The dilemma for the Pakistani government is stark. Turkish prime minister Binali Yildirim has warned that Turkey would be at war with any country that cooperates or aids the Gulen movement. Yet closing down schools that prepare their students for a modern society and economy is something Pakistan’s deeply troubled education sector can ill afford.
We should consider not only what people say about Fethullah Gülen, but what he says himself. Decades of speeches and publications make this possible and reveal certain attributes. For example, Gülen advocates a form of Sufi humanism. He seeks collaborative relationships across religious, cultural, and national borders. He is concerned about the poor and marginalized around the world.
If Pakistan does indeed give in to pressure from the Turkish government, the move will be ironic, given the number of madressahs currently operating in the country with established links to political, religious or denominational movements that have a more than suspected record of terrorism, violence and spurious religious indoctrination.
Phnom Penh’s Turkish-run Zaman International School and its affiliated university have come under fire in the wake of a thwarted coup attempt in Turkey on Friday night, with Turkish authorities now hunting down supporters of Mr. Gulen around the world.
The Journalists and Writers Foundation with its Women’s Platform organized the Annual Istanbul Summit on May 7-8, 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand in partnership with Thailand Achievement Institute. This year’s topic was “Reconsidering Gender Equality and Peaceful Societies.”
On the other side, there is one very important thing that Indonesia must avoid. The Turkish government has been inching ever closer to becoming an Islamist nation, abandoning its secularity that has acted as the foundation of modern Turkey until now. The government’s power is also getting increasingly concentrated in the hands of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Jafar Gwani, an Islamic theologian based in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, has said the ideas of Fethullah Gülen, an Islamic preacher who lives in self-imposed exile in the US, are the best antidote in the fight against the ideology of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Zafar Yunus Sareshwala, CEO of the Mumbai-based Parsoli Corporation Ltd. and a close associate of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, says it is important for the Muslims of the world, particularly Indian Muslims, to leave agitation and confrontation behind as miscommunication creates false impressions, resulting in their alienation and isolation.
Kimse Yok Mu Foundation helped 6 thousand families in need enjoy the Eid al-Adha by slaughtering 550 head of cattle in six different provinces across Afghanistan. Joined by Afghan-Turk Cag Educational Institutions and Afghan and Turkish businessmen gave away eid beef in Kabul, Herat, Kandahar, Jalalabad, Mazar-i Sharif, Sheberghan cities, from the first day thru the third.
Humanitarian aid organization Kimse Yok Mu? (Is Anybody There?) carried out 500 cataract surgeries in Pakistan, as part of its international campaigns to reach out economically disadvantaged people. Volunteers from the organization arrived in the city of Dera Ismail Khan in July for its campaign to perform cataract surgeries for 5,000 people in the country. So far, around 500 people have undergone surgeries, which bolstered ties between Turkey and Pakistan.
Kimse Yok Mu Foundation’s eid efforts bring joy to thousands of needy faces every year. Aid recipients of all ages pray for whoever is involved in these efforts. The foundation has been assisting Afghanistan for about 10 years now. Disaster victims and those in need alike have been benefiting from these efforts.
The President of Ishik University Prof. Ahmet Oztas mentioned that the staff and instructors of the university are strongly against the message of IS. They echo the official line of Gulen, that believes that Islamic State must be fought. He emphasized that IS militants are the enemy of all humanity, Turkey, Kurdistan, US and democracy, and it is the duty of all people to fight against them to the best of their ability.