Keyword: Turkey
Extraditing Gulen and other dark conspiracies
Despite his pressures, Turkish prosecutors have not agreed to write an indictment against Gulen. On the other hand, Gulen has already been tried in absentia between 1999-2008 for all the accusations now recycled and repeated by Erdogan. The Kemalist military establishment was very powerful at the time and they were almost in full control of the state but they still could not produce concrete evidence against Gulen.
Young environmentalists awarded at 22nd INEPO
Young environmentalists from different corners of the world who attended the 22nd International Environmental Project Olympiad (INEPO) to find solutions to environmental problems and thus make the world a better place to live have been awarded gold, silver and bronze medals.
Reaction mounts against PM’s witch-hunt remarks
Politicians, members of the judiciary and journalists have spoken out against threatening remarks by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who stated that the government will carry out a witch hunt against followers of a faith-based group [Hizmet movement].
Samanyolu high school wins gold medal in TÜBİTAK contest
Samanyolu Science High School students Sadık Said Kasap and Onur Sulak won the gold medal among 24 final contenders whose work was chosen out of 1,156 projects. Kasap and Sulak stated that they had been working on their project for the last eight months and that they had striven to make a contribution to the world of mathematics.
‘Humiliating people not allowed in Islam’
A man identified as Mustafa Petek asked the Religious Affairs Directorate on March 24 if Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, who inspired the Hizmet movement, deserves to be a target of hate speech by state officials. The Religious Affairs Directorate, in response to the man’s query on hate speech, said, “In Islam, no one is allowed to humiliate a person or refer to him using adjectives that don’t represent him.”
Erdoğan says his gov’t will carry out ‘witch hunt’
There are rumors that the only criteria behind these purges is links to a “parallel state,” a term the government has been using to define the Hizmet movement, which is a grassroots movement based on voluntary participation to spread interfaith dialogue and tolerance, with a particular emphasis on education.
Ex-employee files complaint against TİB head over purge
An email claimed that the agency tampered with its system logs to fabricate evidence that the “parallel state,” a term the government uses to describe the Hizmet movement, had listened in on around 2,000 people. The message said the electronic serial numbers (ESNs) of these people were entered into the system as per instructions from TİB President Çelik and then erased — all to make it look like the Hizmet movement had spied on Turkish citizens and then covered its tracks.
Mothers meet in İstanbul to mark Mother’s Day, see their children
A mother, Vera Stamova from Moldova, expressed similar feelings. “My two children study in Turkey. My younger daughter studied in Turkish schools [in Moldova]. She received a quality education. I love Turkey and I have great confidence in Turkish people. If I had another child, I would also send her to Turkey. I miss them a lot, but they are very lucky and are taken good care of here,” she said.
Turkey’s first private Arabic station starts to broadcast
Hira TV will also feature Samanyolu TV, which has been broadcasting programs in Arabic for almost 20 years. Hira TV CEO Yusuf Acar said the new channel’s target audience is families, adding: “Through cultural and scientific TV programs, we will appeal to all Arab people, including both children and adults. In addition, we will broadcast lectures from Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish-Islamic scholar.”
Toward a security state
Hizmet movement resembles Western civil society groups and organizations in terms of creating public discussion platforms and performing education and unity-related activities. In addition, what makes the movement more important is that it does not depend on the state in order to survive and sustain its effectiveness.
Smear campaign against Gülen today harsher than in Feb. 28 era
Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, who has inspired a worldwide religious network that defends peaceful coexistence through dialogue and education, is currently being targeted in a government-sponsored smear campaign that is reminiscent of, and even harsher than, the Feb. 28, 1997 coup period.
