Opinions
The Gülen community and the AKP
TAHA AKYOL The Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV), which is in line with Fethullah Gülen, has issued an announcement on relations with the ruling party. It is certain that Gülen made the last retouches on the text himself. Gülen defines the movement shortly as “Hizmet” (translated roughly as “service” in English). I asked those who […]
Fethullah Gülen’s legal journey
Bülent Korucu April 8, 2012, Sunday James C. Harrington has a brilliant career as a lawyer who has practiced for 40 years and as a professor who has taught law in universities for 25 years. But what is even more important is his sensitivity to and struggle for human rights. He is one of the […]
PKK terrorism, piety and the Gülen movement
Adem Palabıyık*, March 29, 2012 A Chinese proverb notes that if you kill somebody, you intimidate thousands of others. To this end, the assaults against the Zaman offices in Europe by Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) supporters in recent times appear to be relevant to this proverb. Intimidation… But why the Gülen movement? The reason for […]
The Hizmet movement and politics
Dr. Ihsan Yilmaz, 28 March 2012, Wednesday There has recently been criticism directed against the Hizmet movement that it has been or is becoming a political movement. Its adversaries keep making these accusations, and nothing can be done to convince them. But for anyone sincerely interested in what the movement is actually up to, some […]
The Hizmet (Gulen) movement and transparency
Erkam Tufan Aytav Some groups have been parroting, “The [Gülen] Community should become more transparent.” As you know, with “the Community,” they are referring to the Gülen movement. Let us try to understand this sentence and respond to it. First of all, I need to note that when they say, “the Community,” they are referring […]
Ahmet Altan has shown which side he’s on
Today at his column, Ahmet Altan has talked about what has been spoken when his friends from Gulen Movement visited him. The Movement was on target following the releases of Nedim Şener and Ahmet Şık. At the reports of Stratfor that Taraf published, Movement faced serious allegations. After all these, representatives of the Movement visited […]
Strategic defamation by Stratfor
Abdulhamit Bilici, March 18, 2012 (originally published on September 2, 2010) A few weeks ago, an American researcher by the name of Reva Bhalla came to visit us upon a reference from a good friend of ours. He told us that he was researching political inclinations in Turkey on behalf of the Stratfor intelligence firm. […]
Society ready for a new constitution, but how about politics?
Abdulhamit Bilici, March 16, 2012 If I were to touch on Turkey’s national agenda by discussing the recent successful trip made by President Abdullah Gül to Tunisia, my sense of disappointment would be great. As I tried to express in my recent column “Tunisia will be a model for Turkey,” the Tunisians, who only one […]
The last of the ‘LASTmen’ and the new constitution
Dr. Ihsan YILMAZ, 14 March 2012 One of the most hotly debated topics of the last Abant Platform was the Directorate of Religious Affairs. There are many sides to the issue. Those who do not care about religion call for the Directorate of Religious Affairs’ total abolishment. Some advocate maintaining the status quo. I understand […]
An AKP-neo-nationalist axis?
Emre Uslu, 14 March 2012 Turkey’s foremost thinker, Etyen Mahçupyan, in the Zaman daily, underlined an interesting rapprochement between the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government and the neo-nationalist (Ulusalcı) camp in Turkey. Mahçupyan listed a number of indicators to provide evidence for his argument. Indeed, the indicators he gives are worrisome and show possible […]
Abant talks on constitution
MERVE BÜŞRA ÖZTÜRK, March 12, 2012 This year’s Abant Platform, held from March 9 to 11 in the northwestern province of Bolu, tackled the pressing issue of shaping Turkey’s new constitution. A broad range of intellectuals, lawyers, political leaders and journalists discussed the problematic areas of the constitutional drafting process. The new constitution, about which […]
New constitution must bear spirit of Abant
ABANT — Turkey has long been trying to rid itself of the remnants of the Constitution of 1982, which was the product of the military coup of September 12, 1980, as it goes through a process of confronting and settling accounts with military tutelage and coups. Bülent Keneş, Sunday March 11, 2012 Almost all political […]
Debating the constitution
Mümtazer Türköne, 12 March 2012 I attended the debates on a new constitution over the weekend. The environment that the Abant Platform offers is intense and rich. Opposite ideas and views meet there, and holders of these views debate matters. Communicating directly with those who hold different views, reacting to their views instantly and reviewing […]
Why does Fethullah Gülen Scare Us?
M. Ali Birand Tuesday, 11 January 2005 Over the years, Fethullah Gülen has the center of attention for many groups in our society. He was viewed with suspicion and concern, as if he were a symbol of hidden power. The curiosity he attracted then is still continuing today. Even in his latest statements to daily […]
