Workshop on Hizmet Movement held by South Korean universities

Today's Zaman

The principles, aims and practices of the Hizmet movement have been discussed at a workshop in South Korea’s leading universities attended by Turkish and South Korean academics and other prominent figures.

Are there a few Hizmet(s)?

İhsan Yılmaz

When we look at the recent discussions and debates surrounding the Hizmet (Gülen) movement especially in the Turkish media, I observe that some writers are inclined to see the movement composed of a few relatively autonomous groups with sometimes clashing visions and practices.

Fethullah Gulen awarded honorary doctorate by Punjab University

Punjab University has issued an honorary PhD degree to mainstream Turkish scholar, thinker, prolific writer, poet and opinion leader Muhammad Fethullah Gulen in a ceremony organized at the Undergraduate Study Centre on Thursday.

Fethullah Gulen schools or Gulen-inspired schools?

First of all there no such definition as “Fethullah Gulen schools”. None of the schools have an official affiliation with Fethullah Gulen himself. There is no way Fethullah Gulen himself to involve in the establishment of such large number of schools which are scattered all over the world. And, it is humanly impossible to one person who lives in an isolated, remote region to manage the schools which are in different countries.

The missing part in this ordeal is not recognizing the influence of Fethullah Gulen in the world fast developing county, Turkey.

Turkey: A Peek Inside a Gulen School **

Justin Vela *

A teacher watches students playing chess
at the Gulen Movement-affiliated Fatih Koleji
school in Istanbul. (Photo: Justin Vela)

With conservative Muslim believers becoming more visible in Turkey these days, a movement founded by a charismatic Islamic theologian, Fethullah Gülen, is attracting increasing outside interest. The Gülen movement’s public profile is defined mainly by a worldwide network of schools that it operates, yet little is known about the inner workings of the organization’s educational component.

The game against Hizmet

İhsan Yılmaz

Old story, new chapter: Psychological warfare
tactics to provoke general public against the
Hizmet movement in one way or another continue.

“The game” in my headline refers to two separate things. The first one is football, which is indeed the game in today’s world, and the other is the game which is being played at the expense of the Hizmet movement. A campaign of psychological warfare has been launched against Hizmet, propagating that Hizmet is trying to bring down the Fenerbahçe Football Club without even a shred of evidence or any plausible explanation.

Becoming a Dialogue Movement: What Can Dialogue Learn from Other Movements?

Frances Sleap *

Local intercultural dialogue efforts may have a real impact on the quality of the relationships of those involved. But how can dialogue have a larger-scale, more pervasive effect on our society? In a 2010 Dialogue Society discussion, Revd Donald Reeves suggested that dialogue needs to become a movement. Dr Nicola Montagna of Middlesex University, and environmental author and activist Danny Chivers joined Dialogue Society Executive Director Ozcan Keles to discuss what the ‘Dialogue Movement’ can learn from other movements.

Two writers and hundreds of stories at Bosnian book event

Onur Kaya

"Two Writers and Hundreds of Stories,” an event co-hosted by the Houston Bosnian Community and the Houston-based Gülen Institute this week, proved to be a memorable event that brought together survivors and confronted the painful memories of the Bosnian war.

Members of the Houston Bosnian community and the Houston-based Gülen Institute
co-hosted an event in Austin titled “Two Writers and Hundreds of Stories” last week to recall memories of the Bosnian War, in which more than 100,000 people died.
(Photo: Today's Zaman)

Important clarifications concerning Gulen Movement

Journalists and Writers Foundation

Different opinions and views have recently been offered on such delicate issues as tension between the political administration and the Gülen Movement and the involvement of this movement in politics. Turkey is a nation that is undergoing democratization, and it is only natural for the public, as part of a democratic nation, to have such discussions. On the other hand, those who are affiliated with the Hizmet movement are open to constructive criticism and see it as a duty to listen to that criticism and benefit from it. However, to make the ongoing discussion more productive, it is essential to engage with correct conceptions of reality and rely on more accurate information regarding the issues relevant to the general public’s concerns.

Freedom award recipient Bartholomew praises Gülen's peace efforts

Basri Doğan

Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew praised well-respected Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen for his peace efforts around the world after receiving one of the Roosevelt Institute's Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Awards.

