Media clampdown foretold

Yavuz Baydar

Turkey under the rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has come much closer to a format of despotism, with police raids targeting mainly the media: the Zaman daily and the STV channel.

Black Sunday: The day Turkey detained its prominent journalists

The government-orchestrated crackdown on independent critical media outlets in Turkey took a turn for the worse on Sunday with dawn raids on Turkey's largest newspaper Zaman and popular national TV network Samanyolu TV that led to the detention of top managers at the media outlets.

Social media critical of police raids at Zaman

Social media exploded with criticism of a police operation that took place at the Zaman daily headquarters in İstanbul on Sunday.

Detentions of journalists flash news on world media

A compilation of news reports on major media outlets [alphabetical list]:

Gülen warns of on-going witch hunt

Speaking to the German-language Süddeutsche Zeitung daily, prominent Islamic Preacher Fethullah Gülen criticized government slander and persecution of dissent.

News sacred, commentary free

Bülent Keneş

I penned this article after hearing a strong rumor that the police would raid my home and take me into custody early on Sunday morning... I would like you to know who Bülent Keneş really is!

Zaman editor-in-chief detained in media operation

Editor-in-chief of Turkey's Zaman daily, critical of the government, was detained on Sunday in a police operation that targeted journalists, TV script writers and former police officers.

‘Erdogan and people around, not obey the rule of law, respect media’

Following the claims that a major government-backed police operation to detain many journalists will kick off on Sunday, Bülent Keneş of Today’s Zaman, editor in chief for Turkey’s largest circulated English daily gave an exclusive interview to Cihan News Agency.

Operations anti-democratic, illegal exclaims newspaper editor in chief

Following the claims that that a major government-backed police operation to detain many journalists will kick off on Sunday, Ekrem Dumanlı, editor in chief of the Turkey’s largest circulated newspaper whose name was included in the list of possible detainees, gave an exclusive interview to Cihan News Agency.

CHP’s Kılıçdaroğlu: Turkey is going through ‘coup process’

Turkey's main opposition leader has leveled criticisms against the authorities for going after journalists, something "unseen in healthy democracies," and condemned the government for spearheading a "coup process"over the operation that started early on Sunday morning against media outlets affiliated with the Hizmet movement.

Police officers raid Turkish daily’s building only to leave immediately

Police officers on Sunday raided Turkey’s largest circulating newspaper Zaman’s headquarters in İstanbul but had to leave premises due to a lack of signature on warrant witnesses told. Following a long quarrel with barristers to achieve permission to step into the building, police officer left to come back with a new warrant.

Turkish police raid Zaman building, attempt to detain editor

Turkey's anti-terrorism units have attempted to raid headquarters of the country's top-selling newspaper Zaman in an early-morning operation, with a goal to detain its editor-in-chief, but had to turn back due to protests by readers.

Two Turkish TV producers detained as operation against media starts

Turkish police have reportedly detained two producers from Samanyolu TV in the first wave of what was said to be a large-scale operation against the media across Turkey.

Waiting for a police raid to our newspaper…

Sevgi Akarçeşme

It is 3.20 a.m. İstanbul time and I am writing this piece to share my impressions from a truly historic night for a journalist. For those of you who have not yet heard, as journalists at Zaman media group, including the largest selling daily Zaman and English daily Today’s Zaman, we are waiting for a likely police raid to our newspaper since Turkey’s mostly reliable whistleblower nicknamed Fuat Avni on Twitter has been telling about an operation instructed by the increasingly authoritarian President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to place further pressure on critical and independent media in Turkey.

Reuters: Turkish police raid media outlets close to Gulen, detain some people

Turkish police raided a television station and a newspaper close to U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen on Sunday, detaining some people, media reports said, two days after President Tayyip Erdogan signaled a fresh campaign against Gulen's supporters.

AK Party polarizes Turks in Balkans

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Kocaeli deputy Lütfü Türkkan, noting that the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government is pursuing a policy of polarization vis-à-vis Turks and Muslims in the Balkan countries, has said this policy will have detrimental effects.

