Fethullah Gulen: Turkish Scholar, Cleric — And Conspirator?
A Rare Interview: Jamie Tarabay Meets Turkish Scholar Fethullah Gulen
Date posted: January 8, 2014
Al-Jazeera America reporter Jamie Tarabay interviewed Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen in his home last spring. It was published in The Atlantic last August. Gulen is a Turkish spiritual leader to millions of Turks, both in Turkey and around the world, and the head of the Gulen movement. His network of followers spans the globe, and it has opened academically-focused schools in 90 countries, including the U.S.
Robert Siegel speaks with Tarabay about the interview.
U.S. Judge Tosses Suit Against Reclusive Muslim Cleric
Turkey’s government funded the civil suit against Fethullah Gulen as part of a crackdown on the cleric and his movement by PresidentRecep Erdogan. A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit alleging that a reclusive Muslim cleric in Pennsylvania orchestrated human rights abuses in his native Turkey, ruling the claims didn’t belong in U.S. courts.
Hate crimes get worse in Turkey
Despite the fact that Turkey has recently adopted legislation against hate crimes, Turkey’s divisive Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has not stopped his attacks with verbal expressions of intolerance and hatred directed at the judiciary, opposition parties, the media, business groups and members of the Hizmet movement, a faith-based civic movement inspired by Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.
Arinc: Gulen lights the way for us
Deputy PM Arinc, “I follow Gulen’s every word and every move. May God be pleased with him. He is giving guidance and heads up to us as well. He is lighting the way for us, like a lighthouse.”
Analysis: Power of Turkey’s Fethullah Gulen
PM Erdogan accuses Hizmet supporters within the state of plotting a “coup” against the government. But the scale of the upheaval in the police, judiciary, Turkish state TV and other parts of the bureaucracy is already similar to what happens in a coup. The current Erdogan-Gulen stand-off is reminiscent of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s hostile relations with Said-i Nursi, a politically active Kurdish preacher in the formative years of the Turkish Republic.
Gulen suspect testifies before US Congress on recent coup attempt
An alleged member of the Fetullah Gulen organization was invited on Wednesday to speak to a congressional panel on Turkey, a stunning move that could exacerbate tensions between Ankara and Washington. Ahmet Sait Yayla was added to the original list of speakers to address the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats.
‘First, account for the shirt you are wearing’
Those who make fortunes, use politics as a shield for their unethical acts and commit bribery would not understand Gülen. And is there any logic in hurting or insulting those who have not married or borne children?
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