Erdogan's leadership style has failed to redeem Turkey's global image

As the Ottoman Empire, Turkey gained the epithet of 'Sick Man of Europe' in the 19th Century. [iStockphoto]

Rather than build Mosques, temples, churches, Gulen advised the followers to establish schools and to teach the sciences as he pointed out that there is no conflict or contradiction between faith and science. Schools, he asserts, are laboratories for building and advancing long-lasting ethical behaviour that produces good people in the world.

The Quran, he teaches, is a teaching manual on practicing faith but it is not prescription for theocracy or any governing system. One can thus be religious and still live and operate ethically in a secular state. With such instructions and understanding, his followers spread across the globe and initially appeared like promoters of Turkish culture. In Kenya, they opened the first school, Light Academy, in 1998, later followed by schools in Nairobi, Mombasa, and Malindi.

The success was not smooth, mainly because of Gulen/Erdogan friction. In a February 2023 Hizmet meeting in California, involving over 20 countries, the contrast of visions between Gulen, the philosopher, and Erdogan, the raw political dealer, was clear. Gulen, the spiritual and moral thinker, leads a worldwide educational movement; Erdogan the rough political player, aspires to greatness mostly within Turkey.

Erdogan is unhappy mostly because Gulen leads in believability. To reduce Gulen's global influence, Erdogan turned schools into political battle zones. Having problems containing the Turks or convincing other 'leaders' that he should suppress his former ally, Erdogan turned to pressuring host countries to close the Hizmet schools, donate the schools to himself as 'gift', or simply transfering them to his newly created Maarif Foundation.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan changed the country's name to 'Republic of Turkiye' in 2021 to fit respectability. [iStockphoto]

He, therefore, tried to transform schools into tools of his foreign policy and succeeded in a few countries. In the process, the contest between these two men, played in host countries, negatively affected Turkey's global image. Turkey is on the map for the wrong reasons, mostly due to Erdogan's weaknesses.

His diminished credibility undermines his aspirations to be greater than Osman and Ataturk. He loses it when he accuses Gulen, the philosopher, of terrorism. His seeming inability to respond quickly to the recent earthquake eroded his leadership standing. With an unflattering image, he falls short of desired greatness.