Gov’t’s ‘parallel state’ claims collapse after it refuses parliamentary investigation

A parliamentary group proposal made by opposition parties to investigate claims of the existence of a so-called “parallel structure” was recently rejected by the government, prompting criticism of Justice and Development Party (AK Party) deputies and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who readily use the term to ostracize and persecute their opponents.

Disparaging language by gov’t officials feared to harm social cohesion

Top government officials' using dismissive and disparaging language towards the opposition and dissidents risk dealing a blow to social cohesion in Turkey as society becomes increasingly polarized.

Davutoğlu follows in Erdoğan’s footsteps with harsh rhetoric

Politicians have long relied on harsh language and discourse in Turkey. In one case, then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made strong and offensive remarks about his opponents and the Gülen movement, also known as the Hizmet movement, after the Dec. 17 bribery and corruption investigation. But this did not change after Ahmet Davutoğlu became prime minister; he now follows in the footsteps of Erdoğan.

Pacifica Institute Utah hosts 'Love is a Verb' screening for interfaith season

Pacifica Institute Utah sponsored a screening of the film “Love is a Verb” on Monday, Feb. 23, at the Salt Lake City Library as part of Interfaith Season sponsored by the Salt Lake Interfaith Roundtable.

Fountain’s Yeşilova: We believe human life and the universe are each a book to read

English-language The Fountain magazine Editor-in-Chief Hakan Yeşilova has said his magazine has an editorial policy that promotes love and respect for all, adding that they see human life and the universe as books that need to be read.

Turkish humanitarian NGO has cured 30,000 cataract sufferers

A campaign by Turkish NGO Kimse Yok Mu has fixed the eyes of over 30,000 people with cataracts in central Africa.

Straying from EU sidelines into Goebbels’ territory

Abdülhamit Bilici

Adolf Hitler is certainly known for having signed off on some of the most horrific acts in modern times, causing the deaths of millions and sending people to the gas chambers simply because of their beliefs. His military forces, his SS officers, his weapons industries, his war tactics, as well as the roads, bridges and dams he left behind -- they all deserve careful examination.

Feb. 28 spirit makes unwelcome return after 18 years

Despite the fact that Turkey has still not settled accounts with the Feb. 28, 1997 military coup, which dealt a heavy blow to democratic progress and individual freedoms, the country is now undergoing circumstances that many observers consider far worse than the anti-democratic practices of the coup era. Only, this time, the discontent comes at the hands of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government and its former leader and current president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

My answer to the police’s summary: Do not lend support to al-Qaeda

Emre Uslu

As you know, an arrest warrant was issued for me on charges of my connection to the Hizmet movement, inspired by Fethullah Gülen.

The plot: Arrest warrant against Gülen rife with unlawfulness

Another arrest warrant has been issued against Fethullah Gülen -- a well-respected Turkish Islamic scholar -- although a warrant had already been issued on charges connected to a soap opera and his sermons online.

'Turkish schools in Nigeria are not owned by government'

Cemal Yigit is a member of Hizmet Movement, founder of the Nigerian Turkish International Colleges (NTIC). In this interview, he reacts to the recent declaration by the Turkish President that he would push for the close down all Turkish schools outside Turkey.

NTIC Alumni urges Turkish govt not to close schools

No fewer than Three Thousand, Two Hundred (3200) Alumni members of Nigerian Turkish International Colleges (NTIC) have condemned plans by Turkish government to close down branches of their schools established in various parts of the country.

Gülen’s lawyer: New arrest warrant for Gülen is unlawful

The lawyer for Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, Nurullah Albayrak, in reaction to Turkish media reports on Tuesday of another arrest warrant being issued for his client, said in a statement that according to the law on criminal procedure, it is unlawful for a court to issue an arrest warrant unless the accused has been appropriately called to appear before the court.

Ankara court lifts RTÜK fine on Samanyolu TV

The Ankara 17th Administrative Court on Tuesday reversed a decision by the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) to fine the Samanyolu Broadcasting Group for a news bulletin it had aired, ruling that Samanyolu TV had broadcast the news in order to inform the public.

San Antonio nun at U.N.

Sister Martha Ann Kirk had spoken publicly about her trips to Iraq and her time in that beleaguered country — where so little hope seems to exist, especially for educational opportunity for girls.

