NY Times, Gülen and the prime minister

Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı, Takvim

Articles published last week in The New York Times and the International Herald Tribune served the purpose of manipulating people’s perceptions about the current government of Turkey and the Hizmet [Gülen] movement.

These articles represent the mindset which holds that “if the administration in Turkey is held by the majority of Turks, Muslims will be the ones administering the country, and we have to prevent this.” This mindset suggests pitting the government against the Hizmet movement. What is to be done now is that when international media outlets try to attack one of these two parties, the government should express its support for the movement and vice versa, because every attack on Gülen also aims to weaken the political ground of the prime minister. In the same vein, every attack on the government aims to break the social power of the movement. We should be more careful not to take the bait.

Published on Today's Zaman, 04 May 2012, Friday