The award ceremony for the 2012 Four Freedoms Awards was held on Saturday at the Nieuwe Kerk in Middelburg, the Netherlands, with the attendance of Dutch Queen Beatrix and Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

‘Media imposes official ideology, creating negative non-Muslim image'

Yonca Poyraz Doğan

Intellectuals and journalists who gathered at a workshop for a debate on how the media treats non-Muslims in society have said that the media has had a crucial role in imposing official ideology on society.

“It is not that all negative perceptions in the media regarding non-Muslims have been determined by media bosses or chief editors. Everything started with the creation of a nationalist ideology back in the years when the Turkish Republic was established and when the nation-state was being formed,” said sociologist Ayhan Aktar at the two-day workshop, “Perception of non-Muslims in the Media,” on May 12-13 organized by the Medialog Platform of the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV).

KYM meets with United Nations officials

Kimse Yok Mu

The United Nations International Search and Rescue Advisory Group INSARAG and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs OCHA officials visited the General Headquarters of KYM.

Spiritual leaders of Nigerian Muslims visited KYM

Kimse Yok Mu

On Monday [May 7] afternoon, Sa'ad Muhammad Abubakar, the spiritual leader of 70 millions Muslims in Nigeria, The Sultan of the 20th Sokoto, The Chairman of the Nasr Islam Society, The Chairman of the Nigerian National Islamic Relations Supreme Council and his accompanying delegates made a courtesy visit to the KYM headquarters.

German Muslims want Participation, not Integration

Claudia Mende

While German politicians continue to argue whether Islam is part of Germany or not, German Muslims have for quite some time been making a contribution in many social spheres. But many institutions in Germany are still at the beginning of a process of intercultural opening. Claudia Mende reports.

Is CHP giving green light to Hizmet?

Mahmut Övür, Sabah

I went to Stockholm to attend the Anatolian Culture Festival and preliminary rounds of the Turkish Olympiad competition. I also visited a Turkish school [established by the Hizmet movement, the followers of Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen] in Stockholm with Adnan Keskin from the Republican People’s Party (CHP).

Ali Şen: Match-fixing not Hizmet movement operation

Today's Zaman

Former Fenerbahçe Chairman Ali Şen has said a massive match-fixing investigation has no connection to the Hizmet movement, inspired by well-respected Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.

Wrestling with Free Speech, Religious Freedom, and Democracy in Turkey: The Political Trials and Times of Fethullah Gulen

K. Adamson

Review of James C. Harrington’s Wrestling with Free Speech, Religious Freedom, and Democracy in Turkey: The Political Trials and Times of Fethullah Gulen. 2011. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 185pp. ISBN 978 0 7618 5461 6.

Turkish schools in Kyrgyzstan mark 20th year anniversary

The Kyrgyz children danced and sang. They wore traditional clothes and got in touch with their Turkic roots. In the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek at the newly opened Bishkek Opera and Ballet Theatre joint Kyrgyz and Turkish schools held a 20 year anniversary celebration to mark their opening.

Good news from Prophet’s Way

Hüseyin Gülerce

Last weekend an international symposium organized by the Yeni Ümit and Hira magazines and attended by scholars from 60 countries was held in Gaziantep. Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ and Religious Affairs Directorate President Mehmet Görmez attended the symposium, titled “Solutions to social problems from the Path of the Prophet [Muhammad].” There was great interest in the meeting and guests from foreign countries were very impressed by this interest. The meeting, which was broadcast live on Mehtap TV, saw an alternative call rising from Gaziantep.

Religious scholars: Path of Prophet offers solutions to social ills

İlkay Göçmen, Nurullah Kaya

Amid the increasing social and political problems faced by Muslim societies in a modern world, religious scholars from 60 countries called on Muslims to revisit the Prophet Muhammad's handling of social issues, at a symposium titled “Solutions to social problems from the Path of the Prophet [Muhammad],” held by Yeni Ümit and Hira magazine over the weekend in the southern province of Gaziantep.

Social and Philosophical Aspects of the Teaching of Gulen: The Look of Belarusian Intellectuals

Dialogue Eurasia Platform organized one more event in order to establish understanding between peoples, to eliminate mutual prejudices, to help people to get to know each other better and to establish bridges of dialogue. More than 200 academicians, journalists, writers gathered in Crowne Plaza hotel in order to take part in the presentation of a book, published by “Belorusskaya nauka,” the publishing house of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.

