Fethullah Gülen Quotes

I condemn the military coup attempt in Turkey in the strongest terms. Governments should be changed through fair and free elections, not by force. I pray for Turkey, the Turkish people and everyone in Turkey right now. I pray to God that this problem will be resolved in the fastest and most peaceful way.

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.

Our obligation to help and support those in need also takes on added meaning this year as our neighbors and communities face sickness, grief, economic hardship and the loneliness of self-isolation.

Throughout my life, I have publicly and privately denounced military interventions in domestic politics. In fact, I have been advocating for democracy for decades. Having suffered through four military coups in four decades in Turkey — and having been subjected by those military regimes to harassment and wrongful imprisonment — I would never want my fellow citizens to endure such an ordeal again. If somebody who appears to be a Hizmet sympathizer has been involved in an attempted coup, he betrays my ideals.

They try to portray us as a pro-Israeli movement, in the sense that we have a higher regard for them than our nation. We are accepting them as a people, as part of the people of the world.

Cruelty only lasts up to a certain point. Politicians have limited time. One day they will leave by democratic means. However, this movement, which is based on love and volunteerism, will continue, with God's permission, in hearts where resources are not sufficient, and in institutions where resources allow.

My hope is that Turkish intellectuals will raise their voices and stand in solidarity with all the victims of oppression, and that people of law will not compromise on the principles of universal law by ignoring political pressures. May God Almighty take us out of this dark period as soon as possible and lead this blessed homeland to days of peace and safety.

On the other hand, many countries did not succumb to Erdogan's blackmail, using bilateral relations as a bargaining chip. They did not touch the service volunteers and institutions in their country. They opened their doors and arms to refugees fleeing persecution in Turkey. Egypt, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Germany, America, Canada, Australia and many other countries. I would like to remember this with gratitude.

I probably will not live to see Turkey become an exemplary democracy, but I pray that the downward authoritarian drift can be stopped before it is too late.

Ramadan still began on Thursday evening, though, and in the early hours on Friday morning, households gathered, as they have for centuries, to share a sleepy suhur — the pre-dawn meal.

The reactions of the West and America to human rights violations in Turkey fell far behind expectations. We cannot say that they did not make any noise. Voices were raised from time to time from members of parliament, senators, ministry spokesmen and organizations within the European Union, but these mostly remained verbal and did not turn into sanctions. Unfortunately, short-term interests come to the fore in interstate relations. Europe's concerns about Syrian refugees and America's strategic relations with Turkey are among the main dynamics that shape the issue. Essentially, Turkey's embrace of Syrian refugees is not Erdogan's personal decision, it is the general attitude of the Turkish people. When we look at the issue from a security perspective, we can say that; Erdogan's taking all of Turkey's democratic institutions under his tutelage, one by one, drags the region into a tangle of problems. On the one hand, they are coerced into cooperating in the military and intelligence fields, while on the other hand, they are pursuing policies that pave the way for the continuation of violence and terrorism. A Turkey that moves away from being a democratic state of law is likely to be a part of radicalism and conflicts rather than being a representative of stability and peace in the region... As a matter of fact, we see examples of this.

For the sake of worldwide efforts to restore peace in turbulent times, as well as to safeguard the future of democracy in the Middle East, the United States must not accommodate an autocrat who is turning a failed putsch into a slow-motion coup of his own against constitutional government.

One of the important reasons for the conflict is that the Hizmet Movement, which carries out successful educational activities around the world, did not embrace the "leadership of the world's Muslims" discourse claimed by Erdogan and did not support it in the international arena. For this reason, they are now trying to use state resources and mobilize all diplomats and intelligence agencies to close down Hizmet training institutions around the world or have them transferred to the Maarif Foundation, and to extradite the Hizmet participants there to Turkey and imprison them.

I pray for mercy and forgiveness from God Almighty to those who lost their lives in this tragic incident, patience and fortitude to those who lost their relatives, speedy recovery to our injured citizens, and safe rescue of our citizens waiting to be rescued under the rubble.

I offer my condolences to our nation, especially to the relatives of those who lost their lives.