Free Republic

THE HAGUE, 11/07/08 - Prominent members of the Christian democratic (CDA), Labour (PvdA) and conservative (VVD) parties appear to be involved with the controversial movement of Turkish Imam Fethullah Gulen. Among them is 'integration through dialogue' guru Doekle Terspstra (CDA), according to Elsevier magazine. Last week, TV programme Nova reported that numerous organisations in the Netherlands are affiliated to the Gulen movement. They appear to act as though they consider integration important, but are in reality aiming for Islamisation, various sources told Nova. One of these organisations is the association of Turkish entrepreneurs in the Netherlands, HOGIAF, according to the...

Few U.S. policymakers have heard of Fethullah Gülen, perhaps Turkey's most prominent theologian and political thinker. Self-exiled for more than a decade, Gülen lives a reclusive life outside Philadelphia, Pa. Within months, however, he may be as much a household a name in the United States as is Ayatollah Khomeini, a man who was as obscure to most Americans up until his triumphant return to Iran almost 30 years ago. Many academics and journalists embrace Gülen and applaud his stated vision welding Islam with tolerance and a pro-European outlook. Supporters describe him as progressive. In 2003, the University of Texas...

Turkish Media: Washington No Longer Trusts AKP Government The American-Turkish Council's annual conference, which took place in Washington, D.C. in late March 2006, reflected the current chill in Turkish-U.S. relations. While in previous years this conference was always attended by leading Turkish and U.S. government figures, businessmen, and military figures, this year it was marked by sparse participation. Most of the Turkish officials in attendance told the press that Turkish-U.S. relations were in much worse shape than they had previously believed.Two emissaries sent by Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan on a fence-mending mission to Washington following the ATC conference also...