Date posted: October 8, 2016
Nowadays, most articles about Turkey, Erdogan and Gulen have a default sentence: “Erdogan and Gulen were former allies”. It is said and written so many times that eventually became a fact. However, the reality is not that simple.
This 2 minute-video illustrates Gulen-Erdogan history.
Tags: Fethullah Gulen | Hizmet (Gulen) movement | Hizmet and politics | Turkey |

The Gülen community is a movement of volunteers. The real reason for the row is not the community’s attempt to meddle in politics. It is due to its sheer size and public image. As he did with other groups or communities, Erdoğan sought to take full control of the Hizmet movement in an effort to consolidate his power. Following the defeat of the military tutelage, the government saw a convergence of power. However, the Hizmet movement was not a piece of cake which it could swallow easily. The government had previously purged itself of many bureaucrats who are close to the community.

Following the abortive putsch on July 15 2016, allegations of unfair trials, using torture in prisons and holding suspects without trial have been made against Erdogan’s government. And now, it has been alleged that Turkey is arresting women accused of links to the Gülen movement immediately after they give birth.

In the past three weeks, the AK Party has proposed new laws to increase government controls over judges and prosecutors, and many investigations have slowed down, raising suspicions that the government might be trying to hide something.

The Pak-Turk school network students and their parents’ protested against the likely closure of the educational set-up following the two-day state visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the federal government’s decision to deport teachers affiliated with Pak-Turk International Schools and Colleges.

Taipei, Dec. 6 (CNA) A social movement that promotes love, tolerance, dialogue and peace inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen bears many similarities to Confucianism, a Taiwanese scholar said Monday. Turkey is entering a period of reflection, just as ancient China during the period from 770-221 B.C., when Confucianism matured, and the Hizmet (service) […]

The corruption crisis, the related ongoing judicial process and PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s stance towards this process have led many people to have serious concerns over justice and the latest developments have made me pose the following questions. I think that we strongly need honestly speaking and honestly thinking politicians to answer these questions for the sake of liberal democracy and universal values such as rule of law.
