Turkey’s leading charity, Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There), had its right to collect charitable donations abruptly rescinded on Tuesday, in what seems to be an arbitrary decision made during a Cabinet meeting, prompting harsh reactions from volunteers, lawmakers of the opposition parties and representatives of other civil society groups.
A report prepared by inspectors assigned by the Interior Ministry earlier this year clearly states that not a single irregularity was discovered in the activities of the charity organization Kimse Yok Mu at the end of an audit carried out by the ministry’s inspectors.
İsmail Cingöz, president of the Turkish charity Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There), which is affiliated with the Hizmet movement inspired by prominent scholar Fethullah Gülen, explained to Today’s Zaman that the organization has contributed to social and international peace since the day of its foundation.
Dr. Sophia Pandya specializes in women, religion, and globalization. She received her BA from UC Berkeley in Near Eastern Studies/Arabic, and her MA and PhD from UCSB in Religious Studies, with a focus on women and Islam. She co-edited the book titled The GulenHizmet Movement and its Transnational Activities: Case Studies of Altruistic Activism in Contemporary Islam.
Professor Whyte, who is a constitutional jurist and a former advisor to state ministers, spoke on the Hizmet’s activities in his country. He believes the movement is seeking a peaceful world. “Hizmet is a movement that wholeheartedly believes in intercultural dialog, which is the key for peaceful relations among people.
The Hizmet Movement is Turkey’s most influential Islamic identity community. Widely praised throughout the early 2000s as a mild and moderate variation on Islamic political identity, the Gülen Movement has long been a topic of both adulation and conspiracy in Turkey, and has become more controversial as it spreads across the world. In Gülen, Joshua D. Hendrick suggests that when analyzed in accordance with its political and economic impact, the Gülen Movement, despite both praise and criticism, should be given credit for playing a significant role in Turkey’s rise to global prominence.
Jihad Turk, a founding Board Member of Claremont Lincoln University, has been instrumental in the establishment of Bayan Claremont, a graduate school designed to train Muslim scholars and religious leaders. He previously served as the Director of Religious Affairs at the Islamic Center of Southern California.
University of South Africa Professor Yousuf Dadoo has congratulated Kimse Yok Mu, one of the largest charity organizations in Turkey, for making its work a model for all charitable groups. He said that during a recent visit to Turkey he had been privileged to spend some time with members of Kimse Yok Mu, a relief organization connected to the faith-based Hizmet movement.
The government-led assault to sink Turkey’s largest Islamic lender, Bank Asya, due to its affiliations with the Hizmet movement, has stirred a public movement, with thousands of people rushing to deposit money with the bank to aid its struggle for survival.
Speaking to journalists following the Cabinet meeting on Monday, Arınç added that he does not know how US would react to this political request. Admitting that there is no legal base for Gülen’s extradition, the deputy prime minister said that without the necessary documents, evidence and a court order, it is not possible to get someone extradited from a country.
Some private schools affiliated with the Hizmet movement, a faith-based social movement inspired by Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, have been prevented from accessing government incentives. According to an official list published by the Education Ministry on Monday, many high-achieving private schools did not make the cut to be eligible for financial aid from the government.
Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish Muslim scholar, thinker, author, poet, opinion leader and educational activist. who is actively promoting interfaith and intercultural dialogue for over a decade now, has strongly condemned the brutal atrocities being committed by the ISIS terrorist group hiding behind a false religious rhetoric.
Fethullah Gulen has said that he deplores the brutal atrocities being committed by the terrorist group hiding behind a false religious rhetoric. “Any form of attack, suppression or persecution of minorities or innocent civilians is an act that contradicts the principles of the Quran.”-Fethullah Gülen