Keyword: Fethullah Gulen
OSCE: Excessive penalties threaten journalism in Turkey
Dunja Mijatovic, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) representative on freedom of the media, has said excessive penalties against journalists may threaten investigative journalism and freedom of speech in Turkey. Mijatovic spoke against an investigation targeting Taraf journalist Mehmet Baransu for reporting on a confidential National Security Council (MGK) document that mentioned a planned crackdown on faith-based groups in Turkey.
Turkish Syriac Catholic patriarch launches ‘Fruits of Dialogue’
“Diyaloğun Meyveleri” (Fruits of Dialogue), a book by Deputy Patriarch of the Turkish Syriac Catholic Church Yusuf Sağ, was launched at a reception held at Taksim Green Park Hotel in İstanbul on Tuesday night. Delivering a speech at the event, Bartholomew praised the role of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen in promoting dialogue among different faiths.
Gulen movement is of high interest to Moroccans
Morocco is among the first Arab countries where Turkish schools were established. The nation’s prominent scholars like Prof. Abbadi are closely following Fethullah Gulen, a religious scholar, who, with a civilization, individual and education-centered approach -rather than a political one- based on tolerance, offers the most effective cures for the Muslim world.
Main opposition CHP says received no message from Fethullah Gülen
ANKARA The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has once more stated that its dialogue with the Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen movement had no difference from the dialogue that it has with other different segments of the society. “No message has been conveyed to us from Pennsylvania,” CHP Deputy Chair Faruk Loğoğlu said on Dec. […]
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.
Fethullah Gulen’s message in memory of Nelson Mandela
We pay tribute to the honorable life and legacy of Nelson Mandela, who devoted himself to the principles of peace, democracy, social justice and equality. Faced with extraordinary challenges and adversity, he chose reconciliation over retaliation and, in doing so, set an example of living a more noble life.
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.
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.
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.
‘If you are against us, you are the other’
Turkey has been witnessing a rigorous debate for the last couple of weeks over the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) vow to finish off the test prep schools, which are a source of both money and influence for its old ally, the Hizmet Movement led by the self-exiled leader, Fethullah Gülen. Like many controversies in Turkey, the issue of closing the courses and integrating them into Turkey’s poorly-established and -organized education system was not only about the prep schools, which was only the tip of the iceberg.
Fethullah Gülen is a Chance for Humanity: His Inclusive Perspective for Sustainable Global Triangulation
The basic values that mark the twenty-first century are modernism, pluralism, individualism, and religion. Some claim that modernity embraces individual and social life as a whole, and that it has created new forms of religious, cultural, and political pluralism. There is no doubt that the world today is in need of dialogue between cultures and civilizations more than at any other time; this is of the utmost urgency.
The Gulen Movement has become Turkey’s most significant export
The Gulen movement has become a global movement. In other words, it is Turkey’s most important export. When you cross boundaries, you have to watch the balance. His statement on the flotilla incident was both domestic and international. However, we must not forget that Gulen does not recommend that people fight those in authority. His statements disturbed both the government and the conservatives in Turkey.
Kemalo-Islamists versus civil society and Hizmet
İHSAN YILMAZ When summarizing the recent Cabinet meeting to correspondents, the speaker of the Cabinet, Bülent Arınç, referred to a religious concept, “fitnah” (sedition). He was implying that the Hizmet movement was engaged in an illegitimate psychological media campaign against his government. He even a recited a hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) on fitnah […]
Prof. Ergil: Gülen is in general a very bashful person
Fethullah Gülen’s general conduct is modest. He does not consider himself superior to anybody else, and he holds tolerance in the highest regard. The way that these values reveal themselves in his personal conduct are that Gülen listens carefully to others before he begins to speak. He is also in general a very bashful person.
