September 20, 2014

Erdoğan deceived Turkey by portraying himself as advocate of democracy

Veteran columnist Cüneyt Ülsever, who was fired from the Hürriyet daily in 2011 following then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's pressure on the newspaper's administration due to Ülsever's critical columns about Erdoğan's government, has warned that worse days may come under Erdoğan's autocratic leadership.

Is Erdoğan's power being exhausted?

Mümtazer Türköne

The government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan are clearly engaging in a polemic. A fairly premature power struggle is going on between the presidential palace and the government; analysts are curious about the course of their relations. Erdoğan is testing the boundaries of his own power by relying on his style and priorities. But he has hit a strong and solid wall. The subject matter of this premature and strong power struggle is Bank Asya. Erdoğan is relying on his prestige and power to destroy Bank Asya; he does not hide his intention, and he presents his goal as proof indicating that he is still powerful.

Gülen’s Notion of Hizmet and Public Good: From a Strategy to an Action Plan

Maimul Ahsan Khan
Hizmet [literally, “service”] for Fethullah Gülen implies that a person devotes his or her life to Islam, serving for the benefit of others, which is beneficial for life after death. Gülen is a very restless person who is always asking himself if he might do more for God. Death is always present in his preaching to his followers, and the fear of judgment day is the motivation to work hard. (1)