The ‘community’ [Gulen movement] and the Kurdish issue

Özlem Albayrak, Yeni Şafak

The Gülen movement has long been approached by other religious groups and communities with wariness since it refused to be “obstinate” with the Republican regime that oppressed Muslims for many years and it failed to level criticism of modernity and the West as was typical of other Muslim groups.

Instead, it opted to benefit from the opportunities offered by Western civilization. However, the bad part was that this “wariness” is causing the religious groups to disregard the Gülen community’s capabilities in solving the Kurdish issue. As the community grows, it has come to be seen as reactionary by the Republican regime, which desperately continues to exhibit its official theses, separatist by the neo-nationalists, Turkish nationalist by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its supporters, and pro-Israel by the religious people. What the community has done about Turkey’s democratization serves as a guarantee for what it is capable of doing with regard to the Kurdish issue, doesn’t it? Can’t we see that if we lose ourselves in criticizing the Muslims who do not think like us concerning some matters, it is we who will lose in the end? A final question: can Turkey settle the Kurdish issue without the community’s support? I don’t think so.
 
Published on Today's Zaman, 14 October 2011, Friday

This is an excerpt of the original [Turkish] version. You may click here to read the full commentary.