress of a large
fortune and large mouth, both bequeathed to her by her grandfather,
one of the celebrated “kail-suppers of Fife.” When his resolution was
communicated to the tocherless lady, she was naturally very much
enraged, and wished that the mouth of her rival might descend, in all
its latitude, to the latest generation of her faithless swain’s posterity;
after which she took her bed—and married another lover, her
second-best, next week, by way of revenge.
The country people, who pay great attention to the sayings of
ladies condemned to wear the willow, waited anxiously for the
fulfilment of her malediction, and accordingly shook their heads and
had their own thoughts, when the kail-supper’s descendant brought
forth a son whose mouth, even in his swaddling-clothes, reflected
back credit on her own. The triumph of the ill-wisher was considered
complete, when the second, the third, and all the other children,
were found to be distinguished by this feature; and what gave the
triumph still more poignancy was, that the daughters were found to
be no more exempted than the sons from the family doom. In the
second generation, moreover, instead of being softened or diluted
away, the mouth rather increased, and so it had done in every
successive generation since that time. The race having been very
prolific, it was now spread so much that there was scarcely a face in
Tullibody or the neighbourhood altogether free of the contagion; so
that the person addressing us, who had his permanent residence
there, could look round him upon several hundreds of kindred
mouths, with all the patriarchal feelings of the chief of a large
Highland clan.
If there had been any disposition in the family to treat their fate ill-
humouredly, it would have been neutralised by the luck which
evidently accompanied the introduction and transmission of this
singular feature. So far, however, from entertaining any grudge or
regret upon the subject, it had been the habit of the family to treat it
as a capital joke, and to be always the first to laugh at it themselves.
So much was this the case, that a wealthy representative of the
family, about a century ago, founded, not an hospital or a school, but
a spoon, which should be handed down from mouth to mouth as a
practical and traditionary jest upon the family feature, and, though
not entailed, be regarded, he hoped, as a thing never to be parted
with for any consideration, unless fate should capriciously contract
the mouths of his descendants to such a degree as to render its use
inconvenient. This elegant symbol, after passing through the hands
of a long train of persons, who had each been more able than another
to use it effectively, came at length into the possession of the
individual now addressing us—a person evidently qualified to do full
justice to the intentions of his ancestor.
It was, therefore, with the apprehension of something awful, that
after the conclusion of the story, and the introduction of supper, I
took a place at the well-spread board. In sitting down, I cast a look at
the Mouth. It was hovering, like a prodigious rainbow, over the
horizon of the table, uncertain where to pitch itself. There was an air
of terrible resolution about it, which made me almost tremble for
what was to ensue. It was evident that we were to have “a scene.”
The Mouth—for so it might be termed par excellence—was
preferred by acclamation to the head of the table,—a distinction
awarded, as I afterwards understood, not so much on account of its
superior greatness, as in consideration of its seniority, though I am
sure it deserved the pas on both accounts. The inferior and junior
mouths all sat down at different distances from the great Mouth, like
satellites round a mighty planet. It uttered a short, gentleman-like
grace, and then began to ask its neighbours what they would have.
Some asked for one thing, some for another, and in a short time all
were served except itself. For its own part it complained of weak
appetite, and expressed a fear that it should not be able to take
anything at all. I could scarcely credit the declaration. It added, in a
singularly prim tone of voice, that, for its part, it admired the taste of
Beau Tibbs in Goldsmith—“Something nice, and a little will do. I hate
your immense loads of meat; that’s country all over.” Hereupon, I
plucked up courage, and ventured to look at it again. It was still
terrible, though placid. Its expression was that of a fresh and strong
warrior, who hesitates a moment to consider into what part of a thick
battle he shall plunge himself, or what foes he shall select as worthy
of particular attack. Its look belied its word; but again I was thrown
back by its words belying its look. It said to a neighbour of mine, that
it thought it might perhaps manage the half of the tail of one of the
herrings at his elbow, if he would be so kind as carve. Was there ever
such a puzzling mouth! I was obliged again to give credit to words;
yet again was I disappointed. My neighbour thinking it absurd to
mince such a matter as a “Glasgow magistrate,” handed up a whole
one to the chairman. The Mouth received it with a torrent of refusals
and remonstrances, in the midst of which it began to eat, and I heard
it continue to mumble forth expostulations, in a fainter and fainter
tone, at the intervals of bites, for a few seconds; till, behold, the
whole corporate substance of the burghal dignitary had melted away
to a long meagre skeleton! When done, its remonstrances changed
into a wonder how it should have got through so plump a fish; it was
perfectly astonishing; it had never eaten a whole herring in its life
before; it was an unaccountable miracle.
I did not hear the latter sentences of its wonderments; but,
towards the conclusion, heard the word “fowl” distinctly
pronounced. The fowls lying to my hand, I found myself under the
necessity of entering into conference with it, though I felt a mortal
disinclination to look it in the mouth, lest I should betray some
symptom of emotion inconsistent with good manners. Drawing down
my features into a resolute pucker, and mentally vowing I would
speak to it though it should blast me, I cast my eyes slowly and
cautiously towards it, and made inquiry as to its choice of bits. In
return for my interrogation, I received a polite convulsion, intended
for a smile, and a request, out of which I only caught the important
words, “breast” and “wing.” I made haste to execute the order; and,
on handing away the desired viands, received from the mouth
another grateful convulsion, and then, to my great relief, all was
over!
Well, thought I, at this juncture, a herring and a fragment of fowl
are no such great matters; perhaps the Mouth will prove quite a
natural mouth after all. In brief space, however, the chairman’s plate
was announced as again empty; and I heard it receive, discuss, and
answer various proposals of replenishment made to it by its more
immediate neighbours. I thought I should escape; but no—the fowl
was really so good that it thought it would trouble me for another
breast, if I would be so kind, &c. I was of course obliged to look at it
again, in order to receive its request in proper form; when neglecting
this time my former preparations of face, I had nearly committed
myself by looking it full in the mouth with my eyes wide open, and
without having screwed my facial muscles into their former resolute
astringency. However, instantly apprehending the amount of its
demands, my glance at the Mouth fortunately required to be only
momentary, and I found immediate relief from all danger in the
ensuing business of carving. Yet even that glance was in itself a
dreadful trial—it sufficed to inform me that the Mouth was now more
terrible than before—that there was a fearful vivacity about it, a
promptitude, an alacrity, and energy, which it did not formerly
exhibit. Should this increase, thought I, it will soon be truly dreadful.
I handed up a whole fowl to it, in a sort of desperation. It made no
remonstrances, as in the case of the herring, at the abundance of my
offering. So far from that, it seemed to forgive my disobedience with
the utmost goodwill; received the fowl, dispatched it with silence and
celerity, and then began to look abroad for further prey. Indeed, it
now began to crack jokes upon itself—a sportive species of suicide. It
spoke of the spoon; lamented that, after all, there should be no soups
at table whereon it might have exhibited itself; and finally vowed that
it would visit the deficiencies of the supper upon the dessert, even
unto the third and fourth dish of blancmange.
The proprietor of the mouth then laid down the spoon upon the
table, there to lie in readiness till such time as he should find knives
and forks of no farther service—as the Scottish soldiery in former
times used to lay their shields upon the ground while making use of
their spears. I now gave up all hopes of the Mouth observing any
propriety in its future transactions. Having finished my own supper,
I resolved to set myself down to observe all its sayings and doings. Its
placidity was now gone—its air of self-possession lost. New powers
seemed to be every moment developing themselves throughout its
vast form—new and more terrible powers. It was beginning to have a
wild look! It was evident that it was now fleshed—that its naturally
savage disposition, formerly dormant for want of excitement, was
now rising tumultuously within it—that it would soon perform such
deeds as would scare us all!

