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.
Hizmet movement resembles Western civil society groups and organizations in terms of creating public discussion platforms and performing education and unity-related activities. In addition, what makes the movement more important is that it does not depend on the state in order to survive and sustain its effectiveness.
Imam in the Middle
Gulen is nothing if not prolific. He has written more than 60 books, most of which are available in English. It’s likely that an equal number of books have been written about Gulen or the movement he inspired. The man and the movement are subjects of myriad dissertations and scholarly treatises.
Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen had harsh words for the perpetrators of domestic violence, a bleeding wound in Turkish society that has worsened in recent years. [Domestic violence] incidents continued despite some promising steps Turkey has taken to address the issue of domestic violence, which has attracted more media attention and a greater reaction from the public in recent years.
UK Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee Hearing on Gülen and the Hizmet Movement
The UK Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee is examining the bilateral relationship between the UK and Turkey, focusing on rights and freedoms as well as how Turkish foreign and security policies relate to those of the UK. The inquiry is ongoing.
Toward a party state
At this point, the only thing Erdoğan can do is manufacture false charges and evidence against the Hizmet movement, which wouldn’t be persuasive. In a normal democratic state where the rule of law is cherished, there must be concrete evidence to press charges against anyone, and those so charged are presumed innocent until they are proven guilty. In a party state, however, imaginary charges are first voiced and then meddlesome public authorities manufacture crimes and criminals to fit those charges.
Fethullah Gülen’s Message of Condolences for Those Who Lost Their Lives During Gaza Protests
I am shocked and deeply saddened by the outbreak of violence on the Gaza border, which resulted in the death of more than 50 and injury of thousands more. I urge Israel to stop shooting at civilians and to respect the right to peaceful protest.
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