Fethullah Gulen promotes tolerance, interfaith dialog, and above-all: he promotes education. And yet he’s a mystery man — he’s never seen or heard in public — and the more power he gains, the more questions are raised about his motives and the schools.
Fethullah Gulen’s embrace of Western values has helped to modernize Turkey.
Abdulhamit Bilici, general manager of the Cihan News Agency in Istanbul said: Until early 90’s Islamic movement had the problem with the concept of secularism, democracy and other universal concepts.
So Fethullah Gulen was the one of the pioneers in the sense he said in the early 9o’s: “Turkey will not turn from democracy”
Democracy and Islam of course are compatible.
This inclusion of the Armenian and Jewish cultures in the “Anatolian” concept is worth pondering, for it tells something about the cultural codes of some of the makers of “New Turkey” and how they differ from the codes of “old” (i.e., Kemalist) Turkey.
Watson points to new authoritarianism in Turkish gov’t’s relations
“A new authoritarianism can be seen in the government’s relations with business and the media, and towards protests,” the British member of the European Parliament (MEP) and leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe party said in his letter.
Turkey’s Changing Freedom Deficit
Erdoğan’s government is by no means the first to compel Turkish citizens to hide their preferences and beliefs. Under the secular governments that ruled Turkey from the 1920s to 1950, and to some extent until 2002, pious Turks seeking advancement in government, the military, and even commerce had to downplay their religiosity and avoid signaling approval of political Islam.
Dozen people hold demonstration in front of Zaman to protest corruption coverage
The protestors held up a banner bearing the picture of Islamic Scholar Fethullah Gülen saying that he despises the Taliban and Osama bin Laden. “Pick up your traitorous comrades and your prep schools, and get out of here, go to Israel, the US,” the script at the bottom of the banner said. The protest followed a series of public remarks over the weekend by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who attacked Zaman without mentioning it by name.
Rising Value of Turkey: ‘The Gülen Movement’
HÜSEYİN GÜLERCE A series of articles published in Sabah daily about the Nur (Light) Community and the Gülen Movement ended yesterday. Emre Akoz made an evaluation on the final day of the series, which lasted 26 days. Mehmet Gundem’s article series begins with the announcement, “Interview to Shake the Agenda: 11 Days with Fethullah Gülen,” in […]
Erdogan: A Classic Case Of How Power Corrupts
To consolidate his reign, Turkey’s president Mr. Erdogan intimidated his political opponents, emasculated the military, silenced the press, and enfeebled the judiciary; most recently, he pressed the parliament to amend the constitution to grant him essentially absolute powers.
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