Guinean president thanks officials from Turkish schools for educational efforts
Guinean President Alpha Conde received officials from Turkish schools in the country at his office. (Photo: Cihan, Hakan Tetik)
Date posted: July 6, 2015
Guinean President Alpha Conde received representatives of Turkish schools and an association run by volunteers from the Gülen movement at his office on Monday, thanking the group for their educational efforts in his country.
La Citadelle Colleges General Manager Veysel Camuzcu and other school officials informed Conde about the school’s activities during the meeting, which was aired live by the country’s state and private TV channels.
The Guinean president praised the school’s activities and thanked officials for their efforts, underlining that such educational activities serve as a bridge between Turkey and Guinea.
Volunteers from the Gülen movement, inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, run hundreds of schools in more than 160 countries across the world. The movement, which promotes education with the aim of facilitating inter-faith and inter-cultural dialogue, enjoys significant prestige in many countries around the world, and has come to be perceived as international prestige for Turkey too.
I remember the late, right-minded orientalist Annemarie Schimmel’s words saying, “The most attacked and least understood religion in the West is Islam.” Today, we come across a similar statement in a recently published scholarly report too. I’m referring to the report titled, “Überdehnt sich die Bewegung von Fethullah Gülen?” by Stiftung für Wissenschaftund Politik (SWP), which put the Hizmet Movement under a scholarly microscope.
The Gülen Movement and Turkish Soft Power*
The Gülen approach to education aptly demonstrates the group’s global strategy—Gülen movement schools are open to both Turkish migrants and citizens of host countries, and they avoid advancing a religious agenda. These schools aim to help Turkish migrants succeed in their host societies without losing sight of their Turkish roots, and at the same time they promote social unity by serving the needs of migrants and local students alike. The success of Gülen movement schools stems both from the success of the students (and the satisfaction of the parents) and from the prestige and goodwill they enjoy among local and political authorities for promoting integration and acting as a social mediator.
Is Erdogan’s smile worth more than the tears of Pak-Turk students?
Around 400 Turks living in Pakistan have been ordered by the Pakistani government to leave in next three days. Isn’t it deplorable that the government has to do so only to bring a radiant smile on Erdogan’s face? Is Erdogan’s smile worth more than the tears of Pak-Turk students?
Pak-Turk International Schools Foundation-Stone Laying Ceremony
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that Pakistan and Turkey enjoy brotherly and friendly relations and, with efforts of the Punjab government, mutual ties between the two countries are transforming into economic cooperation.
Myanmar-based family abducted by Turkish embassy from Yangon airport
Myanmar-based education professional M. Furkan Sökmen and his family were detained yesterday at the Yangon International Airport while trying to board a flight to Bangkok. the teacher said the Turkish ambassador to Myanmar had pressured police to confiscate the family’s passports.
Free speech groups condemn Turkey’s closure of 29 publishers after failed coup
Jo Glanville, director of English PEN, said: “The coup posed a serious threat to the Turkish state, but the closing down of publishers, alongside the mass sackings, detentions, arrests and allegations of torture, will have a grave impact on democracy. The crackdown on freedom of expression was already a continuing concern. The coup now appears to be an opportunity for Erdoğan to purge Turkey of his opponents.
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