Government & Politics

Inside Bob Casey’s troubling relationship with Erdogan’s best friend in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania Murat Güzel, a prolific Democratic donor, credits Bob Casey with helping him get a start in politics. Casey’s wife, Terese, recently thanked Güzel for a $100,000 donation to another Pennsylvania committee.

(Free Beacon) Murat Güzel is one of Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s closest allies in the United States. A former board member of the Turkish American National Steering Committee alongside Erdogan’s cousin, Halil Mutlu, the Turkish-born Pennsylvania businessman has lobbied lawmakers on […]

Demonstrations

Turkish president receives members of US Muslim council in Ankara President Erdogan asks delegation to tell US Congress, other political circles about dangers of Islamophobia during meeting at Presidential Complex

(Anadolu) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that attacks on the Quran cannot be “defended with the excuse of freedom of expression” and that such acts “target social peace and stability” during talks with a delegation from the US Council of […]

Government & Politics

Germany sees surge in Turkish asylum seekers A rising number of educated Turkish citizens who oppose the government are heading to Germany. Many are seeking asylum, but German authorities are less inclined to grant it.

(Deutsche Welle) “Living in fear and uncertainty every day, expecting the police to come back and snatch us from our beds, take us to the station and torture us … we couldn’t stand it anymore. After the death of my father, we […]

Clerics & Preachers

Germany investigates man on suspicion of spying for Turkey Police have arrested a Turkish man in Düsseldorf possessing weapons and a list of supporters of the Gulen movement, which the Turkish government has labeled 'terrorists.'

(Deutsche Welle) Germany’s federal prosecutor general announced Friday that the investigation resulting from a raid on a Düsseldorf hotel that saw the arrest of a Turkish man identified as Ali D. was being treated as a case of suspected espionage on behalf of the […]

Academics & Education

Would Turkish schools in Germany increase Erdogan’s influence abroad? The German government is working out a possible framework for opening Turkish schools in three German cities. DW dives into what that would look like in practice.

(Deutsche Welle) The German government announced on Friday negotiations with Ankara to create a framework for Turkish schools to be opened in Berlin, Cologne and Frankfurt, sparking debate over the schools’ role in increasing Turkish President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan’s political influence abroad. […]

Clerics & Preachers

Founder of Berlin’s liberal mosque honored for inclusive vision Seyran Ates' long fight for women's rights in the Muslim world led her to open a tolerant mosque where non-veiled women could preach and pray alongside men. She has now been honored with the prestigious Urania Medal.

(Deutsche Welle) A lawyer, activist, author and now imam, Seyran Ates has long lent a critical voice to debates about migration, women’s rights and religious freedom in Germany and beyond. Ates co-founded the “liberal” Ibn Ruschd-Goethe Mosque on the third floor of St. John’s Church near […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

‘West should be told Islamophobia is a crime’ Turkish ambassador of Europe's top security body says Islamophobia needs to be accepted as hate crime

(Anadolu) The West[ern] public should be told that Islamophobia is a crime, said newly appointed Turkish ambassador of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on Friday. “It is necessary to tell the Western public in all ways needed that […]

Academics & Education

Muslim academicians from US, Canada visit Turkey Turkish deputy foreign minister says Turkey closely following US investigation into FETO’s activites

(Anadolu) A group of Muslim academicians teaching at universities in the U.S. and Canada visited Turkey and attended a conference on Tuesday. Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Yavuz Selim Kiran also attended the conference, which was jointly organized by Turkey’s Center for Strategic […]

Clerics & Preachers

To ease Turkish pressure on Saudis over killing, White House weighs expelling Erdogan foe 'Once they realized it was a serious request, the career guys were furious,' a U.S. official said of request tied to Khashoggi killing.

(NBC) The White House is looking for ways to remove an enemy of Turkish President Recep Erdogan from the U.S. in order to placate Turkey over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to two senior U.S. officials and two other people […]

Academics & Education

Turkey’s Gulen movement on the rise in Germany After Turkey's foiled coup attempt in 2016, many supporters of exiled Muslim cleric Fetullah Gulen were driven out of the country. But in Germany, the movement is increasingly gaining influence, writes Gunnar Köhne.

(Deutsche Welle) When the Turkish government crushed an attempted coup on July 15, 2016, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blamed supporters of Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric in self-imposed exile in the United States. There were plenty of rumors about Gulen’s involvement in […]