'The work of Hizmet followers is really tackling the fundamentals of what is needed in the society'

Fikir Atlasi*, Episode 20 (Full text)

I’m Chui L. Tsang**. I’m the President of Santa Monica College. I’m on my ninth year right now.

Religious communities under threat

Ali Bulaç

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) continues to see the graft and bribery investigations of Dec. 17 and 25, 2013 as a plot against its power.

Thousands pay final respects to Gülen’s brother in Erzurum

Seyfullah Gülen, who died at the age of 72 on Friday and was the brother of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, was laid to rest in a funeral attended by thousands of people in the eastern province of Erzurum on Sunday.

Motivation Driving the Financial Contributions to the Gülen movement

Helen Rose Ebaugh

When asked why they give $1 million or more dollars each year to movement projects, the group of businessmen in Istanbul gave the following reasons: to make better human beings as Mr. Fethullah Gülen encourages; to educate our youth; to please God; to earn a reward in the next life; to be part of a bigger movement to better the world; to provide hope to our people in Turkey and around the world. Two of the businessmen [interviewed] were among the first members in the movement who had heard Mr. Gülen preaching in the 1970s and were very impressed with his ideas and came together with other local businessmen to see what they could do to carry out his vision. The president of a large textile manufacturing company said he is motivated by Mr. Gülen’s ideas of service.

Sareshwala: Agitation and confrontation doesn’t get Muslims anywhere

Zafar Yunus Sareshwala, CEO of the Mumbai-based Parsoli Corporation Ltd. and a close associate of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, says it is important for the Muslims of the world, particularly Indian Muslims, to leave agitation and confrontation behind as miscommunication creates false impressions, resulting in their alienation and isolation.

Kimse Yok Mu continues relief efforts in Gaza

The nonprofit Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There) continues its relief efforts in Gaza which was affected by a recent flood.

UN takes Turkish school as model in Mali

The UN Women’s Mali branch has taken Horizon Turkish School’s Mathematics Olympiad as a model to determine successful primary school students in the country.

Gülen loses 72-year-old brother

Seyfullah Gülen, the brother of leading Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, died at the age of 72 on Friday morning at the private Şifa Hospital in Erzurum, where he had been receiving treatment after a heart attack.

'Hizmet Movement is teaching “habits of the heart”, without any request for payback'

Fikir Atlasi*, Episode 19 (Full text)

My name is Robert Spitzer**. I am a retired lawyer and trial court judge living here in southern California.

Kimse Yok Mu head: Council of State confirms charity’s transparency

According to İsmail Cingöz, president of the charity Kimse Yok Mu, the Council of State's unanimous annulment of a recent Cabinet decision to rescind the charity's right to collect donations confirms its institutional transparency, accountability and reliability.

'Hizmet Movement has been tremendously effective in showing the true face of Islam'

Fikir Atlasi*, Episode 18 (Full text)

My name is Rabbi Reuven Firestone**. I am a professor of Jewish Studies and Islamic Studies at a Jewish seminary in Los Angeles. The name of the seminary is Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. And this college is on the campus of a very large, secular, private university; University of Southern California. So I teach about half of my courses to seminary students at Hebrew Union College. Those are people who are going to be rabbis and leaders of the Jewish community in America, and in some places abroad. And I'm also teaching half of my courses to undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Southern California.

Council of State says Cabinet decision on Kimse Yok Mu unlawful

The Council of State has issued a stay of execution on a recent Cabinet decision to rescind the Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There) charity organization's right to collect charitable donations, saying the decision is against the law.

Gülen’s lawyer denies Turkish schools working against host nations

Lawyer of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has categorically rejected claims made by the Turkish president that schools opened by sympathizers of the Gülen movement in Africa are working against host nations.

MHP blasts Erdoğan’s obsession with Hizmet

The leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) has said President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's obsession with the Hizmet movement does not serve Turkey's interests.

TÜBİTAK scolded for hiding olympiad winners were from Hizmet schools

The president and members of the government have scolded the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) for not revealing that the majority of medal winners at two recent scholastic olympiad events were students from schools affiliated with the Hizmet movement, the Taraf daily reported on Tuesday.

