Light Academy schools groom global citizens

Where many schools focus on education and the passing of exams, Light Academy schools opted for a different route: bringing up morally upright students besides giving them an education.

Nigerian Turkish Foundation donates educational materials to Lagos schools

Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye has restated the need for individuals and private organizations to partner with the State government in order to raise the standard of education in the State.

Dozens of US Congress members urge Kerry to press Turkey for freer media

A large number of members of the US Congress have voiced concerns on the recent arrest of media members in Turkey and called on Secretary of State John Kerry to press the Turkish government to secure press freedom in the country. [see PDF file]

Why Are Turks Putting Money Into a Bank the President Said Is Bust?

The typical image of a bank under duress is a long line of customers trying to get their money back. In Turkey this week, it was a queue of people trying to put it in.

Bank Asya: Another Victim of Erdogan's Wrath

Mahir Zeynalov

In an unprecedented display of solidarity to bail out a bank that has been a target of a relentless campaign waged by the Turkish authorities for over a year, Turkish depositors flooded the branches of the bank across Turkey to save it from the president's wrath.

History of politically motivated assault on Bank Asya

The politically motivated operation aimed at taking over Bank Asya is one that has unfolded step by step, marked by public statements from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as well as other top Justice and Development Party (AK Party) officials.

Bank Asya seeks immediate return of ‘hijacked’ management rights

Turkey's largest Islamic lender, Bank Asya, is demanding that the state-run Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) return the bank's rights to control its management following strong indications that the fund's decision on Tuesday to take over control of the lender's board has no legal basis and is politically motivated.

Bank Asya operation’s economic and legal sanctions

Günal Kurşun

The Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) has taken over management control of 63 percent of the privileged shares in Bank Asya, Turkey's biggest Islamic lender, as part of a government-operated crackdown on institutions affiliated with the Hizmet movement. Last Tuesday, the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) ordered the TMSF to take control of 63 percent of the bank's stocks and appointed a new board of directors. The banking watchdog claimed that the bank "violated the condition that it should maintain transparency with an open partnership structure and organizational scheme.”

Fethullah Gülen on Islam, democracy and freedom of speech

Paul Moses

Publishing a book in 2009 about Francis of Assisi's peaceful encounter with Egypt's Sultan Malik al-Kamil during the Fifth Crusade led me to meet a lot of people with an interest in improving interreligious relations. Among them were a number of Turkish immigrants who are followers of the Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen. I observed that through a network of private schools, foundations and media organizations, they have worked very hard to improve Muslim-Christian relations.

Twitter whistleblower says Bank Asya operation legally flawed

The appointment of executives from the state savings fund to Islamic lender Bank Asya is unlawful because it is based on a legal article that does not actually sanction such a drastic measure, according to a whistleblower known for making accurate predictions of government steps via a Twitter account.

Former BDDK president: Crackdown on Bank Asya threatens liberal economy

Tuesday's decision to take control of Islamic lender Bank Asya has been harshly criticized by Zekeriya Temizel, a former finance minister and the first president of the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK), saying publicly traded companies should not be used in quarrels between individuals and politicians in liberal economies.

CHP leader on Bank Asya: No person’s life or property safe in Turkey

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has harshly criticized the government over the takeover of the management of Bank Asya by Turkey's state-run Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF), widely described as a politically motivated move designed to intimidate, saying that no person's life or property is safe in Turkey.

Veteran journalists: No convincing reason for takeover of Bank Asya offered

Prominent economic columnists argued that the takeover of major lender Bank Asya by the state's banking watchdog lacks legal grounds, saying the justification provided for the move is weak and unconvincing.

Taking over the management of Bank Asya may be just the beginning

Orhan Kemal Cengiz

There is a horrifying simplicity behind the takeover of the management of Bank Asya by Turkey's state-run Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF). They asked the owners of Bank Asya to produce documents demonstrating, for example, that none of them had ever declared bankruptcy. As far as I understand, for various reasons such as being out of the country or something like that, some of them did not deliver these documents to the TMSF. With this as a pretext, they took over management of the bank overnight, saying that the management of the bank is not transparent.

'Intervention in bank leaked for market speculation'

A media outlet has reported that the decision by the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) to take control of the board of Bank Asya, Turkey's biggest Islamic lender, was leaked to stock exchange players ahead of time.

Seeing oneself as ‘the nation’

Cafer Solgun

Turkey is going through an extraordinary period. The responsibility for this extraordinary period lies with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which is finding it increasingly hard to put up with him. The outcome concerns us all, of course.