Turkey's Interior Minister Efkan Ala, a bureaucrat believed to be the leading figure in containing a recent corruption scandal and in implementing a number of the government's anti-democratic practices, delivered a speech on Turkish domestic politics in Washington, D.C., on Monday, eliciting laughter among the largely American audience.
June 17, 2014
The real wretch
Begüm Burak
The Romanian capital of Bucharest was the host of the 12th edition of the International Language and the Culture Festival, which is organized by the International Turkish Education Association (TÜRKÇEDER).
The Romanian capital of Bucharest was the host of the 12th edition of the International Language and the Culture Festival, which is organized by the International Turkish Education Association (TÜRKÇEDER).
Moral Theology of Hizmet – Positive action, service, piety, sincerity and interreligious dialogue
Jeremy F. Walton*
In Turkey and across the globe, Hizmet (Gülen Movement) institutions defy simple categorization. As other contributors to this special issue show, they include a variety of NGOs and charities, private businesses, primary, secondary and post-secondary schools, publishing houses and mass media outlets. Clearly, a key unifying aspect of these distinct institutions is their shared dedication to Fethullah Gülen’s theology and moral philosophy. A fitting approach to the distinctive institutional and religious culture of the Hizmet Movement, therefore, is to examine the principles of ethical action that orient Gülen’s theology and that animate actors in Hizmet institutions. In this section, I take up an ensemble of interrelated concepts and practices—“positive action” (müspet hareket), “service” (hizmet), “piety” (Arabic: taqwa; Turkish: takva), and “sincerity” (samimiyet, ihlas), as well as the cardinal Hizmet activity of interreligious dialogue (dinler arası diyalog)—that together form the moral theology of the Hizmet Movement. (1) Above all, this moral theology—presented gradually over Gülen’s oeuvre and expressed through the actions and aspirations of Hizmet institutions—represents a commensuration of Islamic piety and liberal values of religious tolerance and the flourishing of socio-religious diversity.
In Turkey and across the globe, Hizmet (Gülen Movement) institutions defy simple categorization. As other contributors to this special issue show, they include a variety of NGOs and charities, private businesses, primary, secondary and post-secondary schools, publishing houses and mass media outlets. Clearly, a key unifying aspect of these distinct institutions is their shared dedication to Fethullah Gülen’s theology and moral philosophy. A fitting approach to the distinctive institutional and religious culture of the Hizmet Movement, therefore, is to examine the principles of ethical action that orient Gülen’s theology and that animate actors in Hizmet institutions. In this section, I take up an ensemble of interrelated concepts and practices—“positive action” (müspet hareket), “service” (hizmet), “piety” (Arabic: taqwa; Turkish: takva), and “sincerity” (samimiyet, ihlas), as well as the cardinal Hizmet activity of interreligious dialogue (dinler arası diyalog)—that together form the moral theology of the Hizmet Movement. (1) Above all, this moral theology—presented gradually over Gülen’s oeuvre and expressed through the actions and aspirations of Hizmet institutions—represents a commensuration of Islamic piety and liberal values of religious tolerance and the flourishing of socio-religious diversity.
CCBT Teaches Turkish in Public School in Rio de Janeiro
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