Turkish charity in Virginia sends 30 thousand blankets to Syrian refugees

Organizing an aid campaign in USA's Virginia state, Turkey's Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There?) charity association managed to collect 30 thousand blankets and USD 70,000 for Syrian refugees in Turkey.

Turkish schools

Mümtazer Türköne

About 15 years ago, I attended an international academic conference in a state located within the former Soviet geography. These conferences give us the chance to make on-the-spot observations about changes around the world. There were two Turkish high schools in the city: a state school, run by the Turkish Republic under bilateral agreements, and a private school run by Turkish entrepreneurs inspired by the ideas of well-respected Turkish-Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen. I visited both and talked to students and teachers.

Erdoğan’s slight to Africa

Abdullah Bozkurt

Turkey's beleaguered President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan engaged in his typical antics once again during his African tour last week, confirming a long-held view that he has been on a self-destructive path since the massive corruption investigations incriminated him and his family members almost a year ago.

Cover version of song by Nigerian Turkish school students goes viral

The video that was prepared by students of Hizmet movement linked Nigerian Turkish school for their teachers on the occasion of teachers' day went viral in social media.

Hizmet-Linked Educational Platform Among Most Successful Projects In Europe

The Dutch Platform for Education, Innovation and Talent Development (NPOINT), a Hizmet movement-affiliated educational platform operating in Holland, has been placed among some of the most successful educational projects in Europe by the SIRIUS policy network. SIRIUS is a European policy network working.

Hizmet: A Language and Culture of Compassion for and Service to Humanity

Margaret J. Rausch

Fethullah Gülen’s vision of education focuses on language and culture as integral to self-perfection and global societal reform. Whilst spiritually grounded, its holistic approach and goals comprise multi-level intellectual, emotional and material development. By contrast, in nationalist projects language and culture are employed as means to unify, improve and integrate, but sometimes as tools for envisioning diversity with mistrust and animosity.

'Hizmet is really something that demonstrates what's universal about Islam.'

Fikir Atlasi*, Episode 17 (Full text)

My name's Kathleen Moore**, and I'm a professor of Religious Studies, and chair of the Religious Studies department at UC Santa Barbara.

17 Percent Students of Nile University are on Scholarship

Prof. Hussein Sert, the Vice-Chancellor of Nigerian Turkish Nile University (NTNU), said that 17 percent of students in the institution were on scholarship.

How does Fethullah Gülen perceive those who find Islam and violence compatible?

Doğu Ergil

How does Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen perceive those who find Islam and violence compatible, and what is his argument against interpretations that advocate violence?

Turkish charities dedicate well in Uganda to James Foley

The charity Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There?) and the Embrace Relief aid foundation, founded by Turks residing in the US, have jointly constructed a water well in Uganda dedicated to the memory of James Foley, an American journalist killed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Number of Kimse Yok Mu volunteers triple

The aid organization’s volunteers number have increased three-fold despite a politically-motivated hate campaign launched by government in Turkey.

Deputy Şükür donates salary to victims of mine disaster

Hakan Şükür, an independent deputy for İstanbul who resigned from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in December of last year, has decided to donate his salary to those who lost their relatives in the Ermenek mine disaster.

Atyrau student wins silver in Brazil research competition

Talgat Yegizbayev, an 11th-grade student from Kazakhstan, has been awarded a silver medal at the International Science Olympiad MOSTRATEC in Brazil, Tengrinews reports citing Munaily Astana.

Graduates’ views on the effectiveness of Gülen-inspired schools in Azerbaijan

Sakhavat Mammadov*

The Gülen movement is active in many sectors, but educational institutions make up its core. It started its first international school in Azerbaijan, and its success there proved vital to expansion across elsewhere; in June, however, the Azerbaijani government moved to close down all Gülen-affiliated schools in the country. This report summarizes a qualitative study of the effectiveness of the Gülen movement’s educational philosophy and methodology.

AKP’s media censorship

Hidayet Karaca*

The Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, which has been in power for 12 years, has become even more repressive in recent months. The ruling party has been placing extreme pressure on civil society organizations, individuals, and media outlets.

