March 3, 2014

Erdoğan's hate speech, slanders and insults graver every day

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who claims that the Hizmet movement is responsible for the Dec. 17 corruption probe, is ratcheting up his hateful rhetoric practically every day, attacking both Fethullah Gülen and the Hizmet movement alike.

When lawlessness becomes a way of life

Lale Kemal

The Turkish judiciary had long been kept under the control of the military-led establishment as a means of maintaining the status quo and thereby silencing those groups or citizens who expressed their dissatisfaction with the then-existing order.

What is happening in Turkey?

Alper Yılmaz Dede

Turkish politics is like a witch's cauldron these days.

PM Erdoğan allegedly interferes in election at Fenerbahçe

A voice recording leaked on YouTube has revealed that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had allegedly attempted to get a candidate close to him elected as chairman of the Fenerbahçe sports club, instructing his son, Bilal, on how to prep his favored candidate with talking points.

Did you say extradition?

Ali Halit Aslan

The harshest explicit criticisms against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's government's latest efforts to undermine democracy and the judiciary have been voiced by the US Department of State in its annual human rights report issued on Feb. 27, 2014. The Obama administration described the developments following a Dec. 17, 2013 anti-corruption operation in Turkey as a "scandal." The Erdoğan government, which makes a new scandalous action every day, has so far effectively taken over the judiciary thanks to new legislation, freed all suspects of the corruption investigation from jail and is about the lose its legitimacy and credibility in the international arena. It's gradually becoming a burden on the shoulders of Turkey and even undermining national security.

Ministry allegedly profiled students of dershanes close to Hizmet

The Ministry of Education profiled students and teachers of dershanes and schools that are close to the faith-based Hizmet movement inspired by Turkish scholar Fethullah Gülen through a questionnaire distributed by education inspectors to those institutions in 2012, according to recently revealed petitions by students and parents to the ministry.

Is the Hizmet movement statist or populist?

Hüseyin Gündoğdu

Two main theories have been made to analyze Turkish politics since the '60s. The first one is the theory of class conflict employed mostly by the leftist or socialist intellectuals and the second one is the center-periphery thesis argued largely by the liberal circles.

A new Turkish school inaugurated in Nigeria

Hizmet volunteers, who set out on a nonstop journey of service, carry forward their initiatives around the world. They recently established yet another school in Nigeria’s Kano state.

In controversial move, Parliament votes to shut down prep schools

The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government's controversial proposal to ban privately owned preparatory schools was put to a vote and passed by Parliament late on Friday night in a session that 90 deputies from the ruling party did not attend.

‘First, account for the shirt you are wearing'

Ekrem Dumanlı

This is a story about the righteous Caliph Omar. He is addressing the people in a sermon: “Hear me out and obey me.” An ordinary man in the crowd responds to the head of state: “We will neither hear you out nor obey you.” Silence in the mosque: They probably expect the caliph to strongly reprimand the critic. But, instead of scolding, Omar asks why.