Erdoğan's rhetoric and reality
Abdullah Bozkurt One of the main problems that Turkish and foreign interlocutors of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan complain of is that he employs fiery rhetoric, with a special emphasis on...
View ArticleTurkey's Tea Party
Mümtazer Türköne Some civil society organizations known for their religious tendencies expressed full support for the government in newspaper ads titled, “They thought it would last 1,000 years.” The...
View ArticleGülen's explanation
Nazlı Ilıcak, Sabah Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has attempted to soften the situation.“No one has any goal of conflicting with the government. The people who want to appear as such are instigators...
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Selam actress sponsors orphanage in Sudan
Actress Burcin Abdullah, starring as Zehra in the movie Selam -based on true stories of teachers at Turkish schools abroad- sponsored an orphanage in Khartoum, Sudan. In the grand opening, attended by...
View ArticleMiddle East's struggle for democracy: Going beyond headlines
Alp Aslandoğan* The ongoing struggle in the Middle East is not between the so-called Islamists and secularists. It's not pro-Morsi vs. pro-military in Egypt, or even Assad vs. opposition in Syria. The...
View ArticleTHY chief slams official's offensive tweet about Gülen
Chairman of Turkey's flagship carrier Turkish Airlines (THY) Hamdi Topçu has criticized an offensive tweet about Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, saying that “necessary steps will be taken.”...
View ArticlePost-Kemalist but still illiberal Turkey
İhsan Dağı Many, including myself, expected that the defeat of Kemalism by a broad coalition of liberals, democrats and conservatives under the political leadership of the Justice and Development Party...
View ArticleWelcome to the Republic of Paranoia
Emre Uslu Since conflicting with the secularist segments of society in the Gezi Park events, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has taken on a paranoid mentality that tends to relate...
View ArticleThe state, AKP, Religious Affairs Directorate, Alevis and rights
Bülent Keneş The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) claimed it would minimize the space the state occupies in people's lives and reduce bureaucracy and downsize the public sector when it was...
View ArticleWhat do Alevis want?
Sevgi Akarçeşme Greeks, Jews and Armenians are considered the only religious minorities in Turkey. However, Alevis have been traditionally considering themselves a minority because their interpretation...
View ArticleAlevis voice unease over lack of promised rights
Alevis have expressed their uneasiness over pro-government comments claiming that the Gezi Park protests were an “Alevi uprising,” warning against a “dangerous approach that encourages wrong...
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Alevis demand equal citizenship, disappointed with the state
At the end of the three-day Abant Platform meeting on Alevi relations with Sunnis, one of the fragile fault lines of Turkish politics, Alevis raised their voices higher, demanding equal citizenship...
View ArticleSo you said ‘tutelage'?
Ekrem Dumanlı Yawning is contagious. If a person starts to yawn at a public gathering, even the most vigilant may fall victim to dozing off in a daydream. Collective yawning sessions are even more...
View ArticleYamanlar students sweep AMC 8
Izmir’s Yamanlar Schools won 18 golden, 25 silver and 17 bronze medals at the recently held 60th Annual International AMC 8 contest, jointly held by Mathematical Association of America (MAA) and...
View ArticleTurkish volunteers staying months to help survivors
TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines—Fourteen thousand miles and 16 hours. The distance was endured by a group of Turkish people who wanted to help ease the sufferings of the people of this city ravaged by...
View ArticleAlevis and Sunnis: the only way out
Cafer Solgun The 30th meeting of the Abant Platform brought to the agenda one of the colossal and thought-provoking issues in our country. A number of academics, journalists, writers and civil society...
View ArticleAlevism: Where is it headed? What does it want?
Hasan Kanbolat The 30th meeting of the Abant Platform, at which the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) now makes a traditional appearance, took place between Dec. 13-15 under the general title...
View ArticleEU reforms for Alevi demands
Oğuzhan Tekin The Abant Platform, part of the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV), gathered over 160 people, including scholars, journalists, leaders of Alevi civil society organizations and...
View ArticleSeeking for peaceful coexistence: Abant Platform
Begüm Burak Since Friday, distinguished writers, journalists and academics having different ideological orientations and religious beliefs have been in Abant in order to seek the methods and policies...
View ArticleErdoğan's propagandist think tanks
Abdullah Bozkurt Powerful Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's definition of democracy, which is limited to the ballot box, resembles marriage vows in which couples are asked to speak up or...
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