Hizmet: From Futuwwa Tradition to the Emergence of Movement in Public Space

The following paper was first presented at the  RUMI FORUM’s conference entitled “Islam in the Age of Global Challenges: Alternative Perspectives of the Gulen Movement” at Georgetown University, Washington DC on November 14-15, 2008.

The aim of this paper is to first analyze exhaustively the genealogy of the concept, futuwwa linked with da’wa in religious terms, which literally means call or invitation.^[1] Da’wa is the umbrella term that includes modern socio-religious activism and Islamic movement organizations. Today this term is confused with terrorism, Islamic war and preaching, but scholars have given few attention to this term from a semantic perspective to distinguish da’wa from its usage by different so-called Islamic groups. In historical context, the term is changing and by the late nineteenth century it was used to refer to the struggle and encounter with colonizers. Second, I consider hizmet, a key term meaning the service in Gulen movement, as the emergence of movement in public space and how this term contributes largely to participation in social economic daily life, not only in Muslim context but also in non Muslim context. Hizmet has been previously attributed to the service to others, with related to Islamic traditional concept futuwwah. The traditional authority of futuwwah is concretized and problematized in new opportunity areas such as education, media, and charity activities. The practice of Gülen movement creates new structures and organizations to inculcate values that are part of social ethos in their life. The development of movement should be understood as revivalism and social project addressing to the other and which strive to realize good deeds in favor of humanity. In order to comprehend Gülen’s ideas and the movement’s actions, it is important to analyze the classical Islamic tradition and the roots of Hizmet in Islamic Ottoman history, unfortunately Gülen movement is analyzed less in traditional terms. One suggests the similarities with Jesuits^[2], Calvinists^[3] or Protestants missionaries^[4]. We talk about a reformist and Protestant Islam represented by Gülen. In this article, we would like to bend over to study the term hizmet that covers the traditional term da’wa which is revived and combined the activist piety which produces also the secular actions. We tend to find out about the Gülen movement philosophy and their understanding of Islamic da’wa locating its philosophy in futuwwah-malamatis orders and akhis organizations. We are addressing to draw attention this historical futuwwa experience and akhis organization background serving as an example concrete for Gülen movement. This particular attention on the idea of futuwwa–malamatiyya and akhis organizations contributes our perception how Gülen puts in practice in global era. Firstly, we underlie the revivalism of Gülen movement in classical da’wa term. I’d like to define the classical notion of Islamic da’wa. I will draw upon these works; my concern is how Gülen movement understands da’wa and introduces the term into their activities in different countries. I pay particular attention to the shift in the meaning of this term that Gülen movement has used in recent years. Gülen has drawn attention to its treatment within classical exegetical writings; especially rectify what they regard to be erroneous accretions in Islamic practices. In fact, we can touch the essential purpose of how a Muslim can be involved in secular world carrying religious principles. A lot of attention was paid to the radical reformist tradition. In their view, they accuse the society of being jahili, and excommunicate Muslims. When we analyze the Gülen movement, the main task is to avoid these clichés and mainstreams that give way to the misusage of this term and the classical significance of term is transformed in public space, thus the aim of movement is not islamization of opportunity spaces in which the movement operates.

Da’wa and Islamic activism

In religious sense, da’wa is the invitation, the call, but consequently with spreading and expansion of Islam, and after the birth of Islamic civilization, the concept lost its value and gained different meanings in the course of establishment of Islamic law. The classical concept of da’wa has been utilized many times, adapted in different cases.^[5] Many in the Islamist movement organize their activities under this general term.

Islam has become a point of reference that Islamic movements use for political, social, cultural activities. The term da’wa has been adopted by many scholars in order to identify what is blurring in the name of religion. In recent years, this term has different meanings from violence to predicating others. Thus, the ambiguity in definition of the term which results from the essence of readapting new contexts with its whole meaning and consequence in social and political areas notably in religion goes beyond revivalism. Da’wa is regarded as contesting identities combining modern national identities, consumer culture. One can develop a new lifestyle with da’wa and revivalist action of Islamic movements, but unfortunately the analysis with which we underlie the deep root of paradigm dates back to the formative period of the Muslim tradition. However, Islamic movements introduce this concept into religiously different motivated domains, affiliate sociologically sensible response to the modern appearances, and emergence in public life. The renewal question and restoration of Islam see the main issue in pious movements as a restoration of fundamental principles and main thoughts. The Gülen movement contributes firstly to higher principles of educational and charity activities, secondly to a secular phenomena reinforcing ideal human values and virtues against hedonism.

