/* */

PDA

View Full Version : Turkey - A Muslim Nation



islamirama
09-12-2016, 02:45 PM
How Atatürk Made Turkey Secular

The evolution of Turkey in the early 1900s is one of the most baffling cultural and social changes in Islamic history. In a few short years, the Ottoman Empire was brought down from within, stripped of its Islamic history, and devolved into a new secular nation known as Turkey. The consequences of this change are still being felt today throughout the Muslim world, and especially in a very polarized and ideologically segmented Turkey.

What caused this monumental change in Turkish government and society? At the center of it all is Mustafa Kemal, better known as Atatürk. Through his leadership in the 1920s and 1930s, modern secular Turkey was born, and Islam took a backseat in Turkish society.

The Rise of Atatürk

The decision of the Ottoman Empire to enter the First World War in 1914 turned out to be a horrible mistake. The empire was run by a dictatorship led by the “Three Pashas” who unilaterally entered the war on the German side, against the British, French, and Russians. The Ottoman Empire was invaded from the south by the British, from the East by the Russians, and by the Greeks in the West. By 1918 when the war ended, the empire was divided and occupied by the victorious allies, leaving only the central Anatolian highlands under native Turkish control.

It was in central Anatolia where Mustafa Kemal would rise to become a national hero for the Turks. As an Ottoman army officer, he displayed great leadership in battle, especially at Gallipoli, where the Ottomans managed to turn back a British invasion aimed at the capital, Istanbul. After the war, however, Kemal made clear what his priorities were. His main goal was the establishment of Turkish nationalism as the unifying force of the Turkish people. Unlike the multi-ethnic and diverse Ottoman Empire, Kemal aimed to create a monolithic state based on Turkish identity.

In Mustafa Kemal’s own words, he describes the importance of Turkish identity and the insignificance of Islam as he sees it:

“Even before accepting the religion of the Arabs [Islam], the Turks were a great nation. After accepting the religion of the Arabs, this religion, didn’t effect to combine the Arabs, the Persians and Egyptians with the Turks to constitute a nation. (This religion) rather, loosened the national nexus of Turkish nation, got national excitement numb. This was very natural. Because the purpose of the religion founded by Muhammad, over all nations, was to drag to an including Arab national politics.” – Mustafa Kemal, Medenî Bilgiler

Mustafa Kemal’s skewed [and quite frankly, factually incorrect] views of Islamic history helped push his nationalist agenda. Using Turkish identity as a rallying point, he managed to unite former Ottoman officers under his command in the Turkish War of Independence in the early 1920s and expel the occupying forces of the Greeks, British, and French, who had encroached on Turkish land after WWI. By 1922, Kemal managed to completely free the Turks of foreign occupation and used the opportunity to establish the modern Republic of Turkey, led by the Grand National Assembly, the GNA, in Ankara. At the head of the new Turkish government was a president, elected by the GNA. The natural choice was Mustafa Kemal, the hero of the War of Independence, who now took on the title of “Atatürk”, meaning “Father of the Turks”.

Abolition of the Ottoman Sultanate and the Caliphate

At first, the new Turkish government seemed to inherit the role of the Ottoman government as the upholder of Islam. A new constitution drawn up by the GNA declared that Islam was the official state religion of Turkey and that all laws had to be vetted by a panel of Islamic law experts, to make sure they do not contradict the Shari’ah.

This new system of government could not work, however, so long as there continued to be a rival government in Istanbul, led by the Ottoman sultan. The Ankara and Istanbul governments both claimed sovereignty over Turkey, and had frankly conflicting goals. Atatürk eliminated this problem on November 1, 1922, when he abolished the Ottoman sultanate, which had existed since 1299, and officially transferred its power to the GNA. He did not immediately abolish the caliphate, however. Although the sultanate was no more, he allowed the Ottoman caliphate to continue to exist, although with no official powers, only as a symbolic figurehead.

Knowing that this move would be very unpopular among the Turkish people, Atatürk justified it by claiming he was simply going back to a traditional Islamic form of government. From the 900s to the 1500s, the Abbasid caliphs were mostly figureheads, with real power being in the hands of viziers or warlords. Atatürk used this example to justify his creation of a powerless caliphate.

The caliphate had existed since the days following the death of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, when Abu Bakr was elected as the first leader of the Muslim world. For Muslims outside of Turkey, Atatürk’s actions clearly put the office of the caliphate itself in danger. In India especially, Muslims expressed outrage at Atatürk’s actions and organized the Khilafat Movement, which sought to protect the caliphate from danger, whether by foreign invaders or the Turkish government itself.
For Atatürk, the expressions of support for the caliphate from Muslims outside Turkey were seen as interference in internal Turkish affairs. Citing this supposed international interference, on March 3rd, 1924, Atatürk and the Grand National Assembly abolished the caliphate itself and sent all remaining members of the Ottoman family into exile.

