…Just as all Muslims must oppose the ideology of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), vicious terrorist groups that plan to overthrow governments in Muslim nations and establish a caliphate based on their perverted interpretation of Islam, Turks must also confront efforts by Erdoğan and his ideological allies to turn this great country into a bastion for a hypocritical authoritarian regime that simply abuses Islamic references to sustain its power.
Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, the key moderate mainstream Muslim leader, has become Erdoğan’s main target because Gülen is leading the charge in the battle to counter the extremist ideology of political Islamists. With his strong, principled stand rooted in solid and clear religious references, Gülen exposed the hypocrisy of Erdoğan’s political Islamist regime, which had promised to root out corruption, favoritism and mismanagement in Turkey, as well as adventurism and interference abroad.
Erdoğan lost his credibility and the trust of the people amid tightening political oppression and increasingly partisan governance in Turkey. His long-running cunning game is over. In a futile attempt, he is trying to hold on to power for fear of being defenseless in the face of potential charges in the future for constitutional crimes and criminal acts.
It is hard to understand the relentless efforts of Turkish politicians and media networks to create new objects of hate, in contrast with the global and local struggle against racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and similar approaches that pave the way for hate speech, hate crime and discrimination. Hate speech, mutually produced in the context of the developments following the Gezi Park protests in June, is concrete proof that we are making life in this world increasingly unbearable for one another.
Questions on a Coup – Did Erdogan engineer it himself?
Now that Erdogan has cleared away all of his rivals from within, he has aggressively demanded that the U.S. extradite his only remaining serious rival – Fethullah Gulen. It would be unconscionable and immoral for the U.S. to comply with the wishes of a power hungry and merciless dictator. When the smoke has finally cleared we may discover that Erdogan himself has engineered the coup as an excuse for a final crackdown on the opposition and to solidify his autocratic rule.
Islam, terrorism and the media
We unfortunately live in an unfair world. Injustice is so ubiquitous that we can categorize it based on our neighborhood, our city, our region, our country and the world. Any kind of injustice, discrimination or otherization — such as social injustice, class injustice, inequity in income distribution and a lack of equal opportunities in education, business and social mobility — may rear its ugly head at any moment in our daily life. Not only the cases of social injustice we encounter in our daily life, but also the sentiments of rage and revolt stemming from national or international injustice may trigger reactions that are against the nature of people who normally have psychological integrity.
Hizmet school ready to pioneer education in Kurdish
Following the decision to allow education in languages other than Turkish in private schools, as part of the democratization package recently unveiled by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, a private school run by Gülen movement volunteers said it is ready to start education in Kurdish once such a law is introduced.
Abrupt gov’t decision to revoke status of Kimse Yok Mu draws criticism
Turkey’s leading charity, Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There), had its right to collect charitable donations abruptly rescinded on Tuesday, in what seems to be an arbitrary decision made during a Cabinet meeting, prompting harsh reactions from volunteers, lawmakers of the opposition parties and representatives of other civil society groups.
False reports on Bank Asya breach laws
Earlier reports in the Turkish media had claimed that the government had mulled over a comprehensive investigation into Bank Asya following an ongoing corruption and bribery case. The papers cited the Hizmet movement — with which Bank Asya is affiliated — as the hand behind the police operations into persons close to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). The same reports implied a retaliatory attack on Bank Asya over alleged abuses within the bank.
Latest News
Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison
Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney
Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement
ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment
New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement
European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests
ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases
Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade
Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet
In Case You Missed It
Moderate Muslims Find Voice and Spotlight in Worldwide Gulen Movement
Response to aspersion on Hizmet
TUSKON says systematic campaign of defamation is under way
Police raid Gülen-inspired prep schools in Erzurum
Religious leaders pray for world peace at meeting of civilizations
Afghan official lauds Turkey’s education drive
Al-Azhar has examined and approved all the works of Mr. Gulen
