Can Erdoğan finish off the Gülen movement?

Mahir Zeynalov
Mahir Zeynalov


Date posted: February 4, 2014

MAHIR ZEYNALOV

The Western media has falsely portrayed the recent developments in Turkey as the latest chapter in the power struggle between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and influential Turkish cleric and scholar Fethullah Gülen.

The correct picture is as follows: Erdoğan, motivated by his ever-growing hunger for power, is trying to subdue a civil society movement that doesn’t obey his every whim. He ruthlessly attacks the Gülen, or Hizmet, movement to finish it off. In other words, this is not a power struggle but a one-sided attack by an increasingly authoritarian leader on a civil society movement critical of the way government rules the nation.

In this asymmetrical fight, the Hizmet movement has nothing to lose. It is composed of individuals who are dedicated to doing something that they believe is for the good of humanity. Gülen, the head and inspirational cleric of the movement, has declared that he is ready to relinquish control of every kind of facility, including a wide network of schools, that is run by members of the movement. “The goal is that they continue providing services to the nation,” Gülen said, in remarks illustrating that the movement doesn’t desire power through the facilities they run.

Having said this, it is evident that the Hizmet movement cannot lose the battle, simply because it has nothing to lose. Erdoğan can certainly make things much harder for members of the movement, but this is not something unprecedented in the movement’s 50-year history.

Those watching the ongoing troubles understand that they’re next in line once Erdoğan is done with the Hizmet movement. Erdoğan’s unceasing desire for more power has set in motion a train of events that eventually will make Turkey one of the most authoritarian states of those with pretentions to modernity. The most dangerous part of the process is Erdoğan’s exploitation of religion that makes many believe that this is nothing but a fight for Islam. One wonders how slandering and insulting other Muslims could be regarded as a Muslim way of behavior.

There is a useful saying in Turkish: The candle of someone who lies burns only until midnight.

Source: Todays Zaman , February 4, 2014


Related News

Dismissed policeman detained while applying to post-coup rights commission

I.K., a former deputy police chief in Gaziantep’s Sehitkamil district who was dismissed in the government’s post-coup crackdown, was detained when he visited a local State of Emergency (OHAL) commission in Sivas to reclaim his rights.

Abant Platform: perspectives on Turkey

Ihsan YILMAZ  June 22, 2012 The Abant Platform, being an innovative institution, has now initiated a new discussion forum which, as far as I am aware, is a first in Turkey. We will be discussing different perspectives on Turkey together with non-Turkish academics, diplomats and journalists working in the country. For three days, we will […]

Turkey detainees tortured, raped after failed coup, rights group says

JASON HANNA and TIM HUME Captured military officers raped by police, hundreds of soldiers beaten, some detainees denied food and water and access to lawyers for days. These are the grim conditions that many of the thousands who were arrested in Turkey face in the aftermath of a recent failed coup, witnesses tell Amnesty International. […]

East Indian Activist Supports Inter-cultural Dialog and Gulen Movement

Swami Agnivesh, 72, a Hindu social activist best known for his work against bonded labor said on a recent visit to Istanbul that he believed in intercultural dialog and Fethullah Gulen’s liberal ideas. Agnives said he was impressed with the Fethullah Gulen Movement’s work to find fellowship between cultures. Agnives came to know Fethullah Gulen through the […]

Unbelievably corrupt!

Islamism in this sense [ party comes before the government] is over. The Muslim world is looking towards a post-Islamist paradigm by means of perceptions about citizenship, constitution, the state and civil society.

HAPPENED AGAIN: Police detain woman who just gave birth at Mersin City Hospital

Filiz Y., a 30-year-old woman who gave birth at Mersin City Hospital last night, has been detained over alleged links to the Gulen movement, which the Turkish government accuses of masterminding a coup attempt on July 15, 2016.

Latest News

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

Kimse Yok Mu to distribute meat in 100 countries

A private Turkish university opens in northern Iraq

Turkey deserves a civilian constitution – Cemal Yigit

How will prep school controversy influence elections [in Turkey]?

Ankara’s soft-power dilemma

Fethullah Gulen: Muslims, we have to critically review our understanding of Islam

Police wait at hospital to detain cancer patient

Copyright 2024 Hizmet News