Fethullah Gulen and the Gulen Movement

… George Fidas and I have big shoes to fill, following my wife. I will repeat it again. I am currently a professor of International European Affairs at George Washington University. I have followed Turkey for many decades now, professionally within the government, at some sensitive positions. Now I teach a course on Mediterranean Issues among other areas. We cover Turkey specifically for a couple of segments. Couple weeks ago I took my students to Turkish Embassy, and I received a briefing there. So I like to come this part of the world as frequently as possible to increase my knowledge and broaden it. I see this trip as part of that. I gained many new insights in addition to the old warm generosity and hospitality. Beyond that fine tuning my knowledge about Turkey and its people and its political system, umm, I think Turkey has really found the secret of avoiding the clash of civilizations between the Christian and the Islamic World. Really! It’s been a member of NATO, it’s been an associate member of EU, and it is preparing itself to become a member of the European Union. It has good context with the Muslim World. So it really is the solution, but still unfortunately, people, some people in Europe and elsewhere see it as part of the problem to some degree. Of course they are very wrong about that, and if you come here and experience what we just did, I think, you clearly conclude that you really are part of the solution of bridging literally, physically, by going to the (Bosphorus) Bridge, but also intellectually, culturally and every other way. You know these principle civilizations of the world…