Attacks on Islam

With the caliphate out of the way, the Turkish government had more freedom to pursue policies that attacked Islamic institutions. Under the guise of “cleansing Islam of political interference”, the educational system was completely overhauled. Islamic education was banned in favor of secular, non-dogmatic schools. Other aspects of religious infrastructure were also torn down. The Shari’ah council to approve laws that the GNA had established just two years earlier was abolished. Religious endowments were seized and put under government control. Sufi lodges were forcefully shut down. All judges of Islamic law in the country were immediately fired, as all Shari’ah courts were closed.

Atatürk’s attacks on Islam were not limited to the government, however. Everyday life for Turks was also dictated by Atatürk’s secular ideas:


  • Traditional Islamic forms of headdress such as turbans and the fez were outlawed in favor of Western-style hats.
  • The hijaab for women was ridiculed as a “ridiculous object” and banned in public buildings.
  • The calendar was officially changed, from the traditional Islamic calendar, based on the hijrah – Prophet Muhammad ﷺ’s flight to Madinah – to the Gregorian calendar, based on the birth of Jesus Christ.
  • In 1932, the adhan – the Muslim call to prayer – was outlawed in Arabic. Instead, it was rewritten using Turkish words and forced upon the country’s thousands of mosques.
  • Friday was no longer considered part of the weekend. Instead, Turkey was forced to follow European norms of Saturday and Sunday being days off from work.


After all of these changes, the GNA gave up the charade in 1928 and deleted the clause in the constitution that declared Islam as the official state religion. Islam had been replaced with Atatürk’s secular ideologies.

Language Reform

Atatürk knew these secular reforms would be futile if the Turkish people could manage to rally together to oppose them. The biggest danger to this new order was the history of the Turks, which since the 900s had been intertwined with Islam. In order to distance the new generations of Turks from their past, Atatürk had to make the past unreadable to them.

With the excuse of increasing literacy among Turks (which was indeed very low in the 1920s), Atatürk advocated the replacement of Arabic letters with Latin letters. Much like Persian, Turkish was written in Arabic letters for hundreds of years after the conversion of the Turks to Islam in the 900s. Because Turkish was written in the Arabic script, Turks could read the Qur’an, and other Islamic texts with relative ease, connecting them to an Islamic identity – which Atatürk saw as a threat.

In addition to the introduction of the Latin letters, Atatürk created a commission charged with the replacement of Arabic and Persian loanwords in Turkish. In keeping with his nationalist agenda, Atatürk wanted a language that was purely Turkish, which meant old Turkish words, that had become obsolete during the Ottoman era, came back into use instead of Arabic words. For example, the Turkish War of Independence, formerly know as the Istiklal Harbi, is now known as Kurtuluş Savaşı, because “istiklal” and “harb” are Arabic loanwords in Turkish.

From Atatürk’s perspective, the language reform was wildly successful. Within a few decades, the old Ottoman Turkish was effectively extinct. The newer generations of Turks were completely cut off from the older generations, with whom simple conversations were difficult. With the Turkish people illiterate to their past, the Turkish government was able to feed them a version of history that they deemed acceptable, one that promoted the Turkish nationalistic ideas of Atatürk himself.

Secular Turkey

All of these reforms worked together to effectively erase Islam from the lives of the everyday Turks. Despite the best efforts of religious-minded Turks (such as Said Nursi) to preserve their heritage, language, and religion, the government’s pressure to adopt secular ideas was too much. For over 80 years, Turkish government remained vehemently secular. Attempts to bring back Islamic values into government have been met with resistance by the military, which views itself as the protector of Atatürk’s secularism.

In 1950, Adnan Menderes was democratically elected prime minister of Turkey on a platform of bringing back the Arabic adhan. Although he was successful, he was overthrown by a military coup in 1960 and executed after a hasty trial. More recently, in 1996, Necmettin Erbakan was elected prime minister, while remarkably openly declaring himself an “Islamist”. Once again, the military stepped in, and overthrew him from power after just one year in office.

Modern Turkey’s relations with Islam and its own history are complicated. Portions of the society strongly support Atatürk’s ideology and believe Islam should have no role in public life. Other segments of society envision a return to a more Islam-oriented society and government, and closer relations with the rest of the Muslim world. Most troubling, however, is that the ideological conflict between these two opposing sides shows no signs of subsiding anytime soon.

