Keyword: Hizmet and politics
Gülen-linked journalists organization voices concern over profiling claims
The Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV), one of the most prominent institutions affiliated with Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, released a statement expressing its concerns over the government’s claimed profiling of citizens, civic groups and public employees. “It is worrisome to witness developments that echo the said “National Security Board decision, such as the plan to ban prep schools, the profiling of public employees or the purging of bureaucrats who are affiliated with certain communities,” the statement published on the institution’s website said.
Government files complaint against daily for exposing plot against Gülen
The Prime Ministry, the National Security Council (MGK) and the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) have filed a criminal complaint against the Turkish daily which has revealed that Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government signed on to a planned crackdown on the Hizmet (Gülen) movement. The Prime Ministry, the National Security Council (MGK) […]
The AK Party versus the Gülen Community
MUSTAFA AKYOL These days, the hottest topic in Turkey is the growing tension between the AKP (Justice and Development Party) government and the Fethullah Gülen Movement, a powerful Islamic community with millions of followers and a large civil society presence. In fact, these two powerful forces, “the party” and the “the community,” used to be […]
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 […]
Leak deepens AKP-Gulen rift
Tulin Daloglu The rift between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the prestigious Fethullah Gulen religious movement hit the surface last week. On Nov. 28, Mehmet Baransu of Taraf published a copy of a National Security Council (NSC) advisory ruling under the headline: “Measures needed to be taken to counter activities by the Fethullah Gulen group.” In January […]
Turkish President calls for calm as gov’t defuses tension with Gülen movement
In a bid to de-escalate a heated debate between the government and Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen’s movement surrounding the future of private prep-schools, known as “dershanes,” President Abdullah Gül has called for attention to be focused instead on “more essential issues.” “Development in scientific fields is permanent. The others are daily discussions, today there are […]
Behind the secret documents – Turkish government profiled a large number of individuals
A story which was published by Taraf daily on Monday has shaken the country. According to the story, the Turkish government profiled a large number of individuals whom it believed to be followers of certain religious and faith-based groups and monitored their activities up until 2013.
Unexpected consequences [of prep schools in Turkey]
The hottest debate in Turkey today is about the abolishment or, officially, the “transformation” of the private university prep schools. These are private enterprises. They are not schools but provide additional education to high school students to increase their ability to succeed in the nationwide university exams held every year.
Turkey’s ‘black box’ must be opened
The recent debate on tutoring centers and private prep schools and the shocking revelations on the dirty warfare used in the 1990s against the Kurdish population are certainly parts of this pressure-cooker-like mood. It is obvious that “Erdoğan’s Way” of running the country is based on keeping tension just under control, so that it will serve his own ambitions to cement personal power.
Gov’t profiling of individuals found unacceptable, unlawful
FATMA DİŞLİ ZIBAK, İSTANBUL Human rights advocates and legal experts have voiced their uneasiness about claims suggesting that the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) has profiled individuals whom it believes to be followers of certain religious and faith-based groups, describing the practice as being illegitimate and a violation of human rights. According to […]
AK Party vs. Cemaat?
Ali Ünal Of the many seemingly true claims that have been put forward in regards to the discussions that have come about surrounding the Turkish government’s attempt to close down exam prep-courses, some arguments bear good intentions while others call the Hizmet Movement to “keep quiet” with arguments that lie far from the truth. One […]
Arbitrary rule in Turkey
ABDULLAH BOZKURT On Nov. 18, in a Cabinet meeting that lasted more than seven hours, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan discussed the ban on private prep schools with his ministers for almost four hours. The meeting came only four days after the draft bill on the ban was leaked to Turkey’s largest circulated paper Zaman. […]
Academic Freedom in Turkey Under Seige
It appears that Fethullah Gülen, a U.S.-based Islamic preacher from Turkey who promotes peace and tolerance, and the schools associated with his religious Hizmet movement can’t get a break. Now, Gülen’s schools are being targeted in his home country by the Turkish government’s ruling Justice and Development Party, known as the AKP, which should dispel any notion in the U.S. that the AKP is somehow in cahoots with the Gülen movement.
