March 11, 2014

Islamic scholar Gülen offers condolences to Berkin's family

Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen offered his deep condolences to the family of Berkin Elvan, the latest victim of last year’s Gezi Park protests, in a statement issued late on Tuesday.

Despite slander, Gülen remains silent to avoid provoking gov't supporters

Osman Şimşek, editor of herkul.org -- the website that usually publishes Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen's speeches -- has said that the Islamic cleric doesn't respond to slander and insulting remarks so as not to provoke those who support the government.

Reuters: Turkish cleric says Erdogan risking decade of reforms

A US-based cleric locked in a feud with the Turkish government has likened Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s grip on power to that of the once-dominant military, and warned that political and economic reforms of the past decade are under threat.

FM Davutoğlu orders ambassadors to avoid Turkish Olympiads

With only a few months remaining before the 12th Turkish Language Olympiads, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has sent a message to Turkish ambassadors and diplomats serving abroad ordering them not to attend the overseas selections phase of the Olympiads, according to diplomatic sources.

Ankara forces Arbil to close Turkish schools in KRG

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan asked Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani to close Turkish schools in the autonomous region of Iraq during Barzani's visit to Turkey in mid-February, according to sources close to the KRG prime minister.

Gülen says Turkey needs new constitution to save its democracy

Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, who has been silent in the past few months amid government moves to contain a recent corruption scandal, has urged Turkey to write a brand new constitution as a way to save its democracy.

Clash of two Islams in Turkey

Zeki Saritoprak*

Turkey, an ally of the United States and member of NATO where 99 percent of the population is Muslim, is often hailed as an example of the compatibility of Islam and democracy. Recent events have tarnished Turkey’s democratic credentials.

Why are AKP officials silent about Gülen?

Ahmet Hakan*

- Why isn’t there an all-out declaration of war from every corner of the AKP against the Cemaat [Hizmet (Gulen) Movement] ?

The anti-thesis of radical Islam

Mümtazer Türköne

Saudi Arabia's move, accompanied by Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to withdraw ambassadors from Qatar is one of the important indicators of how the Arab Spring has started to be given a different twist. Qatar is accused of lending support to radical Islamist groups. In the same vein, the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) was listed as a terrorist organization. Given the fact that Saudi Arabia was one of the main sponsors of the coup d'état in Egypt, it is clear that the Arab Spring process has been reversed.