During the 1980s and 1990s, it was rather rare, if not completely impossible, to find a cleric speaking in favor of democracy, in favor of rapprochement with Europe, in favor of Western views on human rights. Fethullah Gülen was one of those few.

His pioneering ideas helped create one of the largest social movements of modern times, yet at the same time, they faced hostility from many, especially within the Turkish political elite. His position at the center of most political and social developments in Turkey is now indisputable.

Despite the enormous campaign of defamation and slander he has faced from the current Turkish government, Gülen is now internationally recognized as a devout and deeply pious Muslim cleric, whose lifestyle and thoughts are rooted in the very principles of Islamic faith, yet at the same time believes that Islam is not in conflict with the progressive values of the modern world.

In this book, readers have the opportunity to see some, often prophetic in nature, comments by Gülen on significant issues of everyday life in Turkey, as expressed in interviews he gave over the past decades.