Yes to both Hizmet and government!

Begüm Burak

Recently, Turkey has seen important developments that will contribute to a stronger democracy. Turkish politics has, for the first time, witnessed the imprisonment of important public figures and bureaucratic actors; cleansing state mechanisms by challenging the deep state. The Ergenekon case, along with the Gezi protests, paved the way for polarization in society, but surprisingly -- and also ironically -- other developments like the Kurdish opening and the Alevi opening have also contributed to this polarization even while strengthening democracy.

The latest worrisome development is the so-called clash between the Hizmet movement and the Justice and Development Party (AK Party). I see this clash as an artificial one through which the axis of evil has been trying to gain material and symbolic benefit. Let me explain what I mean by “axis of evil.” The axis of evil does not denote a specific political organization or NGO. For me, it signifies a hybrid class consisting of national and international forces that has been benefiting from the deep state policies and discourse to a considerable degree. Generally speaking, the axis of evil consists of tyrants and bad people who have no respect for rule of law and legitimacy. It should be noted that the Ergenekon case dealt their power a serious blow. Of course, the Ergenekon case and a developing democracy discomforted this hybrid coalition. They definitely realize now that they cannot overthrow legitimate governments via a military coup anymore.

In addition, for several years, the people constituting the axis of evil have observed that the Hizmet movement seeks no gain or benefit at all. They have seen that the movement engages in educational activities all over the world, as well as in Turkey in order to help people know one another and to build islands of peace and love. The axis of evil hates peace and love because it feeds itself with chaos and instability.

The axis of evil truly understood that the post-Gezi period and the completion of the Ergenekon trial revealed how strong the political authority of the government is. Turkey is now much stronger, a military intervention is impossible and Turkey is also performing well economically. All these offer hope for a much stronger Turkey and that will be a relief for the people of Turkey and for the people of the region.

Indeed, there is no need to explain how much the Hizmet movement has been contributing to the peace and stability of Turkey and to her relations with other countries through building trade bridges and through educational activities. This reality, not surprisingly, drives the axis of evil crazy. Unless there is a crisis between these two actors -- one, a strong political actor (AK Party); the other, a growing and reliable movement for millions of Muslim and non-Muslim people all over the world -- evil will be defeated by goodness. I think that is the point.

What worries me is that the axis of evil is trying to indicate that this crisis is real through reproducing artificial crises and abusing mass media. To be honest, I do not expect thoughtful reactions from the political elites, as the game of politics is accustomed to crises and daily fiascos. However, it was a hopeful sign that Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç, one of the leading figures of government, stated on a TV program that the Hizmet movement had supported AK Party in the 2010 referendum and that they are still grateful for that. He added that Fethullah Gülen prays for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Abdullah Gül, and Arınç made it clear that there is no conflict between the AK Party and Hizmet. In my opinion, the representatives of the Hizmet movement, journalists, academics and writers must behave as carefully as possible and beware of engaging in a polemic with anyone, be it a politician or any other person. Because the Hizmet movement, as Mr. Gülen says, is the path of the prophets and the notion of mildness (Mülayemet in Mr. Gülen's words) is the most important element in order to be able walk this path in a righteous way. If we do not adopt such a line, it will just benefit the bad people and the tyrants, which will ultimately undermine peace within and outside the country.

P.S. I think we should all read this once again to remember the essentials of fruitful criticism..

Published on Today's Zaman, 15 August 2013, Thursday