The love for service knows no boundaries

Abdülhamit Bilici

When several Turkish businessmen went to Romanian authorities 20 years ago asking for permission to open up a school in Romania, the Romanian officials were very surprised. They had high opinions of the Turkish people who had business operations in their country, but they believed that Turks were largely good at baking and making kebabs. Education, on the other hand, was a serious undertaking.

Reactions to gov't plot against Hizmet movement mount

A recent revelation that a prosecutor conducting an illegal investigation into a social movement, allegedly acting under orders of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government, has caused outrage among politicians, members of civil society groups and journalists.

33rd Abant Platform: whither Turkey?

Oğuzhan Tekin

On June 20-22, the 33rd Abant Platform meeting was held in Akçakoca, Bolu province, to discuss "Turkey's direction," hosted by the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV). More than 100 intellectuals all over the world, including prominent scholars, journalists, NGO leaders and former politicians, attended the meeting.

Erdoğan knows no boundaries when fighting imaginary enemies

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, an expert in “beating” his political rivals both at the ballot box and with his powerful discourse, has recently expanded his list of rivals and added some civil society groups, businessmen, members of the judiciary and the police force, whom he considers enemies that must be cracked down on.

AK Party government dragging Turkish military into politics

A number of news reports that have recently made their way into the pro-government media suggest that the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government may be working to drag the Turkish military into politics to ensure its support for the government's fight against its imaginary enemies.

Court issues fine for usage of ‘hashashin' against Hizmet

The Ankara 18th Criminal Court has convicted head of the Turkish Aviation Board (THK) Ünsal İnaltekin of employing hate speech against the Hizmet movement of Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen for suggesting that the followers of the movement are “hashashin” via Twitter.

Chief prosecutor admits manipulation in massive wiretapping claims

İstanbul Chief Prosecutor Hadi Salihoğlu told reporters on Friday that the number of people who were wiretapped in an investigation into the Selam terrorist organization had been exaggerated and was much smaller than the high numbers that government media and his office initially claimed.

Homo Imam Hatipus or Homo Dindar Nesilus of Kemalo-Islamists

İhsan Yılmaz

Regular readers of this column will know that I have repeatedly written about how the Kemalist power elite has been trying to consolidate their nationalist and secularist status quo by employing a sort of Gramscian consent fabrication.

Prime minister's son-in-law entering prep school business

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's son-in-law Berat Albayrak has founded a new company which states in its foundation charter that its purpose is to "open exam prep schools and additional educational institutions and schools" and to "perform any kind of educational activities,” the Taraf daily reported on Friday.

Gülen's lawyer: Profiling order against Hizmet must be called off

Nurullah Albayrak, a lawyer of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, said Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor Serdar Coşkun must halt an alleged secret plot devised by the government against members of the faith-based Hizmet movement (also known as Gülen movement).

Hizmet without borders

Sevgi Akarçeşme*

Even for perpetual pessimists, it was impossible not to hope for a world where peaceful coexistence can exist while watching the finale of the 12th Language and Culture Festival, previously known as the Turkish Olympiads, in Germany.

İstanbul Fem prep school takes sign removal to court

The Fem prep school, which helps students prepare for Turkey's national university entrance exam, has filed a complaint against the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality with the İstanbul Prosecutor's Office over a signboard removed by municipal workers for no apparent reason.

The difference between Putin and Erdoğan

Orhan Kemal Cengiz

The other day I was talking to a group of foreigners. After having tried to illustrate the dark side of Turkish democracy and worsening conditions, I said, “However, Erdoğan is not the Putin of Turkey.” Maybe I should have added this: “At least not yet.”

Purge at civil bureaucracy rings alarm bells

Barçın Yinanç

“Nothing has worked since Dec. 17 [2013]. We just cannot have anything moving,” a business friend of mine told me, complaining about the ministry reshuffles, which were part of the government’s plan to “clear the state” from the parallel state, meaning those known to be followers/sympathizers or opportunists who tried to act close with the Fethullah Gülen movement.