Bibliography:

Hiro, Dilip. Inside Central Asia: A Political and Cultural History of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Iran. 9. New York: Overlook Duckworth, 2011. Print.
Ochsenwald, William, and Sydney Fisher. The Middle East: A History. 6th. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003. Print.

http://lostislamichistory.com/how-at...urkey-secular/
Reply

Login/Register to hide ads. Scroll down for more posts
islamirama
09-12-2016, 02:51 PM
Turkey's opposition parties take unified stance against coup attempt




7.16.16

All parties in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) decried the coup attempt by a small clique of Gülenist-linked military commanders which took place late Friday, which was mostly quelled by troops loyal to the government, police units and millions of Turkish citizens taking to the streets in protest.

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) chairman Devlet Bahçeli made a telephone call to Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım on Friday and said the attempted coup is not acceptable.

According to a statement from the Prime Ministry, Bahçeli said his party is in solidarity with the Turkish Republic.

Later, in a written statement, Bahçeli said an attempt at suspending democracy and ignoring the national will is a big mistake against Turkey.


"The price Turkey will pay will be considerably high in the event of a civil war in Turkey. As Turkish people, we need to be distant to all kinds of interventions risking our national unity and integrity," he said.

In addition, Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, said early Saturday that the community should have a unified reaction to every coup attempt.

Speaking to Turkey's private news channel NTV, Kılıçdaroğlu took a stance against a military coup attempt.

"This country was wracked with coups. We do not want to go through the same troubles. We'll protect our republic and democracy; keep our commitment to the free will of our citizens."

"So, whoever does, wherever it comes, we should take a joint stance against the coup as we take a joint stance against terrorism," he added.

A minority group within the Turkish military took illegal action outside the chain of command in an attempted coup late Friday as warplanes and helicopters flew above the heart of the capital Ankara.

Droves of protesters took to the streets to demonstrate against the illegal coup attempt.

In a joint written statement, Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) co-chairs, Selehattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ, said no one replaces himself as the national will. "HDP takes a stance against every coup in every condition."

"There is no way beside protecting the democratic politics," it added

http://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2...t-coup-attempt


Comments: Morsi was a good president as well and would have done great for Egypt. When the sisi dictator did is coup, the Egyptian failed to support their elected president and now we are seeing the fruits of that failure with mass arrests, rape, murder, torture and oppression. Turkish people know what coup means and they have seen not only in their own country but Egypt and other places and don't want their country to end up in ruins. Not surprisingly, Israeli zionists were first to congratulate the rebels on their so called "victory" in their coup.


------------------------

Who is Fethullah Gulen, the man blamed for coup attempt in Turkey?




Was a plan to overthrow Turkey's government really hatched behind a gated compound in a small, leafy Pennsylvania town, or is that merely a smoke screen?

Who is this mysterious man in Pennsylvania?

Gulen has a loyal following -- known as Gulenists -- in Turkey, who all subscribe to the Hizmet movement.

Hizmet is a global initiative inspired by Gulen, who espouses what The New York Times has described as "a moderate, pro-Western brand of Sunni Islam that appeals to many well-educated and professional Turks."

Nongovernmental organizations founded by the Hizmet movement, including hundreds of secular co-ed schools, free tutoring centers, hospitals and relief agencies, are credited with addressing many of Turkey's social problems. The preacher and his movement also spawned a global network of schools and universities that operate in more than 100 countries. In the United States, this academic empire includes Harmony Public Schools, the largest charter school network in Texas. Within Turkey, volunteers in the Gulen movement also own TV stations, the largest-circulation newspaper, gold mines and at least one Turkish bank.

Gulen: A coup architect or a scapegoat?

As a wave of violence washed over Turkey on Friday night, leaving at least 161 people dead, Erdogan addressed his country, saying the coup had been quashed and demanding punishment for the man he deems responsible.

"I call on the United States and President Barack Obama. Dear Mr. President, I told you this before. Either arrest Fethullah Gulen or return him to Turkey. You didn't listen. I call on you again, after there was a coup attempt. Extradite this man in Pennsylvania to Turkey! If we are strategic partners or model partners, do what is necessary," Erdogan said.

In a statement, Gulen denied any connection to the coup attempt and even suggested the whole thing may have been staged.

Not the first coup accusation

The Turkish government also accused Gulen's supporters of spearheading an unsuccessful coup attempt in Turkey in January 2014.

Erdogan, a religious conservative, has compared Gulen and his supporters to a virus and a medieval cult of assassins. In an interview with CNN at the time, a top official from Erdogan's ruling AKP party called the Gulen movement a "fifth column" that had infiltrated the Turkish police force and judiciary.