The semantic content of the term and notion of da’wa is important to understand how we can analyze and interpret Gülen movement. This notion has come into use for the past few years in Islamic religio-ideological groups. By using this term, they approach to traditional Islam and have a legitimacy through which they operate. To grasp the functionality of the term, the symbolic reference to Islamic da’wa necessitates an ability to give new opportunities and spaces to the development and expansion of Islamic identities and ideologies. The identification of the issue of da’wa is problematic which is full of obstacles of subjectivism that do not permit a simplistic analysis of the Islamic issue.^[6] When we talk about contemporary Islamic movements, Islamists, Islam, rebellions, movement and fundamentalism are evoked by researcher in this field, but these terms cover the same phenomena with different connotations. In media, the stereotypes and clichés have appeared several times when investigating Muslim countries and the issues treated as fundamentalism, jihad, Islamic terrorism, suicide attacks. Dealing with new areas and opportunities, ad-da’wa al-islamiya is co-opted as an Islamic rebellious movement. Mendel emphasizes the ambiguity of this term looking at the semantic multiform and different meanings of the term depend on various historical, sociological and cultural factors that explain this term. One understands that during the first years of the emergence of Islam, the term was employed with other terms like Sharia, DIN (religion), Sunna, Jihad, but the term gains its importance towards the colonialist years and the wars of independence of the Muslim countries. The most commonly used translation of the term is mission or propaganda. As a consequence of the lacuna in this term, the determination of all Islamic activities is intertwined with other concepts. Mahmood relates this term with another notion used mostly in Islamic movement: amr bil mar’uf walnahi ‘an al-munkar (commanding right and forbidding wrong), around which this classical Islamic term is elaborated.^[7] Michal Cook also reminds us of the interpretation of this term by many scholars, and gives a synthesis about how Islamic scholars have used this term in different contexts and times.^[8]

Gülen movement in a historical context

While we use the term hizmet, we mean various activities organized by the movement in recent years towards educational, charitable, non denominational realizations including non religious, secular deeds. We imply the extension of a mobilization of the resources. All projects and achievements are considered as a search for the sake of God. The movement within the hizmet, illustrates the ability of classical and traditional Islamic terms like da’wa in modern daily life and successfully motivates sympathizers to get involved in intellectual and human resources. These activities are mainly opening schools, giving donations, establishing relations between Muslims and non-Muslims, arrange social welfare organizations. Educational activities come to be organized in the name of da’wa which also reveals the Islamic revitalization in the last years. These ethos of Islamic revival have been described in many researches, and the figure of this Islamic revival is not only religious scholars, but also and very often ordinary people joining these activities in many countries. From this point of view in Gülen movement, the revitalization of Islam is based on social, economic resources and mobilization process where an Islamically conscious rebirth makes an effective turning point in ordinary Muslim’s life. It is a revival of the conscience of the responsibility on both individual and collective levels. The concept of hizmet exemplifies this revivalism in Islam. The figure of hizmet eri exemplifies the ethos of revivalism of the movement. How is the term da’wa conceptualized in Gülen’s sympathizers, why do we call it as hizmet? What is the meaning of this term? It literally means “service”. It is not a Quranic term, but frequently mentioned informally among sympathizers.

