Keyword: Hizmet and politics
A word on the power of the Fethullah Gulen-followers
HASAN CEMAL I am a person who knows the power of the Gülen Community (the “Cemaat”), or as the colloquial phrase goes, the Fethullahians or Fethullah-followers, very well. I can easily say they are both powerful and competent. How do I know that? Because of football. Yes, that is so. They are very well organized […]
Those who infiltrate the state
The guardianship regime was in control of the country for over a century. It did not want to share its power with anybody. There was only one option left: to intimidate, to repress, to brutalize and to make others submit. To achieve this, it laid the groundwork through provocations and psychological warfare tactics; it created […]
Sabotage: government-Gülen movement relations
We are facing a new situation that we are all trying to understand. First, the summoning of the undersecretary of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), Hakan Fidan, and several other MİT administrators to testify as suspects has turned into an unprecedented and serious problem. Those waiting in the wings encouraged a debate that started as […]
Hizmet, forming a party and capturing the state!
During the recent political crisis surrounding the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), the judiciary, the police, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Hizmet movement, a few pro-AKP writers have implied that Hizmet has been interfering with politics. Unfortunately, these writers do not appear to have any idea of a proper and well functioning democracy, […]
Should the Hizmet movement form a political party?
Despite the image some have tried to create, we have been writing that the Justice and Development (AKP) and the Hizmet movement are two different entities. One of them is a political party and the other is a faith-based civil society actor. They have, of course, been on the same page with regard to many […]
Gulen movement becoming victim of its own legend
I don’t know whether they are aware of it, but a danger that needs to be taken very seriously awaits the Gulen movement. In the eyes of the Turkish society, which is believing of conspiracy theories, the Gulen movement is mythicized beyond its real dimensions. The power and influence of the Gulen movement is being so exaggerated that if no precautions are taken, this imagined power will one day destroy it.
Gülen movement has no political agenda
Professor Ahmed al-Tayyib, the rector of al-Azhar University in Egypt, who believes the Gülen movement and al-Azhar University are of the same mind regarding the balance between secularism and religion, said the Gülen movement is a true representative of Islam because it adopts a moderate approach. “Today, there are many movements having a religious basis; however, most of them serve the interests of a sect, a community or a political purpose,” he told.
Gülen endorses reform package, appealing for ‘yes’ on Sept. 12 referendum
Well-respected Turkish intellectual and scholar Fethullah Gülen has said the constitutional reform package to be voted on Sept. 12 contains crucial amendments. Underlining that everyone, including Turkish citizens living abroad, should say “yes” in the referendum, Gülen said, “I wish we had a chance to raise the dead ones from their graves and urge them to cast ‘yes’ votes in the referendum,” as he highlighted the importance of voting in favor of the changes.
Gülen and the AK Party: A common quest for democracy or something more? (2)
* Mehmet Kalyoncu Both the Gülen movement (aka Hizmet movement) and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) seem to believe that military operations alone cannot solve Turkey’s terrorism problem. Because of this shared understanding, the movement’s civil society organizations and government agencies have been working hand-in-hand in the Southeast to revive the region […]
Gülen and the AK Party: A common quest for democracy or something more? (1)
Mehmet Kalyoncu* Given the variety of opinions on the subject, it is obvious that the question of what kind of relationship exists between the Gülen movement and the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) intrigues not only foreign observers of Turkey but also some Turks. While foreign observers categorically associate the Gülen movement (aka Hizmet […]