'I like the vitality of the participation and the vitality of hospitality within the Hizmet Movement'

Fikir Atlasi*, Episode 22 (Full text)

My name is Alan Jones**. I am a United Methodist pastor and the pastor at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Sacramento, California.

It’s not about a conflict between the government and Hizmet movement

Gültekin Avcı

Insanity ripples through the country, the media and the people. If graft or corruption is the prevailing form of life spreading from the state to society, and if this form of life is supported by people, then we are hitting the bottom day by day. A prosecutor can say “We can detain 500 thousand people if necessary” and still hold his post as if he said quite an ordinary thing. Whereas in Europe mental health of such a prosecutor would be called into question and most probably examined.

Gülen’s lawyers slam Erdoğan’s ‘slanderous’ unsolved murders remarks

The lawyers of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen have denounced recent statements by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in which he held the Hizmet movement responsible for some unsolved murders in Turkey.

Claim of journalists to be detained en masse draws harsh response

A claim of a soon-to-be-unveiled mass detention of journalists in Turkey as part of government efforts to muzzle the remaining free, independent and critical media outlets has prompted a huge outcry in Turkey.

Media representatives slam claim of raid on 150 journalists

The allegation by a whistleblower, who says he is among President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's inner circle, that about 150 journalists affiliated with the Hizmet movement will be detained as part of a new wide-scale operation has drawn strong reactions from local and international media representatives and journalists.

I refuse to be intimidated

Abdullah Bozkurt

Against the background of shocking revelations by the anonymous whistleblower Fuat Avni in which he claimed the government would round up some 150 independent and critical journalists in a nationwide sweep, I refuse to be intimidated by the crooked political Islamists who have dealt a heavy blow against the democratic values of this nation, slid the country backwards in regards to democratic rights and liberties, squandered public resources and blatantly abused the religion of Islam for the purposes of amassing personal wealth and consolidating power.

Thousands keep ‘Justice Watch’ for journalists in İstanbul

On Thursday "Fuat Avni," a whistleblower who says he is among President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's inner circle, claimed that the dozens of journalists will be detained in simultaneous police raids to be conducted in İstanbul, Ankara and Malatya on Friday.

Whistleblower says anti-journalist gov’t operation to kick off Sunday

A Twitter user known by the pseudonym Fuat Avni, who has revealed many government-backed police operations to the public, has claimed that a major government-backed police operation targeting many Hizmet-affliated journalists will kick off on Sunday.

The parody of dictatorship and silence

Orhan Kemal Cengiz

It is as if we are watching a parody of dictatorship. Either the dictator of this game will show a pathetic indulgence while trying to satisfy his ambitions, or, as we know from the theatrical scene in Orhan Pamuk’s novel “Snow”, the guns we think are loaded with blanks will catch fire and the whole country will slide towards an irreversible state of disaster.

Gülen says talk of raid against Zaman aims to intimidate

Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, who lives in self-exile in Pennsylvania, said on Thursday that the rumors of a crackdown against Hizmet movement-affiliated media is a “perception operation and aims to intimidate and oppress people.”

Zaman journalists defy threat of arrest with heads held high

Scattered across a newsroom producing Turkey's largest-circulating newspaper, the Zaman daily, journalists from the Feza Media Group remain confident while waiting for police officers to come and handcuff them.

World media covers possible anti-journalist ops; Turkish press silent

Some foreign news outlets have been covering a whistleblower's claim that around 150 journalists will be detained as part of a new government-backed operation, but most Turkish media outlets have remained silent on the issue.

Opposition slams mass detention claims in name of democracy, freedoms

Opposition party leaders and deputies have raised their voices in protest of claims suggesting 150 journalists affiliated with the Hizmet movement will be detained as part of a wide-scale operation, saying any interference in the media will harm democracy and media freedoms.

Academic Thought Platform holds first of its 'Capital Gatherings'

The Journalists and Writers Foundation's (GYV) Academic Thought Platform (ADP) came up with a remarkable program amid the ongoing heated debate over the use of the state authority and the relationship between the state and the civil society in our country.

