Turkey has now reached a point where democracy and human rights have almost been shelved. I hope and pray that those in power reverse their current d… - Fethullah Gülen

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.

States act only within the framework of protecting their strategic interests in their international relations. To some extent, this can be considered reasonable. However, unprecedented human rights violations have occurred and continue to occur in Turkey's history. Service volunteers are subjected to treatments mentioned in the United Nations definition of genocide. Those who donate for the sake of Allah, donate to charity organizations and ask for the meat to be delivered to the poor, give scholarships to needy students, etc. People like these were detained like a joke and were subjected to torture. They confiscated the goods, businesses and workplaces of innocent people, which they had acquired through years of manual labor. They dismissed 150 thousand civil servants from their duties in a cruel and unjust manner, revoking all their acquired legal rights. They condemned them and their families to mass starvation. In the face of all these atrocities, we would have expected louder voices from the countries that have been Turkey's friends and allies throughout history. We can't say it never came out. There were leaders at the level of state administrators and council members who expressed their concerns and invited them to return to the legal line, but these did not turn into effective sanctions.

During the attempted military coup in Turkey this month, I condemned it in the strongest terms. “Government should be won through a process of free and fair elections, not force,” I said. “I pray to God for Turkey, for Turkish citizens, and for all those currently in Turkey that this situation is resolved peacefully and quickly.”