As Americans gather around Thanksgiving tables today, it is a moment to celebrate and reflect on the bounties of God, express our gratitude to Him and to celebrate our common humanity. People from all faiths and political persuasions are able to put aside their differences and engage in dialogue, reminding them that the world is large, humanity is diverse and that every human being has inherent value and something special to offer.
I pray that God, the Most Merciful provide food, shelter, and clothing to those who are hungry, homeless or otherwise in poverty, through the generosity in the hearts of their neighbors and fellow citizens. For those who are suffering from disease or strife, May God end their suffering and provide them comfort.
But this does not mean that all Turks think the same way about the Turkish activists on the Mavi Marmara, and the particular course of action some of them took. In fact, an interesting debate has just begun – and within a very interesting place: the Islamic camp.
Donate your qurban, bring joy to families in need
USA-based Embrace Relief Organization is organizing an Eid Al-Adha (Festival of Sacrifice) campaign to distribute your “livestock donations” to the needy across the globe. Embrace has been organizing this campaign every year for many year.
Turkish PM Erdoğan’s imagined enemies
Turkey is no longer the old Turkey. The affluent middle class, the young population and stronger civil society organizations, strengthened by the digital revolution with such tools as social media and Internet portals, will resist any attempts to turn the clock backwards on the development of Turkish democracy. People will simply ask why Prime Minister Erdoğan is not going after his people who have been sleeping with the enemy next door if he is really sincere in addressing external threats to this great nation.
The Anatolians are coming
This inclusion of the Armenian and Jewish cultures in the “Anatolian” concept is worth pondering, for it tells something about the cultural codes of some of the makers of “New Turkey” and how they differ from the codes of “old” (i.e., Kemalist) Turkey.
Gülenist refugees from Turkey start over in U.S.
Scholars and academics may quibble about how to classify Fethullah Gülen, but pretty much all reasonable watchers of international politics agree that Erdoğan is power hungry, paranoid and increasingly autocratic.
Is man living in Pennsylvania responsible for Turkey coup attempt?
Low-flying military jets buzzed over Turkey’s capital of Ankara. Soldiers blocked major bridges in Istanbul. State-run television announced that the military had imposed martial law.
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Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet
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