AlandMizell.com

 Those who still think that Fethullah Gulen has nothing to do with politics or does not have any agenda must be naïve or live in total ignorance. Gulen always has an agenda, He has always been involved in politics, but he managed to convince the people that he was not. Nevertheless, at all times Gulen had his political agenda. At first, he wanted to control all state institutions in Turkey, such as offering Islamic banking, Islamic insurance, Islamic education, hospitals, social and political institutions, as well as accommodating and appeasing the pronouncements and formulation of policies and programs based on his version of Islam. Continue reading →

In 1916, Great Britain and France secretly reached an agreement, known as the Sykes-Picot agreement, by which France and Britain divided up the Arabs’ territories of the Ottoman Turks into spheres of influence. Both countries agreed that each country should be allowed to establish such direct or indirect administration or control of the Arab states as they desired or saw fit. The British would have direct control over the Baghdad and Basra provinces of Iraq while the rest of the territory such as the Mosul area, Syria, Iraq, and Jordan would have local Arab chiefs under French supervision. For decades, the Middle East was impacted by the Cold War and petro politics. Continue reading →

Ukraine went through a regime change due to a military coup on February 22nd after months of clashes between the pro-Russians and the supporters of Ukraine’s affiliation with the West. The country’s parliament ousted President Viktor Yanukovych; former Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula rejoined Russia as a result of a referendum; anti government protests have been spreading across the mainly ethnic, Russian-speaking cities like Donetsk; and the Luhanks region wanted to have autonomy, later changed the Ukraine Constitution, and elected a new president on May 25^th. If the West keeps refusing to engage in dialogue with Russia or castigating Russia, it will not help Ukraine nor its strategy is not going to be successful; rather, it is going to be counterproductive. Western media are trying to draw the picture that Russia will expand its reach and take over the neighboring countries as well. Continue reading →

The Philippines recently has been in the spotlight not for a typhoon or for Manny Pacquiao’s victory against Martinez, but for its recent stellar economic performance. The country’s economic growth of 7.2% in 2013 shows one of the fastest growing Asian economies. Some have predicted the Philippines would even become the world’s sixteenth largest economy by 2050. Besides the Philippines emerging as one of the economic bright spots of Asia, Manila hosted the 2014 World Economic Forum on East Asia, bringing together many businessmen, leaders, policymakers and journalists from around the world. Continue reading →

Our world is in a ethical crisis from a global economic predicament to terrorism and to ethnic wars; from the Boko Haram terrorist organization kidnapping more than 300 girls from their school to new social movements protesting in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia; from Russia fomenting unrest in Ukraine to the Chinese government harassing its weak neighboring states; from human trafficking, to poverty, inequality, trade boycotts, and violations of justice and human rights–all have advanced a range of ethical, social, and political issues. In a world where there is a huge disparity between the haves and the have not’s we have, on the one hand, someone who has so much that he does not know how to spend it, and, on the other hand, someone who strives to find a cup of rice to fill the stomach. Continue reading →

We have seen a paradigm shift in education in the modern world; consequently, there are challenges for the attainment of quality education. In the fast changing world of the modern age public education is also changing. As part of the transformation the role and responsibility of educators also must be reshaped both in the educational system and in society. In this column and in the next one, I would like to discuss subjects that are often heard and asked about: the role of teachers and the way we can build a democratic modern Philippines. Continue reading →

President Putin seems likely to go down in history as the great Russian leader who won back Crimea without any bloodshed sixty years after the Soviet leader Khrushchev gifted it to Ukraine, and the take over has also been a domestic victory for President Putin.  The next couple of weeks will be an immense battle as Ukraine prepares to elect a president on May 25^th, to agree to a new constitution, and to prevent the Eastern part of Ukraine from splintering away as well. Continue reading →

         Men create ideologies, and when a man dies, his ideology dies with him. Men create systems, and when a man dies, his system dies with him. For example, Fascism in Italy, Communism in the Soviet Union, and Nazism in Germany have all perished and disappeared except for a few residual elements. The only thing left behind these man-made systems is the destruction of many human lives. Continue reading →

We cannot predict the future. Yet one thing is certain. China is emerging as a superpower, both economically and militarily. We already see that China is a big regional power in the Pacific region and is extending its global influence in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and even Europe. China has re-armed with modern weapons for its armed forces and has the largest military in the world in terms of the number of military personnel. As of now, only two countries in Asia Pacific can compete with China, Japan and India. Continue reading →