Ankara-supplied clerics spy on Turkish-Australian communities


Date posted: December 19, 2016

CHIP LE GRAND

Turkish imams preaching in Melbourne and Sydney mosques have been instructed to spy on Australian supporters of Fethulah Gulen, an exiled cleric blamed by President Recep ­Erdogan for the failed July coup bid in Ankara.

Details of how the Turkish government is using religious networks to inform against political opponents living abroad have emerged amid a “charm ­offensive’’ by the Erdogan ­regime to strengthen its support across the Muslim world.

Prime Minister Binali Yild­irim, a staunch Erdogan ally, ­recently received a large delegation of Australian Muslim leaders who travelled to Ankara to show solidarity with Turkey’s government.

The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils delegation was organised by AFIC board member Kazim Ates, a prominent commentator on Turkish affairs on SBS Radio. Mr Ates supports the ruling party, AKP, and said he believed the hierarchy of the Gulen movement was “evil’’.

The delegation, led by AFIC president Keysar Trad, met Mr Yildirim, his top advisers and other Turkish MPs and attended a session of the Turkish parliament. Mr Trad said that since ­returning, he had several meetings with Turkey’s ambassador to Canberra and leaders of the Hizmet movement founded by Mr Gulen.

“We see ourselves as peacemakers,’’ Mr Trad told The Australian. “We believe the elected government in Turkey deserves to be supported. We also believe that if there is anything we can do to create peace between the government and the Hizmet movement we should do that.’’

Since the failed coup which left 265 people dead, the Erdogan regime has savagely purged academics, teachers, lawyers and judges with ties to the Hizmet movement. An Australian professor ­arrested in Ankara shortly after the coup has spent five months in jail without charge. It is estimated more than 50,000 people have been detained and more than 100,000 purged from their jobs.

The English language Hurriyet Daily News has reported that Turkey’s ministry of religious ­affairs, the Diyanet, had compiled intelligence reports on Gulen supporters from information provided by imams ­posted to 38 countries, including Australia. Mr Ates said he was not aware of imams spying on worshippers but if they were, the practice was neither new nor ­unexpected. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the imams have been asked to prepare reports,’’ he said. “From the time the republic was founded civil servants were expected to be the agents of the government.’’

Turkish mosques in Australia have traditionally used imams supplied by the Diyanet, which also provides Friday sermons for imams to deliver throughout the Turkish-speaking world.

Under Mr Erdogan, the ­Diyanet has become overtly political. Anti-terrorism expert Greg Barton said this was creating deep tensions in Turkey communities abroad. “There is a very aggressive program around the world, through the Turkish Foreign Minister and also through the Diyanet, which is basically a campaign of coercion and surveillance of the Turkish diaspora,’’ Professor Barton said.

Source: The Australian , December 20, 2016


Related News

MP close to Gülen quits ruling AKP, slams accusations against Islamic scholar

İşbilen became the seventh member to resign from the AKP since the massive graft scandal went public on Dec. 17 and the ninth since the test prep school row that created the rift between Gülen’s Hizmet (Service) movement and the government. The lawmaker, who is known for his closeness to the movement, said he has known Gülen for more than 50 years and has never heard such harsh words being directed against him.

The Islamic roots of the conflict in Turkey

he roots of the Gülen movement go back to Said Nursi (1878-1960), a preacher from Eastern Anatolia whose teachings (the Nurcu movement) emphasized the compatibility of Islam with rationalism, science and positivism. Nursi’s main contribution to Islam was a 6,000-page commentary he wrote on the Quran. This body of work is known as the “Risale-i Nur” (The Light Collection) and advocates the teaching of modern sciences in religious schools as the way of the future for an Islamic age of enlightenment.

‘Islam and I’

The number of books written by Western academics on Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen’s ideas and Hizmet, the faith-based social movement he has inspired, is growing.

Kimse Yok Mu chair Cingöz: Everyone feels some type of oppression in Turkey

Kimse Yok Mu was designated a nongovernmental organization in March 2002. It had started its work following a devastating earthquake in Turkey in August 1999. Kimse Yok Mu now reaches out to different regions of the world affected by catastrophes. It is officially recognized by Turkey as an association that works for “public interest.”

Turkey’s post-revolutionary civil war

What does this corruption investigation has anything to do with the AKP-Gülen Movement tension? Well, the prosecutor who apparently led this investigation in big secrecy, Zekeriya Öz, is believed to be a member of the movement. Corruption is a serious matter and the real best defense would be to help bring those who are charged to justice. Meanwhile, the Gülen Movement, normally a civil society group, should help save itself from the image of secrecy and infiltration that it has been drawn into in the past decade.

What is the main offense that the Cemaat (Hizmet movement) has committed?

The background of the operation into the Cemaat which they [the government] have tried to depict as the main source of all evil in the world is so groundless and weak that…

Latest News

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

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

Hatred-inciting discourses and the debate on ‘genocide and crime against humanity’

Turkish Olympiad Finals add a festive air to Kiev

Understanding Fethullah Gülen (2)

‘Nigerians and their leaders won’t fall for Erdogan’s harebrained gambit’

Gülen interview received high praise from intellectuals, NGOs, politicians

Nigeria: Turkish international college constructs 90 hand pumps, boreholes in local communities

Cemevi next to mosque embraced by residents in Malatya

Copyright 2023 Hizmet News