The Battle For Turkey’s Soul


Date posted: July 24, 2016

Anwar Alam

The recent attempt of a military coup has raised more questions than it has answered about the emerging complexities of Turkish politics. This development has sent a shock wave among all the international stakeholders in the region as it generated fear of further destabilisation of an already destabilised region.

The narratives about the occurrence of the coup range from a possible involvement of the Erdogan regime itself so as to further consolidate its unfettered rule by controlling the institution of the military on the one hand to the alleged involvement of the Gulen movement, on the other hand. However, between these two poles, the possibility of a revolt by a section of Kemalist military officers can not be ruled out.

However, it is Erdogan’s allegation of direct involvement of Fethullah Gulen and the Gulen movement in the coup that has received worldwide attention. Gulen, a Turkish Islamic scholar living in the US since 1998, is credited to have inspired a worldwide Islamic voluntary movement, called Hizmet (service), which runs thousands of secular educational institutions along with inter-faith dialogue centres. The movement has worked closely with Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule in pushing the agenda of democratisation of Turkish society and state, which eventually resulted in clipping the powers of the army and jolting the hegemony of the “White Turks” between 2002 and 2012 before the two fell out in 2013 — partly on account of the de-democratisation measures by the Erdogan regime. ‘

The Erdogan regime’s hatred of the Gulen movement is both personal and political. Erdogan is personally convinced that Gulen and the movement have betrayed him by orchestrating the corruption charges involving his family members and inner circle in December 2013. This permanently damaged his political prospect to wear the mantle of Kemal Ataturk. All political regimes in the West Asian and North African region tend to monopolise the political space and fear that autonomous social movements are a threat to them. The Erdogan regime is no different.

The Gulen movement with its powerful network of educational institutions, media and business houses along with its gradual penetration in state sectors, particularly in the police and the judiciary, makes the Erdogan regime fearful of its existence. Moreover, both the AKP and the Gulen movement shared the contemporary Turkish legacy of Islam, development and democracy, at least till 2012. It is not in the interest of any regime to share the legacy upon which rests its legitimacy. This partly explains why the regime sought to crush the movement in the name of “terrorist” with a specific aim of robbing the movement of its “peaceful, non-violent, Islamic and developmental image”. Finally, the conflict between the two emanates from the inherent conflict between the two traditions of Islam: The power-centred political-binary-collectivist narrative of Islam (or Political Islamists) such as the AKP that seeks to control and dominate all aspects of national life and the individualised-Sufistic-ethical-moral-spiritual narrative of Islam, represented by Gulen, that seeks to guide the “political” without directly participating in it.

The 2013 corruption charges provided the first opportunity to the Erdogan regime to finish off the movement. Since then, armed with a massive mandate in 2014, Erdogan sacked and arrested many officials and private persons and systematically took over all Gulen movement-linked institutions. The failed military coup proved to be, in the words of Erdogan himself, “a gift from god” because it will help him (a) win over those who remained unconvinced about regime’s rejection of the corruption charges, (b) eliminate all potentials suspects, dissenting voices and enemies, (c) overcome his growing international isolation, and finally (d) institutionalise himself as the Reis — lifelong serving leader, both of the Turkish nation and the ummah at large.

It is not surprising that within 3-4 days of the failed coup, the regime suspended, arrested and dismissed more than 35,000 officials associated with different government bodies. The coming days would witness more purge of state officials including death penalties. The government may call for snap elections to secure an absolute majority with a view to amending the constitution to make Erdogan the Reis. Within a span of 70 years, the pendulum has swiftly shifted from once Kemalist authoritarianism to Islamist authoritarianism in Turkey, which points out to, among other things, the fragility of the relationship between Islam and democracy.

Turkey has entered a phase of instability for a long time to come albeit under the rule of a very popular regime. It is indeed pitiful and paradoxical that while people’s participation in resisting the military coup was hailed as the “victory of democracy,” the post-coup period is increasingly witnessing the “death of democracy”. It is also ironic and tragic that at a time when the world is in dire need of a liberal-moderate Islamic movement in its fight against Wahhabi-Salafi inspired global Islamic terrorism, the Erdogan regime is bent upon destroying the Gulen movement by labelling it as “terrorist”.

Source: The Indian Express , July 24, 2016


Related News

HAPPENED AGAIN: Police detain woman who just gave birth at Mersin City Hospital

Filiz Y., a 30-year-old woman who gave birth at Mersin City Hospital last night, has been detained over alleged links to the Gulen movement, which the Turkish government accuses of masterminding a coup attempt on July 15, 2016.

U.S. schools are indirectly linked to preacher, often well-regarded

Even before the revolt, this network was already in Erdogan’s sights. Critics say Gulen gets payments from supporters doing contract work on the schools or from “donations” made by Turkish instructors brought to the U.S. on special visas to teach at them, charges he has rejected. Several charter chains thought to be related to the Gulen movement have been investigated by local authorities for misusing taxpayer dollars, but the inquiries haven’t resulted in charges of wrong doing.

Turkey’s Maarif schools to be funded by Saudi and IDB money

The Maarif Foundation, established by the Turkish government in order to compete with Turkish schools abroad established by Gülen movement sympathizers, has received approval from Saudi authorities and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) for financial support for Maarif schools abroad, a Turkish news portal reported on Friday.

Fethullah Gulen and his Ideals

Fethullah Gulen is an authoritative mainstream Turkish Muslim scholar, thinker, author, poet, opinion leader and educational activist who supports interfaith and intercultural dialogue, science, democracy and spirituality and opposes violence and turning religion into a political ideology. Fethullah Gülen promotes cooperation of civilizations toward a peaceful world, as opposed to a clash: “Be so tolerant […]

Nearly 500 police officials reassigned in Ankara, İzmir

Erdoğan has reacted furiously to the corruption investigation, decrying an attempted “judicial coup” his supporters see as orchestrated by the Hizmet movement. He has reassigned thousands of police officers, more than a hundred judges and prosecutors, and purged official bodies of executives he suspects of being close to Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.

Kosovo investigates seizure of Turkish nationals

Kosovo authorities are investigating the arrest and extradition of six Turkish citizens, which activists said represented a violation of human rights, Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj said on Saturday.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Foreign Minister Babacan visits Turkish school in Dakar

Toward an Islamic enlightenment

‘Parallel’ paranoia reaches the kitchen of Parliament

Education for Sustainable Development

12 detained for raising funds to help families of jailed Gülen sympathizers

Turkic American Alliance Condemns Government Takeover of Zaman

The Scale of Turkey’s Purge Is Nearly Unprecedented

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News