A dirty war in the run-up to the elections

Mümtazer Türköne

With the Gülen movement officially marked in police reports as being a “terrorist organization,” we can say that the ruling party's war against the civilian populace has truly reached its dirtiest stage. A brief summary: The Gülen movement is undoubtedly one of the Muslim world's most peaceful and tolerant civil movements ever. Within this movement, religion is present as a source that nourishes people's altruism; the movement's areas of interests, however, are shaped by problems on the global level that are then faced through strong civilian solidarity.

Kimse Yok Mu extends help to thousands in Palestine

Turkish charity organization Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There) continues to bind up wounds in Palestine with delivery of aid boxes to thousands of people in the country.

State inspectors warn of high penalties in Bank Asya overhaul

In the aftermath of the controversial Feb 3rd management take-over of publicly traded Bank Asya, an auditor from the banking watchdog warns that urgent measures must be taken or else there will be mass penalties.

Academic: AKP’s Green Kemalist regime might descend into totalitarianism

Expect more election rigging by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party or the AKP) and even totalitarianism with no checks and balances if it wins the June 7 elections, academic İhsan Yılmaz says.

Hot meals for 3 million Syrians from Kimse Yok Mu

The humanitarian aid group Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There) has been providing help to Syrians who fled the civil war in their country and taken shelter in the southeastern province of Kilis.

AKP’s situation is so bad that it needs medical treatment

Emre Uslu

The pro-government media outlets continue to serve up nonsensical headlines.

And their latest headline is perfectly ridiculous. They say that I will arrange the assassination of Sümeyye Erdoğan, the daughter of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Should I laugh at it? Should I get angry with it? Should I feel pity? I don't know.

Gulen's Interview with the German Newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung

Interview with German Newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung ‘Charge of the Preacher’, dated 13th December 2014

Interviewers: Tim Neshitov and Christiane Schlötzer

The Turkish government demands your extradition from Barack Obama. Do you still feel safe in the US? 

Does the Hizmet movement conduct self-criticism?

Mustafa Yeşil*

Principles, values and goals

The Hizmet movement is a social movement and a civil society initiative that emerged to develop projects by voluntary participants in order to advance peace and coexistence in the world with reference to universal values. Participation is based on a voluntary decision; for this reason, it is possible to see many diverse individuals from different backgrounds participating in the movement's services and activities. The individuals, coming from diverse backgrounds, agree on serving humanity and developing projects in different departments of society including media, humanitarian aid, education, dialogue and business.

Gülen’s lawyer denies allegation of plot against Erdoğan’s daughter, calls it ’immoral slander’

A lawyer for Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen categorically denied claims by pro-government newspapers that Gülen ordered the assassination of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's daughter, Sümeyye Erdoğan, ahead of the June 7 general elections, calling the allegations “immoral slander" that he regrets even having to deny.

What is behind conspiracy targeting CHP and Gülen?

Week-long conspiracy-oriented publications by pro-government media in Turkey that are apparently based on fabricated Twitter conversations aim to smear both the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, who inspired the social movement called Hizmet.

Erdoğan, his allies plot against CHP, Gülen to score political gains

As President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his allies in the government feel the pressure of the upcoming general elections in June, fabricated news stories about the main opposition party and Fethullah Gülen by pro-government outlets, including the claims of assassination plots, money exchanges, sex tapes and infidelity are being systematically circulated to gain political points.

They’re jealous of Erdoğan

Abdülhamit Bilici

When I saw the headlines in the pro-government media about President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's declaration – en route from Cuba – that he didn't “care about Turkey's isolation within the wider world,” I began thinking how far Turkey has slipped in recent years.

Municipality shuts down three reading halls in Adıyaman

Adıyaman Municipality has reportedly closed down three reading halls established to help educate the children of needy and poor families, using scores of police vehicles.

Sacrificing Sümeyye Erdoğan

İhsan Yılmaz

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan seems to be so desperate that he is using his own daughter's name in a terrible, horrendous and monstrous psychological campaign by possibly risking her life. He is willing to risk her life. He is trying to target, criminalize and demonize the opposition and the Hizmet movement by claiming they will assassinate his daughter Sümeyye Erdoğan.

Kimse Yok Mu continues its assistance to Cambodia

Highly acclaimed for its aid efforts globally, Kimse Yok Mu Foundation recently made another five water wells available to the needy locals in Cambodia where it had previously provided 40 of them.

