
ŞAHİN ALPAY One of the great advantages of Turkey, surely, is the dominance of religious scholars who have promoted conceptions of Islam promoting peace, socio-economic development and democracy. In this context, contributions of Said Nursi (1878-1960), a Kurd from Bitlis, and Fethullah Gülen, a Turk from Erzurum, are surely exceptional. In Turkey hopes for an […]

Emphasizing the importance of Gülen’s remarks, Akdoğan said: “Political and social support to this peace process is of high importance. The government cannot take a step in spite of the public and nation. It is easier for the [government] to get a result when there is strong support from the public.

Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Deputy Chairman Hüseyin Çelik has expressed appreciation for Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen’s support for ongoing talks with the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), likening Gülen’s remarks to those of South African politician Nelson Mandela. In his latest weekly speech, broadcast on website Herkul.org last Sunday, Gülen said as long […]

DR. İHSAN YILMAZ The Hizmet movement has taken the lead on several sensitive issues in Turkey, ranging from democratization and the EU process to interfaith dialogue. I think it must also take the lead in supporting the peace attempts. It does not have to give a blank check to everyone and can voice its concerns, […]

Pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) deputy Ahmet Türk has welcomed support of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen for the peace talks between the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the government. “View of Fethullah Gülen [on peace talks] is reasonable, welcoming,” Türk told CNN Türk TV channel in an interview on […]

CİHAN ACAR, ŞANLIURFA Some of the urgent needs of Syrian refugees who have being sheltering in the southeastern region of Turkey since they fled from the intensifying violence in Syria are being met by the “sister family” project organized by the Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There) charity foundation. Syrian refugees in Turkey, whose numbers […]

A political aide to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Monday that it would be “unjust” and “wrong” to associate the Hizmet movement with wiretapping devices found in Erdoğan’s office. Speaking to TV station NTV, Yalçın Akdoğan, an adviser to the prime minister and a deputy of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), said: “Some people placed those devices there…. This is a grave situation.”

Turkey’s foremost civil intellectual forum, Abant Platform‘s workshop on “Diverse Perspectives on Turkey,” will be held in February 8-10, 2013 in Abant, Bolu. The Abant Platform is founded as an intellectual forum by the Journalists and Writers Foundation to promote democratic engagement for expanding social consensus and the coexistence of society’s rich cultural resources within […]

In this century when “Alienation” has become a global and local syndrome of every society and the problems of “inability to coexist” have gained momentum, The Journalists and Writers Foundation Inter Cultural Dialogue Platform (IDP) and the Fatih University Civilizations Research and Application Center (CRAC) co-organized the “Coexistence in Islamic Civilization and Contemporary Reviews” International […]

ENSAR TUNA ALATÜRK – BURSA Abakar Ahmat, the Governor of Ngaundere state, Republic of Cameroon, paid a visit to Sahabettin Harput, the Governor of Bursa, Turkey. Mr. Ahmat thanked Mr. Harput for the Turkish schools in Cameroon on behalf of the Turkish nation. Governor Ahmat was accompanied during the visit by the Mayor of Ngaundere Hamadou Dawa, […]

Samanyolu TV celebrated the 20th anniversary of its foundation with a ceremony featuring a concert and several activities at the İstanbul Congress Center as hundreds of guests from the media, political world and business world thronged the hall to witness the night.

İPEK ÜZÜM, İSTANBUL Turkish aid organizations have launched a joint large-scale aid campaign to provide food and shelter from the cold to Syrian refugees who fled to Turkey to escape from the intensifying violence in their country. Syrian refugees in Turkey, whose number has reached 132,920 according to a written statement recently released by the […]

The Şanlıurfa office of Kimse Yok Mu, a Turkish charity, in cooperation with the Şanlıurfa Governor’s Office, provided food, clothing, blankets and cleaning supplies to 200 Syrian families living in the town of Akçakale on Dec. 21. More than 120,000 Syrian refugees are taking shelter in camps in southern Turkey and more are expected to […]