Keyword: Turkey
Hizmet movement and the Kurdish question
Ihsan YILMAZ June 20, 2012 Hizmet movement (aka Gulen movement) roughly advocated two simultaneous approaches regarding Kurdish question. While the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorism needs security measures as the PKK keeps attacking innocent civilians in the streets by suicide bombings and so on, the wider Kurdish issue needs cultural, socio-economic and political measures. Hizmet […]
Would Gülen want to return to Turkey?
Mehmet Ali Birand June/16/2012 Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has invited Fetullah Gülen “Hodja,” who has been living in the United States for years, back to the country. He said, “this longing should come to an end.” In particular, the timing of the speech at the closing of the “Turkish Olympics” was a nice, well-thought-through […]
Hizmet movement and government
Yavuz Baydar June 14, 2012 Is it the movement attacking the government, or vice versa? Some believe that it is, some hope that it is, some deny that it is and many others feel deeply concerned that it is. I tend to belong to the latter camp. It is undeniable that the Hizmet movement (aka […]
Turkish PM calls on Islamic scholar Gülen to return to Turkey
Self-exiled Islamic leader Fethullah Gülen should return to Turkey, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan suggested last night without directly mentioning the controversial religious figure by name. “We want this yearning to end,” Erdoğan said. “We want to see those who are abroad and longing for the homeland among us.” Erdoğan’s remarks came after he was granted […]
A rift between the Hizmet movement and the AK Party?
BÜLENT KENEŞ June 14, 2012 For some time, Turkey has been obsessively talking about an alleged contention between the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Hizmet movement (aka Gulen Movement). This matter is being discussed in dozens of newspaper columns and TV programs every day. The Hizmet movement’s demands are about principles. These […]
Turkish President Gül: Turkish schools abroad largest non-state project
11 June 2012 / TODAYSZAMAN.COM Turkish President Abdullah Gül has said Turkish schools abroad are the largest non-state project Turkey has ever seen, noting that the schools’ value will only increase in the future. Organizers and participants in the 10th International Turkish Olympiads presented the Karamanoğlu Mehmet Bey Turkish Language Award to the president, who […]
Turkish trade’s center of gravity shifting in TUSKON bridges
Over the last six years, the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) has introduced a new concept to trade fair organizations: World Trade Bridges. These programs have evolved over time and become internationally recognized trade events in Turkey.
Fortunately, we have not closed Gülen schools
Mehmet Ali Birand June 9, 2012 When I was invited to become one of the judges in the International Turkish Olympiad, I was initially surprised. I was also a bit embarrassed because I never considered myself to be an expert in Turkish songs and folk songs, but I could not turn the offer down because […]
FM Davutoglu praises Fethullah Gülen’s contribution to education
4 June 2012 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has praised Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen for supporting and promoting educational activities in foreign countries, along with his efforts to inspire intercultural and interreligious dialogue globally. Davutoğlu joined the 10th International Turkish Olympiads activities on Monday in the province of Konya and […]
Factory settings of Turkey as a nation-state
ABDÜLHAMİT BİLİCİ 18 May 2012 If we were to give a title to an article discussing the problems most heatedly debated in Turkey, I think the best option would be “Woes of transitioning from an empire to a nation-state.” It has been no easy task to transform a multi-faith, multi-lingual and diversity-dominated empire into a […]
Media Imposes Official Ideology, Creating Negative non-Muslim Image
Intellectuals and journalists who gathered at a workshop for a debate on how the media treats non-Muslims in society have said that the media has had a crucial role in imposing official ideology on society. “It is not that all negative perceptions in the media regarding non-Muslims have been determined by media bosses or chief […]
Turkish schools behind Turkey’s soft power in Middle East
2 May 2012 / MİNHAC ÇELİK, İSTANBUL Marco Padovan, Italian businessman and a member of the Turkish-Italian Trade and Cooperation Association, said during a round table meeting held in İstanbul on Wednesday that Turkish schools play a crucial role in the increase of Turkey’s soft power in the Middle East and North Africa. Speaking during […]
Kurdish intellectuals denounce attack on Şırnak educational institution
24 April 2012 / AYTEN ÇİFTÇİ/ALİ GÜVEN, İSTANBUL/ŞIRNAK Kurdish intellectuals have joined critics of a suspected outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) attack on a building, which hosts a private university prep course in Şırnak on Saturday, saying the masterminds of such attacks will not achieve their goals. The building, where weekend and evening courses to […]
Recent poll on Hizmet movement
DR. DOĞU ERGİL, April 24, 2012 The MetroPOLL Strategic and Social Research Center conducted a nationwide survey during the last week of March and the first week of April. The topics polled included the clash between the Gülen community and the National Intelligence Organization (MİT). The number of respondents who believe the Gülen community wants to […]
