Turkey Assails a Revered Islamic Moderate
By DOUGLAS FRANTZ
STANBUL, Aug. 24 -- Onur Elgin,
a Turkish teenager, has no doubts
about why he spent his summer vacation studying physics. In fluent
English, he explains that he wants to
succeed for his school, his country
and the world.
Onur's high school, Fatih College,
is part of a prospering Islamic community associated with Fetullah Gulen, a 62-year-old religious leader
who lives in Pennsylvania. In addition to hundreds of schools in Turkey,
the Balkans and Central Asia, the
loose-knit brotherhood runs a television channel, a radio station, an advertising agency, a daily newspaper
and a bank, all pro-Islamic and all
centered in Istanbul.
Though little known in the United
States, for many years Mr. Gulen
was an unofficial ambassador for
Turkey who promoted a moderate
brand of Islam. He preached tolerance, meeting with Pope John Paul
II and other religious and political
leaders, among them Turkey's
prime ministers and presidents.
But this month, after a yearlong
inquiry, a state security court issued
an arrest warrant for Mr. Gulen. A
prosecutor has accused him of inciting his followers to plot the overthrow of Turkey's secular government, a crime punishable by death.
The authorities have not tried to extradite Mr. Gulen, but the warrant
sent a chill through his circle of
admirers and raised anxieties
among liberals who are not associated with his movement.
At the same time, the government
has been involved in a highly public
dispute over its attempt to fire thousands of civil servants suspected of
ties to pro-Islamic or separatist
groups. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit sought the authority for the dismissals through a governmental decree, but the president, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, has twice refused to sign
the measure into law. Mr. Sezer argues that the authority can be created only by Parliament. The government agreed today to submit the
matter to Parliament in the fall.
The deadlock has led to some calls
for the resignation of Mr. Sezer, who
took office in May. It has also contributed to the almost continuous
tension between hard-line backers of
the country's secular order and people who advocate more tolerance of
religious views and free speech.
In a written response to questions
from The New York Times, Mr. Gulen recently broke a year of public
silence about the accusations against
him. He described the charges as
fabrications by a "marginal but influential group that wields considerable power in political circles."
He said he was not seeking to
establish an Islamic regime but did
support efforts to ensure that the
government treated ethnic and ideological differences as a cultural mosaic, not a reason for discrimination.
"Standards of democracy and justice must be elevated to the level of
our contemporaries in the West,"
said Mr. Gulen, who has been receiving medical care in the United States
for the past year and said his health
prevented his return to Turkey.
Turkey's military leaders have
long regarded Mr. Gulen as a potential threat to the state. Those fears
seemed confirmed a year ago when
television stations broadcast excerpts from videocassettes in which
he seemed to urge his followers to
"patiently and secretly" infiltrate
the government.
Mr. Gulen said his words had been
taken out of context, and some altered. He said he had counseled patience to followers faced with corrupt civil servants and administrators intolerant of workers who were
practicing Muslims.
"Statements and words were
picked with tweezers and montaged
to serve the purposes of whoever was
behind this," he said.
Mr. Gulen's explanations are unlikely to satisfy the secular hard-liners who see themselves as the
guardians of modern Turkey, which
was founded in 1923 by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. For them, the businesses and schools run by his followers
sow the seeds of an Islamic regime.
Some moderate Turks see such
Islamic-oriented schools and businesses as an attempt to fill a gap left
by government policies and discrimination. A study by the private Turkish Economic and Social Studies
Foundation found that these Islamic
groups appeal not only to the poor
but also to strict Muslims who often
feel excluded from the mainstream.
The Gulen-oriented schools teach
only government-approved religious
instruction, in Turkish and English.
Tuition payments are several thousand dollars a year, and students
face rigorous academic challenges.
"Strategically speaking, the
schools are something that should be
supported by the state because you
have a Turkish presence in these
countries," said Ozdem Sanberk, director of the Economic and Social
Studies Foundation.
At Fatih school outside Istanbul,
the young Mr. Elgin, 16, has no intention of overthrowing the state. His
sole goal right now is learning
enough physics to compete on the
Turkish national academic team.