Journalists and Writers Foundation's statement on recent developments

The developments of the last year have made it crystal clear that the government is exerting great efforts to change the agenda that is unfavorable to it and doing everything to achieve this. In this framework, references are made to a non-existent mosque in Cuba as if it were already constructed, and the plan to teach the old script used by our ancestors to students is marketed as a life-and-death matter to set the agenda in an artificial manner. Likewise, police operations are conducted with much fanfare at midnight to take innocent people into custody without any evidence, giving the impression that these moves seek to distract public attention or use them as a screen.

Hundreds on vigil outside Zaman building to protest possible raid

Hundreds of readers thronged outside the headquarters of Feza Media Holding to protest a possible operation against journalists, most of them from Zaman daily, defying what they claim to be the government's increasingly authoritarian practices to silence outspoken media.

GYV harshly denies PM’s allegation that Hizmet, PKK working together

The Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) strongly criticized and denied recent remarks from Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, who alleged that the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the so-called parallel structure are “working together,” saying the allegation is baseless slander directed at the movement.

Fuat Avni: Some 150 Hizmet-affiliated journalists to be detained

A Twitter user known by the pseudonym Fuat Avni, who has revealed many government-backed police operations to the public, has claimed that about 150 journalists affiliated with the Hizmet movement will be detained on Friday as part of a new wide-scale operation.

AK Party’s persecution of Hizmet movement exposed in chronicle

The Rethink Institute has published a chronicle of acts committed against Turkey's faith-based Hizmet movement at the hands of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) over the last two years, providing a long list of abuses the movement's followers have been exposed to in the country.

Persecution of Hizmet movement in Turkey

İhsan Yılmaz

“The Persecution of the Hizmet (Gülen) Movement in Turkey: A Chronicle” is the title of a paper published by the Rethink Institute, a Washington-based think tank, in December. The chronicle covers the persecution of Hizmet by the Turkish state in five categories: defamation; conspiracy; discrimination; blacklisting; and unlawful conduct. The report states that the information provided is not complete and only serves as representative of what has been and is currently happening in Turkey.

Turkish school students raises pocket moneys to buy stoves for refugees

Students of Hizmet Movement affiliated Turkish school in eastern Iraqi city of Kirkuk gathered their pocket moneys to buy stoves for refugees who live in poor shelters and suffer from cold weather conditions.

Moral damage

Ali Bulaç

Turkey has been experiencing shockwaves from the debate over the graft and bribery investigation and coup charges.

Prominent columnist Bağdat slams persecution of Hizmet

Popular daily columnist Hayko Bağdat called for a halt of the witch hunt against Hizmet and expressed the need for tolerance for all social groups in Turkey.

The Persecution of the Hizmet (Gülen) Movement in Turkey: A Chronicle

Since the outbreak of the corruption scandal in Turkey in December 2013, Prime Minister and then President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government have been particularly targeting the Hizmet (Gülen) movement. According to Erdogan and his lieutenants, the alleged charges brought forward by Istanbul prosecutors on December 17 and 25, 2013, were in fact insidious attempts to topple the AKP government that were orchestrated by Hizmet sympathizers and affiliates in the Turkish state and bureaucracy, including judiciary and police forces. The Hizmet movement, which suddenly found itself on the defensive, has been vehemently denying these allegations, calling them baseless accusations serving to cover up the corruption charges. While the corruption cases were effectively rendered obsolete through a series of laws and executive interventions aimed at courts, the attacks on Hizmet continue in full force, evolving recently from rhetoric to action.

Mufti's office attempts to evict educational group from Antalya center

The office of the mufti in the Muratpaşa district of the southern province of Antalya issued an order on Monday evicting a group affiliated with the Hizmet movement from its educational center, a building it has the legal right to use until 2017.

