Keyword: Turkey
Turkish PM Erdoğan’s way worries and puzzles
Erdoğan’s political calculations for his strategy do not seem to make much sense to many. Why has he chosen to alienate the Hizmet movement now and not after the elections? Why is he even more furious with the remaining independent media than before? Is he doing all this and others to win or is this a heavy gamble, in despair, to lose or win everything?
EU stresses right to freedom of expression in wake of media investigations [in Turkey]
The European Union has underlined that public authorities should not interfere with freedom of expression in the media, against the background of Turkish government pressure on the media through criminal and civil lawsuits. “The right to freedom of expression includes the freedom to receive and impart information and ideas without the interference of public authorities,” Peter Stano, spokesperson for EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle, said to the Cihan news agency.
How does PM Erdoğan hurt the liberal pious of Turkey?
Turkey has been vigorously debating the nature of its democracy and popular Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling style, which has increasingly authoritarian tendencies, as never before since the Gezi Park protests in May. From my perspective, the Gezi protests, on which everyone was almost forced to take sides, is a grey area since both the government and the protesters made their share of mistakes.
The real issue is the National Security Council [in Turkey]
A recent report by the Taraf daily indicating that the National Security Council (MGK) had formed a plan to destroy the Gülen movement has sparked discussions. This is only natural, considering that the current political administration is known for its adherence to religious values. This report is huge news because the government failed to oppose the military in the MGK meeting.
A little fairness, please!
Please, take a deep breath and take a trip back to a short time ago. What do you remember of the “Justice and Development Party (AK Party)-Gülen movement disagreement”? Here’s a brief reminder, for a better understanding of the discussion: Fethullah Gülen was taken to the hospital in an ambulance because of an emergency. Because I visited him that day, I wrote as follows: “One of the persons who made [the] first phone call was Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Votes of religious orders and communities [in Turkey]
The three-week debate between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Fethullah Gülen had a long past that falls under this category. Although the AK Party is powerful, the Gülen movement is not a piece of cake it can swallow easily. The AK Party is a political party that keeps its members together using the power and interests available to a ruling party. The Gülen movement, on the other hand, is an army of volunteers.
Islamist daily published profiling story in 2010
The Islamist Akit daily published a story on illegal profiling conducted by the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) that targeted religious groups back in 2010, long before the Taraf daily, which is currently under fire from the government for publishing similar documents, the authenticity of which have been confirmed by the government.
Flautre: Investigation into Taraf daily, journalist over MGK docs ‘scandalous’
Hélène Flautre, the co-chairwoman of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, has described the launch of an investigation into the Taraf daily and journalist Mehmet Baransu for publishing records of controversial National Security Council (MGK) documents as being “scandalous” and “inappropriate,” adding that she has serious concerns about freedom of the press in Turkey.
Taraf daily to sue PM Erdoğan over treason accusations
Daily Taraf has announced that it will file a criminal complaint against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on charges of attempting to influence due process after the Turkish leader called on the “judiciary to do its duty” against the newspaper for exposing a plan to eliminate the Gülen movement.
Concluding statement of the International panel on Mary announced
The international panel, titled “Mary in the Holy Scripture and Qur’an,” which was jointly held by the Journalists and Writers Foundation’s (GYV) Intercultural Dialogue Platform (KADİP), the Tevere Institute and İzmir Intercultural Dialogue Center (İZDİM), was concluded with a statement.
International panel on Mary was held in Istanbul
An international panel, titled “Mary in the Holy Scripture and Qur’an,” was jointly held by the Journalists and Writers Foundation’s (GYV) Intercultural Dialogue Platform (KADİP), the Tevere Institute and İzmir Intercultural Dialogue Center (İZDİM) at WoW Hotel in Istanbul. The two-day meeting was attended by a number of leading scholars and intellectuals of the field and focused on such topics as “Approaches to Mary,” “Debate on Mary,” “Mary Doctrine and its Historical Development.”
Fethullah Gülen’s dialogue and tolerance discourse parallels Gandhi’s
Sudheendra Kulkarni, the head of the India-based Mumbai Research Foundation, has said there are parallels between the views of Mahatma Gandhi and Fethullah Gülen. Kulkarni talked to students from the Faculty of Theology at Marmara University, discrediting the misconception that Gandhi was against technology. Kulkarni described his new book, “Music of The Spinning Wheel,” and obscured characteristics of Gandhi as the protagonist of his book.
Elvan Foods: Our exports extended to 130 countries thanks to Turkish Schools
Hidayet Kadiroglu, the CEO of Elvan Food, one of the major companies in the chocolate and candy industry said that their exports extended to 130 countries thanks to the Turkish schools all over the world. Kadiroglu stated that they were able to establish factories in first Azerbaijan and then Egypt; they had the opportunity to stretch out to Asian and African markets.
How will prep school controversy influence elections [in Turkey]?
Gülen is a very important opinion leader in Turkey. He is not a politician but the leader of a social movement featuring religious motives. In addition to his followers, conservative people and groups also pay attention to his views and comments. Even those who are opposed to his worldview send their children to the schools set up by his followers because these schools provide very high quality education and training.