"We are confronted by a structure that doesn't take orders from within the chain of command of the state," parliament member and deputy AKP chairman Mahir Unal told CNN. "Rather, it takes orders from outside the state."During the 2014 skirmish, in a rare email interview published in The Wall Street Journal, Gulen denied any involvement in a political conspiracy."We will never be a part of any plot against those who are governing our country," he wrote.


http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/16/middle...ile/index.html


However, critics believe the movement's aim is to gain power, to spread socially conservative Islamic attitudes on issues like marriage and alcohol around the globe, and to suppress any opposition.

Infiltrators?

Opponents of the movement point to a video which surfaced in 1999, in which Mr Gulen seemed to tell his followers that they should deliberately attempt to infiltrate mainstream structures:

"You must move within the arteries of the system, without anyone noticing your existence, until you reach all the power centres.

"You must wait until such time as you have got all the state power, until you have brought to your side all the power of the constitutional institution in Turkey."

The following year, Mr Gulen faced charges of trying to undermine Turkey's secular state. He left for the US, saying the recording had been tampered with. He was later cleared in absentia of all charges.

Several of Hizmet's most prominent critics have been jailed in Turkey, sparking claims that it has become a sinister controlling force in its native land.

A police chief who wrote a book on Gulen's influence on the police and judiciary was jailed, as were two Turkish investigative journalists.

One of the journalists, Ahmet Sik, shouted during his arrest: "Whoever touches them burns!"

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-13503361


Comments: All the western media is portraying him as some kind of a "Ghandi" who wants to live in the "service" of others and tells his followers to do the same. And that he wanted to spread Islamically conservative values to the society. So why are his loyalist attempting coup and why are they infiltrating all facets of life and insituitions to be in the position of power? I can't say much about what kind of a man he is but apparently trying to destablize a country with a coup and bring it to civil war or having majority of the Turkish people coming out against his coup to stop it doesn't paint him in a very "islamically" conservative or "preacher" type category, but like another puppet out to destroy another Muslim nation.
Reply

islamirama
09-12-2016, 02:52 PM
Erdogan’s Supporters Use Social Media To Counter Turkish Coup

7.16.16

The Army shut down State TV so Erdogan supporters went online to muster opposition

After a military coup to oust Turkish President Recip Tayyep Erdogan, members of his ruling Islamist AKP party aggressively used social media to muster opposition on the streets.


Shortly after Erdogan gave a surreal television interview via FaceTime, the army shut down the state television broadcaster. Almost immediately, AKP members of parliament and their supporters launched an online campaign against the Turkish coup aimed at trying to get masses of pro Erdogan demonstrators to “take the country back” from the army.


AKP officials across the country called upon Erdogan supporters to flock to the streets, using the hashtags #DardeyeHayir (#nocoup) and #ErdoğanınAskerleriyiz (#Erdoğanwarriors).


Hours after the news broke, there were already more than 100,000 tweets using these hashtags. Many of the tweets included images and videos showing protestors facing down tanks, with texts inviting soldiers to surrender to local police.




Translation: Our will is our honor—we won’t concede it to the parallel state.
Demokrasi ve Türkiye'nin Geleceği İçin #ErdoğanınAskerleriyiz pic.twitter.com/zuBGXQCRCD
— AK Parti Gönüllüleri (@AKMilyonlariz) July 15, 2016
Translation: For the future of democracy and of Turkey #Erdoğanwarriors
Kimse darbeye kalkismasin.
#ErdoğanınAskerleriyiz
— Ak Hesaplar Gündem (@AkPartiHesap) July 15, 2016
Translation: No one can oust us #Erdoğanwarriors


http://www.vocativ.com/341490/erdoga...-turkish-coup/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Erdogan Praised Across Region As Turkey Coup Falters
7.16.16

"Assad has used tanks against his people, Erdogan used his people against the tanks"




Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is cracking down on rebels who attempted an overnight coup, arresting dozens and sending others fleeing by helicopter into exile in nearby Greece.


The strongman’s refusal to yield in the face of the opposition taking over key institutions including the state media building and parliament has earned him the rapid admiration of Sunni Arabs across the Middle East.


In the several hours since Erdogan began reasserting his control, Vocativ found 100,000 users tweeting under the Arabic hashtag #SayAWordToErdogan (#قول_كلمه_لاردوغان), trending across the Middle East. The biggest show of support appeared to come from Syrian rebels, who have long been supported by the Turkish leader in their fight to oust their leader, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Users in predominantly Sunni Arab countries including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries also tweeted their support, in their thousands. In the war in Syria, those countries have largely supported Sunni militia groups fighting Assad, who belongs to a particular strand of Shia Islam, and has counted on the assistance of Shiite regimes in Iraq and Iran to survive for as long as he has.


