Opinions
Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet
Sait Onal Today marks the first anniversary of the passing of Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024)—a man whose life’s work continues to inspire millions across the world. His vision, rooted in deep faith and universal compassion, gave rise to the Hizmet Movement (“service” in Turkish), a civic initiative dedicated to education, dialogue, and community building. Gülen lived in an era […]
Erdogan’s Failed Crusade: The World Rejects His War on Hizmet
Indigenous African knowledge has it that when you tell a lie, it normally does not take long to dawn. As a warning against cheating, my mother, who died thirty-one years ago this year (1994), used to admonish us: “You do it in my absence, and what happens next is I see it all.” In the […]
Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?
In the first chapter of his book: “A Genocide in the Making?” Zooming on “Erdogan’s regime crackdown on the Gulen Movement”, Dr. Bulent Kenes clearly refers to “genocide” as a set of “systematic violent crimes committed against groups with the intent to terminate their existence.”
Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case
The signatory states and their courts need to decide where their loyalty lies: With the authoritarian Erdogan government or with the human rights and judicial guarantees solemnly enshrined in their respective constitutions?
A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook
Appearing on TV that night, Erdogan claimed no pre-knowledge of the incident and immediately blamed Gulen supporters in the military. However, Western governments and observers were not convinced. Experts noted the implausibility of a civilian living on another continent organizing a military coup and not being detected by U.S., Turkish or other intelligence agencies.
Why does Fethullah Gülen matter to the world?
It was believed in 2016 that Erdoğan was carrying out a witch hunt to drive Hizmet into the ground so as to completely erase its history in Turkey. However, that witch hunt never seemed to stop. In fact, it continues even today. The most recent examples are Kenya and Kyrgyzstan.
Liberals silent as Turkey targets its own Khashoggi
On May 31, Orhan Inandi, a Turkish-born educator and Kyrgyz citizen who founded a popular school network in Kyrgyzstan went missing in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek. After his car was found five miles from his house, all its doors open and tires flattened, his families contacted Kyrgyz authorities.
Why Biden must stop Erdogan’s abuse of counterterrorism rhetoric
As outlandish as these accusations might seem, they follow Erdogan’s long pattern of abusing the rhetoric of “counterterrorism” to justify government repression and perpetrate some of the worst atrocities in an almost singular strategy to cling to power.
Crimes Against Humanity in Erdogan’s Turkey
The seventh stage [of genicide] is “Preparation.” Erdogan and his supporters direct violent phrases at Hizmet participants, including “they will not have access to food and water” and “they will beg us to kill them to avoid torture.” Widespread propaganda calls Hizmet participants “assassins,” “terrorists” or pawns of foreign powers such as the CIA, Mossad or the Vatican.
Dissidents of the Turkish government are living in fear in Canada
Turkey’s long arm and espionage activities against dissidents living in exile in Canada has become a growing concern. As revealed in a startling recent news report, 15 Turkish-Canadians have been targeted by the Turkish government within the scope of a “terrorism” investigation.
Erdoğan’s overarching purge is not a road accident
The purge of the Hizmet Movement is what the Kurdish question was to Kemalism, a necessary tool with which to construct a new national identity, a tool to silence those who question it, and to design a social and political system that will foster it. Unfortunately, Turkey has no chance of going back, even to its fragile and dysfunctional democracy, without this narrative being completely rejected.
Bias about Gulen Movement in light of The Economist column
The Kemalist viewpoint in Turkey perceives the Gulen movement as a menace that had served as an instrument of President Tayyip Erdogan’s quest for power. This outlook suggests that if it weren’t for Gulenists’ aid, Erdogan would have faded out a long time ago. Recently, The Economist published an article that exhibits the same bias.
