Why did Fethullah Gulen speak?

Aslı Aydıntaşbaş / Milliyet

Why did Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen feel the need to speak about the Gaza flotilla issue? How should this message from Pennsylvania, which came at a time when Turkey was unable to overcome the shock of the attack on the Mavi Marmara, be understood?

It seems to me that Gülen has noticed the psychological atmosphere that has been taking Turkey away from its mission as a “bridge between the East and the West” towards the corridors of the Arab world. An atmosphere that has been taking Turkey away from its identity as a “Western Muslim country” heading for the EU to a position as the protector of Hamas and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. And he wanted to say “stop” to that. The Gülen movement has the power of transcending Turkish borders with its schools and NGOs across the world. The movement, just like Turkey, gets its power from its ability to be a bridge between the East and the West and to make use of this with a dynamic workforce. The move of the spiritual leader of a movement with such a global aim at a point when he thinks Turkey’s interests are at stake is very understandable.

Published on Today's Zaman, 08 June 2010

Related Articles:

• The intra-Turkish debate on the Mavi Marmara
• Gülen expresses condolences over slain peace activists
• Gülen sends condolences to martyrs, criticizes method
• Reclusive Turkish Imam Criticizes Gaza Flotilla