“Bashar al-Assad used the tanks against his people, while Erdogan used his people against the tanks”, tweeted an account affiliated with the Syrian rebels, referring to Erdogan’s call early Saturday morning to the public to demonstrate against the coup. A user from Dubai wrote “God bless you, all Arabs are so proud of you. You are an example of good governance.” One from Kuwait tweeted: “I am proud of you Erdogan, be as you are, a Muslim strong and resolute.” “God will save you, you are a hero and your people are great. The love of your people saved you from the traitors,” wrote another. Many shared images of Erdogan holding the Islamic holy book, the Quran, saying, “God is protecting whoever is protecting the Quran, the Sunnah and its Prophet.”


Erdogan and his government also received support from the Twitter account of Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, considered the most influential living Islamic scholar and a supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood. In a series of tweets, Qaradawi said “we are with the right and liberty and the democratic regime, against the coup because we are against tyranny, backwardness, corruption and military regime. Greetings to the Turkish people, its government and President. The will of the Turkish people has won today.”

#قول_كلمه_لاردوغان
بطل
وفي
احب شعبه فاحبوه pic.twitter.com/AX1MPcgcZ5
— (أبومازن ) (@fares_abumazen) July 16, 2016
Translation: A hero who loves his people, and they love him.



http://twitter.com/A93b_fra8/status/754233391545982976


The dog Bashar al-Assad confronted his people with tanks, and Erdogan confronted the tanks with his people. The history will acknowledge a hero like Erdogan


Turkish is a bravo nation. Other Muslim Countries should learn how to protect democracy and their mandate. #قول_كلمه_لاردوغان

— Abaidullah Aslam (@Abaidulah_Aslam) July 16, 2016
http://twitter.com/2fMBaqGKAnUHDBU/s...41165256450048


It’s a marked difference to the earlier reports of the coup having some success in Turkey. Anti-Erdogan users affiliated with Shiite militias including Hezbollah gloated at his purported demise, saying “Assad has won, the beast Erdogan has been defeated.”


“I am a Muslim and sure that Allah will take revenge against Erdogan, sooner or later,” wrote one user.

Another one shared the image of Alan Kurdi, the toddler who drowned in the Mediterranean, saying “this boy and thousands of others come under your responsibility on the day of judgement. God will never forgive people who are unjust like that.”


http://www.vocativ.com/341592/erdoga...-coup-falters/
Reply

islamirama
09-12-2016, 02:53 PM
The Muslims of Turkey: An Inspiration to All


Bismillah wal-Hamdu lilla wal-Salatu wal-Salamu ‘ala Rasulillah

“Allah sent back those who disbelieved in their rage without their achieving any good at all. Allah saved the believers from having to fight. Allah is Most Strong, Almighty.”[1]

In light of the Turkish coup event on the 15th of July, 2016, we will not be following the normal political custom of starting with political analysis but, rather, we begin by thanking Allah, the Most High, and praising Him that he caused this coup attempt to turn on its head after it could have attained the same success as the disastrous coup against the government and people of Egypt.

Today we remind ourselves that Allah is the All Just. Allah is above all, and never lets down those who are sincere in upholding true Islamic values. Allah did not let down Erdogan and his party, nor the people who elected him knowing that he is the most astute, competent and suitable person to lead Turkey in the right direction. In the last election, his party secured a landslide 49.4% of the vote, never losing since it was formed. Whilst Erdogan, as an individual, gained 52% of the vote in 2014[2] as a result of his concurrent achievements for the local people and the Muslim world in general. An authority, not authoritarian, authorised by the vast majority of Turkey.


Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, in response to this morning’s news and in reference to President Erdogan, reminded us of when Khadijah (radiy-Allahu ‘anha) comforted the Prophet (sala Allahu ‘alayhi wasalam) following the first Wahy saying:

“By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you. You keep good relations with your kith and kin, help the poor and the destitute, serve your guests generously and assist the deserving calamity-afflicted ones.”[3]

The Turkish government did the same for its citizens, saving them from the murky and impoverished, morally and economically bankrupt era of Ataturk, and likewise aided the Syrians by accommodating nearly three million in humanitarian conditions which are the best best available Syrian refugee camps in the world. This is not to mention its immeasurable service to Africa and the Muslim world. Note, it is only following the coup attempt that the world feared for the fate of these needy people![4]



The Prophet (sala Allahu ‘alayhi wasalam) further said:

“…Allah helps His slave as long as he helps his brother.”[5] And he (sala Allahu ‘alayhi wasalam) says: “recognise and acknowledge Allah in times of ease and prosperity, and He will remember you in times of adversity.”[6]

Erdogan and his government knew the Syrians and many others in times of ease, and thus Allah, All-Mighty, in turn supported him in the most dire of tests and the most difficult times, and did not allow him to be overcome by the plotted schemes of his adversaries and the evil schemers.

