European Muslims, Civility and Public Life: Perspectives on and From the Gülen Movement

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 18:00 in Discussion Forums

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Prof Paul Weller

Where: Highfield Campus, building 7 (Lanchaster) - Room 3031 (L/R F2), Southampton University, Southampton SO171BJ

Speaker: Prof Paul Weller, University of Derby

Reviewers: Dr Mark Owen, Director of the Winchester Centre
Dr Christina Welch, University of Winchester
Dr Paul Hedges, University of Winchester
Prof Tony Evans, University of Southampton

Abstract

Paul Weller will provide an overview of key themes drawn from within the chapters of his new co-edited (together with Ihsan Yilmaz of Fatih University, Istanbul) book on European Muslims, Civility and Public Life: Perspectives on and From the Gülen Movement, that were written by a range of authors, including Professor Weller himself.

The book, overall, deals with the challenges and opportunities faced by Muslims and the wider society in Europe following the Madrid train bombings of 2004 and the London Transport attacks of 2005. Paul Weller's talk will highlight how the book's chapters explore the challenges to the concept and practice of civility in public life within a European context, together with the evidence presented and arguments made by the authors about how far the thought and practice of the global movement inspired by the Turkish Muslim scholar Fethullah Gülen can make a contribution in these matters.

Professor Weller's overview of the book will touch on key perspectives from Fethullah Gülen on Muslim identity and public life in Europe; on civility, co-existence and integration; on the movement's development in a variety of different European contexts, especially in the Netherlands, France, Germany and Northern Ireland, and on the movement's role in challenging terrorism. He will also provide some insight into the position adopted by Fethullah Gülen in relation to Turkey's possible future membership of the European Union.

Biography of Paul Weller

Paul Weller (Cert Ed, MA, MPhil, PhD, DLitt) is Professor of Inter-Religious Relations at the University of Derby and Head of Research and Commercial Development in its Faculty of Education, Health and Sciences; Visiting Fellow in the Oxford Centre for Christianity and Culture at Regent’s Park College, University of Oxford; and a Trustee of the Multi-Faith Centre at the University of Derby. His current research interests involve issues in the relationships between religion, state and society, and religion or belief, discrimination and equal opportunities, in relation to which he is heading up a national research project within the Religion and Society Research Programme on "Religion and Belief, Discrimination and Equality in England and Wales: Theory, Policy and Practice (2000-2010):" (see http://www.derby.ac.uk/religion-and-society).

His recent publications include:

Time for a Change: Reconfiguring Religion, State and Society ( London: T. & T. Clark, 2005)
Religious Diversity in the UK: Contours and Issues (London: Continuum, 2008)
A Mirror for our Times: 'The Rushdie Affair and the Future of Multiculturalism (London: Continuum, 2009)
He has previously also published on "Fethullah Gülen, Religions, Globalisation and Dialogue", in R. Hunt and Y. Aslandoğan (eds.), Muslim Citizens of the Globalized World: Contributions of the Gülen Movement (Somerset, NJ: The Light Inc. and IID Press, 2006).

Biography of Mark Owen

Mark is the Director of the Winchester Centre of Religions for Reconciliation and Peace. He gained a First Class BA in Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Winchester, before receiving Arts and Humanities Research Council funding for an MA in Death in World Religions, and doctoral research in the area of Tibetan Buddhism. He has carried out extensive fieldwork throughout South Asia as well as research visits to Tibet, China, Mongolia and the Republic of Buryatiya in Southern Siberia. Mark's research interests include Tibetan Buddhism, Buddhism and conflict, Conflict prevention, Asian politics and development, and research methodologies.

Biography of Christina Welch

Dr Christina Welch is a senior lecturer in Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Winchester. Dr Welch is also Programme Leader for the MA Religion: Rhetoric & Rituals of Death. Dr Christina Welch gained her first class BA (Hons) in Religious Studies with Psychology at King Alfred’s College in 2000, and her MA (with distinction) in the Archaeology of Art & Representation from the University of Southampton in 2001. In 2005 she gained her AHRB-funded Doctorate from the University of Southampton, titled ‘The Role of Popular Visual Representation in the Construction of North American Indian and Western Alternative Spiritual Identities. She teaches in a wide range of subject areas including Islam, Judaism, and faith and globalisation. She is currently co-writing a book exploring religion in International Relations. Her research interests include death studies, and religion and visual culture.

Biography of Paul Hedges

Dr Paul Hedges is Programme Leader in Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Winchester, UK, and has taught for other British, Canadian and Chinese universities. He has published four books: Preparation and Fulfilment (Peter Lang, 2001), Christian Approaches to Other Faiths, Core Text and Reader (both co-edited with Alan Race, SCM, 2008 and 2009), and Controversies in Interreligious Dialogue and the Theology of Religions (SCM, 2010). He is also General Editor of the forthcoming multivolume series Controversies in Contemporary Religion (Praeger, 2013), is co-editor of Multifaith Societies: Governance, Inclusion and Social Change (publication under negotation, Ashgate), and has published numerous articles and chapters in scholarly journals and books. He is co-editor of the Australian Religion Studies Review, and on the editorial board of the Journal of Religious History. He research, teaches and writes in such areas as interreligious studies, contemporary Christian thought, and metatheory in the study of religion and theology.

Biography of Tony Evans

Tony Evans has a background in global politics. Tony Evans was Professor of Global Politics at the University of Southampton for a long time. He has published widely in the field of human rights, global governance and law. He teaches programmes on international relations and the politics of universal human rights at University of Winchester. He also has in interest in the politics of Islam, in particular, the social and political norms and values associated with Islam in a globalized world order.