Watch out! Anatolian Tigers on the prowl


Date posted: May 19, 2012

ATUL ANEJA 

They are an unusual group of Turkish businessmen endowed with a strong work ethic, a great spirit of public service, and who revel in camaraderie. Many of them are young first generation “capitalists”, emerging from humble backgrounds and hailing from the small towns and villages of Anatolia — once disparaged by Europhiles as the “backward” Asiatic part of Turkey.

At their seventh floor office of the World Business Development Association (ISGED) in Istanbul, it is not unusual if business meetings are held as early as 7 am. Over breakfast, at the tastefully decorated banquet hall, aspiring businessmen, wanting to venture out in opaque parts of the world — Africa and Central Asia are in flavour these days — share experiences and work out strategies.

A full support system for these small and medium entrepreneurs has been worked out — advice and loans from affiliated banks and a full bouquet of helpful contacts that will help them navigate their way in the unfamiliar terrain of a foreign land.

Most of these “Anatolian Tigers” as they are called because of their roots in Anatolia are practising Muslims, but are not demonstrative about their religiosity. “You will notice that our meetings are seldom interrupted because we need to break for prayer as a group. Quietly individuals will leave to pray and return and the process gets repeated,” says Sadan Yavuz ISGED’s Secretary General. But the soft “Sufi Islam” that the Anatolian Tigers practise does quietly help in promoting business. Most of the Tigers form an active core of the Gulen Movement (aka Hizmet movement), headed by Fethullah Gulen. Gulen’s message of piety, inter-faith harmony, secularism and enterprise, is being passed across the globe through various ways, but most prominently through high quality schools that have found a home in around 140 countries across the world.

The top floor of most of the Gulen buildings has “guest rooms.” It is usually here that a travelling Anatolian entrepreneur finds shelter and psychological comfort before tackling the tough world of hardnosed commerce. The careful preparations for advancing their businesses are paying off. Not long ago, Turkey’s new middle class was known for the excellence that it had achieved in the world of textiles and furniture.

Today, flushed with high-octane success, the sky seems to be the limit. Information Technology, biotechnology, nuclear energy and pharmaceuticals are the next frontiers that are to be breached. India seems to be a natural partner as the Turkish economy advances, and the idea of a re-engagement with India is beginning to home in — at least among the pious ranks of the Anatolian Tigers.

Source: The Hindu , May 19 , 2012


Related News

Erdogan Uses Coup Like Hitler Used Reichstag Fire, Austrian Far-right Leader Says

Turkey’s failed coup and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s subsequent purges of state institutions are reminiscent of the Reichstag fire in Nazi Germany and its use by Hitler to amass greater power, the head of Austria’s far-right Freedom Party said.

Rumi Peace and Dialogue Awards given in Washington

The Rumi Forum, a nongovernmental organization established in the United States to improve interfaith and intercultural dialogue, gave its traditional Rumi Peace and Dialogue Awards in a ceremony held in Washington on Wednesday. Farah Pandith, US Special Representative to Muslim Communities, Hannah Rosenthal, the US special envoy on anti-Semitism, and Martin O’Malley, the governor of […]

Council of Europe: Turkey must separate coup plotters from Gülen employees

“We are stressing to the Turks that they have to present clear evidence, be able to separate those who were clearly behind the coup and those who have been in some way or another connected to or working for this so-called Gülen network,” Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, told Reuters.

Needy Romanians provided with aid by students of Turkish school

Students studying at International Bucharest College, opened by entrepreneurs affiliated with Hizmet Movement, distributed aid boxes to economically disadvantaged students at the weekend. Arriving at Dambovitsa village, 45 kilometers away from Bucharest, students from 42 different nations went to the houses of the people and gave them aid boxes.

Gülen’s Statement of Condemnation for Terrorist Attack Against the Coptic Christian Community in Egypt

I have learned with grief about the horrific terrorist attack against two Coptic churches in Egypt during a Palm Sunday mass, killing at least 43 worshipers and police officers. I vehemently condemn this atrocity against the Coptic Christian community.

Fethullah Gulen’s Message for International Day of Peace

Fethullah Gulen: On the International Day of Peace, September 21, I join people from different countries, different cultures, and different religions to reaffirm and celebrate our commitment to peace across the world. May this special occasion be a reminder to us that we should be resilient in our work together, despite our differences, to achieve a global culture of peace and mutual respect for one another.

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

Al-Azhar has examined and approved all the works of Mr. Gulen

Renewing Islam by Service: A Christian View of Fethullah Gulen with Pim Valkenberg

Junior Coalition Partner Demands Explanation Why Bulgarian Govt Turned over Abdullah Buyuk to Turkey

Turkey, The great purge – Four lives upturned by Erdogan’s ‘cleansing.’ Episode 1 – Asli

Fethullah Gülen extends condolences over death of Turkish literary giant

Fears for Gulen-inspired Turkish schools in Pakistan grow

The Islamic case for a secular state

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News