Abstract

Turkey-origin families in Denmark have long been suffering for their children’s future due to the challenges of criminal gangs and violent religious extremist organizations. Hizmet movement which is a non-governmental civic movement offers a solution to the afore-mentioned problems of youths through education. Hizmet movement is a voluntary, transnational, faith-inspired civil movement which was founded in Turkey 50 years ago by a Muslim scholar and preacher Fethullah Gülen and now is globally active. The purpose of this thesis is to understand Hizmet movement educational philosophy and its role in the success and popularity of Hay school which is situated in the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen and known as a Hizmet-inspired school. After having made a literature review about Hizmet educational philosophy, I tried to understand if this philosophy plays an important role in the success and popularity of Hay school by the data collected through institutional documents and semi-structured interviews. The conclusion is that Hay school, have many similar aspects with other Hizmet-inspired schools and Hizmet education philosophy plays an important role in the success and popularity of Hay school. That is; The Hizmet-educational philosophy which is an important factor to ensure Hay school as a safe haven for pupils against criminality and radicalism contributes a lot to the success and popularity of the school.