Craze rules

Ekrem Dumanlı

The dark propaganda is in full bloom. For instance, there are some unfounded lies which some groups try to make people believe in through repetition. Thus, a false claim is voiced so many times that even sane people become ready to believe in it. For instance, since the start of the probe into match-rigging claims, a small group of people who were trying to influence the club put the blame on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the "Community," also known as the Gülen Movement, inspired by ideas of Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen. Recently, they shifted their focus to only the "Community" and started to voice the propaganda, "The Community is trying to seize Fenerbahçe," in an effort to influence Fenerbahçe fans. This is a claim that true Fenerbahçe fans -- and everyone who is interested in soccer -- would laugh away. Indeed, soccer clubs by their nature are able to bring together people from all social groups. This is a completely absurd and irrational argument for those who understand the “Community.” Why?

Gülen becomes litmus test for American media, too

Mehmet Kalyoncu *

A shade as tiny as a fly's wing that covers one's pupil enables the trickster to move, or steal for that matter, items as gigantic as mountains before the very eyes of that person without him or her even noticing. Such a trick, so long as it goes unnoticed, can serve as a source of great power and influence for anyone or any entity, be it an ordinary individual, cunning politician or formidable newspaper.

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.

The Gulen schools are signposts to a silent transformation in Turkey

Atul Aneja

In the enclosed greens of a football ground at Istanbul’s Fatih University, a heated contest is underway. Young men from Kyrgyzstan, dressed in red, are feverishly locking horns with a team from Azerbaijan, attired in blue and white clothing.

Turkey will influence developments in Muslim world - American academician

Nawab Khan, Brussels

Turkey is a good example to be followed by the Arab and Muslim world for the development of democracy and economic progress, according to James Harrington, Director of the Texas Civil Rights Project and a professor at the University of Texas Law School.

"I think Turkey is a good example and can serve as a model and will influence developments in the Muslim world," Harrington told the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).

What is behind Hizmet-affiliated schools?

Taha Akyol, Hurriyet

What is behind the schools affiliated with the Hizmet [Gülen] movement that have been established around the world?

Turkish schools in Africa

Taha Akyol, Hurriyet

The Central African Republic is one of the poorest countries in the world. There is not even proper electricity in the capital city of the country, Bangui. The roads were terrible, but we arrived at a guesthouse of the International Central African Republic Turkish School at midnight.

Photo: Hurriyet Daily

It was established on the initiative of supporters of Fethullah Gülen. When we went to the school, we were amazed to see such a well-established school in such a country. There were 45 students when it was opened in 2006 and now it has 750 students. Half of the teachers are Turkish, half are locals. A fee is required, but there is financial support for the poor. At the teachers’ call, volunteer doctors came to the city, where they treated sick locals and performed operations. Meat, sent by Muslim benefactors from Turkey, is regularly distributed to local people. Both the government and locals are extremely grateful. This can be explained only by the religiousness of people with missionary aims and the combination of financial entrepreneurship and modern education.

Published on Today's Zaman, 02 May 2012, Wednesday

Turkish schools behind Turkey's soft power in the Middle East

Minhac Çelik

Marco Padovan, Italian businessman and a member of the Turkish-Italian Trade and Cooperation Association, said during a round table meeting held in Istanbul on Wednesday that Turkish schools play a crucial role in the increase of Turkey's soft power in the Middle East and North Africa.

Hizmet university serves Iraqi students in Arbil

Gamze Gül

Ishik University provides education
to Iraqi students in Arbil since 2008.
(Photo: AA, İbrahim Yakut)

Ishik University, established in 2008, serves the multiethnic society of Arbil in Northern Iraq by providing equal education opportunities to students from a variety of backgrounds, said Dr. Mehmet Özdemir, vice president of administrative affairs for Ishik University.

Religious fundamentalism is a two way street

Peter Kirkwood *

Norwegian mass-murderer, Anders Breivik was brought to trial a few weeks ago. The court proceedings have revealed his well thought out motivations for the killings. They hinge on an ultra-nationalism with nostalgia for a white Christian Europe, and a deeply held xenophobia, directed particularly against Muslim migrants.

President Museveni supports Turkey’s reaching out to Africa

Sinem Cengiz

TUSKON Secretary General Mustafa Günay
with Uganda President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni

Uganda President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has praised Turkey’s flourishing African policy and its recently keen interest in African countries, pointing out its positive implications on developing relations between Turkey and the continent.