In Gülen movement, the social projects and activist piety^[9] are implemented in the several activities to serve God. Gülen’s message reinforces the piety of volunteers in movement inspiring certain sufi ideas such as azimet (resistance to impure and continuation of the licit things), ihlas (sincerity), himmet (effort, zeal). The term hizmet gathering all new social economic projects is understood simply as da’wa. Özdalga demonstrates these principles linked with pious movements and sees some common points with Weber’s “worldly ascetism” term. But unfortunately, hizmet is not treated as a product of traditional Islam. In other article, Özdalga comes to conclusion that Gülen’s inspiration activities can be described in the later example of Protestant movements and this is to foster a tendency towards a rationalization and secularization of relationships. Movement emphasizes that creating an ethical ethos of Muslim is a new feature in Turkish religious life. The argument of similarities between Gülen movement and the Christian missionaries is accentuating on secular and rational tendencies rather than revivalist traditional dimension. However, lacking of Islamic traditional background of the movement, rationalization of behaviours and activities are ultimately raised in many issues and we seek to explore the chain between past and present. Traditional and modern Islamic debates tell us how Gülen renovates the classical terminology of Islam following the cumulative tradition of Islam.^[10] As seen in Copeaux article that brings out the essential meaning and understanding of the term hizmet in Ottoman rule. The Turks are defined themselves as a protector of Islam.^[11] Hizmet for Gülen, implies that a person devotes oneself to religion and humanity, worrying about the interest of the others which is returned back to him after this world. The hizmet becomes a holy duty as a vocation. Gülen movement presents itself as an exemplary of the renewed cumulative tradition of Islam in which the Ottoman-Turkish legacy takes a ground and I argue that knowledge about akhis tradition, and malamatis Sufis values interrelated with chivalry, generous attitude that one can follow in Gülen movement, can help us understand some of the traditional aspects and “worldly ascetism” within Islam. The studies on Gülen movement, even if these works mention several times the altruistic character of the followers of Gülen movement, the devotion, the sacrifice of the sympathizers, these articles drew my intention to their ignorance of the traditional resources of Islam. It seems more relevant to me than one must study the birth of this tradition of hizmet relating with futuwwa and its today’s evolution in Gülen movement. To include and understand how followers use these concepts of futuwwa and the sufi principles malamatis, one initially starts to analyze the principal texts on the futuwwa and the malamatis, and the relationship between the two.^[12] I’m describing futtuwwa and akhis to grasp what followers perform and acquire in daily life. They serve us a model, a mode of structure and a simplified representation of phenomena.

Futuwwa and Malamatiyya

The genealogy of the movement in Turkey indicates that the course of this traditional term was interpreted several times in different ways by resorting the terms; the spiritual jihad, the progress of the heart, the azima and the action (himmat), the dialogue. Where does the Gülen movement captivate these terms and how does it impress new young generation? I think movement has renewed the akhis and futuwwa tradition in modern daily life by certain altruistic, devotional characters. Akhi means chivalry, Sufi brotherhood, “corps du métier”, the designation of members of society which has its own rules, a trade corporation, a kind of Brotherhood.

In his journey to Anatolia, Ibn-Batuta notes that he was invited by a group of men called akhis (Akhiyat al-Fityan, or the Brotherhood of Youth), and was invited to their dinner party and was accompanied by them on his journey when he continued from town to town in Anatolia.^[13] The different meeting occasions with akhis groups enable him to discover the rituals, organizations, practices. He depicted widening akhi’s organization, their rules and how to become an akhis and participate in akhi’s groups. Batuta’s Travels tell us a lot about organizations. They built a chivalry ethic and ethos between them and they fulfill zeal within these corporations divided into three groups in Batuta’s travels: religious, socioeconomic and political and these three groups are interrelated.^[14] They remain a coercive socio economic force gathering many corporations in the fundamental principles of futtuwwa (in Turkish fütüvvet). This term is distinguished with main characters like the chivalrous young man, nobility of manner and generosity.^[15] Generous, hospitable, upright, heroic, ascetic people mainly belong to these groups who have their own rituals called fata, young man. In 9^th century, in the first expansion of Muslims through Anatolia, these futuwwa organizations as warrior guilds playing a crucial role to establish Muslim rule in the Near East. Arnakis notes that during the Fatimide rule, the manners of futuwwa volunteer guilds dominated among other Muslims.^[16] Under the rule of Caliph Nasir, futuwwa seemed to be organized as a chivalry order and military group to strengthen the Abbaside rule and to diminish the tension between different religious rivals groups^[17] and this formation of distinct group is considered as an “aristocratic futuwwa”.^[18] Originated from Malamatis ideas and sufi lifestyles, the influence of Western chivalry order that produced among Muslims the similar order at the same time as the Crusades, is underlined by some scholars^[19], in the meantime, the extension of Malamatiyya in futuwwa is neglected. Salinger did not accept that the western form of chivalry had an impact on futuwwa tradition except a superficial similarities between European chivalry and fityan.^[20] Arnakis point out that fityan, a dynamic movement occurs not only in Muslim lands (Dar ul-islam), but they establish some orders in non Muslim lands (dar ul-harb), and during conflicts and troubles fityan more or less were at frontier zone.^[21]

