US-based Turkish NGOs launch aid campaign for Syrian refugees
Date posted: February 24, 2014
VIRGINIA
Various Turkish nongovernmental organizations affiliated with Hizmet Movement carried out a project to distribute aid material for the Syrian refugees living in Turkey.
The Mid-Atlantic Federation of Turkic American Associations (MAFTAA) and American Turkish Friendship Association (ATFA) decided to carry out the project during a visit in the refugee camps in eastern Turkey. The associations contacted with officials from Kimse Yok Mu to deliver around 18,000 blankets they collected in three weeks from the volunteers.
Executive director of Northern Virginia Regional Commission Mark Gibb told Cihan news agency that he is very amazed with the large amount of materials which was collected. Gibb also stated that he had chance to know Hizmet Movement, inspired by Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, through the aid campaigns.
The number of Syrian refugees in Turkey exceeded 600,000 and more than 400,000 of them are living outside the refugee camps set up mainly in Turkish border cities, the Turkish disaster management agency stated in October 2013.
Who is Fethullah Gulen? (by National Catholic Reporter)
By blaming Fethullah Gulen and the Gulen movement for the coup attempt, Mr. Erdogan’s authoritarian tendencies have only increased as witnessed by the tens of thousands arrested and detained, and the radical curtailing of free speech. It now appears that in Mr. Erdogan’s hands Turkey’s future and that of the Middle East will be less democratic, less stable and more tumultuous than ever.
GYV praised for response to accusations about Hizmet movement
GYV Chairman Mustafa Yeşil said the foundation has received very positive reactions to its 11-article statement, adding that many people found the statement an “honorable” and “courteous” one. AK Party Adıyaman deputy Mehmet Metiner said by releasing Tuesday’s statement, the GYV has taken a very valuable step that “spoils the games of some evil circles that want to create hostility between the government and the Hizmet movement.”
A Rare Interview: Jamie Tarabay Meets Turkish Scholar Fethullah Gulen
Gulen’s lectures have inspired business and community leaders to open 135 schools in 26 states. “They’re academically focused. They’re not religious schools. It’s really about building intellectuals, intelligent and business leaders for the future,” Jamie said. Up until now, Gulen remained a mystery to the public and only appeared on video webcasts. Jamie’s interview has served as a bridge for Americans to become acquainted with the reclusive scholar.
Kenneth Hunter on Fethullah Gulen and Hizmet Movement
Kenneth Hunter is the Principal of the Prosser Career Academy High School. He studied theology at Chicago Loyola University and taught world religions in high schools. He served as the chairperson of Illinois State Board of Education Language Arts Assessment Advisory Council (2002-2012). He is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Chicago.
Right to dissent in Turkey
The primary reason why members of Hizmet (Service), a faith-based social movement inspired by Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, have been attacked, vilified and stigmatized by a government that is dominated by overzealous political Islamists and pro-Iranian sympathizers is that Gülen is standing up to the increasingly authoritarian powers of Erdoğan, who has seized control of the republic’s institutions including the judiciary, leading to increased polarization and tension in Turkish society.
Turkish Cultural Center’s Meat Drive in New York
Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer joined the Turkish Cultural Center and Embrace Relief in a relief effort to provide aid to the underserved and those struck by disaster. 1,500 pounds of meat were donated to the Mount Olivet Baptist Church in Manhattan.
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