March 26, 2010

Ottoman Dreaming: The Turks have new ambitions for trade and influence in Africa

Kinshasa & Yaounde

Mbombo Ibrahim Moubarak, an Islamic cleric who runs Cameroon’s Islamic humanitarian-assistance programme, has a dream. “Turkey must reclaim its mantle as leader of the Islamic world,” he said on March 17th, as Abdullah Gul became the first Turkish president to visit Cameroon and Congo. Mr Moubarak believes that Turkey’s brand of moderate Islam, which embraces Western-style democracy and the free market, offers a model for Africa’s Muslims. He sees nothing sinister about the mosques, madrassas and schools built, restored or run by Sunni Turks across the continent.

Quotes about Fethullah Gulen : By Michael David Graskemper from Harvard University, USA

Due to the spread and popularity of Gülen-inspired schools, the Gulen movement has become more than just a faith-based movement battling localized issues. It has instead become a world-wide educational movement that seeks to build a more peaceful world through dialogue and cooperation.