What are the basic principles of the Gülen Movement?
Prof. Doğu Ergil The answer to this question cannot be separated from the fact that Fethullah Gülen is a man of religion. Gülen has committed his life to understanding the principles of religion,...
View ArticleEducation as a political tool
Tuğba Aydın For two weeks, the whole country has been engaged in a debate surrounding the planned closure of prep schools -- the majority of which are owned by the Hizmet movement, inspired by Islamic...
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Old habits die hard in Turkey
Abdullah Bozkurt One of the major criticisms directed towards the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government is its persistent avoidance of institutional changes to deeply entrench the...
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The AKP, Gülen and Feb. 28 coup
İhsan Yılmaz The Taraf daily uncovered a secret national security document which revealed that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government in 2004 signed on to a planned crackdown on the Hizmet...
View ArticleTip of the iceberg
Beril Dedeoğlu A significant allegation is circulating. Some people claim that the government wants to close prep schools because of a secret deal with the Kurds. They probably suggest that the Kurds...
View ArticleKoç-defender Boydak's firm target of gov't audits
Central Anatolian conglomerate Boydak Holding, a firm whose vice chairman of the board criticized the government over a raid on another company over the summer, is now facing a round of tax audits of...
View ArticleKCK, Gülen, AKP: shifting alliances?
Mustafa Gürbüz Regarding the heated prep school debate, Justice and Development Party (AKP) Ardahan Deputy Orhan Atalay explicitly spelled out the AKP- Gülen tension: “Just as the KCK [the Kurdistan...
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Pacifica Institute San Diego holds its Dialogue and Friendship Dinner
Pacifica Institute’s San Diego chapter held its 9th Annual Dialogue and Friendship Dinner at Marriott Hotel, La Jolla. The gathering saw the attendance of some 170 guests including academics,...
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Prep school wars
Sevgi Akarçeşme For over two weeks, since the Zaman daily unveiled the government's draft legislation to close privately owned prep schools, Turkey has been discussing this one issue. That is a big...
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Did Erdoğan say ‘shut up' to Gen. Eruygur?
Emre Uslu Liberal daily Taraf has published yet another document showing that the government, back in 2004, signed an agreement with the generals to fight the Gülen movement. The document outlined that...
View ArticleWhen paths part...
Orhan Miroğlu The Hizmet movement and the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) have arrived at a critical junction in the road. The main problems that have emerged on the route towards this...
View ArticleSpeaking Turco-tweetish more fluently
Arzu Kaya Uranlı As you might remember, last week I mentioned that according to research company eMarketer, Turkey has the highest Twitter penetration in the world. While Turkey's Internet population...
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Gülen ‘speechless’ on gov’t action plan against Hizmet movement
Islamic Scholar Fethullah Gülen has described himself as “speechless” and expressed his disappointment about a National Security Council (MGK) decision in 2004 signed by the government and recommending...
View ArticleTurkish-American communities host Thanksgiving events
Turkish-Americans across the US organized various activities to mark Thanksgiving Day over the past week. With the participation of numerous locals, each occasion brought together peoples of diverse...
View ArticleSocial media being used as launch pad to attack some in Turkey
Social media, which provides a platform to allow people to express their views freely, has been more like a venue of polarization and defamation campaigns in Turkey over the past days, causing the...
View ArticleTUSKON attracts 1,500 businessmen from 130 countries
The 19th Turkey-World Trade Bridge 2013 event organized by the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) was held in İstanbul last week, where some 1,500 businessmen from 130...
View ArticleCHP asks gov't about audits of Tüpraş, Boydak
Republican People's Party (CHP) Deputy Chairman Umut Oran has submitted a parliamentary question on whether prep schools and companies, including media outlets affiliated with the Hizmet movement, will...
View ArticleWhat is the problem between the AK Party and Hizmet?
İhsan Dağı The state in Turkey remains the central agent capable of and willing to suppress social and economic actors. In the absence of checks and balances within the system, that results in the...
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Report claims government categorized schools linked to Hizmet
The Turkish government classified, categorized and monitored a number of educational institutions in some way linked to Hizmet, a faith-based movement inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah...
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Education quagmire
Tuğba Aydın Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, who inspired the Hizmet movement, commented on a National Security Council (MGK) document in 2004 that recommended an action plan against the Hizmet...
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