The Economist assessed the degree to which Mr. Fethullah Gulen contributed to Turkey’s current rise in the Middle Eastern countries. It is a fact that Turks discovered their potential to be more than a satellite state and decided to realize that potential in the last 2 decades. Contrary to what they’ve been told and taught in schools, they did not have to shed their religious and cultural identity to rise to the level of “Contemporary Civilizations.” Gulen played a pivotal role in boosting the Turkish people’s self confidence and belief with his teachings and global activities. Turkey went from being a third world country to one of the fastest growing nations in the world. There must be something other countries in the region can learn from that experience.
PALE, bespectacled and polite, Bekir Berat Ozipek, a young professor at Istanbul’s Commerce University, is no street-fighter. But he was excited by the heady atmosphere he experienced on a recent trip to Egypt. He and two fellow Turkish scholars went to a conference at the University of Cairo where their ideas on civil-military relations were keenly gobbled up.
Then late one night, on the eve of a big protest, they went to Tahrir Square, the heart of Egypt’s uprising. They loved what they found: young people directing traffic, exuberant songs and slogans, a joker imitating ex-President Hosni Mubarak. Then they dived into a restaurant, where their chat about Egypt’s political system was joined by youngsters at the next table, as well as the waiter. Mr Ozipek thought he was living in the era of Voltaire.
Read more at The Economist