Gülen movement restores values and ethos of hizmet by considering the practical dimension of the futuvvet. The ideal-type developed in Gülen’s teaching as hizmet eri represents this practical model of the fütüvvet which has its roots in the first years of the Sufism. The word feta, infinitive form is futuwwah, meaning youth and chivalry, possessed some virtues as generosity, faithful, young and brave man, heroism, munificence, modesty, chastity, loyalty, knowledge, piety. Anne Marie Schimmel gives the example of Seven Sleepers (Ashab-ı Kehf or People of the Cave)^[22] who are quoted in Qur’an in terms of fityan (plural of feta, in the sourate of Kehf courageous people are recited).^[23] The term futuvvet was widespread in the middle of the malamatis. This relation is studied very little except in certain writings. Afifi shows the strong bond between the malamatis and the doctrines of the futuwwa since its birth of malamatiyya and Sulami describes several types of people of futuvvet. In its epistle, Qushayri treats also the futuwwat as a kind of malamatis daily conduct.

Malamatiya was born in Khorasan in 9^th century, but we do not have adequate knowledge about these Sufi traditions differentiated with Basra’s enthusiastic and effervescent way of Sufi’s life. According to the Encylopedia Britannica: “Malamatiyah, a Sufi group that flourished in Samanid Iran during the 8^th century…. often referred to the Qur’anic verse “I [God] swear by the reproachful soul” as the basis for their philosophy. This verse, they said, clearly praised a self that constantly reproached and blamed its owner for the slightest deviation from the world of God. The reproachful self in Malamati terminology was the perfect self.”^[24] Malama means blame, in this regard, they are considered Sufis who blame their nafs, and conceal not manifesting their inward piety to others and to themselves. This mystic represents a life ideal in conformity with the religion by the destruction of his heart, which is distinguished with the ecstatic way from the Bagdadienne School. Deladrière writes that without Sulami one cannot have large things on Malamatiyya.^[25] In his small treaty, Sulami mentioned the absence of the writings and the documents concerning on their doctrines. According to him, one finds there only morals, the spiritual principles and the virtues. It is understood that Sulami contributes to writing their doctrines.^[26] For a Malamati, to think about his deeds and piety constitute an obstacle to self-realization. In certain brotherhoods, the invocation of God’s name is accompanied by songs and music. One arrives at a stage of ecstasy (wajd). The karamat are present in these ecstasies which prove also the degree of his proximity and his initiation in spiritual improvement. Those who are seen and described as the Sufis of Bagdadienne School are not observed among the melamatis. All visible and ostentatious signs are considered as suspicious and wary. One is far from showing his karamats which are a sign of his publicity which draws attention to oneself. The ornament of these signs is blamable for a malamati while for the soufis of Baghdad this does not cause such mistrust. One dissimulates what we do and our inward piety.

The birth of Malamatiyya dates back to the 11^th century, and probably according to Gölpınarlı, it was transmitted to Anatolia two centuries after its development in Khorasan. The mevlevis had been influenced by the ideas of Malamatis. Malamatiyya played a role in the expansion of certain brotherhoods like Bektâchî and another branch as important as Bayramiyye representing the melamatis in Anatolia.^[27]

The interconnection of Futuwwa orders with Sufism by the early years of its birth was mentioned by some scholars. Afifi says the first group of futuwwa were also Sufis, their life revealed also Sufi way of life^[28] and the first contact is realized in Iraq. When Sufism was expanding in early Islamic civilization, some futuwwa virtues and values immerged and appeared in Sufi brotherhood such as the idea of “isar”, preferring other to him reinforced in ascetic manners. Sufis considered the virtue isar as main value and added it to other principles like devotion, self sacrifice, struggle against his nafs, forgiveness. A new vocabulary emerged by this interconnection when the mystics interpreted Qur’an verses. Many Sufis describe certain levels to achieve and find an experience of God’s commandant. In the Khurasanian tendency, some aspects of futuwwah is characterized and emphasized. Some scholars as Horten do not accept this relation and influence between futuwwah and malamatiyya. For him, while people of futuwwah reconciliate taqva and pride, the melamatis disdained the world, they questioned the value of a worldly life, chose to improve their piety in daily life without performing it in public. He says futuwwah rules are opposite of malamatis.^[29] But Afifi argues that the first group people of futuwwah did not represent a chivalry and aristocratic principles calling “aristocratic futtuwwa”, they were closely affectionate to one’s feelings and principles. Sulemi’s treatise on Malamatiyya depicts many similarities and resemblances with futuwwa generation and feta tradition and composes an epistle on spiritual chivalry and one finds a chapter on fata conducts in Qushayrî’s Risâla. Many teachers of Khurasan and Malamatis call fata. These spiritual conducts and teachings spread out in Anatolia as we mentioned above by the akhis and fityan groups which played a distinguish role in spreading of these virtues and forming social and political organizations. These futuwwah ideals spread in trade organizations, which started in the first year of Selcukides, Turkish principalities and continued with the ottomans till 19^th century, were affected by Sufism, especially Malamatiyya. This way of religiosity is transformed into different social, economic domains, and influences a kind of understanding of Islam. Their activities have been considered as a hizmet. Islamic da’wa as a religious and spiritual capital contribute akhis various activities to become a social network. In the Gülen movement, it is remarkable that this traditional and spiritual movement is observed in Gülen’s teachings, follower’s daily conduct, understanding of Islam in new forms as an agency.