People and the social media went wild following the events in Turkey, full of passion and emotion over what was happening. Thousands upon thousands of messages enticing one another to make Du’aa for Turkey, others of denunciation and solidarity with the legitimate government, others encouraging people to descend to the streets. Huge, momentous support by all segments of the Ummah which acted as one body and force.

Dr. Salman al Oudeh tweeted: “‘So the last remnant of the people who did wrong was cut off. Praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds!’[7] How fast is the relief of Allah?! And how fast is the showing of desperation of His slaves (Qunut)?!”

Without doubt, this is a positive sign that the Ummah is wide awake and wants to help those sincere in helping the Ummah and those sincere in following the religion as much as they can. We need to acknowledge the significance of people collectively supporting sincere leaders by distinguishing them from the crooks, and distinguishing Erdogan as being of one of the former category. All of this happened despite the criticisms levelled at him and his government by so many mouthpieces with vested interests. The collective commendation of the Ummah to a person carries so much significance to the extent that the Prophet (sala Allahu ‘alayhi wasalam) said:

“The angels are the witnesses of Allah in heaven, and you are the witnesses of Allah on Earth.”[8]

This further actualises the Ayah:

“If Allah helps you, no one can vanquish you. If He forsakes you, who can help you after that? So the believers should put their trust in Allah.”[9]

What happened shows starkly that real power and change, after the power of Allah and change Allah decrees, lies with people, not the military or any other group. We saw how the people instinctively and immediately took to the streets, so willing to sacrifice their souls and efforts to save the face of Turkey, following a single Facetime call by the much loved President Erdogan, encouraging people to occupy the streets. Pictures appeared of men grabbing tanks with their hands, hurling at them whatever they could, hitting them with sticks and confronting swarms of gunfire with their bare chests. All for their confidence in the sincerity of their leadership, a fact that cannot be distorted by any gloating outsider.

All the while the BBC and other local mouthpieces warped pictures as clear as daylight, ‘experts’ on the BBC claimed that this is a situation of an ‘ousted dictator’ who cannot get back into the country, just like any other ousted ‘dictator’. Glorification of the coup was clear by publically funded outlets like the BBC that speak loudly about their loathing of democracy that results in ‘Muslim governments’. A BBC radio presenter outrageously mentioned to a commentator: “there is a suggestion that Erdogan may have staged this coup to strengthen his grip on the country.” Can you imagine any media outlet repeating such conspiracies about terrorist attacks on a western targets?

Videos showed that the people of Turkey, despite what is said about their humble levels of religiosity, came out to prove otherwise, shouting ‘Bismillah‘, ‘Allahu Akbar‘, relying on Allah and raising their voices with Takbeer.[10] Social media reported how the Adhan resonated from Masaajid around Turkey, despite it not being a time of prayer time upon orders from the Minister of Religious Affairs, Mehmet Gormez. It was a way of seeking assistance from Allah. People, in times of calamity return to Allah, admitting that there is no help for them save Allah:

“Victory comes from no one but Allah. Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.”[11]

What happened and the response of people ascertains the Islamic identity of Turkey beyond the spiel of any spectator and in contradiction to the defamation spurted by local media, that Turkey is ‘divided’, or that people are fed up with ‘conservative Islam’ and want a ‘liberal’, ‘secular’ democracy and other such nonsense. The Turkish government’s voter mandate of more than 22 million votes trounces that of ‘Brexit’ (17.4 million)[12] and crushes that of the Conservative party altogether (11 million), and obviously the appointment of Theresa May; not even a single democratic vote.

This coup exposed the hypocrites in both the West and across the Muslim world. Media outlets in some Muslim countries showed a huge degree of satisfaction at the coup, then exposed their depression when the coup failed. It has uncovered real faces, and will help Turkey clear up the army, and create a deterrent to any future coup in sha Allah.[13]

“If something good happens to you, it galls them. If something bad strikes you, they rejoice at it.”[14]

Look at the stark difference between Erdogan and his rivals who wished to overturn his leadership. Erdogan’s rivals found no way for the people to be governed under a so-called ‘liberal’, irreligious and secular system but to force it down their throats with military force. They impose a military against the people strategy. Erdogan, on the other hand was defended by the people against the military and this is the true mark of a leader, the one who influences the people and not the tanks.

Although Turkey’s leadership used the approach of democracy to ascend into power, winning one democratic election after another since 2002, it must be understood that ‘leadership’ in general is nothing but a contract between the leader and the people. If the people select a person or party to be their leader, they essentially endorse a contract between themselves and their leadership. Thus it becomes that anyone who breaks this contract has committed an act of impermissible exiting against the Islamically authorised leadership (Khuruj) or the grave sin of wanting to nullify this binding contract which has been ratified by the vast majority of the people. Though it came about through elective ‘democracy’, it is still a religiously binding ‘Shar’ee‘ matter that has such weight.