'Parallel state' hunt makes McCarthyism look like child’s play

Orhan Kemal Cengiz

For the last year not a single day has passed without hearing these infamous words: parallel state. These were present in almost every speech made by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. They have been in the headlines everyday in every single newspaper close to the government.

TMSF refuses to relinquish management control of Bank Asya

In spite of the fact that more than 60 percent of Bank Asya's A-type shareholders have submitted the documents requested by the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) that were the basis for recently taking control of the management of the bank, the watchdog agency has not given up that control, stoking claims that the management takeover was part of campaign of intimidation against the lender.

Civil Islam and Democratic Modernity in Gülen’s thought

Uğur Kömeçoğlu

Throughout Gülen’s teaching, one can see an abiding concern with fostering a communitarian ethos that aims to improve modern society through the revitalization of Islamic spiritualism, individual religious piety and service to others. Of course, in some secularist contexts—such as in the post-Soviet countries of the larger Turkic world—this could be seen as a challenge to the normative framework and to purely areligious forms of sociability. This may be one reason why critics have mistakenly suspected the Hizmet members as crypto-Islamists who harbor a hidden agenda. But the movement’s approach to transforming intra-personal relations through Civil Islam and achieving peaceful socio-cultural change is very different from the Islamist approach, both in terms of its relation to the public sphere and also because it is not at odds with modern secularism and civil democracy.

ISPO becomes Turkish schools’ success story in Indonesia

The seventh Indonesian Science Project Olympiad (ISPO), organized in Indonesia under the direction of Turkish schools, chose its first four successful participants on Wednesday.

Context, fact and law: demystifying the Bank Asya takeover

Taptuk Emre Erkoç*

What happened at Bank Asya?

Bank Asya is Turkey's largest Islamic lender bank, with 201 branches in Turkey, and trades on the İstanbul stock exchange.

Despite readily using term, AK Party rejects proposal to investigate ‘parallel structure’

A parliamentary group proposal made by the opposition to investigate claims of the existence of a so-called parallel structure was rejected by the government on Tuesday, prompting criticism of Justice and Development Party (AK Party) members and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who readily use the term to ostracize and persecute their opponents.

Pro-government press to face legal challenge over slander and lies

Lawyers of Islamic Scholar Fethullah Gülen released a statement in response to the defamatory pro-government media accusations that Gülen held sex tapes of Republican People’s Party (CHP) delegates, decrying them as mere lies and slander.

Speaking Truth to Power in Turkey: An Interview with Ekrem Dumanli

Yohuru Williams

Last December, veteran Turkish journalist, newspaper executive and playwright Ekrem Dumanli made headlines after he was detained by Turkish authorities on charges of "forming, leading and being a member of an armed terrorist organization." Dumanli's supporters maintained that his only real crime was pressing for greater transparency and accountability from the government. Dumanli's appreciation for the importance of a free press has deep roots. Having worked for the Culture and Art Desk of the daily Zaman through most of the 1990s, he earned a Masters Degree from Emerson College in Boston, before returning to Turkey in 2001 to helm Zaman as its editor-in-chief. Through his vision and guidance, the newspaper's circulation grew, increasing from 150,000 to a million readers within a decade. Dumanli's influence has not been overlooked. In 2009, he earned a place on a list complied by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre and published by Georgetown University of the world's 500 Most Influential Muslims. Such prominence has come at a price. On December 14, 2014 he was among a number of journalists rounded up in government raids on media outlets. Despite the seriousness of the allegations against him and the dramatic way in which he and his colleagues were taken into custody, five days later he was released due to lack of evidence. I first became aware of the situation after Turkish protesters connected government repression in Turkey with the hash tag "We can't breathe". They were linking their efforts with the Black Lives Matter social media campaign related to the police killings of Eric Garner and Michael Brown in the United States. After his release, I had the opportunity to interview Dumanli with the hopes of shedding further light on what's happening in Turkey with regards to the freedom of the press, state of democracy, and the Hizmet movement. His words reaffirm the need for us to remain vigilante concerning threats to democratic practice both at home and abroad.

Hidayet Karaca, banditry and Turkey’s eroding image

Bülent Keneş

Corrupt politicians who target innocent people for certain political reasons or in an effort to cover up their terrifying crimes will have to violate laws and commit more crimes and engage in unethical acts that amount to banditry.

