Opinions
Rule of law(lessness) in Turkey?
It turned out that I was overly optimistic, for I did not want to believe that a prime minister who bravely fought the old, authoritarian establishment in the people’s name for years could have changed so much, adopting just the same behavior we were subjected to in the past. I had thought that those bitter experiences were only a distant memory. Unfortunately, I was wrong — terribly so.
Totalitarian interference in individual sphere
The Prime Minister Erdoğanis talking about closing the prep schools in which students enroll to get additional education and be more successful on university entrance examinations.His whole argument to close these institutions is just a blur of some basic facts. Everyone knows that Erdoğan is taking these steps for a single purpose: He wants to punish the Gülen movement.
I feel fooled, upset, hurt
Recent statements by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan aired by the ATV TV station upset, surprised and hurt me. I felt fooled and surprised, because despite the decision made by the Cabinet two days ago, the prime minister made a clear statement: “There is no way back. The draft will be reviewed.” Everybody is taking a test now; only our Islamic attitude, stance, love, tolerance, humility and style will save us.
Hizmet from the Heart
That’s hizmet: freedom from fear, secure in the ultimate mercy and grace of a compassionate God, yet freedom to serve: recognizing the needs and suffering of one’s neighbors, and the strength and joy found in solidarity and community. That’s hizmet. And yet it is also the path to a meaningful, rich life — rich in the things that matter, the things that endure, the things that aren’t things.
Frontal assault on free enterprise in Turkey: The case of prep-schools
Erdoğan fired a warning shot across the bow of the Hizmet movement, which operates some one-third of the more than 3,500 prep schools, hoping that the movement would fold under the pressure and shy away from criticizing the government on lingering corruption, the lack of bold reforms, the stalled EU membership process, the failed constitutional work, its intrusion in people’s ways of life and privacy, blunders in foreign policy and the weakened transparency and accountability in governance.
Erdoğan: both asset and liability for AKP
“Very few people in Turkey could deny that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government under the leadership of Tayyip Erdoğan has made a tremendous and positive transformation in the country. Now, he is on it again with his insistence on trying to close down tutorial centers that belong to the private sector. Everybody knows that with this he is trying to punish the Hizmet movement, which has resisted pledging absolute loyalty to him.
Gülen movement’s engagement with political processes
Fethullah Gülen is often portrayed as the quintessential idealist, relaying on spirituality, ideas and engagement rather than political power. Gülen, in fact, is a far more complicated man than such a simplistic portrayal would lead us to believe. He has an astute sense of hard and soft power and understands power in terms of its various components and limits.
What lies beneath the prep-school row between AK Party and the Hizmet
It is an open secret that Erdoğan is not targeting the prep schools, but the Hizmet movement that is inspired by the Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen. People and companies that are sympathetic to the movement operate the majority of Turkey’s prep schools. Like the rest of the educational institutions affiliated with the movement, they are the most academically successful, sending students with outstanding scores to the best schools each year.
Shut down schools, not tutoring facilities
The preparatory tutoring schools of the Hizmet movement perform an important sociocultural function. They serve as a barrier in the way of this destructive, postmodern culture that erases all identities. They protect our children from “filth” and endow them with moral values. If any educational institution needs shutting down, it should be the state schools.
Erdoğan’s way: scare, divide and rule
The last straw [man] by Erdoğan came this week when a draft version of a law seeking the closure of all kinds of privately established prep schools (dershanes) leaked to the media. The bill is so drastic that even private tutoring for kids at homes by parents is banned. The intrusive move is seen as a huge blow to free enterprise and the right to education, prompting concerns that the closure of these schools will block upward mobility in Turkish society.
Behind the war over prep schools [in Turkey]
Notably, all this comes while the tension between the government, especially Erdoğan himself, and the Gülen Movement is deepening. In fact, both groups form part of the “religious conservatives,” and used to be allies against the old secularist guard. However, their differences have become increasingly pronounced and have resulted recently in an increasingly bitter war of words.
Political life and NGOs in Turkey: Journalists and Writers Foundation
One of the most prominent NGOs in Turkey is the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV). This NGO recently published a statement in newspapers to announce that it does not have an agenda in terms of establishing a political party or appointing others to form a party on its behalf.
Hizmet movement in the spotlight at MESA 2012
The 54th annual meeting of the Middle Eastern Studies Association (MESA), held in Denver in November 2012, included a panel discussion on “Faith-Based Conservative Activism in Turkey: Fethullah Gulen as a Social Movement.” The panel attracted research studies on the Hizmet movement and its various educational and social activities, conducted at various geographical locations.
An American’s journey into a Hizmet school in Turkey
One thing I haven’t mentioned is the fact that the school engages with the families of all its students, and that fact was evident in the way the students engaged with their teachers and each other. I have never seen a bunch of adolescent girls with such nice manners, warm self-confidence and eagerness to learn and succeed.
