Did they make mistake?


Date posted: February 6, 2014

HÜSEYİN GÜLERCE

We are experiencing a period of turmoil in which we strongly need the supremacy of law, the presumption of innocence and the individuality of criminal offenses.

The government, arguing that there is a parallel state, declares the Hizmet movement as the culprit of all the problems in Turkey. But millions of people including myself are not persuaded by this argument; this will remain so unless concrete evidence and a judicial verdict is offered on this matter. What is being stressed and proposed on this subject insistently is this: if, as alleged, there are figures within the state and bureaucracy who take orders from external actors because of their affiliation with the Hizmet movement and violate legal responsibilities, present some concrete evidence and initiate a legal process so that the allegations are proven.

But this is not being done. A grave campaign instead is being carried out to insult and denigrate millions of people.

Why would the Hizmet movement consider forming a parallel state within the state given that its members hold no intention other than Allah’s will? Considering that democratic options are available for seeking positions within the state, why would people within the bureaucracy strive for greater political power?

Personally, I really do not get this argument because what needs to be done to gain a position of power is obvious. You form a party, take part in the elections and come to power; so you will have the entire bureaucracy under your control. If you agree that serving the people is possible via political means, then you come to power by observing universal rules of democracy and the laws in effect.

If they had considered this option, the Hizmet movement would not have sent its members to 160 countries and instead it would have made efforts to attract the support of the people and come to power. Why hasn’t the Hizmet movement focused entirely on Turkey to achieve this goal and instead has sought to promote Turkey in the world and serve as Turkey’s lobbying force abroad? Yes, this question should be answered properly.

If young people left their homes at a time when the Soviet Union collapsed, the world was in a state of flux and Western invaders acted as global gendarmeries, they did it in the name of the Turkish nation. They did so in order to promote their country abroad. They wanted to make sure that our country, people and culture would be known to others in the world. They wanted to prove that we are a nation that should be loved and supported. They believed that our values could be alternatives for global peace. They were confident and created lobbies of volunteers. They never embarrassed their nation. On the contrary, the nation is proud of them because they paid heed to this motto: “If Turkey is not influential in every part of the world, it would not be in a place it deserves.”

They loved Turkey; they love their country, their homeland, their state and their people. For them, being an ordinary person in the cause of delivering Allah’s message is far more important than anything else. They view fame, power and wealth as temporary. For them, the greatest political goal was to observe the right and the just.

Their only wish was to see a strong and powerful Turkey in world affairs. They believed that our nation, which has always been promoter of justice and rights, should once again have power in the arena of international relations so that it could extend protection to repressed and persecuted people.

Did they make a mistake?

Source: Todays Zaman , February 6, 2014


Related News

Rebecca Harms: Working in Gülen-linked educational institutions not a crime

Speaking during the general assembly of the European Parliament (EP) on Thursday, Harms said working in institutions such as schools or universities with links to the Gülen movement is not a crime and that, similarly, being critical of the government and being a critical journalist are not crimes.

Turkey After the July Coup Attempt – Alan Makovsky’s testimony before Committee on Foreign Affairs

The vastness and persistence of the purge of the civil service, arrests of journalists, and closure of media outlets—many seemingly having nothing whatsoever to do with the exiled Turkish preacher Fethullah Gülen or his Gülenist movement that the Turkish government blames for the coup attempt.

Who is Fethullah Gulen, the man blamed for coup attempt in Turkey?

Was a plan to overthrow Turkey’s government really hatched behind a gated compound in a small, leafy Pennsylvania town, or is that merely a smoke screen? In the throes of a military coup attempt, Turkey’s embattled president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, pointed the finger of blame squarely at his bitter rival: Fethullah Gulen. At the center […]

Fethullah Gülen: ‘I Call For An International Investigation Into The Failed Putsch In Turkey’

I openly call on the Turkish government to allow for an international commission to investigate the coup attempt, and promise my full cooperation in this matter. If the commission finds one-tenth of the accusations against me to be justified, I am ready to return to Turkey and receive the harshest punishment.

Jihad Turk on Fethullah Gulen and Hizmet Movement

Jihad Turk, a founding Board Member of Claremont Lincoln University, has been instrumental in the establishment of Bayan Claremont, a graduate school designed to train Muslim scholars and religious leaders. He previously served as the Director of Religious Affairs at the Islamic Center of Southern California.

Evolution of the Gulen [Hizmet] Movement

HizmetNews.COM  November  14, 2012 Members of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) gathered in Washington DC for a follow up discussion on the Gulen Movement on October 19, 2012. The group’s director Dr. Bulent Aliriza hosted the discussion… and said that the Gulen movement, perhaps more than any other in overall Turkish picture, […]

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

Gülen says many would like to be in detained journalists’ shoes

Stay course in Gulen case

Reactions pour in over Turks’ controversial arrest in Malaysia as UN joins calls against extradition

Dismissed top editor of Zaman: We made a mistake by not objecting to the imprisonment of journalists

Texas Agency Finds No Wrongdoing by Harmony Public Schools

Critics say Turkish government using US mosques to play politics, spy on foes

Erdoğan’s fight against education in Africa

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News