CSOs continue to condemn hate speech against Hizmet movement


Date posted: January 31, 2014

İSTANBUL

More civil society organizations from various parts of Turkey held press conferences on Friday to slam hate speech used by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government against the Hizmet movement, saying that top government officials should refrain from using hateful rhetoric.

Dozens of CSOs across Turkey have been holding press conferences or releasing press releases to condemn an ongoing defamation campaign being conducted against the Hizmet movement inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.

In Düzce province, five CSOs held a joint press conference on Friday, calling on top government officials to keep from making defamatory remarks that could polarize the public. Speaking on behalf of the CSOs, President of Düzce Industrialists and Businessmen’s Union (DÜSİAD) Eyüp Çakır said that they are following the rising tension in the country, the fluctuations in currency markets and the recent economical developments with concern.

He pinpointed defamatory expressions being used against the Hizmet movement, such as “parallel state,” “gang,” “virus,” “secret organization” and even “Hashashin” — a shadowy historical group that carried out politically motivated assassinations during the time of the Seljuk Empire. Çakır said that any person using hateful language should stop immediately. He added that the democratic steps taken by the government after a Sept. 12, 2010 public referendum held on its constitutional amendment package should not be reversed.

Referencing the government’s repeated argument that there is a “parallel state” within Turkey, Çakır said people are being forced to take sides in this argument and that if there really is a parallel structure within the Turkish state, it should be exposed and necessary measures should be taken. Indicating that the government has to back up its argument with concrete evidence and documents, Çakır said that the Hizmet movement, which is made of volunteers serving their nation without any financial expectations, doesn’t deserve such harsh, defamatory statements.

Speaking with reporters on Thursday evening, the Isparta-based Association of Iranian Industrialists and Businessmen’s (ISİAD) president, Özcan Pınarcı, commented on the hate speech directed at Hizmet movement followers by government officials after a corruption scandal erupted in December of 2013. He echoed Çakır, listing the defamatory phrases being thrown at the Anatolian people who merely wish to serve their nation.

Pınarcı said his organization cannot believe the harsh expressions and accusations being used against Gülen, who he sees as one of the most distinguished people to have risen from Turkey and someone who has no other intention except to serve his nation.

Another five CSOs gathered in the Manavgat district of Antalya province on Thursday to support the Hizmet movement. Speaking on behalf of the CSOs, the Manavgat Entrepreneurial Businessmen’s Association (MAGİAD) President Mehmet Kaba said government officials should stop their hate speech, should stop hurting the public conscience and should adopt more inclusive rhetoric.

Source: Todays Zaman , January 31, 2014


Related News

Full-Fledged Hate Speech By Erdoğan: Gülen Movement Became ‘Unthinking Slaves’

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has added new insults to his rich collection of hate speeches and defamation targeting Gülen movement on Wednesday and said that “Gülen movement members lost their way, and only follow orders from their owner Fethullah Gülen.”

Fethullah Gülen’s message to PM Tayyip Erdoğan regarding consultants [in 2005]

Mehmet Gündem: If you were to write a letter or send a message to the Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan, what would you tell him? Fethullah Gülen: “Do not be content with employing consultants only from among the admirers of your party. Do not only speak with your own organizations. Benefit from the wise people who love Turkey; because they act objectively, and seek no personal gain.”

Turkey’s purges are hitting its business class

It is not clear when the government will begin auctioning off seized firms. The risk is that the economy may gradually come to resemble Russia’s, where political loyalty is the price for keeping a slice of the pie. “It is like watching a piece of snow roll down a mountain,” says a veteran civil servant ousted in one of the purges. “You think it won’t hit you, until you realise it’s becoming an avalanche.”

Japanese journalists express concern over Turkish gov’t pressure on critical media

A group of Japanese journalists who came together with their Turkish colleagues at the Turkey-Japan Media Forum last week in Tokyo expressed shock at the pressure placed on independent media outlets by the Turkish government while speaking about the violation of media freedoms in Turkey.

The Islamic roots of the conflict in Turkey

he roots of the Gülen movement go back to Said Nursi (1878-1960), a preacher from Eastern Anatolia whose teachings (the Nurcu movement) emphasized the compatibility of Islam with rationalism, science and positivism. Nursi’s main contribution to Islam was a 6,000-page commentary he wrote on the Quran. This body of work is known as the “Risale-i Nur” (The Light Collection) and advocates the teaching of modern sciences in religious schools as the way of the future for an Islamic age of enlightenment.

Turkey’s media watchdog asks Albanian counterpart to restrict Gülen documentary

The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) head İlhan Yerlikaya has sent a letter to his Albanian counterpart to restrict a documentary titled “Love is a Verb,” saying that the film was broadcasted to make propaganda on behalf of the Gülen movement.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

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

In Case You Missed It

Hizmet contribution to global peace discussed in Addis Ababa

KYM Volunteers lend a hand to Kosovo

Kimse Yok Mu continues to care for needy Pakistanis

You couldn’t meet a nicer bunch of people: answer to defamation

It’s clear that deportation of three Turks is to please Turkey’s president

Fethullah Gülen: Turkey coup may have been ‘staged’ by Erdoğan regime

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

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News