I have spent over 50 years preaching and teaching the values of peace, mutual respect and altruism. I’ve advocated for education, community service a… - Fethullah Gülen

Democracy cannot be achieved or preserved by resorting to violence. Even if political leaders oppress their citizens by violating their basic human rights, their overthrow by anti-democratic means cannot be tolerated. Although they were subjected to oppression unprecedented in the history of Turkey in terms of the methods they used and the number of people they victimized, none of the Hizmet volunteers even raised a fist against the oppressors. Despite everything, they continue to strive through legal and peaceful means to get their rights. If, in the face of this situation, someone still doubts their commitment to the rule of law, tranquility and peace, this can only be explained by a fear arising from prejudice.

We can say that Erdogan sees himself as the leader of the world's Muslims, and that he has become an embarrassment both with his words and actions, and with the use of the resources of the Turkish state to collect credit for himself in the world. In fact, those around him were not satisfied with this and called him a world leader.

The rhetoric used by the ruling party repeatedly to crack down on Hizmet participants is nothing but a pretext to justify their own authoritarianism. Hizmet participants have never formed a political party nor have they pursued political ambitions. Their participation in the movement is driven by intrinsic rewards, not extrinsic ones.