The ‘other’ interview

Rushdi Siddiqui
Rushdi Siddiqui


Date posted: July 22, 2015

RUSHDI SIDDIQUI

The difference between a good leader and a transformational leader is the latter’s openness to being challenged, as they get a chance to showcase their talent, thinking and tasks.

Such leaders provide insights whilst rest of us just provide hindsight.

Such leaders see the what’s on the other side of the mountain, whilst the rest of us just see the hiking trail.

When you speak to such leaders, you can actually “see their minds working in real time!”

Now, having worked on the non-journalist side at Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, and Thomson Reuters, you learn about what is not editorial newsworthy.

For example, press releases on winning awards (Islamic finance), speaking at an event (Islamic finance), opening an (Islamic bank) bank branch, launching an (Islamic) product, etc, are generally not newsworthy for likes of Financial Times, International Herald Tribune, WSJ, etc.

Thus, if a talk show was in my horizon, Zilzar Trending, I would ask the following questions from the below-mentioned people and provided (my version of) an answer.

Two underlying assumptions of such leaders, they (1) have a sense of humor and (2) have enough confidence in themselves to make fun of themselves.

Some people I cannot meet, as dead, some I have met and others I hope to meet.

The purpose is not only get insights to their thinking, but also raise issues that never reach them because of their gatekeepers, who may not understand, not “get it”, can’t be bothered, or act as toll collectors to pass through. Thus, “access or lack of it to leaders” is what makes for an inclusive populace.

…

Q: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, former prime minister and now President of Turkey. What have you/AKP gained as a result with the fight against Fethullah Gulen and Twitter? Are not the principles of Islam, foundation of AKP, about inclusion, why not tolerate dissent and opportunity for opposition to be heard?

Possible answer: yes, but no comment today. Interview is over!

Excerpt from The Malaysian Insider

Source: HizmetMovement.Com , July 22, 2015

Tags: | |


Related News

Erdoğan Is Destroying Turkey’s Hopes for Democracy

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s extra-legal roundup of scores of presumed supporters of the failed July 15 coup against his government is quickly taking its place in modern history alongside Stalin’s purges and China’s Cultural Revolution.

Fate of preparatory courses

Zaman’s Hüseyin Gülerce denied allegations that there is tension between the government and Hizmet movement due to government’s steps to bring an end to these preparatory courses, saying that Hizmet does not own all preparatory course schools in the country. What bothers members of Hizmet is that the government has not given a clear or reasonable explanation as to why they are taking these steps, Gülerce said.

How Erdogan is covering up the corruption scandal

In a blunt violation of Turkish laws and ethical norms, authorities removed nearly 100 police chiefs, who were either involved in the graft raids or pose a possible risk to the government. Two additional prosecutors were appointed to supervise the case, a move mostly interpreted by experts as an attempt to control the judicial process. The government has launched an unprecedented witch-hunt in public institutions and continues to purge any bureaucrat it believes could be cooperative with prosecutors in the graft investigation. Four ministers whose names were linked to these investigations refused to step down despite calls from the opposition.

Persecution of the Gülen Movement in Turkey

The Gülen (a.k.a Hizmet) movement, a faith-based community, has been subject to political persecution for more than two years by the Turkish government since they stood up against corruption and injustice under the rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan has publicly called for a “witch hunt,” and arrests, threats, and harassments have now become a routine for participants and sympathizers of the movement.

Extraditing Gulen and other dark conspiracies

Despite his pressures, Turkish prosecutors have not agreed to write an indictment against Gulen. On the other hand, Gulen has already been tried in absentia between 1999-2008 for all the accusations now recycled and repeated by Erdogan. The Kemalist military establishment was very powerful at the time and they were almost in full control of the state but they still could not produce concrete evidence against Gulen.

Hizmet movement and government

Yavuz Baydar  June 14, 2012 Is it the movement attacking the government, or vice versa? Some believe that it is, some hope that it is, some deny that it is and many others feel deeply concerned that it is. I tend to belong to the latter camp. It is undeniable that the Hizmet movement (aka […]

Latest News

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

In Case You Missed It

Kimse Yok Mu distributes aid to Syrian refugees

Yamanlar College student becomes world math champion

Gülen offers condolences for police officer, resident

A House Divided: Civil Society and Democracy in Turkey

Interview about Hizmet Movment at Maxwell School of Syracuse University

Jailed journalist Ayşenur Parıldak given courage award by Norwegian rights group

Turkish Islamic scholar Gülen decries domestic violence

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News