The Spirituality of Responsibility

Turkish Islamic leader Fethullah Gülen offers a distinctive view of responsibility, which is explored here for the first time. Simon Robinson shows how Gülen's writings, influenced by both orthodox Islam and the Sufi tradition, contribute a dynamic, holistic and interactive view of responsibility which locates personal identity, agency and freedom in plural relationships.
The Spirituality of Responsibility also explores the practice of responsibility in Gülen's life and in the Hizmet movement which he founded. Gülen has been at the centre of many controversies, including in his Movement's relationship with the Turkish government. Charting Gülen's response, from the Israeli Gaza blockade through to more recent crises, the book critiques aspects of both this practice and underlying ideas, and argues that responsibility, focused in dialogue and peace-building, is continuing to evolve in the leadership and practice of the movement, providing a challenge to conventional views of governance and responsibility.
This book is an important contribution both to the theological and philosophical debate about responsibility but also to the practice of responsibility focused in creative action, debates in business and contemporary society about responsible governance and enterprise.

Simon Robinson is Professor of Applied and Professional Ethics, and Director of Research Centre for Governance, Leadership and Global Responsibility, Leeds Beckett University, UK. He is also editor of Journal of Global Responsibility.

Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Responsibility in practice: testing the blockade
2. Responsibility
3. Responsibility, agency and the virtues
4. Social and environmental responsibility
5. Responsibility and peacebuilding
6. Responsibility and dialogue
7. Conclusions
Bibliography
Index