Fethullah Gülen Quotes

Turkey experienced the biggest disaster in its recent history with the coup attempt that took place on the night of July 15, and came back from the brink of a cliff. What happened that night can be described as a terrorist coup in the harshest terms. All segments of Turkish society, who thought that military interventions were a thing of the past, showed that they were on the side of democracy by taking a common stance against the coup attempt. I condemned the coup in clear and unambiguous language while the attempt was still going on.

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.

Since July 15, following a deplorable coup attempt, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has systematically persecuted innocent people — arresting, detaining, firing and otherwise ruining the lives of more than 300,000 Turkish citizens, be they Armenians, Kurds, Alevis, secularists, leftists, journalists, academics or participants of Hizmet, the peaceful humanitarian movement with which I am associated.

And this year, our prayers will include special emphasis on the health care workers, emergency workers and other essential employees who are on the front lines of the fight to protect our communities. In the eyes of God, saving human lives and benefitting humanity are most noble endeavors: The Quran likens saving a life to saving the whole of humanity, and the Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be God’s peace and blessings) says that the best of humans are those who benefit other humans.

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.

I believe that our nation will take care of our earthquake-affected citizens who are homeless, homeless and in need of all kinds of assistance in this snow and winter, with a spirit of mobilization. I wish patience, strength and fortitude to the search and rescue teams responding to the disaster.

Two measures are critical to reversing the democratic regression in Turkey.

Unfortunately, in a country where opposition media outlets are either closed or put under tutelage, a significant portion of Turkish citizens believed the allegations that I was the perpetrator of July 15, in the face of a massive propaganda bombardment. However, the world public opinion, which can look at the events more objectively, clearly sees that what is happening is an effort by those in power to increase their power under the pretext of a witch hunt.

I have previously expressed my opinions on the Syrian issue. A government in which the Sunni Arab population, Nusayri population, Kurds and non-Muslim elements all see themselves and are represented is a healthy solution for Syria. For this, if necessary, giving the government the opportunity for a democratic and gradual transition should be considered.

Hizmet, in particular, has been the target of the president’s wrath. In 2013, Mr. Erdogan blamed Hizmet sympathizers within the Turkish bureaucracy for initiating a corruption investigation that implicated members of his cabinet and other close associates. As a result, scores of members of the judiciary and the police forces were purged or arrested for simply doing their jobs.

Since 2014, when Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan was elected president after 11 years as prime minister, he has sought to transform Turkey from a parliamentary democracy into an “executive presidency,” essentially without checks on his power. In that context, Mr. Erdogan’s recent statement that the failed coup was a “gift from God” is ominous. As he seeks to purge still more dissenters from government agencies — nearly 70,000 people have been fired so far — and to crack down further on Hizmet and other civil society organizations, he is removing many of the remaining impediments to absolute power. Amnesty International has revealed “credible” reports of torture, including rape, at detention centers. No wonder Mr. Erdogan’s government suspended the European Convention on Human Rights and declared a state of emergency.

I strongly condemn this latest terrorist attack on the United States. It only deserves condemnation and contempt, and it must be condemned by every person in the world. I believe that before America’s leaders and people respond to this heinous assault, I would like to express that they surely understand why such a terrible event occurred and how similar tragedies can be avoided in the future.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my condolences to all our people, especially the relatives of those who lost their lives. In addition to the loss of life and property caused by these fires, the loss of forests, which are the lungs of our country, is a separate source of suffering for me. I hope this sad picture will prompt us all to be more sensitive about protecting the natural riches, which are a blessing from God Almighty.

Those who know me and the movement closely know that Erdogan has never been my student. We have fundamental differences of opinion in many areas, especially the use of religion in politics.

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.