Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has gall. He has jailed tens of thousands of people, shuttered more than 150 media companies and called a referendum in April to enlarge his powers. Yet when local authorities in Germany, for security reasons, barred two Turkish ministers from campaigning on his behalf among Turks living in Germany, Mr. Erdogan exploded, accusing Germany of Nazi practices and knowing nothing about democracy. If he himself was barred from speaking in the country, he warned, he’d “set the world on fire.”
This is all the more galling knowing that among the scores of journalists jailed in Turkey is a reporter for Die Welt, with German and Turkish citizenship, whom Mr. Erdogan has accused of being a German spy and a “representative” of an outlawed Kurdish rebel group. Some furious German politicians have urged Chancellor Angela Merkel to tell Mr. Erdogan that he is not welcome in Germany. Properly, and wisely, she has not. Appearances by leading Turkish politicians, she said, “remain possible within the laws applicable here.” Permits for demonstrations are handled locally, though, and Ms. Merkel said she has no say in them.
Fountain Magazine wins APEX Award for publication excellence
HizmetNews — September 4, 2013 The Fountain Magazine has received an Award of Excellence in publication in the 25th APEX Awards. APEX awards are based on excellence in graphic design, editorial content and the ability to achieve overall communications excellence. The Fountain was granted the award in an intense competition of some 2,400 entries in […]
Religious freedom threatened by Turkey’s response to coup
From his self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, Gulen has disavowed any association with the coup attempt. “My philosophy — inclusive and pluralist Islam, dedicated to service to human beings from every faith — is antithetical to armed rebellion,” Gulen wrote for The New York Times.
Applicants affiliated with CHP, Hizmet movement face discrimination
Following the tension between the government and the Hizmet movement — inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen — the government has based its recruitment policy on “color lists” to avoid employing people affiliated with some groups such as the Hizmet movement and the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in the public sector, a Turkish daily claimed on Monday.
Ex-FM Yakış defends Turkish schools as the torch bearer of Ottoman vision
Yaşar Yakış is a founder and former member of the ruling AK Party (Justice and Development Party) and served as Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2002-2003. Speaking to Bugün Newspaper Yakış on developments pertaining to domestic and foreign policy Yakış emphasizes that the ruling AK Party has drifted off its founding principles.
A useful guide to understanding the Hizmet-AK Party tension
Mustafa Yeşil, head of the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV), of which Fethullah Gülen is honorary president, talks about the reasons for the increasing tension between the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government and the Hizmet movement, which conducts praiseworthy activities in Turkey and around the globe with inspiration from well-respected Turkish-Islamic scholar Gülen.
On Hizmet exceptionalism
What is perhaps saddest about this witch-hunt is that Hizmet is a priceless resource for any government. It serves without any burden on public funds and efforts. It is a rich source of reliable manpower devoted to selfless service and ready to raise the banner of Turkey, on peaceful terms, alongside the flags of all other nations around the world. Instead of being propelled by this free energy, and benefitting from its resources, the Turkish government acts in jealousy, and tries to destroy it.
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