… If the [Fethullah] Gülen movement were a small, ineffective community, the AKP would never have disturbed it. Or if the Gülen movement had acted in full cooperation with the government, such a conflict wouldn’t have occurred. But the Gülen movement has a specific mission. What is that mission?
They seek to obtain the pleasure of God by leading good religious lives and engaging in educational and social services. The AKP, on the other hand, wants to improve its political power and political services to earn prestige and thus become good religious people and earn the pleasure of God.
Naturally, the diverging paths have led to conflict. Such things have occurred in the past, and a typical example is the Battle of Siffin. An AKP supporter should answer this question: Which side was the “parallel structure” on in the Battle of Siffin?
Excerpted from the interview made with Mr. Akyol, published on Today’s Zaman, 09 June 2014, Monday
These are indeed interesting times in Nigeria. The Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria Mr. Hakan Cakil is the Prime Minister of the Turkish Nigerian republic. Yes, he is for he recently called on the Nigerian government to close 17 Turkish schools in the country. That was quite audacious, and deserving of a backhand slap by my three-year-old son.
Coexistence Awards largely honor Turkey’s minority groups
MAHİR ZEYNALOV, İSTANBUL The Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) has largely honored Turkey’s minority groups and oppressed voices with its landmark 4th Coexistence Awards in the hopes of giving a stimulus to those promoting peaceful coexistence with a sustained effort despite scarce resources. The awards ceremony attracted thousands of spectators, including officials, intellectuals and public […]
Recep Tayyip Erdogan is about to make himself a virtual dictator in Turkey
The proposed constitutional change grants the presidency new powers to directly appoint a vast range of public officials – cabinet ministers, provincial governors, and judges to the highest courts in the land. Simply put, the government’s plans are an enabling act: they are designed to strengthen the individual over the collective.
French coach Tigana to donate computer lab to Turkish school in Mali
A large educational facility is being constructed on 14 acres of land by Turkish education volunteers in Bamako. While the construction of the school, which will be situated along the Niger River, is still in progress, the volunteers were delighted by the unexpected support from French coach Tigana for the education complex. Tigana first drastically reduced the price of the land and then promised to sponsor the construction of a computer lab in the school.
Former US diplomat: War on Turkish schools in Africa ruining Turkey’s credibility
Former US Ambassador to Ethiopia and Adjunct Professor of International Relations David Shinn told Sunday’s Zaman in an exclusive interview that Turkey tends to lose its credibility when it asks African governments to close Turkish schools as African leaders traditionally put up resistance when they are told what to do by an “external power.”
International panel on Mary was held in Istanbul
An international panel, titled “Mary in the Holy Scripture and Qur’an,” was jointly held by the Journalists and Writers Foundation’s (GYV) Intercultural Dialogue Platform (KADİP), the Tevere Institute and İzmir Intercultural Dialogue Center (İZDİM) at WoW Hotel in Istanbul. The two-day meeting was attended by a number of leading scholars and intellectuals of the field and focused on such topics as “Approaches to Mary,” “Debate on Mary,” “Mary Doctrine and its Historical Development.”
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