[BOOK REVIEW] Preventing Violence and Achieving World Peace: The Contributions of the Gulen Movement

One might think that a seemingly utopian goal of preventing violence and achieving world peace is a finished debate because conceptual and theoretical discourse related to ethnic and confessional discord have reached an impasse. However, despite the fact that founding principles of modern liberalism, laid by the Enlightenment-era thinkers, have been contemplated for centuries, still humans face great challenges in putting some of these principles in practice. Soltes and Johnson undertake a difficult intellectual project by pondering whether we as people can address apparently endless conflicts in the world, particularly those arising from misunderstandings of Islam.

As Hagupit Strikes the Philippines ASYA Group of Kimse Yok Mu put on full alert

Typhoon Hagupit which was slammed into Philippines on Friday with 175 km/h velocity forced 2.5 million people to leave their homes. Turkish charity of Kimse Yok Mu’s ASYA search and rescue team representative held a press conference in Istanbul on Monday about the disaster and give critical information about latest situation in the locations which have been severely hit by typhoon Hagupit.

Another thousands of locals now have access to drinking water in Chad and Cambodia

Kimse Yok Mu Foundation (KYM), which has been carrying out water projects in numerous countries particularly in Africa, recently made 15 water wells available to the locals in Cambodia. Having a record of 286 water wells in Chad, the foundation will raise the number to 362 after the completion of 76 of them. The latest two projects will allow 20 thousand locals to drink clean water in Cambodia and Chad.

President Erdoğan envies the Hizmet according to prominent columnist

Popular daily Zaman newspaper’s prominent columnist Ahmet Turan Alkan, expressed that the ruling AK Party has plans to transform its political base into its own movement.

Imaginary enemy created to cover up corruption, says Yıldırım

Former AK Party Burdur deputy Yıldırım says that the ruling AK Party conjured up enemies to cover up the December 17-25 corruption probe.

Funeral prayer in absentia in Mali for Gulen’s brother

A funeral prayer in absentia took place in the West African country Mali for the Honorable Fethullah Gulen’s brother Seyfulah Gulen who recently passed away. In attendance of the funeral at the capital city Bamako’s largest mosque, located in Bahar Turkish School campus, were numerous people from both Turkey and Mali.

‘Building Bridges Through Education’ explores education's role in a globalized society

Leaders of more than a dozen universities from around the world recently visited California University of Pennsylvania to discuss collaborative educational opportunities and the cultural gap that education can bridge.

Filipino - Turkish Tolerance School students excel in ICAS 2014 exam, Ten others top in campus journalism

At least nineteen students of the Filipino - Turkish Tolerance School (FTTS) have excelled in Mathematics, Science and English during an examination given by the International Competition Assessment for Schools (ICAS).

"Fethullah Gulen is one of the leading Islamic thinkers in the world"

Fikir Atlasi*, Episode 21 (Full text)

My name is Azam Nizamuddin.**

I am an attorney in Chicago, an activist, and I also teach Religious Studies at Loyola University of Chicago.

US, Turkish charities hold blanket drive

In a joint campaign, the Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC), the American Turkish Friendship Association (AFTA) and Embrace Relief held a blanket drive for Syrian and Iraqi refugees in the US on Thursday and collected 25,000 blankets, which will soon be shipped to Turkey.

KYM donates blankets and clothing to children in Gaza

Turkish charity Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There) has recently donated 20,000 blankets to the needy in Gaza, as well as clothing for 1,000 Palestinian children.

Kimse Yok Mu provides medical supplies for Haiti

Kimse Yok Mu Foundation (KYM) and the US-based Embrace Relief jointly donated three-container-loads of medical supplies to Haiti combating cholera epidemic. The two of the containers were delivered to the hospital KYM built in the capital city Port-au-Prince and the remaining is to depart in two weeks.

Kimse Yok Mu and Time to Help partnership for Kobani

Denmark’s Time to Help charity, joined by Kimse Yok Mu Foundation (KYM) reaching out to millions in need around the globe, initiated a aid campaign for Syrians.

Afghan journalists complain about Western coverage of their country

A group of Afghan journalists who gathered in İstanbul on Monday expressed dissatisfaction with the coverage of their country in Western media, saying they only show terrorism and violence, and the journalists argue that it is not the full picture of reality of Afghanistan.