Gülen movement and Futtuwwa akhis Tradition

These practices and consciousness have survived until now in various forms and adaptations in daily life. This group consciousness is closely seen in young generation of Gulen movement. Study of relevant discourse, writings, and observation of daily conducts of followers let me think about the correlation between this akhis and futuwwah culture interrelating with malamatiyya and Gülen movement. The specific conducts as altruistic selfsacrifice or îthâr (isar), develop their spiritual life under the guise of the social futuwwa, creating new social, cultural and economic opportunities and capital for reaching out values such as modesty, devotion, forgiveness.

These terms remind us of Sufi terminology, but Gülen uses this mystical language in terms of da’wa and tries to defend the basic cultivation of self in favor of humanity, for today’s Muslims. My aim is not to describe how Gülen formulates Sufi knowledge, but to maintain in which way Gülen movement enacts these conducts. We do not treat Sufism as a distinct discipline, and the exemplas given by Gülen in his sermons and writings about devotional self sacrifice furnish an idealistic human being or perfect human being (insan-I kamil) idealized among followers. The futtuwwah tradition and orders are reproduced in different places such as schools, dormitories, houses, foundations. For Gülen, futuwwah is “a composite of such virtues as generosity, munificence, modesty, chastity, trustworthiness, loyalty, mercifulness, knowledge, humility, and piety. It is a station on the way to God as well as a dimension of sainthood, and also signifies that one has made altruism and helps others one’s second nature. It is an important, indispensable dimension of good conduct and a significant aspect of humanity.”

He underlies also some aspects of futuwwa people such as “being fair to everybody without expecting fairness from anyone; living one’s life as a pitiless enemy of one’s carnal self; being ever considerate of others and living for them; smashing all idols or all that is idolized, feeling remorse for the rest of one’s life for committing even a small sin, but overlooking others’ sins regardless of how large they are; seeing oneself as a poor, lowly servant while considering others as saintly; not resenting others while maintaining relations with those who resent you; being kind to those who hurt you; and serving God and the people more than anyone else, but preferring others to oneself when it is time to receive one’s wages.”

Based on this futuwwa identity, Gülen movement adapts to the modern conditions with its media, modern educational establishments, and corporations. One mobilizes spiritual and social capital into effective social projects that furnish a heroic man.

Hizmet and Heroic man

Gülen emphasizes an altruistic and heroic individual who strives to acquire these qualities in daily life and Gülen’s inspiration schools, dialogue and cultural centers create social and cultural mobilization. Using this heroic discourse by the early stage of his expansions contributes to a new language of Da’wa and shapes new heroic man inspired from futtuwwa and malamatiyya teachings.

In his definition, Gülen draws attention to the smashing idols and in his other writings he stresses the emerging problem of bohemian people, consumer culture. Pachter says that in our modern culture, traditional figures ceded their notably place new celebrities.