The genesis of the hatred against Gulen and the Hizmet Movement

Fethullah Gulen

Every now and then, we are subjected to a purportedly investigative report by a ‘respected’ (pun intended) journalist about famed Turkish Scholar, Fethullah Gulen and the movement he inspired: The Hizmet (service) Movement. On reading the said article or report, we realize it is the same innuendos, fabrications and the macabre claims of stealth infiltration in the state bodies of someone’s own motherland and the supposed takeover of the state. Along the same lines, some facts are given in order to make the article look credible. Theirs is mixing good and evil with evil being their real intention.

There’s no end to games of ‘new Ottomans’

Mehmet Barlas, Sabah

It is now clear that the power of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is not going to be diminished by coups, memorandums or the launch of party closure cases.

Warriors of enlightenment: Pen versus bullet

Bülent Keneş

Like every year, people have started to feel a sweet sense of excitement as the month of May nears. The first harbingers of the traditional festival have already reached here thanks to some live TV broadcasts.

Paranoia of 'religion is dangerous’

Yalçın Akdoğan, Star

The other day in The New York Times, there was an article entitled “Turkey Feels Sway of Reclusive Cleric in US.”

GYV: Alleging Gülen supported coups is huge distortion of truth

Today's Zaman

The Journalists and Writers Foundation released a statement on Tuesday in response to various allegations circulating in the media that Fethullah Gülen, a well-respected Turkish Islamic scholar, supported the Feb. 28, 1997 unarmed intervention, dismissing such claims as a major distortion of the truth. The statement, posted on the foundation's website, offers an explanation regarding the recent speculation in the press about the stance and statements of Gülen during the Feb. 28 period.

The statement noted that neither Gülen nor the Hizmet movement he has inspired claimed to be perfect in everything they do. It noted that the Gülen community is open to constructive criticism and had no objection to questions regarding the movement's stance in the face of military interventions. However, such questions should be well meaning and posed with good intentions.

You may find the full text of the GYV's statement below:

Murder on the February 28 Express

İhsan Yılmaz

The judiciary is now dealing with the Feb. 28 coup, and several retired high-ranking officers are now under arrest. It appears that this time, the prosecutors are determined not to make trivial but overblown mistakes as they have in the Ergenekon cases. They are proceeding with extreme caution and prudence.

A serious question for a respected newspaper

Abdülhamit Bilici

It is not easy to understand a fast-changing and multi-layered country like Turkey. This is a nation where some who self-identify as progressive, modern, social democrats oppose freedoms in a number of arenas and hope for assistance from military coups, while some labeled as Islamic, devout and even reactionary wind up playing leading roles in democratization.

A global Feb. 28 process?

İhsan Yılmaz

As far as I remember, the global Feb. 28 process was a headline of a Turkish daily just after the 9/11 attacks.

I am not sure if it was a result of an analysis or wishful thinking, but to a certain extent, Islamophobia increased after the attacks. Yet, thanks to dialogue initiations that started well before 9/11, well-integrated Muslim minorities in the West, objective liberal and leftist intellectuals, writers, journalists and politicians all over the world, the proactive global activities of Muslims and the diversity of media prevented a global witch-hunt similar to the Feb. 28 process in Turkey. What could not be achieved after 9/11 has been attempted by some in Turkey.

Anatolian Tigers drive Turkey's silent revolution

Atul Aneja

The Anatolian Tigers — a new breed of pious businessmen who have risen from the grassroots to fire Turkey's economic and political transformation — are targeting an entry into the high-technology big league.

The day Erol Özkasnak made me break my phone

Mehmet Ali Birand

I cannot remember the exact date, but the Feb. 28, 1997 incidents had not begun yet and the historic process of punishment under the memorandum dated 1998 had not begun either. Despite that, I was in constant friction with the General Staff.

It was 1996, and the Kurdish issue was at its most violent stage. The General Staff was pressuring me on two topics. One was that I was not criticizing the Fethullah Gülen movement, but on the contrary, I was supporting their schools. The other was that I was opposing the official policy on the Kurdish issue.

The hype about the Gülen Movement

Mustafa Akyol

One of the hot topics in present-day Turkey is the so-called “Gülen Movement,” a widespread religious network named after its spiritual leader, a Sufi-minded cleric named Fethullah Gülen.