The Prophet (sala Allahu ‘alayhi wasalam) further said:

“Reconciliation is allowed among the Muslims, except for reconciliation that makes the lawful unlawful, or the unlawful lawful. And the Muslims will be held to their conditions, except the conditions that make the lawful unlawful, or the unlawful lawful.”[15]

Meaning the conditions that they ratify as binding for themselves including how they collectively choose to elect their leader.


A Call for our Sufi Friends

In the events and in their run-up, we noticed that some individuals affiliated to Sufi groups either supported the coup or encouraged their followers to stay silent, and thus refrain from supporting either side.

We do not know the Islamic legal (Shar’ee) basis for these positions. The key question is, what is their problem with Erdogan? Erdogan is not a so called ‘Wahabi’ or anti-Sufi, but rather such sentiment shows that the issue is not that of Wahabism or Sufism at all. In fact it shows that many of these groups are simply enacting the will of the global US-inspired effort to quell any Muslim leader who stands for the rights of Muslims and in opposition to western hegemony, like President Mohammad Morsi for instance. It is far from being an ‘Aqidah-related issue but, rather, what is consistent is that those against western hegemony are always condemned and labelled ‘Wahabi’, even if they do not fall into this categorisation at all.

We would like to see clear statements from the Sufi leaders of the world condemning those who supported this coup attempt including something to the effect that they will never stand or side with them. Furthermore, we request that they clarify that they will not stand or side with Western, anti-Islamic hegemony that has overruled past achievements by Muslim governments in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Iraq, Palestine, Algeria and, most recently, their attempts on Turkey, irrespective of the ‘Aqidah proclaimed by those the hegemony is occurring against.

Finally, we must make Du’a that Allah protects the Muslim Ummah, President Erdogan and its people and the Turkish state from the evil-doers and the enemies of Islam.

Those to whom hypocrites said, “Indeed, the people have gathered against you, so fear them.” But it [merely] increased them in faith, and they said, “Sufficient for us is Allah , and [He is] the best Disposer of affairs.” So they returned with favor from Allah and bounty, no harm having touched them. And they pursued the pleasure of Allah , and Allah is the possessor of great bounty.[16]

http://www.islam21c.com/politics/the...ration-to-all/
Reply

Welcome, Guest!
Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.

When you create an account, you can participate in the discussions and share your thoughts. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and make new friends.
Sign Up
islamirama
09-12-2016, 03:02 PM
Fethullah Gülen: Islamic leader or western agent?



American Turkish student Aisha Mehmet profiles the mysterious Muslim leader who’s at the centre of a major power struggle at the heart of the Turkish political establishment.



The man some perceive as the architect of Turkey’s current political storm threatening to topple Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government lives 5,000 miles away in rural Pennsylvania.


Muhammed Fethullah Gülen, was born in a village near the eastern Turkish city of Erzurum and heads one of the world’s most influential and mysterious Islamic movements. Gülen’s movement has no roll of members, and those who acknowledge being followers of the imam normally refer to the organization as “Hizmet,” meaning “service.”


Drawn from the teachings of the reformist Sufi thinker Said Nursi, who died in 1960, Gülen’s followers advocate alliance with the West, interfaith dialogue, self-advancement – with a dash of Turkish nationalism – and emphasize the importance of education in the sciences. The Hizmet Movement is believed to have between three to six million followers worldwide, and runs a network of schools in more than 130 countries.


Gülen’s followers, are mostly clean-shaven, Western-educated, and English-speaking, and in Turkey Gülen’s schools are considered among the best: expensive modern facilities and English taught from the first grade.


In the United States, it runs one of the largest networks of secular charter schools with links to more than 100 schools. These public charter schools in what is unofficially known as the “Gülen network” are believed to be operated primarily by Turks who are in ( or connected with) the Hizmet movement. The schools, many of them with strong academic records, have different names with many of them geared toward emphasis on science, math and technology education.


US connection



In Turkey, the network not only controls some sections of the media, but also runs a business empire that includes the newspaper Zaman, which is the country’s highest-selling daily.


In 1999, Gülen fled to the US shortly before his scandalous speech, wherein he called on his supporters to “work patiently and to creep silently into the institutions in order to seize power in the state”, became public.


Turkish prosecutors demanded a ten-year sentence for Gülen for having “founded an organization that sought to destroy the secular apparatus of state and establish a theocratic state”. Gülen has not left the US since, and has lived in self-imposed exile on a secluded compound called the “Golden Generation Worship and Retreat Center” in rural Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania.