Arrested journalist: I am on guard duty for democracy

Samanyolu TV Group General Manager Hidayet Karaca, who has been under arrest since a government-backed police operation against independent media outlets on Dec. 14, 2014, stated in a letter on Monday that his imprisonment for the last 66 days without legal justification is a result of his being on guard duty for democracy.

Turkish school in Uganda challenges discrimination against albinos

A Turkish school established in Uganda has challenged discrimination against albinos in the country by giving an albino student a full scholarship.

Gülen’s lawyer: Pro-government media ignores ruling of Supreme Court of Appeals

Nurullah Albayrak, the lawyer representing Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, said in a written statement on Monday that pro-government media outlets continue their false accusations about Gülen and members of the Gülen movement, pointing out that Gülen was acquitted in June 2008 of all allegations that had been leveled against him at that time.

Turkey ostracized: Cues from Latin America

Abdullah Bozkurt

Chatterbox President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's radical political beliefs -- deeply rooted in political Islamist ideology and a pro-Iranian perspective -- which have unfortunately manifested themselves not only in the official narrative but also in policy decisions, have led to Turkey being ostracized in international fora.

80 hirelings!

Adem Yavuz Arslan

The title is an expression uttered by President Erdoğan. Erdoğan said it during the Mexican leg of the Latin America tour which he embarked on to have Turkish schools closed down and complain about the Hizmet Movement.

Pro-gov’t daily brands intellectuals speaking to foreign media as ’traitors’

The pro-government Takvim daily branded Nobel laureate and Turkish author Orhan Pamuk, renowned Prosecutor Zekeriya Öz and Turkish-Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen "traitors" in its top story on Sunday for making statements to international media outlets.

Samanyolu slammed with TL 1 million penalty in latest strike

The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) has levied a nearly TL 1 million penalty on the Samanyolu Broadcasting Group in what Samanyolu executives consider yet another attempt to silence media outlets close to Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.

Immanuel Wallerstein and the Hizmet Movement

Gökhan Bacık

Immanuel Wallerstein, who is influenced by Marxism, says Europe went through an important stage during “a prolonged period extending roughly from the 1450s into the 1600s”.

Students of Turkish schools in Romania impress in science competition

Students from Turkish schools in Romania impress in the “First Step” science project competition.

Law Prof. Karahan: Hate crimes against Hizmet can be prosecuted at ECtHR, ICC

The Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) has taken over management control of some of the privileged shares of Bank Asya as part of a government-operated crackdown on institutions affiliated with the Gülen movement, also known as Hizmet, and shareholders will be filing a lawsuit against the action, but this week's guest for Monday Talk has said it is likely that the case will end up at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and even at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Watch your mouth

Ekrem Dumanlı

Be Fair

"The Gülen movement is worse than the Kurdistan Workers' Party [PKK]," Erdoğan told a group of journalists. This is cruel! “The Gülen movement did greater damage to the country,” he says. This sentence does contain any trace of truth in it, but betrays a profound grudge and incurable hatred and the potential for limitless violence.

Bank Asya shareholders slam defamatory gov't press reporting

Pro-government media outlets’ defamatory reporting, along with the banking regulator’s politically motivated management takeover of publicly traded participation bank Bank Asya, draws condemnation.

AK Party’s ’parallel’ election campaign

Mümtazer Türköne

In Turkey, the term "pool media" refers to the pro-government media outlets which were created through funds raised by various businessmen to protect the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) interests.

Fears over Turkey’s G-20 leadership spurred by Bank Asya raid, pressure on central bank

Turkey has struggled to leave a mark during its first few months of leadership of the Group of 20 (G-20), the world's most economically developed countries, amid midnight police raids on the country's largest Islamic bank, administrative pressure on the central bank and the continuing failure to address concerns of growing authoritarianism and widespread corruption.

Turkish authorities use charges of terrorism to silence free speech

Journalists in Turkey are being charged with “being involved in terrorist activities” and “endangering state security” to justify the current crackdown on the media, as this is the only legitimate way for Turkish leadership to silence and censor dissident voices while shielding themselves from being seen as infringers on the freedom of speech and expression, unambiguously protected under international law.

Indictment against agencies responsible for taking over Bank Asya

A criminal charge for ‘qualified robbery’ has been filed against the TMSF and BDDK management by one of Bank Asya’s senior partners.