Criticizing Gulen Movement, irrelevant to arrests of journalists

Washington Times

Luke Montgomery: Last year, Turkish journalist Ahmet Şık wrote a book entitled You Touch, You Burn (Dokunan Yanar) targeting the Gülen movement. Before the book was even published, he was arrested and thrown in jail. What happened to moderate and tolerant Islam in this case?

Turkey’s Gulen movement sees a smear campaign

Atul Aneja

As the endgame in Turkey's transition to a mature democracy nears, media attacks have sharpened against the Gulen movement — a mass mobilisation vehicle that has, over the years, openly and peacefully challenged the concentration of privileges among the country's military-backed old guard.

Endgame approaches in Turkey’s AKP-military elite tussle

Atul Aneja

Amid high drama, the tussle between Turkey’s military-led old guard and the elected civilian establishment led by Justice and Development Party (AKP) is nearing a decisive stage.

As both sides approach the end-game, their bitter contest to occupy prime political space, is raising fresh and serious questions about the future of Turkey’s democracy.

Setting the facts straight on the Gülen movement

James C. Harrington *

Much of what Dan Bilefsky and Şebnem Arsu’s recent article in the International Herald Tribune (“Shadow Force Grows in Turkey,” published on April 18) describes about Fethullah Gülen and Turkey’s recent history is accurate, but the authors cast a shadow of innuendo and loose conclusions, apparently more driven by personal predispositions than reality.

Fethullah Gülen’s lawyer's response to the claims in a recent International Herald Tribune article

In article with the heading “Shadow force grows in Turkey” by Dan Bilefsky and Sebnem Arsu appeared in the International Herald Tribune on April 18, 2012. It has become necessary to issue this statement to the press due to the reappearance of the same false claims against Mr. Fethullah Gülen—claims which have originated from Turkey and which have indeed been repeatedly published in the Turkish media.

We wish to express the following issues before answering the claims:

Kurdish intellectuals denounce attack on Şırnak educational institution

Ayten Çiftçi

Kurdish intellectuals have joined critics of a suspected outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) attack on a building which hosts a private university prep course in Şırnak on Saturday, saying the masterminds of such attacks will not achieve their goals.

Gülen's books translated into Kurdish

Nurullah Kaya


Some of Fethullah Gulen's books

A number of books by Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, which have been translated into many other languages, are now available in Kurdish.

Gülen has written many books on a variety of religious and Islamic topics that attract a large number of readers from all around the world. In order for the books to reach even more readers, they have been translated into a variety of languages, including Spanish, Russian and English. Kaynak Publications recently translated books by Gülen into Kurdish.

What are The New York Times and the International Herald Tribune after?

Bülent Keneş

I was quite taken aback as I read “Shadow force grows in Turkey,” co-written by Dan Bilefsky and Şebnem Arsu, which appeared at the International Herald Tribune (IHT), the international edition of The New York Times (NYT), on Wednesday.

Look what International Herald Tribune is doing

Ekrem Dumanlı

Once upon a time, people used to have faith in some papers, which have become famous because of their meticulous journalism, and to read their columns and opinion pieces with great admiration and attention.

Remarks on Gulen movement misquoted, AK Party founding member says

Sunday's Zaman

Ayşe Böhürler, a founding member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), has said her remarks on the faith-based Gülen movement were misquoted in an International Herald Tribune article last week, denying statements that were highly critical of the movement and attributed to her by the paper.

“It would be impossible for me to say such things,” Böhürler told the Cihan news agency. “I will also send a disclaimer to the newspaper.”

OIC head says he has always endorsed Turkish schools abroad

Abdullah Bozkurt

The Turkish-Gabonese International School in Libreville is not only helping bilateral relations between Turkey and Gabon but also improving ties between Gabon and the Muslim world, says the head an organization of 57 Muslim countries.

Ugandan media allegations of Turkish child abuser disproved

Today's Zaman

Turks in Uganda breathed a sigh of relief when it turned out that a man who sexually abused little girls and then paid them off is not Turkish, contrary to claims, the Cihan news agency reported on Friday.

A 53-year-old man named Emin Baro, who is at the center of the allegations, was presented by the Ugandan media as a Turk who works as a teacher in the country; however, it has been determined that Baro is not Turkish and carries passports from New Zealand and Macedonia.