Gülen Movement supports not AK Party but right projects

Dr. Yalcin-Akdogan
Dr. Yalcin-Akdogan


Date posted: October 24, 2010

In an interview with Özlem Akarsu Çelik for the Turkish newspaper Akşam, Prime Minister Erdoğan’s Chief Advisor, Associate Professor Yalçın Akdoğan talked about  the Gülen Movement. Akdoğan answered Çelik’s questions about the Gulen Movement’s role in the democratic initiative taken against the conflict in south eastern Turkey. He also expressed his views on the movement’s position in the current political arena of Turkey .

-There has been a tension between the Gülen Movement, who established a Kurdish television, and the PKK, why?

PKK is a terrorist organization, which does not tolerate diversity and different ideas. They are barbarian and cruel even amongst themselves, and also brutal to the Kurds who do not support them. It is not too much surprising to see that the Gülen Movement is targeted by this organization, which burns businessmen’s machines, collects extortion from storekeepers, murders imams, bomb buildings of political parties and threaten local media and civil organizations.

At this point it is very critical to provide security in the region. People who are against the government’s safety cautions are actually helping PKK’s persecutions. The fact that the Gülen Movement embraces people would not damage Turkey’s unity; on the contrary it would strengthen the brotherhood of the people.

“The claim that they are becoming political is an unfair judgement”

-Don’t you think Fethullah Gülen, who openly shows support to the Ak Party administration, is acting like a political figure? Are the people who form what you call a “civic movement” becoming political?

I believe that these people support not the Ak Party but the right steps and projects. The fact that the members of the movement personally like the Ak Party and feel a kind of emotional connection is one thing, but support as a whole movement shows just that they support the democratic steps the government is taking. The Gülen movement is a socio-cultural organization. What has made it get so big is the fact that they remain non-political and are able to establish bonds of love with diverse groups of people. The claim that they’re becoming political is an unfair judgement. Indeed they deny these allegations too, and say that it is against the movement’s core purpose of existence.

-Hüseyin Gülerce from Zaman newspaper said that Fethullah Gülen would like to return to Turkey. What would happen if Gülen returned?

Nothing would happen!

-Is there anything preventing him from coming?

There is no law preventing him. He can come anytime he wants. It is his choice. I don’t think anybody has the right to tell him to come or not to come.

NOTE: This is a translation by IDC of the questions and answers related to the Gülen Movement. The original interview was published in Turkish on October 17, 2010 by Akşam: http://www.aksam.com.tr/2010/10/17/haber/guncel/16818/ocalan_bile_kck_yi_elestirdi.html


Related News

What is wrong with the Western media?

Major media outlets in the English-speaking world have increasingly been publishing one-sided, biased, anti-Justice and Development Party (AKP) and anti-Gülen pieces. I am not sure if it is just a coincidence, but the frequency of these biased pieces has increased since the “one minute” incident at Davos. Ihsan YILMAZ, Wednesday 08 February 2012 I am […]

AK Party government removing critical voices from state bodies

Many bureaucrats who are just doing their jobs and have no affiliation with any political groups now face [the prospect of] being dismissed with a claim of having links to the Hizmet movement. However, it is widely known that many of the bureaucrats discharged from their posts do not have any links with the movement,” Arslan said.

Gulen factor in Turkey’s turmoil

Gulen Movement is a unique case of global social innovation based on the sanctity of education and inter-faith dialogue in a number of respects.

Outgoing chairman proudly admits Istanbul Bar Association refused to serve Gülen followers

The Istanbul Bar Association has turned down sympathizers of the Gülen movement who requested lawyers for their hearings in the post-coup trials, the outgoing president Ümit Kocasakal said on Saturday.

Fatih College basketball court demolished despite ongoing case

Construction equipment entered Fatih College in İstanbul’s Merter neighborhood on Tuesday, demolishing a basketball court in the school courtyard, despite the fact that a case regarding a decision by the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality to construct a road through the courtyard is still ongoing.

Taiwanese scholar: Hizmet movement wins hearts with education, charity

Taipei, Dec. 6 (CNA) Hizmet movement (aka Gulen movement), a social movement inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen, differentiates itself from extremist Islamic views by winning hearts with education and charity, a Taiwanese scholar said Monday. Some think that Muslims are belligerent toward those with different religious views, but Gulen believes in influencing people […]

Latest News

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

Parents protest deportation of Pak-Turk School’s teachers, staff

Turkish Government Imprisons One More Mother With Her Baby Over Links To Gülen Movement

Judiciary acts in line with legally unfounded police report to describe Hizmet as terrorist

Turkish minister’s leaked emails show pro-gov’t figure has eye on Gülen-linked dormitory

Kazakh-Turkish high schools win 16 medals in science competition

First International Science Projects Olympiads of Indonesia organized by the Turkish schools

Fethullah Gülen’s brother laid to rest amid grief

Copyright 2024 Hizmet News