
The defamation campaign against the Gülen or Hizmet movement, which the Turkish president and his political Islamist Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government accuse of illegally wiretapping government officials, collapsed after it became clear that foreign security and intelligence agencies were involved in eavesdropping on senior Turkish officials.

Speaking at a conference held the Philippines’ 400-year-old university, University of Santo Tomas, Dr. Lilian Sison, the Dean of International Relations Department of the University of Santo Tomas, indicated that Fethullah Gülen, a well-respected Turkish-Islamic scholar, is a pioneer of peace.

Turkish schools established by educational volunteers affiliated with a movement inspired by teachings of Turkish scholar Fethullah Gülen receive widespread praise due to the quality of education they provide internationally, but for months they have been targeted by the Turkish president.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has made a major push to paint a picture of the compound where Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen lives as a spacious camp in an attempt to contain attacks over his own sumptuous palace, which drew anger from the public, including from within his own party.

For centuries, the relationship between western and Islamic civilization has been edgy, due largely to the misconceptions that each of the two civilizations have for each other. Series of international debates have been held across Europe, Asia and Africa on the conflict of between Islamic and other civilizations.

A lawyer representing Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has strongly denied allegations by a pro-government columnist who argued that the Gülen movement is behind recent “attacks” on the Religious Affairs Directorate, saying the baseless claims are a part of a “disgusting scenario to divide the nation.”

Nuray A., who called Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen a “traitor” in a Twitter post, told a court on Tuesday that she only used the expression after first hearing politicians use the word against Gülen, and apologized for imitating them.

Lawyers representing Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen dismissed on Friday remarks made by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu that Gülen rejected an invitation from Davutoğlu to return to Turkey on the grounds that “it was not time yet.”