
The Brazilian-Turkish Cultural Center (CCBT) and the Rio de Janeiro state government signed an education cooperation agreement on Tuesday paving the way for the establishment of a long-anticipated “Brazil-Turkey Intercultural High School” by Turkish entrepreneurs sympathetic to the faith-based Gülen movement in Duque de Caxias, a city in southeast Brazil.

A new book, Renewing Islam by Service, by Dr. Pim Valkenberg has been published by Catholic University Press, which offers a theological account of the contemporary Turkish faith-based service movement started by Fethullah Gülen, and placed against the backdrop of changes in modern Turkish society. In the first two chapters, Pim Valkenberg includes stories of his personal experiences with supporters of this movement, in a number of different countries, when he focuses on the dialogue-minded Turkish Muslims in the Netherlands.

A British law firm hired by the Turkish government has launched a defamation campaign in Washington against the Gülen movement, using the Turkish government’s narrative, part of the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) unceasing witch hunt against the faith-based movement in Turkey and abroad.

A report released by the prestigious London-based think tank Chatham House has praised the efforts of the faith-based Gülen movement in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), saying that it has been a major driving force of Turkey’s engagement in the region; however, it has warned that the Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) ongoing battle against the movement may hamper further Turkish presence there.

Based on the government’s much criticized “reasonable suspicion” law, a large number of businessmen in Uşak province were detained last week as part of an investigation into the so-called “parallel structure,” although most of them were released late on Friday night due to a lack of evidence to support a possible prosecution.

Respected Brazilian senator and Professor Cristovam Buarque, well known for his dedication to education, told Sunday’s Zaman during a visit to İstanbul that he has been impressed by the investments of Turkish businessmen who are inspired by the Gülen movement, also known as the Hizmet movement, in education even without an expectation of profit.

Turkey’s government is inflicting “systematic human rights violations” on its judiciary, police and media, according to a scathing report by senior British lawyers that was commissioned by one of president Erdogan’s exiled opponents.

A little piece of Turkey sits in Midrand, north of Johannesburg, in the form of the breathtaking Nizamiye mosque – built as a replica of the famous Selimiye mosque of Edirne, with its myriad blue and white tiles. President Jacob Zuma officially opened the mosque in 2012, which was built and funded by the unassuming Islamic philanthropist known as Uncle Ali.

The visibility of Muslim and the presence of Islam in sports need specific attention. On the one hand, there is an increase in social mobility, socialisation and participation in the society via sport; on the other hand, research has indicated that this participation in sports reveals some particularities in Islamic codes of living.

Another illegal practice was revealed on Wednesday regarding police raids on schools inspired by the faith-based Gülen movement, popularly known as the Hizmet movement, on Sept. 21, as officers refused to give a copy of the police report of seized items to school authorities despite demands by the institution’s lawyers.

A criminal complaint has been filed against Ankara public prosecutor Serdar Coşkun, who prepared an indictment in which by using false testimonies as evidence he accused several people of conducting organized crime under the Hizmet movement which he claimed to be a terrorist organization.

On 9/11, I dismissed my usual 8:30 a.m. Sociology of World Religions class to accompany the students to the student center to watch the historic events on CNN. But before we left, I told them that it may well be a Muslim terrorist group that was responsible, but I reminded them that, even if it turned out to be true, to remember that it did not mean all Muslims are terrorists.

Kenneth Hunter is the Principal of the Prosser Career Academy High School. He studied theology at Chicago Loyola University and taught world religions in high schools. He served as the chairperson of Illinois State Board of Education Language Arts Assessment Advisory Council (2002-2012). He is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Chicago.