Report: 'Fethullah Gulen not considered an extremist in Russia'

In the 2013 annual “International Religious Freedom” report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, which conducts extensive research on religious freedoms worldwide and publicizes it annually, it is reported that Fethullah Gulen is not considered an extremist in Russia.

The chapter dedicated to religious freedoms in Russia in the report by United States Commission on International Freedom, which was established to make policy recommendations to the US government and the Congress, included a finding concerning Gulen. According to the report, “In 2009, Russian Ministry of Justice launched a scientific advisory commission to examine and monitor religious texts. As of 2012, when the majority state members voted to confirm ‘The writings of the Turkish religious scholar Fethullah Gulen are not extremist”, the Russian state no longer refers to the commission.

Turkey is among tier 3 countries

Turkey was initially included in 2008 as a ‘reviewed country’ in the report series released since 1998. It was later transferred to ‘monitored countries’ list in 2009 and ultimately listed among ‘countries of particular concern’ in 2012. Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs reacted sharply to last year’s report and declared: “This report is null and void for Turkey”. This year, the country has been listed among “other countries and regions monitored”, namely tier 3, which consists of countries in better condition.

Russia is listed as worse than Turkey

The countries in the report are categorized into three lists: The first category, ‘tier 1’, consists of “countries of particular concern” that impose systematic, continuous and violent pressure on religious freedoms, while “tier 2” consists of those on the verge of falling into the first category. Russia is in tier 2. In tier 3 “other countries and regions monitored”- where also Turkey falls into-are Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Ethiopia, Venezuela and Western Europe.

Said Nursi’s views do not encourage extremism

Russia, which was listed in the second category, in other words, as worse than Turkey in terms of religious freedoms, was criticized on the grounds that it employs extremism laws to handle “the movements including the followers of the Muslim religious scholar Said Nursi that show no indication of encouraging or resorting to violence. In the briefs that list scrutiny cases the Said Nursi sympathizers have been under in Azerbaijan of tier 2 and Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan of tier 1 where severe religious freedom violations are reported to be persisting, that this group does not advocate or resort to violence is repeatedly affirmed.

Published [in Turkish] on Aksam, 10 May 2013, Friday