University preparatory courses and the Hizmet movement in Turkey
Date posted: October 11, 2013
KORAY ÇALIŞKAN, RADİKAL
Most (university) preparatory courses (in Turkey) are run by the Hizmet movement, and it is very clear that the government’s steps to close down such courses, an action against the movement, will negatively affect a great number of people.
Many analysts said it is impossible for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), which does not have a good relationship with the Hizmet movement, to close down preparatory courses in the run-up to the pre-election period. The first preparatory courses were established in 1965. After the Sept. 12, 1980 coup, the National Security Council (MGK) decided in 1984 to close down such courses, but when late President Turgut Özal came to power, he allowed them to be reopened. According to Education Personnel Union (Eğitim-Sen) Chairman Alaaddin Dinçer, a student sits for a total of 739 examinations up until the university entrance exam. This means that students take more than 60 exams in a year, which shows that the need for preparatory courses is created by the education system in the country.
Rumi Forum chooses solutions to problems for essay contest
The Rumi Forum, an international organization established by Turks living in Washington, D.C., to foster intercultural dialogue, has chosen the Hizmet movement and solutions to today’s problems as the topic for this year’s essay contest.
Turkish PM Erdoğan’s rhetoric and reality
One of the main problems that Turkish and foreign interlocutors of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan complain of is that he employs fiery rhetoric, with a special emphasis on drama, to score points with his home base of political Islamists, a narrow minority within his popular ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party).
Celebrating Ramadan with Turkish asylum seekers
Haldun and his wife, Funda, fled Turkey about two years ago with their three daughters and are now seeking political asylum in the United States because if they go back to Turkey they face arrest and likely torture. Once a successful manufacturer of washing machine products, Haldun, Funda and their children are now a family without a country; their factory turned over to a government trustee, their passports taken away, and their property and belongings nationalized.
Turkey-Japan Media Forum kicks off in İstanbul
Many journalists from Turkish and Japanese media outlets will participate in the forum, during which the attendees will discuss the role of media in terms of multiculturalism and coexistence, the perception of Turkey in the Japanese media and the perception of Japan in the Turkish media, the relationship between media and democracy and new media tendencies in the digital era.
Panel Discussion – The Gulen Schools In Central Asia
Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbaev rather quickly defused the problem with Turkey by making a visit to Ankara to meet with President Erdogan. Nazarbaev did not agree to close down the Gulen schools in Kazakhstan, but he did promise to carefully scrutinize those running the schools and those teaching in them.
Turkish authorities use charges of terrorism to silence free speech
Journalists in Turkey are being charged with “being involved in terrorist activities” and “endangering state security” to justify the current crackdown on the media, as this is the only legitimate way for Turkish leadership to silence and censor dissident voices while shielding themselves from being seen as infringers on the freedom of speech and expression, unambiguously protected under international law.
Latest News
Sacramento leaders gather for Iftar dinner in celebration of Ramadan
SEO Skill Suite: Tools for Keyword Research, Technical & Backlink Analysis
Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison
Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney
Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement
ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment
New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement
European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests
ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases
In Case You Missed It
Gandhi’s granddaughter: Hizmet movement realized all we dreamed of
Atlantic Institute’s Annual Dialogue and Friendship Dinner in Tennessee
Turkish officials cancel green passport of Islamic scholar Gülen
Will Gülen Movement schools offer Kurdish-medium education?
Turkish charity Kimse Yok Mu represents Turkey at UN summit
Dismissed after coup attempt, teacher detained during visit to imprisoned relative
Royalties provide Fethullah Gülen with modest income, his lawyer says