An İstanbul-based lawyer filed a criminal complaint on Wednesday against Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, with allegations such as the establishment of a criminal organization, organizing an attempt to overthrow the government, organized fraud and abuse of duty as a civil servant.
Lawyer Hüdaverdi Yıldırım submitted a petition to the İstanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office in which he accused Gülen of being behind the corruption scandal that came to public attention on Dec. 17 of last year. Claiming that the graft probe is not about corruption and bribery but about overthrowing a legitimate government, Yıldırım argued that those who emphasize the independence of the judiciary are actually asking for privileged status for the ideology of their community — by which Yıldırım meant the Hizmet movement.
Yıldırım also claimed that Gülen is guilty of using his influence over public prosecutors to make them target the government.
The Hizmet movement is a religious and social movement that is inspired by the teaching of US-based scholar Gülen.
Will Erdoğan succeed in wresting away the reins of religion from civilian hands?
I am going to talk about a situation similar to the process by which the tools of production become state possessions. These are concepts far removed not only from Western culture but from socialist ideologies as well.
From ‘parallel state’ to ‘terrorist organization’: Dissecting Erdoğan’s labeling of Gülen
Yet more than three years since the public feud between Erdoğan and Gülen began, the allegations against the Gülen movement of infiltrating the state, plotting coups, and proselytizing students through its schools still rest on speculation.
In controversial move Parliament votes to shut down prep schools
The removal of prep schools, however, remains an unsettled dispute, with opponents to the bill saying that without eliminating standardized testing for university entrance, the move will only serve to hamper the poorer high school students’ plans to attend universities, as socioeconomic disparity shows itself in exam results.
Erdogan’s endless legitimacy crisis
Erdogan, who is avoiding dealing with the corruption charges, cannot preserve his government on the dead-end street he has entered.
Turkish schools behind Turkey’s soft power in Middle East
2 May 2012 / MİNHAC ÇELİK, İSTANBUL Marco Padovan, Italian businessman and a member of the Turkish-Italian Trade and Cooperation Association, said during a round table meeting held in İstanbul on Wednesday that Turkish schools play a crucial role in the increase of Turkey’s soft power in the Middle East and North Africa. Speaking during […]
Abant Platform meeting launches with identity debates in Turkey
SEVGİ AKARÇEŞME, ABANT/BOLU/TURKEY The Abant Platform started its 28th meeting on Friday at Lake Abant with the participation of over a hundred intellectuals, academics, journalists and pundits from different ideological backgrounds to discuss the current issues in Turkey. The first theme of the meeting was on Turkey’s issues of identity. Participants agreed that the misinterpretation […]
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