Gülen’s lawyer refutes Erdoğan’s claims as baseless

Nurullah Albayrak, the lawyer of Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, has denied President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's accusations against his client, saying the president has misrepresented the claims included in a recently unveiled indictment on a bugging scandal.

Hizmet schools win 64 out of 120 TÜBİTAK medals despite gov't pressure

İstanbul's Fatih Koleji, Ankara's Samanyolu and Atlantik Schools and İzmir's Yamanlar Schools, which have been put under pressure by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government, picked up 64 medals out of 120 on Wednesday in the 22nd National Science Olympiad and the 19th National Mathematics Olympiad for primary and secondary schools.

Bank Asya: Battle for survival against a presidential onslaught

Manish Sinha*

Not all banking collapses are alike or lead to extinction. Some are caused by systemic, catastrophic events such as the global financial crisis of 2008, while others are caused by idiosyncratic exposure to geopolitical factors. Bank Asya, Turkey's largest private participation bank, is currently in the midst of the latter and is potentially edging toward disintegration.

Islam, terrorism and the media

Bülent Keneş

We unfortunately live in an unfair world. Injustice is so ubiquitous that we can categorize it based on our neighborhood, our city, our region, our country and the world. Any kind of injustice, discrimination or otherization -- such as social injustice, class injustice, inequity in income distribution and a lack of equal opportunities in education, business and social mobility -- may rear its ugly head at any moment in our daily life. Not only the cases of social injustice we encounter in our daily life, but also the sentiments of rage and revolt stemming from national or international injustice may trigger reactions that are against the nature of people who normally have psychological integrity.

Turkish group among first to send aid to ‘Yolanda’ victims

MANILA, Philippines–Unknown to many Filipinos, a Turkish aid organization was among the first to respond to the devastation caused by Super Typhoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) in Eastern Visayas last year.

Terrorist organization, you say

Ekrem Dumanlı

He is 73 years old and is known as a respected scholar who has been studying Islamic exegesis. He is well-known in academia. He was promoted to associate professor in the field of Islamic exegesis back in 1977. He served as head of the exegesis department at the faculty of theology at Erzurum's Atatürk University, conducted research in Paris Sorbonne, taught at the faculty of Islamic studies at the Islamic University of Madinah, was the chair of exegesis studies at Marmara University and conducted academic studies at International Islamic University of Malaysia. He is the author of 13 books and hundreds of articles.

Reuters: Part of Turkish media say have been shut out by government

Turkish media close to a US-based Islamic preacher accused by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of seeking to usurp power say they have been shut out of government press events in a move they see as evidence of Turkey's deteriorating press freedoms.

Kimse Yok Mu waits weeks for aid campaign go-ahead

Turkish charity Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There?) has been waiting for 37 days for permission from the İstanbul Governor's Office to continue seven aid campaigns bringing various kinds of relief and services to people in need around the world.

Fethullah Gülen’s educational philosophy, its global practice in the secular world

Graham E. Fuller

Islam has a long tradition of philanthropic contributions (zakat, or tithe) by the wealthy to aid the poor and to build mosques. Gülen shifts that approach: he has said that Turkey has enough mosques; instead he urges that philanthropic “good works” are more usefully directed towards building schools or hospitals. Through this vision, Hizmet has slowly built a large network of private schools, initially in Turkey and now increasingly around the world, at this point numbering well over one thousand schools. They are not religious schools, nor do they resemble “parochial” (private Roman Catholic) schools in the US. In Turkey the Gülen schools teach the curriculum established by the Turkish Ministry of National Education. They contain no religious instruction apart from a standard course on Islam long mandated by the secular Turkish government in all public schools as part of Turkish culture. Hizmet schools in other countries follow the curricula set by their own governments.”

'Mr. Gülen is to me simultaneously both incredibly modest and a visionary'

Fikir Atlasi*, Episode 16 (Full text)

My name is Stephanie Varnon-Hughes**. I'm a PhD student at Claremont Lincoln University, where I'm studying Inter-Religious Education.

Gandhi’s granddaughter: Hizmet movement realized all we dreamed of

Peace activist and iconic leader Mahatma Gandhi's granddaughter, Ela Gandhi, has said that the Hizmet movement realized all they had dreamed of, in reference to the activities of the South Africa-based Turquoise Harmony Institute.