AK Party brings on another round of poll tax

Yusuf Keleş*

As we enter this summer season, in the run-up to both Ramadan and the holiday that comes after it, it may surprise some to hear that, in fact, tax auditing becomes more intense during this period. I suppose many readers may have a better grasp of this subject -- and the news about new, urgent audits -- after having read stories about it in this newspaper. We are now all aware of the plans under way to close many schools both within Turkey and abroad, for example. As you may well guess, there is, of course, an economic aspect to these plans. And in fact, steps have already been taken in accordance with a report issued by intelligence units whose time has been completely allocated to collecting information about the Hizmet movement for the past five to six months.

PM Erdoğan is a schizophrenic, according to MHP's Büyükataman

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan most likely suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, according to Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Secretary-General İsmet Büyükataman, who also said that the prime minister often does not know what he is saying.

İstanbul Municipality removes pro-Hizmet prep school signs

The İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) removed the exterior signage of the Fem dershane, a private exam preparatory school, operating in İstanbul's Mecidiyeköy district early on Wednesday on the grounds that the school had violated the municipality's advertising regulations.

Ala does not deny anti-Hizmet plot, insults reporter instead

Interior Minister Efkan Ala, when asked on Wednesday to comment on an alleged secret plot devised by the government against members of the faith-based Hizmet movement, avoided giving a direct response and chose to insult the reporter who asked the question instead.

JWF organized a side-event at UN in Geneva

The Journalists and Writers Foundation (JWF), in partnership with Dialog-Institut and the Permanent Missions of Afghanistan, Finland and the UK, put its signature to another successfully organized conference on Wednesday June 11th in the UN Office in Geneva, Switzerland.

Final declaration of the 33rd Abant Platform: "Turkey's direction"

Participants in the 33rd Abant Platform, which ended on Sunday in the northwestern town of Akçakoca, agreed that Turkey has lost its direction in both its domestic and foreign policy, saying the way to rectify this is to restore its commitment to the accession process into the European Union and the rule of law at home.

Abant Platform: Turkey has lost its direction in a troubled region

Participants in the 33rd Abant Platform, which is taking place in the province of Bolu, have agreed that Turkey has lost its direction in both domestic and foreign policy, generating concern over its social cohesion and the fate of its relations with Europe and the Middle East.

Abant Platform: An arena of fruitful debate

Begüm Burak

The 33rd Abant Platform, which was held in Akçakoca, ended yesterday. With the attendance of 120 distinguished participants, important conclusions concerning the current political and socioeconomic situation in Turkey were drawn. The participants, who were from the academic and journalistic professions, agreed that Turkey is currently witnessing a deviation in its path towards full democracy and the rule of law.

Inquisition conspiracy

Mümtazer Türköne

The question motion İdris Naim Şahin submitted to Parliament for Interior Minister Efkan Ala to answer contains serious accusations which would normally urge the government to resign.

Lawyer: Gov't, Ergenekon unite forces in plot against Hizmet

Erdal Doğan, a co-plaintiff in the Zirve trial, has argued that the government and the Ergenekon terrorist organization have agreed to unite forces in a plot against the faith-based Hizmet movement.

Plot against Hizmet a scandal, MHP's Vural says

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) parliamentary group deputy chairman Oktay Vural said on Monday that a plot initiated by the government against the faith-based Hizmet group is a scandalous move.

Inability to generate values

Ekrem Dumanlı

Those who cannot generate values will consume up existing ones. This is because generating values is a demanding task which requires profound contemplation. In addition, it entails labor and endeavor. Even this is not enough, as the process of generating values also calls for individuals who would not easily give up when faced with tests and ordeals, and who are not dissuaded by reprimands coming from the people. Short-sighted people cannot see the call of the colorful rainbow on the horizon.

Investigation or political plot?

Emre Uslu

Justice and Development Party (AKP) officials have been arguing that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was wiretapped.

PakTurk School lauded for serving a wide range of students

Minister of State for Education and Interior Engineer Balighur Rahman has honored nine students of PakTurk School for winning medals in various international competitions bringing pride and a good name to Pakistan.

