Unidentified individuals have graffitied offensive remarks on a wall of the Turkish Cultural Center (TCC) in the city of West Haven, Connecticut.
The graffiti echoes Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s hate speech against the Hizmet movement inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, with which the cultural center is affiliated.
The TCC has been serving the Turkish-American community in Connecticut for seven years. Mehmet Elmacı, the coordinator of the organization, told Turkish media outlets that the incident was unprecedented. “We are a cultural center that does not take part in politics. Our goal has been to share Turkey’s cultural heritage with our community. We condemn those individuals who are inspired by Erdoğan’s hate speech toward the Hizmet movement to write offensive remarks on our walls,” he said.
This means the [Gulen] movement’s Islamic core is intertwined with an internalization of Western Weberian and Calvinist worldviews, highlighting the interconnectedness of religious principles and economic applications, believing, in the spirit of Capitalism, that socioeconomic prosperity is the most favorable way to bring about and reflect God’s pleasure.
‘Humiliating people not allowed in Islam’
A man identified as Mustafa Petek asked the Religious Affairs Directorate on March 24 if Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, who inspired the Hizmet movement, deserves to be a target of hate speech by state officials. The Religious Affairs Directorate, in response to the man’s query on hate speech, said, “In Islam, no one is allowed to humiliate a person or refer to him using adjectives that don’t represent him.”
Ex-employee files complaint against TİB head over purge
An email claimed that the agency tampered with its system logs to fabricate evidence that the “parallel state,” a term the government uses to describe the Hizmet movement, had listened in on around 2,000 people. The message said the electronic serial numbers (ESNs) of these people were entered into the system as per instructions from TİB President Çelik and then erased — all to make it look like the Hizmet movement had spied on Turkish citizens and then covered its tracks.
ALİ H. ASLAN, WASHINGTON The senate of the US state of Texas on Tuesday passed a resolution commending respected Turkish scholar Fethullah Gülen for his contributions to the promotion of global peace and understanding. Senate Resolution No. 85, which was approved during Tuesday’s session chaired by Texas Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, said, “The Senate of […]
Who is escalating tensions?
Whenever someone questions the government’s performance or flaws in Turkey, the Gülen movement is put under the spotlight. And whenever there is a mass protest, the Gezi figures and Alevis are accused of being behind it.
Afghan, Pakistani leaders praise Turkish schools at Ankara summit
Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif made their remarks in response to a question at a joint news conference with Turkish President Abdullah Gül following a trilateral summit in Ankara that focused on security.
“Afghan children are offered high-quality education services. We are very happy about that,” Karzai said, while Sharif said the schools “are doing a perfect job.”
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