Keyword: Turkey
Fethullah Gülen on Islam, democracy and freedom of speech
Publishing a book in 2009 about Francis of Assisi’s peaceful encounter with Egypt’s Sultan Malik al-Kamil during the Fifth Crusade led me to meet a lot of people with an interest in improving interreligious relations. Among them were a number of Turkish immigrants who are followers of the Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen. I observed that through a network of private schools, foundations and media organizations, they have worked very hard to improve Muslim-Christian relations.
Gülen movement discussed at EP in light of recent political developments in Turkey
A panel discussion was organized by the Brussels-based Intercultural Dialogue Platform in the European Parliament (EP) to give information about the faith-based Gülen movement, also known as the Hizmet movement, especially within the framework of recent developments in Turkish politics.
Separation politics and Islam makes Gülen AKP’s enemy
“The Gülen Movement is faith inspired in its motivation, but faith neutral in its manifestation.” That is how key speaker Ozcan Keles, chairperson of Dialogue Society in London, characterized the Gülen Movement in a panel discussion on the Hizmet Movement Tuesday in the European Parliament.
Gülen says Turkey’s democracy eroding under AK Party rule
Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has said Turkey, which was not long ago the envy of Muslim-majority countries with its bid to become an EU member and dedication to being a functioning democracy, is reversing progress and clamping down on civil society, the media, the judiciary and free enterprise under the rule of the governing Justice and Development Party (AK Party).
Fethullah Gulen: Turkey’s Eroding Democracy (op-ed in NY Times)
It is deeply disappointing to see what has become of Turkey in the last few years. Not long ago, it was the envy of Muslim-majority countries: a viable candidate for the European Union on its path to becoming a functioning democracy that upholds universal human rights, gender equality, the rule of law and the rights of Kurdish and non-Muslim citizens.
Pro-gov’t circles intensify hypocritical propaganda targeting Gülen movement
The pro-government media and Justice and Development Party (AK Party) circles continue to use hypocritical language against the faith-based Gülen movement — popularly known as the Hizmet movement — inspired by the views of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, in propaganda both abroad and at home.
KYM Calls for Papers-International Conference on “Social Media for Good”
International Conference on Social Media for Good aims at systematizing and improving existing models on social media, suggesting new innovative approaches and practices, using their effectiveness in enhancing goodness and philanthropy, and resolution of social problems.
Gülen has strongly rejected comparison to Iran’s Khomeini time and again
Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ’s recently rehashed allegations that Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen planned to return from the US to Turkey in a way similar to Iran’s revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini are decades-old discredited claims that have been refuted time and again by Gülen himself in his published statements.
Volunteer teachers saddened by efforts to close Turkish schools
Volunteers teachers, most of whom left behind a better life in Turkey with the hope of promoting universal values of peace, dialogue and peaceful coexistence with others through education at Turkish schools abroad, have voiced great disappointment over efforts by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to defame and eventually see these schools close.
Erdoğan’s African mission and dismantling Turkish schools
How do Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s repeated calls for the closure of Turkish schools located on the African continent, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, serve Turkish national interests? It appears that in his fight against a “parallel structure,” which he equates with institutions and people inspired by the faith-based Gülen movement, also known as the Hizmet movement, the current Turkish president is losing a sense of direction.
