Erdogan may continue to demonize and even to try to criminalize the Hizmet movement in an effort to brainwash his people into believing that he is the only one who can save the nation. We will see if this brings him the additional votes he needs to be elected president.
Calls that have been made over a period of several months by top government officials, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to boycott schools and institutions run by the Hizmet movement will undermine confidence in Turkish markets, a recent report has said.
One of the attendees of the convention in Washington, columnist Yavuz Semerci wrote in the Habertürk daily on Sunday that organizers of the convention and its sponsor — Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) — expressed their disapproval of the bill and asked that the subject be left to historians and not politicians.
The Turkic American Alliance (TAA) has refuted the pro-government daily Sabah’s and Yeni Şafak’s claims of “treachery,” linking the Hizmet movement, a faith-based group inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, with the passing of an “Armenian genocide” resolution at the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The Ministry of Education and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government have been focusing on closing down private prep schools for university preparation (dershanes) and Turkish schools abroad instead of spending its energy on resolving critical problems in the Turkish education system, experts say.
In an attempt to defame the Hizmet movement inspired by Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, the Turkish government and its media outlets have presented letters sent by civil society representatives affiliated with the faith-based movement to foreign officials providing them with information about the situation in Turkey as “treachery.”
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu stated he had ordered the closure of Turkish schools in 160 countries, arguing that the officials of those schools had sent letters to the leaders of foreign countries in which they complained about the Turkish government. The closure of these schools is a serious step, but the reason for the closure is not based on real evidence.
The Turkish prime minister has decided that if he continues to be angry and vengeful, his power will be cemented. In his latest address in Parliament, he pushed his angry discourse to higher — or lower — levels, to make clear that he will not forgive and he will punish. Since he has chosen the Hizmet movement as the enemy, all he wants to do is inflict harm, regardless of on who or what.
The Turkic American Alliance (TAA) has called on Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu to provide evidence substantiating his recent claims that individuals affiliated with Turkish schools abroad sent letters of complaint to foreign officials about Turkey.
Gülen movement supports a critical approach as a fundamental aspect of knowledge and faith. Furthermore, it considers science and mathematics to be especially necessary to a devout Muslim fulfilling his religious and civil duties and to improve the economic situation of his family and community.
South African President Jacob Zuma and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta have both expressed support for Turkish schools in their country, amid the Turkish government’s attempts to shut down Turkish schools located abroad that are affiliated with the Hizmet movement.
Turkish intellectuals are increasingly voicing concerns about the government attempt to close down the Turkish schools that provide an education to thousands of students abroad, saying the move is personally motivated and unwise.