“Today’s popular heroes are no longer the mighty, the builders of empires, the inventors and achievers. Our celebrities are movie stars and singers, ‘beautiful’ people of leisure who profess a philosophy of enjoyment rather than discipline and toil.”^[30]

In this regard, Gülen movement shape a new language emphasizing upon ascetic and heroic principles of this new human and appearance in hizmet suggests a new human project. “They will think, investigate, believe, and overflow with spiritual pleasure. While making the fullest use of modern facilities, they will not neglect their traditional and spiritual values in building their own world.”^[31]For Gülen, this new man and woman are equipped with such morals and values, knowledge, profound spirituality, having no attachment to worldly things, comforts, and luxuries. Images of youth, beauty, and luxury become associated with new goods and self improvement. As a consequence, consumer culture, traditional values are going away more and more from daily life. In this consumerist culture, individuals are invited to detach from family obligations, religious ethics, civic values and they are encouraged to enjoy freedom, to construct their own world.^[32] As Lash says, the new way of life is dominated by the invasion of performance of the self and self realization. Hedonistic lifestyle, freedom to consume, images of body, advertising are at the core of the imagery of consumer culture. In Gülen views, against hedonistic life, we underlie to be reflexive when we act. In hedonistic life, the body is seen as a vehicle of pleasure, in followers’ life, the idea that the perception of this life is ephemeral leads them to achieve duties and responsibilities in this world which do not permit to fall down in carnal pleasures. This conscious responsibility is observed in daily life of followers inspired by Gülen’s thought on human being.^[33] As seen above, da’wa in Gülen movement is gained new functionality and abilities linked ideal perfect Islamic human being in secular life, but one question mundanity. Hizmet corresponds not only to one social project; these activities focus also on the spiritual revival of the Muslims, the attachment with piety and cultivating an ethical self.

In this new development of the hizmet, one notices first of all, the distinction between Islamic and non-Islamic becomes no residual, even the movement recovers the traditional notions of Islam in the modern era, one focuses on the organization of the modern forms of the knowledge, of the practices. The dormitories, the private schools, nonprofit foundations imbricate the religious and secular codes with an aim of implemented Islamic revival. It is an innovation which one meets in the movement and in addition it is the need which pushes the movement to go in this way of overlapping what is regarded and criticized as pragmatic.

Then, the concentration on the improvement of the individuals via readings and writings urges to leave a new language which is rare to be presented in various revivalists movements. Hizmet as a social project does not allow the member to withdraw on oneself; it maintains the relations with the other. This opening made displacement and replacement of the old position on which one ramifies in the Muslim world.

Hizmet does not cover only the religious tasks thus this does not mean only the consideration of the da’wa as well as the contemporary Islamic movements do not remain in the surroundings of the Muslims. Acting to abstain from the use of the words cahilliyya, jihad, dar-ul harb, the application of certain punitive modes shows only the change of the tonality in the Islamic direction of revivalism. The term contributes to the adaptation of the outside of the interior and vice versa. Non Muslim parents lead their children and the persons in charge of these schools do not make distinction between the Muslim and non Muslim pupils, it is not only because the religious mission dominates among members in the opening of these schools, but because hizmet goes on a social project without having Muslim and non Muslim distinction. Let us take the example of Abant Platform which brings together intellectuals, academics of different ideologies, works on several questions like secularity, the democracy, and education. Even if the religious topic as da’wa doesn’t appear in their program, one regards the platform as a product of the hizmet as an invention of social capital in public life.

The movement directs its activities towards education and dialogue, these efforts make the reconciliation between the movement and “outside”. By prolonging the significance of the term of hizmet, the movement incorporates several modern concepts in the practice like secular education in the schools, encouragement of the investment in the financial sector. In the writings and speech of Gülen, he addresses to the Muslims to be honest and to citizens of their country. The use of the modern resources of the social mobilization and policies thus the coffees, the rooms of readings, the schools, the cultural centers, the foundations, the publishers, and the newspapers makes it possible to reach the popularity. The followers integrate the modern practices in the reactivation of the tradition by seeking a way medium. Followers made the public spaces of urban life a key site of their hizmet activities, and used print media to propagate their messages via media. Engaged in charitable and economic global activities, successfully transformed a secular place into religious quest.

As a conclusion, we argue that the key concept hizmet that has been useful to understand the emergence of the movement in public sphere with institutional and non formal practices as ideas with which sympathizers represent a public capacity that gives differences in configuring social life. It is the analysis of this concept that helps us understand the role of the term hizmet in social innovation of the movement considered as a moral action and different modalities of agency that I follow in the sympathizers daily life. This agency is articulated in different concepts such as sincerity, action, devotion, modesty. Finally, I describe the fact that Gülen movement deals with the term hizmet as a medium and agency of deeds. I argue that a change in the referential structure of the sign system like the term hizmet produces new kinds of behaviour and conducts as practices and ideas contributing to the emergence of public sphere.