Textbook The Gulen Movement Transformative Social Change 1St Edition Salih Cingillioglu Auth Ebook All Chapter PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Textbook The Gulen Movement Transformative Social Change 1St Edition Salih Cingillioglu Auth Ebook All Chapter PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Gülen Movement: Transformative

Social Change 1st Edition Salih

Development Humanitarian Aid and Social Welfare Social

Holistic engagement : transformative social work

Technology, Social Change And Human Behavior: Influence

What is a Social Movement 1st Edition Hank Johnston

Let s Get Back To The Party 1st Edition Zak Salih

Expressive Arts for Social Work and Social Change 1st

Activism, Change and Sectarianism in the Free Patriotic

The transformative humanities a manifesto 1st Edition

MET SALIH CINGILLIOĞLU

More information about this series at

The Gülen Movement

Middle East Today

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017933965

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017

Cover illustration: gulfimages / Alamy Stock Photo

Printed on acid-free paper

This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature

2 The Research and the Researcher 11

3 Social Movements, the Gülen Movement, and

4 The Participants of the Gülen Movement: First

5 Sohbets as Adult Education 111

6 Transformative Aspects of Sohbets 179

7 Discussion and Reflections 199

Table A.1 Distribution of businessmen participants according to

Table A.14 Distribution of sohbet hocaları participants according to

© The Author(s) 2017 1

Ebaugh (2010) highlights the recent media attention to the Gülen

What Makes This Research Significant?

Overview of the Book

The Research and the Researcher

This book is based on the research I conducted in 2015 in Turkey for my

Who Was the Researcher?

© The Author(s) 2017 11

What Was the Research About?

Which Research Approach

1. to explore the reasons why businessmen attended the sohbets of the

What Was the Strategy of Inquiry?

Kennedy 2013). According to Cresswell (2013), the researcher employing

1. Fit the phenomenon

Which Research Design Did the Researcher

their responses through the perspective of conceptual framework I built

Where Did the Researcher Conduct the Research?

Who Were the Research Participants?

and social lives, I intended to explore the transformative aspects of the

the following two hours, the sohbet involved watching a video-preaching

The First Interview Attempt

the sohbet hocaları accepted to have an interview at that time, although it

The First Sohbet Hocası Interview

The First Businessman Interview

“What say you, my little man?” he continued, addressing a boy of

The mountains of Hoy, the highest of the Orkney Islands, rise

By Robert Chambers, LL.D.

“Here’s a large mouth indeed!”

Arriving one evening at an inn in Glasgow, I was shown into a

You might also like

2 The Research and the Researcher 11

4 The Participants of the Gülen Movement: First

5 Sohbets as Adult Education 111

6 Transformative Aspects of Sohbets 179

7 Discussion and Reflections 199