Peacebuilding
The Hizmet movement, also known as the Gulen movement, proactively supported the EU democratization packages as well as the overall framework of reformist attitudes toward the Kurdish issue. For example, as a part of the Abant Platform initiative, Hizmet volunteers organized two major conferences on the Kurdish issue to promote liberal and reformist perspectives, even preceding the “Kurdish Opening” of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government. …
Education, Gülen movement, Peacebuilding
The development of the Gülen movement, also known as the Hizmet movement, in Kurdish-populated cities goes back to the late 1980s. The first Hizmet institutions were university exam prep centers (dershane) in Diyarbakir and Urfa in 1988. Hizmet’s educational initiatives were financed by local businessmen, who developed friendship ties through weekly tea conversations (sohbet). Hizmet’s charity activism is aimed at removing prejudices in both Turkish and Kurdish constituencies, and accordingly, building social trust in the long run.…
