Or is it Gülenophobia?


Date posted: February 14, 2012

Turkey’s frequently changing agenda has recently been dominated by one issue: An İstanbul prosecutor overseeing an investigation into a Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)-linked terrorist organization has asked the Ankara Prosecutor’s Office to hear the testimony of National Intelligence Organization (MİT) Undersecretary Hakan Fidan and has obtained arrest warrants for four other MİT agents.

MERVE BÜŞRA ÖZTÜRK, 14 February 2012, Tuesday

Different subjects of discussion derive from this issue. Recently, in a heated debate among Turkish columnists, claims have emerged that there has been a conflict between the Turkish scholar Fethullah Gülen’s community and the government, specifically the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party).

In his article titled “I see Gülen people everywhere,” referencing a line from the movie “The Sixth Sense,” Taraf’s Yıldıray Oğur explained how he thinks there is a tendency among Turkish people to speak of the Gülen community as if it is a covert organization. Oğur argues the opposite, saying that for 30 years a great number of sociologists and political scientists have written on and studied the Gülen community — there are hundreds of schools founded by the community. However, Oğur says, the Gülen community is treated as if it is a small tribe in the Amazon. “We have seen enough of the community’s moves and policies for 30 years to say that it is not a community that opposes the AK Party. What I find even more unreasonable is that the prosecutors and police who were declared heroes of democracy when investigations were conducted into the terrorist organization Ergenekon are now criticized for allegedly being Gülen supporters. What is the reason behind this change in reaction?” asks Oğur, suggesting it may be a fear of Gülen and his followers.

Bugün’s Nuh Gönültaş feels if we are to accept that the Gülen community disagrees with the government and that the prosecutor’s suspicion of MİT agents is the community’s doing, then we have to think about what it would gain by doing such a thing. “Technically, the Gülen community is not a structure that can be considered as opposition to the AK Party. So the government and the community are not rivals or necessarily in opposition. Another important fact that should not go unnoticed is that the Gülen community stands on its own feet and does not receive any financial support from the government. So how can we discuss the political influence of the Gülen community when for years it has emphasized its non-political stance?” On the other hand, Radikal’s Cengiz Çandar noted that those who are known to be supporters of Gülen openly support the prosecutor’s move with regards to MİT and, in this respect, criticize a bill that was presented by the government to Parliament last week in which specially authorized prosecutors would have to receive permission from the prime minister before taking legal action against MİT agents. Çandar then asked if the Gülen community has nothing to do with the prosecutor’s decision about the MİT agents, then why are they so clear about their stance opposing the government?

Source: Today’s Zaman http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist-271402-or-is-it–gulenophobia.html

 


Related News

Minister: Turkey confiscated $4 bln worth of Gülenist property

Some TL 12 billion (about $4 billion) in property has been transferred to the Treasury as part of an investigation into the Gülen movement, said Minister for Environment and Urbanization Mehmet Özhaseki on Thursday. Immediately after the putsch, the government along with Erdoğan pinned the blame on the Gülen movement without credible evidence.

Action plan put into operation against Hizmet, indictment reveals

The Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism, which was exposed by the Taraf daily in 2009, details a military plan to destroy the image of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and faith-based Hizmet (Gülen) movement in the eyes of the public, play down the Ergenekon investigation.

Zaman Arabic aims to be online paper of reference

Zaman Arabic, a new online newspaper from the Zaman Media Group, was launched on Monday in an effort to provide news about Turkey to the Arab world in its own language.

Starting a witch hunt [against the Hizmet movement]

The discourse Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Chairman and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan relies on to intimidate his opponents has taken on a whole different dimension. The prime minister argues that his election victory in the March 30 local elections gives him the right to combat the Hizmet movement, which he refers to as the “parallel state” or “parallel structure.”

A reasonable statement from Fethullah Gülen

The statement made by Fethullah Gülen regarding the choice of the name Yavuz Sultan Selim for the third bridge over the Bosporus that is to be built by the government will certainly enrich the ongoing debate about this issue and will lead to a reconsideration of using this name. The sensitivities of the Islamic segment while evaluating […]

Trustees seize control of schools in government-led move

A judge in İstanbul has ordered that trustees be appointed to 12 companies, including the FEM and Anafen prep schools established by people sympathetic to the faith-based Gülen movement for allegedly being affiliated with Kaynak Holding.

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

Kimse Yok Mu extends helping hand to Syrians in Jordan, Lebanon

455 water wells opened in Pakistan thanks to Kimse Yok Mu

Turks most honest donors to Somalia, says minister

İstanbul Transportation Authority cancels bus line to Fatih University

Reach of Turkey’s Erdoğan spreading like fungus across U.S. – analysis

Graduates’ views on the effectiveness of Gülen-inspired schools in Azerbaijan

Turkish purges leave armed forces weak, dismissed officer warns

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News