Fethullah Gülen Quotes

The West must help Turkey return to a democratic path. Tuesday’s meeting, and the NATO summit next week, should be used as an opportunity to advance this effort.

It is not possible to explain actions such as the arson of the cultural center in Paris, the detention of sick journalists without regard to their health conditions, the closure of 35 hospitals and the humanitarian aid association Kimse Yok Mu, the taking of family members hostage when the wanted people could not be found, and the forced resignation of 1500 academics by associating them with the coup. It seems that the government is trying to intimidate non-governmental organizations as it is trying to purge all those who do not obey it from state institutions by appearing to target Hizmet participants. The human rights violations, including torture, reflected in Amnesty International reports are chilling. This is a human tragedy.

Those in political power continue the witch hunt they started in Turkey in the world. As their first duty, diplomats are trying to have the educational institutions of the Service transferred to the Maarif Foundation or closed down. They are trying to put our friends who work here on planes and send them to Turkey, disregarding international law.

The world should be assured that, although there may always be some who exploit any religion for their interests, Islam does not approve of terrorism in any form. Terrorism cannot be used to achieve any Islamic goal. No terrorist can be a Muslim, and no true Muslim can be a terrorist. Islam orders peace, and the Qur’an demands from each true Muslim that he or she be a symbol of peace and support the maintenance of basic human rights. If a ship is carrying nine criminals and one innocent person, Islam does not allow the ship to be sunk to punish the nine criminals, for doing so would violate the innocent person’s rights.

However, all these oppressions led to something they had never considered. The world got to know the service much better. He saw that we were not in the same line with those who used Islam for politics, and a curiosity and sometimes favor arose. Although this has a heavy price, it is a blessing from God Almighty.

May God Almighty have mercy on those who lost their lives in this tragic incident; I hope that those whose property and property were damaged will be able to quickly compensate for their losses, and I hope that it will give strength and fortitude to the rescue teams responding to these fires. May God protect our country and all humanity from all kinds of disasters.

For 3 years, in an unprecedented way in the history of the Republic of Turkey, all the security and judicial forces of the state have been mobilized to reveal the "parallel state" that they claim to govern. The government described the corruption investigations in 2013 as a coup attempt organized by my sympathizers in the bureaucracy, but despite the arrest of 4000 people, the dismissal of tens of thousands of people from their professions, and the illegal seizure of hundreds of institutions and companies, not a single piece of evidence was found to prove these allegations. The then prime minister, who compared the possibility of meeting with me in May 2013 to a blessing falling from the sky, began to use hate language in the public squares, including terms ranging from assassin to bloodsucking vampire, about the participants of this movement after the corruption investigation.

Like many Turkish citizens, the Hizmet movement’s participants supported Mr. Erdogan’s early efforts to democratize Turkey and fulfill the requirements for membership in the European Union. But we were not silent as he turned from democracy to despotism. Even before these new purges, Mr. Erdogan in recent years has arbitrarily closed newspapers; removed thousands of judges, prosecutors, police officers and civil servants from their positions; and taken especially harsh measures against Kurdish communities. He has declared his detractors enemies of the state.

My friends who follow the media state that the opposition does not accept any formula adopted by the current administration. However, in order to avoid more loss of life and victimization, I believe that it would be more appropriate to act on this issue with the principle of "if the best cannot be achieved, agree on what is good."

As the coup attempt unfolded, I fiercely denounced it and denied any involvement. Furthermore, I said that anyone who participated in the putsch betrayed my ideals. Nevertheless, and without evidence, Erdogan immediately accused me of orchestrating it from 5,000 miles away.

The core tenets of a functioning democracy — the rule of law, respect for individual freedoms — are also the most basic of Islamic values bestowed upon us by God. No political or religious leader has the authority to take them away. It is disheartening to see religious scholars provide theological justification for the ruling party’s oppression and corruption or simply stay silent. Those who use the language and symbols of religious observance but violate the core principles of their religion do not deserve such loyalty from religious scholars.

Turkey’s president is blackmailing the United States by threatening to curb his country’s support for the international coalition against the Islamic State. His goal: to ensure my extradition, despite a lack of credible evidence and virtually no prospect for a fair trial. The temptation to give Mr. Erdogan whatever he wants is understandable. But the United States must resist it.

My first Quran teacher was my mother. He made me memorize the Quran at a young age. At that time, despite the pressure from the state, he also taught the Quran to village children. Since it was forbidden to teach the Quran, he used to teach it in a barn next to our house, with a hidden entrance. His sacrifice impressed me greatly. From my father, I learned love for the companions and respect for Islamic scholars.

There are different administrative systems in the world. These may vary from country to country. However, the main thing is to comply with universal principles such as separation of powers, rule of law and guaranteeing fundamental human rights and freedoms. I do not think that these principles are or will be respected in the system that is intended to be implemented in Turkey.

I cursed the incident while it was happening and denied the accusations made against me. I invited Erdogan to establish an international commission of inquiry and promised to buy my own ticket and return if they agreed to their verdict and found me guilty. They didn't even respond to my offer. This shows that they have a lot to hide. As a matter of fact, they could not convince the world of their slander. I think July 15 is a scenario in which Erdogan is also involved. The truth will emerge over time, with God's permission.