G-20 summit blockade shameful for Turkey, businessman says

A blockade imposed on certain businessmen from attending the G-20 summit, to be attended by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu in Brisbane, Australia, is shameful for Turkey, Murat Çoşkun, who was among the businessmen in question, has said.

Former Filipino deputy: Great that we have Kimse Yok Mu

Speaking at the first anniversary of the Haiyan typhoon, the most devastating one in the Philippines’ history, the former Filipino deputy Chua thanked Kimse Yok Mu for its aid and relief efforts. “Great that we have you and Turkey. On behalf of my country, I would like to thank KYM. You’ve never left us alone since the very first day. Many organizations left here after two weeks but you didn’t.” Chua said.

Kimse Yok Mu distributes heating stoves in Mongolia

Kimse Yok Mu Foundation (KYM) recently gave away heating stoves to the needy in Mongolia. The recipient Mongolians in Erdenet city, located 400 km away from the capital Ulan Bator, expressed thanks to the foundation officials.

Turkish-Australian businessmen blocked from G-20 summit

Australian businessmen of Turkish descent who are affiliated with the faith-based Hizmet movement have been removed from the guest list of the upcoming G-20 summit, according to undisclosed sources.

Gülen says never considered establishing political party

Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has reiterated that he has never thought of establishing a political party, saying that the Hizmet movement has never had organic relations with a political group.

Gandhi’s granddaughter heaps praise on Hizmet Movement

Speaking at the Turkuaz Harmony Institute dinner in South Africa, Ela Gandhi expressed high praise for the Hizmet Movement for achieving success beyond its wildest dreams.

19,000 students take entrance exam for Afghan-Turkish schools

In the exam, held in six provinces of Afghanistan, 19,000 students have competed to be amongst the 782 who will get their education from an Afghan-Turkish school.

’Hizmet-PKK collaboration’ rhetoric like the one created by Ergenekon

The pro-government media outlets have recently been churning out news stories that are geared to create the image that the Hizmet movement is collaborating with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

New memorandum: Cooperation between Hizmet movement and PKK?

Bülent Korucu

Frankly speaking, when I heard the most recent move to finish off the Hizmet movement, it did not sound convincing. I posted messages on social media that the government would not dare sacrificing the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), if not the Hizmet movement. But when I saw consecutive statements by Deputy Prime Minister Yalçın Akdoğan critical of the PKK, my mind was changed. If the government's partnership with the PKK ended, the political administration would be killing two birds with one stone. And they have the templates for doing this. It is possible to think that the mentality of the government would not miss this opportunity to copy the practices of the Feb. 28 "memorandum." If the reports are true, it is possible to speak of some preliminary efforts to launch a similar operation. If this is the case, it is useful to remember the memorandum process.

Bank Asya says running healthily, capital structure strong

Leading Turkish Islamic lender Bank Asya's operations are continuing "healthily" and its capital adequacy ratio stands at 18.32 percent, above the market average, the bank said in a statement on Tuesday.

Syrian refugees affected by AK Party government's actions against Kimse Yok Mu

Turkish charity Kimse Yok Mu provided assistance to the Syrian refugees in Turkey amounting to TL 71 million which includes education, household needs food, clothing, health and cleaning agents, local aid director Davut Koçak told Sunday's Zaman.

A true Anatolian marvel

Şahin Alpay

My column in the Turkish-language Zaman daily turned 12 last week. The first column, published on Nov. 5, 2002 with the title “A victory for democracy,” celebrated the first election victory of the Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Imam Sytari praises Fethullah Gulen as a global thinker

Mufti of Shkodra Muhamed Sytari has been the guest of yesterday's "Bugajski Hour" in Albanian Screen where he made strong statements about various current issues.

The gravest-ever smear

Ekrem Dumanlı

The erstwhile political Islamists -- who would frequently utter the slogan "Every day is Ashura and everywhere is Karbala," referring to the tragic incident in Islamic history when the Prophet Muhammad's grandsons, Hasan and Husain, as well as those who accompanied them, were ambushed and slaughtered near Karbala in Iraq -- apparently stick today to the formula "Every day is a lie and everywhere is a smear."