
Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has called on everyone to respect each other’s sacred values while at the same time strongly condemning the use of violence and engagement in terrorism in so-called attempts to protect these sacred values.

Ankara-based journalist Mesut Çevikalp has written a book about the little-known stories of Turkish schools opened by Turkish entrepreneurs in various parts of the world, including the moving and hardship-laden stories of education volunteers working at these schools, most of whom left a better life in Turkey with the hope of promoting universal values of peace, dialogue and peaceful coexistence with others.

In our previous article, titled “How acts of ISIL, extremists have been securitizing ordinary Muslims,” we examined the impact of the emergence of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on Muslim minorities in the West by analyzing some recent tragic events that occurred in Canada and the US.

The increasingly punitive and xenophobic discourse adopted by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in recent years has done a huge disservice to the fight against Islamophobia, dealing a blow to the decades-long efforts of organizations such as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Hizmet movement in international forums.

The United States has expressed concern about press freedom in Turkey in regards to the Samanyolu TV network’s top executive, Hidayet Karaca, being arrested after a media crackdown on Dec. 14, saying that it is continuing to address these concerns to Turkish authorities.

The results of the Transition from Primary to Secondary Education (TEOG) exam that was administered on Nov. 26-27 and Dec. 13-14 to eighth graders across Turkey show that students who prepared for the exam in Hizmet movement-affiliated schools did better than those who studied in other institutions.

Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has strongly condemned an attack on a French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, and a series of shootings in Paris suburbs last week that left 17 dead, extending condolences to the families of the victims.

The European Parliament on Thursday condemned the Turkish government’s attempt to silence critical media by launching raids on media institutions and detaining journalists on Dec.14, saying the steps taken by the Turkish government against the media raises questions about the rule of law and freedom of the media in the country.