Though the 72-year old reclusive imam, writer and preacher, has criticized secularism in Turkey as “reductionist materialism,” he has diplomatically stated in the past that a secular approach that’s “not anti-religious” and “allows for freedom of religion and beliefs,” is fully compatible with Islam. Gülen supports Turkey’s bid to join the European Union (EU), and has stated that neither Turkey nor the EU have anything to lose, but rather have much to gain from the membership.


In May 2010, Gülen criticized activists on board the Turkish-led Gaza flotilla, the Mavi Marmara, who were trying to deliver medical and humanitarian aid to impoverished Palestinians without Israel’s consent. He said it was an “act of defiance against authority that would not lead to fruitful matters.”


The deadly confrontation had taken place in international waters, and was instigated by Israeli commandos, yet Gülen has to this day continued with his criticism stating that the organizers had failed to seek consensus with the apartheid state of Israel before attempting to deliver aid.


Erdogan face-off


In 1998, he was regarded by the ultra-secular establishment of Turkey as a dangerously subversive leader. Now, however, Gülen’s sympathizers in Turkey’s judiciary and police are behind a series of corruption investigations which are threatening to challenge Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.


Presently, the power struggle playing out within the Turkish government represents the breakdown of a decade-long alliance between Erdoğan’s conservative-rooted Justice and Development Party and the transnational movement devoted to Gülen that helped make the Justice and Development Party Turkey’s dominant political force by assisting its struggle against the secular elite.


Once allies in changing Turkey’s ultra-secular state order, the two men are now at major odds.


The falling-out comes after a decade of when both had found common ground after AKP’s first election victory in 2002. Both Gülen and Erdoğan had been targeted by the staunchly secularist regime that ruled Turkey at the time. Erdoğan was imprisoned for four months in 1999 for reciting a poem that was deemed as provocative, and Gülen was tried in 2000 of seeking to overthrow the country’s secular government. When the AKP swept into power in 2002, both men worked together in bringing down Turkey’s secular Kemalist ruling model.


Erdoğan had the backing of Gülen’s Hizmet Movement in consecutive elections, in the trials of attempted coup leaders, and in a referendum that led to a weak but crucial constitutional reform, that drastically altered the structure of the judiciary.


The friction started to develop in 2010, and it always had to do with two clashing views within the sphere of Islam stemming from the old traditions of Turkey.


However, despite having differences of opinion on various issues, the last straw came some months ago, when Erdoğan declared that he would terminate all the private prep schools in the country, more than half of which were owned by Hizmet members. When he insisted on passing a law for their permanent closure, all remaining bridges between the two men were burned. This estrangement is now irreversible.


Corruption scandal


Though Erdoğan still has great public support, the recent jaw-dropping revelations of widespread corruption and alleged bribery within the ranks of the AKP that have led to Turkish police arresting the sons of three cabinet ministers and at least 34 others in orchestrated raids, seem to represent perhaps the biggest assault on Erdoğan’s authority.


However, it must be clearly stated that not only do several factions of the Turkish public feel betrayed and embarrassed by their prime minister, they also do not trust Gülen and consider him to be an ever-treacherous religious huckster, opportunist, and an under-cover CIA agent who covertly is in the toxic embrace of the Zionists. It is the US and her allies, they claim, that have aided and abetted engagement of high level crimes, which will eventually lead to the destruction of the sovereignty of the Turkish nation.


It’s not yet clear what will happen next in Turkey, a country that is geopolitically important for European interests. The position of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is not as secure as it once was. Nationwide local elections scheduled for the end of March 2014 could signal whether Erdoğan’s AKP still has what it takes to repeat or even gain greater success from three years ago, when it gained 50 percent of the vote.


That is significant because President Abdullah Gül’s term ends in August 2014, and Erdoğan has expressed interest in becoming Turkey’s next president. However, for Erdoğan it seems that his failed crisis management last summer with the Gezi Park protestors, and most recent political mis-steps have lowered his chances of ever becoming the next Turkish president.

http://5pillarsuk.com/2014/01/13/fet...western-agent/
Reply

Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.

When you create an account, you can participate in the discussions and share your thoughts. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and make new friends.
Sign Up

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 7
    Last Post: 03-28-2013, 08:13 PM
  2. Replies: 3
    Last Post: 04-03-2011, 05:32 AM
  3. Replies: 120
    Last Post: 01-15-2011, 04:01 PM
  4. Replies: 4
    Last Post: 06-13-2010, 12:41 AM
  5. Replies: 19
    Last Post: 11-29-2006, 11:19 AM
British Wholesales - Certified Wholesale Linen & Towels | Holiday in the Maldives

IslamicBoard

Experience a richer experience on our mobile app!