Turkey’s prominent journalist Fehmi Koru answered Ece Uner’s questions on Haberturk TV. He also made comments about the AK Party-Gulen Movement conflict and the probability that the Gulen Movement may engage in active party politics.
Koru said, “What you call as the movement is a civil society organization. They let politicians do the daily politics. They have political opinions and they try to influence politics. But they do this by having relations with politicians as they did in the past. It is against the nature of the movement to impose any opinion on the government. If there is sharp irreconcilable disagreement between the movement and the AK Party, they may found a political party. But if they do so, they will lose the advantage of being a [civil society] movement. They will face more criticism when they found a political party.
Turkish Islamic scholar and founder of the Hizmet (Service) movement, Fethullah Gulen not only promoted peace and understanding, but also counseled Muslims to critically review their understanding of Islam.
Turkish PM Erdoğan launches another war [in Turkey]
Turkey’s Islamic camp is more diverse than one would think. In fact, the traditions that Erdoğan and Gülen come from have almost always been distinct and different from each. The former has been more explicitly Islamist, at times anti-Western and anti-Semitic. The latter, the line of Gülen, which goes back to scholar Said Nursi (1878-1960), has rather stayed closer to center-right parties and have been more friendly to the West and also other “Abrahamic” faiths.
Divided republic of RTE
The most recent example of the division is reflected at the social level. A realtor put a sign on his shop saying, “Followers of the Gülen movement are not allowed to do business in this shop.” Pro-Erdoğan journalists, instead of condemning the shop owner, thanked him. This is a typical hate crime promoted by Erdoğan and his close associates.
Prof. Ergil: Gülen is in general a very bashful person
Fethullah Gülen’s general conduct is modest. He does not consider himself superior to anybody else, and he holds tolerance in the highest regard. The way that these values reveal themselves in his personal conduct are that Gülen listens carefully to others before he begins to speak. He is also in general a very bashful person.
It’s not about a conflict between the government and Hizmet movement
Insanity ripples through the country, the media and the people. If graft or corruption is the prevailing form of life spreading from the state to society, and if this form of life is supported by people, then we are hitting the bottom day by day. A prosecutor can say “We can detain 500 thousand people if necessary” and still hold his post as if he said quite an ordinary thing. Whereas in Europe mental health of such a prosecutor would be called into question and most probably examined.
Defending Hizmet
I have seen nothing but beauty from the Hizmet movement. I have taught at Hizmet schools in Turkey and seen teachers who work 18 hour long days seven days a week neglecting their own families in order to teach poor villagers in Sanliurfa.
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