On the Issues with Alon Ben-Meir

Dear Friends,

Welcome back for a new episode of my podcast "On the Issues." Thank you for your continued support, and I continue to welcome your thoughts and views. For those who have not yet had the opportunity to subscribe, you can do so on Soundcloud, iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts. All new episodes are released bi-weekly on Tuesdays at noon. Subscribe on your favorite podcast app to be sure to always get the latest episodes.

My guest today is Ibrahim Anli, Executive Director of the Rumi Forum, which works toward strengthening a culture of peace, pluralism, and social harmony among faith communities and individuals of diverse backgrounds, beliefs, and ethnicities. Ibrahim is a civic entrepreneur and a researcher with a career record that bridges nonprofit and academic experience. He was a visiting researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2007-08. He joined the Journalists and Writers Foundation’s (JWF) Ankara office as the diplomacy coordinator in 2010. In 2013, he became the secretary general of Abant Platform, JWF’s Istanbul based forum of intellectuals. He was a full-time lecturer and acting chair at the International Relations and Diplomacy Department of Tishk University in Erbil in 2016-17.

Ibrahim was a regular contributor to the online edition of English daily Today’s Zaman, writes opinions in his independent blog, and has published peer reviewed book chapters and articles. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Istanbul University, an M.A. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from Sabanci University, and a certificate in Strategic Management for Leaders of NGOs from Harvard University.

In today’s episode, we discuss the current state of affairs in Turkey, including the Turkish people’s dissatisfaction with Erdogan, the ongoing economic crisis, the demise of free media, and Erdogan’s continued quest to revive elements of the Ottoman Empire. 

As always, I continue to welcome your thoughts and comments.

All the best,
Alon