İzmir Governor's Office bans outdoor screenings of culture festivals

Following the government's prevention of the staging in Turkey of the 12th Language and Culture Festival -- formerly known as the Turkish Olympiads -- the İzmir Governor's Office, prior to the finale of the festival on Saturday, banned the public screening of all festivals and similar events.

TUSKON seeks to ease impact of regional tension on trade

As internal conflicts continue to haunt some of Turkey's key export markets in the surrounding region, leading business organizations are seeking ways to minimize damage to trade.

Man who insulted Gülen on Internet convicted

A man who openly insulted Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen on the Internet was given a suspended prison sentence by a court in Ankara on Monday.

Int’l language and culture festival ends with spectacular ceremony in Germany

A remarkable closing ceremony was held in Dusseldorf on Saturday night for 12 th International Language and Culture Festival under the motto “Hearts United with the participation of students from 145 countries.

Opposition says plot against Hizmet a gov't-sponsored ‘coup plan'

An alleged secret plot against members of the faith-based Hizmet movement (also known as Gülen movement), inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, has drawn the ire of the country's opposition parties, former government members and intellectuals, with some describing the plot as a “coup plan” against peaceful civil society groups devised by the government in an effort to make people forget about claims of corruption and bribery leveled against some government officials.

Witch hunt and AKP's legacy from Feb. 28

Ali Yurttagül

The recent circular that reassigned more than 2,000 judges and prosecutors brought the "witch hunt" issue to the agenda once again, but it was quickly eclipsed by other pressing issues.

Hotel in Abant closes its doors to Hizmet movement

Aydın Engin, T24

I have been following the Community's (Hizmet movement) Abant Platform.

When the state mind is atrophied

Ekrem Dumanlı

Turkey is going through a difficult period of being tested on both the domestic and international planes, and sadly, Turkey is unable to pass this test because it is confused and exhausted. I am afraid everybody will have to pay the price for this huge failure, as those who govern the country seem to have long forgotten their original role and mission. The problem of failing to focus on what really matters is so severe that, as a consequence, the reasons for grave failures are not identified and the repercussions of the disasters that these failures caused are not properly analyzed.

Abant Platform takes on sustainable growth, separation of powers

The Abant Platform, in Saturday’s first session, has discussed the “Development, Respectful Environment and Democracy,” voicing that a sustainable economic development is not possible under the current growth model as the Soma mine disaster, occurred on May 13, proved and the “Separation of Powers and the System Discussions,” during the second session.

Fact manipulation as means of politics

Emre Uslu

Fact manipulation is perhaps the only term that explains a new form of politics in recent years. When the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government faces a problem, the first and best thing it does is manipulate facts.

Former minister inquires about secret plot against Gülen movement

Former minister with ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) İdris Naim Şahin has submitted a lengthy inquiry to the Turkish Parliament, asking if there is a secret plot against members of the Gülen movement and if the government has mobilized all its resources to gather evidence through any means.

10 Students Bag First Class At Nigeria Turkish Nile University

No fewer than 10 graduating students bagged first class degrees at the 2nd convocation of the Nigeria Turkish Nile University in Abuja on Saturday.

Kimse Yok Mu first to respond to call for Crimea

Crimea Foundation’s board member and Crimean Turks Culture and Solidarity Foundation’s director in Seydisehir, Konya, Mustafa Sarikamis said they are to provide food aid to one thousand families following the talks with Kimse Yok Mu Foundation official.

Students from 70 countries celebrate graduation in Turkey

Foreign students who have come from different corners of the world to study in Turkey have shown their happiness by throwing their caps into the air at a graduation ceremony held by the Baran International Student and Cultural Federation, the Cihan news agency reported on Thursday.

Kimse Yok Mu continues its aid for Bosnian flood victims

Kimse Yok Mu Foundation has been continuing its aid efforts in the aftermath of the devastating flood in Bosnia.

Kimse Yok Mu restoring eyesight to the needy blind in Pakistan

Having earlier reached out too for help for the Pakistani people, Kimse Yok Mu Foundation now heals the cataract patients in need. The foundation rolled up the sleeves to offer cataract surgeries to five thousand in Dera Ismail Khan in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

Gülen's lawyer denies any link with bugging probe suspect

Fethullah Gülen's lawyer has denied that the Turkish Islamic scholar has any links with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's former chief bodyguard, who was detained in an investigation into covert listening devices found in the prime minister's office in 2012.

