Fethullah Gulen’s books draw booklovers at Riyadh book fair
Date posted: March 20, 2013
Fethullah Gulen’s books received a high attention of book enthusiasts at International Book Fair in Saudi Arabian capital city, Riyadh. Rated as one of the largest cultural events of the country, the book fair featured 957 thousand publishers from over 30 countries. This year’s guest of honor country was Morocco.
Kaynak Publishing represented Turkey as the only Turkish publishing company. Gulen’s Arabic-translated books by Kaynak Publishing received an overwhelming attention of booklovers. Similarly, the books by Beduizzaman Said Nursi and Abd-al Qadir Gilani too were popular on the publishing booths. Additionally, books on Ottoman Empire history, children literature, Turkish cuisine, Turkey’s history and touristic sites found their places on the booths. Turkish author Elif Shafak’s book “Forty Rules of Love”, recently translated into Arabic for the first time, was among the wide book selection. The number of attendees of the book fair on its 10th day is estimated to be approximately one million.
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.
INTERPOL and U.S. reject baseless charges against US-based Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen
INTERPOL apparently indicated in its decision that it did not recognize the “parallel structure” as a illegal or terrorist organization. In other words, the charges against Gülen appear to have been fabricated based on his political activity. His case is widely viewed as part of a government crackdown on dissidents and political opposition, as described here. U.S. officials have also thus far refused to extradite Gülen back to Turkey.
A Different Kind of Coup? Why You Should Care About A “Reclusive” Turkish Imam in Pennsylvania
We should consider not only what people say about Fethullah Gülen, but what he says himself. Decades of speeches and publications make this possible and reveal certain attributes. For example, Gülen advocates a form of Sufi humanism. He seeks collaborative relationships across religious, cultural, and national borders. He is concerned about the poor and marginalized around the world.
Ishak Alaton: Fethullah Gülen is the most “other” in Turkey
The AK Party government, which seems to be without an alternative and lacks an equally dominant opposition to check and balance it, is in big trouble, which they are not fully aware of, says Alarko Holding Chairman İshak Alaton.
Fethullah Gülen grieving for Islamic world amid Eid al Fitr holiday
Fethullah Gulen celebrated eid al fitr with the Turkish American community members. He listened to the sermon after the Eid Prayer with tears in his eyes. After the sermon, he exchanged eid greetings with his guests. Osman Şimşek said in the sermon, “Although we are full of joy for our holiday and are thankful to God-All Merciful, we also feel grief and sorrow because of the horrid situation, which parts of the Islamic world are currently in.”
What does Turkey deserve?
Once the remaining human capital exits Turkey, the country will be left to bigoted seculars and even more bigoted political Islamists. Given the shameful silence and support for the worst witch-hunt the country has ever witnessed, maybe this is what Turkey deserves: swaying between secular authoritarianism and popular Islamist dictatorship.
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