News
Romania hosts 12th International Language and Culture Festival finals
The final leg of the 12th International Language and Culture Festival will be held in the Romanian capital of Bucharest on June 15-16. The event, formerly called the Turkish Olympiads, is organized by the International Turkish Association (TÜRKÇEDER).
Land of Private high school declared green space
The İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) recently declared a piece of land on which a private high school had been being built to be a green space. The high school is a branch of Fatih Koleji, a private institution affiliated with the Hizmet movement inspired by Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.
Hate Speech and Beyond: Targeting the Gülen Movement in Turkey
If the element of hatred is detectable at first sight, the European Court of Human Rights defines such language as abuse of freedom of expression. In this regard, some of the language used by Prime Minister Erdoğan to describe the Gülen movement – i.e. “perverts”, “hashashins”, “traitors”, “spies”, “worse than Shiites”, “leeches” and “a terrorist organization” – do indeed constitute prima facie hate speech.
‘Hizmet is the attempt to celebrate all of humanity’
Hizmet Movement is unique because it doesn’t try to carry out what we call cultural and religious particularism. That would be the idea that your group is the best, that you have the only form of truth, that all other groups are impure, incorrect and that they are not worthy of time, or that they’re not worthy of learning something from them. Hizmet, in fact, says the opposite. Members reach out to learn from other peoples, they actively invite people from different cultural backgrounds, people from different religious backgrounds to come and teach them, to teach them things.
Turkish, Russian businessmen convene at forum
More than 100 Turkish and Russian entrepreneurs attended the event, which was supported by the Russian state bank Sberbank. Among those in attendance were Tula Regional Governor Vladimir Gruzdev, Russia-Turkey Businessmen’s Association (RUTİD) President Esat Sarı and Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists’ (TUSKON) Russia envoy Ali Tırnav.
Kimse Yok Mu opens school in Afghanistan
The former vice-president of Afghanistan Prof. Nematullah Shahrani, in his address, said, “Afghan-Turk schools have been serving our country for long years and listed among best schools ever since. Students at these schools are receiving a quality education and representing Afghanistan at international contests in the best way possible.”
Prep school owners write to Constitutional Court
The Constitutional Court will review a law that seeks to shut down preparatory schools that assist students in studying for the national high school and university admission exams after organizations representing private prep schools wrote to the court, asking to make statements about the problems that might arise due to the closure of these institutions.
Joint mosque-cemevi project launched in Tokat
Turkey’s first-ever joint mosque-cemevi complex has been under construction in Ankara since last September. The project, which is being carried out by the CEM Foundation and the Hacı Bektaş Veli Culture, Education, Health and Research Foundation, was first suggested by Turkish-Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, who lives in the US in self-imposed exile.
‘Nigeria, Turkey trade volume hits N250bn in 4 years’
Speaking to some Nigerian journalists in Istanbul, the President of Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkey, (TUSKON) Mr Rizanur Meral said in 2008 total trade volumes between the two countries was $802million but risen to about $1.5billion(N250 billion) in 2012. He said the increase was due to awareness created by his association for the businessmen in the two countries through organizing seminars and business to business meetings.
Film “Love is a Verb” portraying Hizmet Movement met with audience in NY
The film directed by Terry Spencer Hesser who has won Emmy three times informs audience about Gülen who inspired Hizmet Movement — a volunteer-based grassroots movement that works in the field of education around the world and encourages interfaith dialogue.
Purges at Turkish Airlines continue after PM’s ‘witch hunt’ remarks
Yılmaz, who has worked for the company for 20 years, is among a group of high-level THY employees who have been reassigned in recent months, most of whom were graduates from Fatih University, an institution linked to the Hizmet movement, inspired by US-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.
Turkey pledges to help rebuild Bosnia after floods
The Turkish relief organization Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anyone There) has also provided assistance. Yusuf Yıldırım, manager of their international aid department, said they are working closely with municipalities in Bosnia and their partner association in Bosnia, Izvor Nade (Spring of Hope), to ensure the aid is distributed directly to the people in need.
Cameroon delegation meets with Kimse Yok Mu
The Cameroon delegation had meetings with KYM officials, as a part of a newly founded charitable foundation in Cameroon. They seek benefiting from KYM’s experiences and using them in their charity work. They were pleased with the warm reception and KYM Bursa director Sadullah Hizan’s presentation on the foundation’s work.