AK Party cancels construction licenses for religious groups in Antalya

The Antalya Metropolitan Municipality has cancelled the construction licenses of a Hizmet-affiliated school and a dormitory belonging to another religious community following a recent speech of the Turkish prime minister telling his party's mayors to take property back that they might have allocated to the Hizmet movement, a social and religious grassroots movement in Turkey.

Yes, Religion Can Still Be A Force For Good In The World

Antonia Blumberg, Yasmine Hafiz

Bringing people together over a meal to celebrate diversity

Last Man Standing

The annual International Science Olympiad has been dominated by Nigeria since it started in 2009. But the 2014 edition of the competition for science students worldwide took a different turn for the country as South Africa became a dominant figure. But for the 15-year-old Akanimoh Udombeh, Nigeria's flag may not have been hoisted on the winners' podium this year.

Interior minister fails to impress audience in Washington address

Turkey's Interior Minister Efkan Ala, a bureaucrat believed to be the leading figure in containing a recent corruption scandal and in implementing a number of the government's anti-democratic practices, delivered a speech on Turkish domestic politics in Washington, D.C., on Monday, eliciting laughter among the largely American audience.

The real wretch

Begüm Burak

The Romanian capital of Bucharest was the host of the 12th edition of the International Language and the Culture Festival, which is organized by the International Turkish Education Association (TÜRKÇEDER).

Moral Theology of Hizmet – Positive action, service, piety, sincerity and interreligious dialogue

Jeremy F. Walton*

In Turkey and across the globe, Hizmet (Gülen Movement) institutions defy simple categorization. As other contributors to this special issue show, they include a variety of NGOs and charities, private businesses, primary, secondary and post-secondary schools, publishing houses and mass media outlets. Clearly, a key unifying aspect of these distinct institutions is their shared dedication to Fethullah Gülen’s theology and moral philosophy. A fitting approach to the distinctive institutional and religious culture of the Hizmet Movement, therefore, is to examine the principles of ethical action that orient Gülen’s theology and that animate actors in Hizmet institutions. In this section, I take up an ensemble of interrelated concepts and practices—“positive action” (müspet hareket), “service” (hizmet), “piety” (Arabic: taqwa; Turkish: takva), and “sincerity” (samimiyet, ihlas), as well as the cardinal Hizmet activity of interreligious dialogue (dinler arası diyalog)—that together form the moral theology of the Hizmet Movement. (1) Above all, this moral theology—presented gradually over Gülen’s oeuvre and expressed through the actions and aspirations of Hizmet institutions—represents a commensuration of Islamic piety and liberal values of religious tolerance and the flourishing of socio-religious diversity.

CCBT Teaches Turkish in Public School in Rio de Janeiro

The Turkish-Brazilian Cultural Center (CCBT) has been teaching Turkish classes at the State School Infante Don Henrique in the Copacabana neighborhood, Rio de Janeiro, since July 2013.

Int'l language festival singing finale ends with great show in Romania

The finals of the singing competition at the International Language and Culture Festival, which brought together about 100 students from 27 countries under the motto “Hearts United” this year, was held in the Romanian capital of Bucharest on Sunday.

TUSKON-led trade volume reaches $30 billion

The Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON), a broad business initiative with 55,000 members, provides extensive support to businessmen who seek to make a contribution to the national economy. In addition to its many other activities, TUSKON held 19 world trade summits between 2006 and 2013 and hosted 40,000 domestic and 30,000 foreign businessmen and industrialists. The trade bridges created at these meetings have led TUSKON to generate a trade volume of $30 billion so far. Unlike some similar initiatives, TUSKON doesn't neglect small and medium-sized enterprises. The most recent summit was held in November 2013 at the Istanbul Convention Center and saw the participation of more than 2,000 guests who concluded deals worth $500 million. The number of deals reached increases at every meeting.

Romania hosts song contest of Language and Culture Festival

The song contest final of the 12th International Language and Culture Festival was held in Bucharest on June 15.