İhsan Yılmaz
Last week the US ambassador to Turkey created havoc when he directly commented on a legal case and declared that he was confused about freedom of the press in Turkey. The case in point concerns the infamous Ergenekon terrorist organization and journalist Soner Yalçın, who has been charged for being a member of the organization.
Based on the evidence presented to it, a court has jailed Mr. Yalçın pending trial. I am sure that within a few months we will able to read the indictment and evaluate for ourselves if he is in prison for his journalistic activities or if journalism was a cover for his illegal activities. But some in Turkey, including the US ambassador, have been quick to claim that Mr. Yalçın is innocent and that the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the Gülen movement have been unjustly trying to silence the opposition.
February 19, 2011
February 18, 2011
A Turkish citizen spreads a message of love and coexistence from the U.S.
Brian Knowlton
Fethullah Gülen is a name that was discovered by the world media only recently. He and the vast education network operating throughout the world that sympathizes with his thoughts received the attention of Western intellectuals primarily because he was seen as the antithesis of radical Islam. Gülen, though, does not have a dialectic view of history and does not want to be labeled 'anti' anything.
Fethullah Gülen, the Turkish educator and spiritual leader, has lived in a bucolic retreat outside the small town of Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, since 1998. That was the location of a wide-ranging interview granted earlier this year to Brian Knowlton from the International Herald Tribune. The following text is based both on the interview and on questions submitted earlier to Mr. Gülen; the answers were translated from the Turkish by his assistants. Together they formed the basis of an article by Mr. Knowlton that appeared both in the International Herald Tribune and on the website of The New York Times.
 |
| Fethullah Gulen |
Fethullah Gülen, the Turkish educator and spiritual leader, has lived in a bucolic retreat outside the small town of Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, since 1998. That was the location of a wide-ranging interview granted earlier this year to Brian Knowlton from the International Herald Tribune. The following text is based both on the interview and on questions submitted earlier to Mr. Gülen; the answers were translated from the Turkish by his assistants. Together they formed the basis of an article by Mr. Knowlton that appeared both in the International Herald Tribune and on the website of The New York Times.
February 17, 2011
Islam and Peace: Oxymoron or perfect match?
Hakan Yeşilova
For many decades, perhaps centuries, "Islam" and "peace" were a pair of incongruous words. "Peace" was like Troy, many thought, and Muslims were the attacking Greeks -- how fictional or factual Homer's "Iliad" was, and thus how true it was that Troy lay in the East and was innocent, is a matter of research yet to be convincingly conducted.
For many decades, perhaps centuries, "Islam" and "peace" were a pair of incongruous words. "Peace" was like Troy, many thought, and Muslims were the attacking Greeks -- how fictional or factual Homer's "Iliad" was, and thus how true it was that Troy lay in the East and was innocent, is a matter of research yet to be convincingly conducted.
February 16, 2011
Can Turkey Inspire Reform in the Muslim World?: A closer look to the Gulen Movement
Tarek Ezzat
Independence is possibly one of the main reasons of its success, and the fact that Turkey was one of the few Muslim countries which was not subject to foreign occupation during the era of European Colonial expansion in the 19th. & 20th. Century. A second factor is Turkey's geographical location and its close contact with Europe, as part of Turkey is in fact inside Europe, which facilitated the transfer of knowledge and experiences during the last century from other European countries, like Germany, France.
There is today another positive experience of comprehensive reform taking place in a Muslim country, which is also of wide interest to all Muslims, that of Malaysia. Though it was one of the Muslim countries that suffered from foreign occupation, it was fortunate enough to be governed for nearly 20 years by a leader with vision, Dr. Mahatir Muhammad, who managed to create a strategy and master plan for Malaysia in the 21st century, and who was able to implement that plan with focus on better education and development leading to a strong economy and the country's rapid progress and modernization.
Independence is possibly one of the main reasons of its success, and the fact that Turkey was one of the few Muslim countries which was not subject to foreign occupation during the era of European Colonial expansion in the 19th. & 20th. Century. A second factor is Turkey's geographical location and its close contact with Europe, as part of Turkey is in fact inside Europe, which facilitated the transfer of knowledge and experiences during the last century from other European countries, like Germany, France.
There is today another positive experience of comprehensive reform taking place in a Muslim country, which is also of wide interest to all Muslims, that of Malaysia. Though it was one of the Muslim countries that suffered from foreign occupation, it was fortunate enough to be governed for nearly 20 years by a leader with vision, Dr. Mahatir Muhammad, who managed to create a strategy and master plan for Malaysia in the 21st century, and who was able to implement that plan with focus on better education and development leading to a strong economy and the country's rapid progress and modernization.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
