Fethullah Gülen Quotes

This period also forces us to rely on the internet and the technologies built upon it. Our young generations have been well-versed in these technologies ahead of their parents. Throughout history, messengers of God and those who strive for the enlightenment of humanity always used the available cultural tools and practices to spread their messages. We also must take this time to connect with our communities in new ways, including making our spiritual resources accessible to younger generations using their language and their familiar technologies.

However, it is not right to associate members of various Islamic movements in different countries around the world, who sincerely serve the religion without engaging in any form of violence, with terrorism in a wholesale approach. Otherwise, injustice would be done to those who are against terrorism, and therefore some people would be pushed into the arms of radical movements through such an unfair and unlawful practice.

He needed an enemy to justify all of this: When the service movement did not become a tool for his own political ambitions, he declared Hizmet as an enemy and started to motivate his base with this. In order to maintain this motivation, they are now trying to blame every problem on the Hizmet movement. It can also be said that he made the right choice for himself. Because he knew very well that no matter how much he slandered and oppressed, there would be no retaliation against him and that the people he served would not even raise their hands to shake a fist.

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.

As the presidents of the United States and Turkey meet at the White House on Tuesday, the leader of the country I have called home for almost two decades comes face to face with the leader of my homeland. The two countries have a lot at stake, including the fight against the Islamic State, the future of Syria and the refugee crisis.

I have spent over 50 years preaching and teaching the values of peace, mutual respect and altruism. I’ve advocated for education, community service and interfaith dialogue. I have always believed in seeking happiness in the happiness of others and the virtue of seeking God’s pleasure in helping His people. Whatever influence is attributed to me, I have used it as a means to promote educational and social projects that help nurture virtuous individuals. I have no interest in political power.

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.

Of course, what is important is not what the majority thinks, but the facts that will emerge as a result of a fair trial. Of course, I and tens of thousands of people who have been subjected to such a serious accusation want to clear our name and be acquitted through a fair judicial process. We do not want to live with such suspicion cast upon us. Unfortunately, especially since 2014, due to the political control of the justice system, my right to exonerate myself and the accused Hizmet sympathizers have been taken away. Therefore, I make an open call to the Turkish Government and promise full cooperation. I demand that an international and independent commission investigate the coup attempt. If they prove even one tenth of the allegations against me true, I am ready to return to Turkey and suffer the heaviest punishment.

I have been living a reclusive life in a small village in the United States of my own free will for 17 years. The claim that I persuaded the world's 8th largest army to stage a coup against its own government from 10,000 km away is an unconvincing slander and has not been accepted by the world public opinion. If there are soldiers who define themselves as sympathizers of the Hizmet movement among those who joined the coup plotter junta, in my opinion, those people betrayed the unity and integrity of their country by taking part in an attempt in which their own citizens lost their lives, violated the values ​​I have defended throughout my life, and caused the victimization of hundreds of thousands of innocent people.

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.

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.

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.

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 would like to return if Turkey becomes a democratic and law-abiding state again, but it is not possible to say when this will happen. There is no sign of hope in the short term. But blasphemy continues, oppression does not continue. If God Almighty desires something, He creates its causes. A believer never gives up hope. We have not given up hope, and we will not give up.

Second, a school curriculum that emphasizes democratic and pluralistic values and encourages critical thinking must be developed. Every student must learn the importance of balancing state powers with individual rights, the separation of powers, judicial independence and press freedom, and the dangers of extreme nationalism, politicization of religion and veneration of the state or any leader.