Keyword: Turkey
33rd Abant Platform: whither Turkey?
In his speech at the opening of the first session, Prof. Seyfettin Yuksel said: “If it had been said a few years ago that we would be discussing ‘Turkey’s direction’ in the coming years, none of us would have believed it. We were sure about Turkey’s direction.” Unfortunately, nowadays Turkey’s direction is seen as uncertain, and the country has strayed not only from its foreign policy but also from democratic norms and the rule of law in its domestic policies. Here are my notes from the conference.
Final declaration of the 33rd Abant Platform: “Turkey direction”
Participants in the 33rd Abant Platform, which ended on Sunday in the northwestern town of Akçakoca, agreed that Turkey has lost its direction in both its domestic and foreign policy, saying the way to rectify this is to restore its commitment to the accession process into the European Union and the rule of law at home.
Inability to generate values
Many are quick to note that Turkey does not have a worldwide brand. It is true that this country, with a population of about 70 million, has virtually no world-class brand. Some people are trying to destroy the few brands it does have (such as Turkish schools — which are run by Turkish entrepreneurs inspired by the ideas of well-respected Turkish-Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen).
Witch hunt and AKP’s legacy from Feb. 28
The witch hunt that has been affecting virtually all state institutions as well as private sector companies in recent months has a specific target: a social group, namely the Hizmet movement. Thousands of innocent people are being victimized solely because of their affiliation with or sympathy toward a social group, and no one can raise an objection to this profound injustice.
Former minister inquires about secret plot against Gülen movement
Former minister with ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) İdris Naim Şahin has submitted a lengthy inquiry to the Turkish Parliament, asking if there is a secret plot against members of the Gülen movement and if the government has mobilized all its resources to gather evidence through any means.
Students from 70 countries celebrate graduation in Turkey
Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) Chairman Rızanur Meral, Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) Chairman Mustafa Yeşil and writers Reşit Haylamaz and Mehmet Akar attended the graduation ceremony of international students who had come to Turkey from nearly 70 countries.
Gülen’s lawyer denies any link with bugging probe suspect
Fethullah Gülen’s lawyer has denied that the Turkish Islamic scholar has any links with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s former chief bodyguard, who was detained in an investigation into covert listening devices found in the prime minister’s office in 2012.
Land of Private high school declared green space
The İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) recently declared a piece of land on which a private high school had been being built to be a green space. The high school is a branch of Fatih Koleji, a private institution affiliated with the Hizmet movement inspired by Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.
‘Hizmet is the attempt to celebrate all of humanity’
Hizmet Movement is unique because it doesn’t try to carry out what we call cultural and religious particularism. That would be the idea that your group is the best, that you have the only form of truth, that all other groups are impure, incorrect and that they are not worthy of time, or that they’re not worthy of learning something from them. Hizmet, in fact, says the opposite. Members reach out to learn from other peoples, they actively invite people from different cultural backgrounds, people from different religious backgrounds to come and teach them, to teach them things.
Prep school owners write to Constitutional Court
The Constitutional Court will review a law that seeks to shut down preparatory schools that assist students in studying for the national high school and university admission exams after organizations representing private prep schools wrote to the court, asking to make statements about the problems that might arise due to the closure of these institutions.
‘Gülen movement has a specific mission’
… If the [Fethullah] Gülen movement were a small, ineffective community, the AKP would never have disturbed it. Or if the Gülen movement had acted in full cooperation with the government, such a conflict wouldn’t have occurred. But the Gülen movement has a specific mission. What is that mission? They seek to obtain the pleasure of God by leading good religious lives and engaging in educational and social services.
Joint mosque-cemevi project launched in Tokat
Turkey’s first-ever joint mosque-cemevi complex has been under construction in Ankara since last September. The project, which is being carried out by the CEM Foundation and the Hacı Bektaş Veli Culture, Education, Health and Research Foundation, was first suggested by Turkish-Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, who lives in the US in self-imposed exile.
