Pacifica Institute is organizing a lecture on Turkish politics: What Went Wrong in Turkey? Turkey’s prominent academic and thinker Sahin Alpay will deliver a lecture on Thursday September 17, 2015 at Pacifica Institute’s Silicon Valley branch.
Sahin Alpay is a columnist for Turkish dailies Zaman (since 2002) and Today’s Zaman (since 2007). He has previously served as editor and columnist at other leading Turkish dailies Cumhuriyet (1982 – 92), Sabah (1993 – 94) and Milliyet (1994 – 2001). He received Ph. D. degree in political science from Stockholm University (1981). He has lectured in various Turkish and Western universities, and mainly taught Turkish Politics and Comparative Politics courses at Bahcesehir University in Istanbul from 2001 until his retirement in early 2015. His comments on Turkish domestic politics and foreign policy frequently appear in the international media.
Turkey’s Gulen Demand – The U.S. shouldn’t extradite the exiled Turk without better evidence
Turkey is demanding that the U.S. extradite Fethullah Gulen whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating this month’s failed military coup. “The evidence is crystal clear,” PM Yildirim told the Journal Tuesday, adding that Washington’s request for evidence of Mr. Gulen’s guilt is superfluous “when 265 people have been killed.” If that’s Mr. Yildirim’s standard of proof, Washington should deny the request.
Peace Islands Institute Celebrates 10th Anniversary
The Peace Islands Institute (PII) is ten years old now. Its 10th Anniversary and 6th Annual Award Ceremony was held on June 2, 2013. Over 200 guests and many dignitaries joined the PII to applaud the accomplishments of the honorees and to celebrate PII’s 10th anniversary. The honorees and guests all applauded the PII for becoming an agent of dialogue, love and peace-building within a short span of time.
Dialogue Institute of the Southwest presents Whirling Dervishes of Rumi
The Whirling Dervish Performance of Rumi is a highly cultural and spiritual celebration of existence, performed by members of a branch of the Sufi order, which was founded in the 13th century in the Turkish city of Konya. The Whirling Dervishes played a vitally important part in the evolution of Ottoman Empire high culture.
The U.S. may face a choice between geopolitical calculation and human decency
Such movements, especially if they’re Muslim, attract suspicion in the West. In 2008, the Dutch government began investigating Hizmet. Its conclusions were that the movement isn’t involved in terrorism or a breeding ground for radicalism, nor does it oppose integration of Muslims into secular states. In 2015, MLK’s alma mater, Morehouse College, awarded its Gandhi King Ikeda Peace Award to Gülen for his lifelong commitment to peace among nations. But Erdogan insists that Gülen is a terrorist.
Bipartisan think-tank: The U.S. should not interfere politically in Gülen extradition case
If the executive branch were to interfere too forcefully in the Gülen extradition case now, it would only confirm Turkish leaders’ belief that the U.S. system operates on the same corrupt terms as Turkey’s. This would fundamentally affirm Erdoğan’s view that democracy as a value and a practice is a purely cynical discourse used by Western powers to harm Turkey.
Best robot design award for Turkish school students in NY competition
ORHAN AKKURT, NEW YORK Students from the private Turkish school Pioneer Academy of Science were granted the prize of the best robot design in a competition in New York last week. Ninety-five schools participated in the competition FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) displaying designs of robots. At the end of the competition, the team from the […]
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