While responding to a question on hate speech, the Religious Affairs Directorate said on Monday that Islam does not allow its followers to use such discourse.
A man identified as Mustafa Petek asked the Religious Affairs Directorate on March 24 if Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, who inspired the Hizmet movement, deserves to be a target of hate speech by state officials. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and several government officials have been targeting Gülen and the movement, calling him a “false prophet,” “fake saint” and “bogus scholar,” and Hizmet a “parallel state,” a “gang,” “cave dwellers,” “tools,” a “virus,” a “tumor,” an “illegal organization” and “raving Hashishin,” which was a medieval order of assassins.
The Religious Affairs Directorate, in response to the man’s query on hate speech, said, “In Islam, no one is allowed to humiliate a person or refer to him using adjectives that don’t represent him.”
Renowned Kurdish singer Sivan Perwer lauds Gülen’s support for peace process
Famous Kurdish singer Şivan Perwer has said he found the remarks of well-respected Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen on the peace process to end the Kurdish issue “important.” Perwer described the announcement of support from Gülen as a “significant event” as he said people in Turkey listen to what the Islamic scholar has to say. […]
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Despite Gülen and the movement having denied the accusation and calling for an international investigation, Erdoğan — calling the coup attempt “a gift from God” — and the government launched a widespread purge aimed at cleansing sympathizers of the movement from within state institutions, dehumanizing its popular figures and putting them in custody.
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In a development that surprised many, the US State Department said on Tuesday that Turkey has formally requested the extradition of Gülen but not on issues related to the recent coup attempt, which Turkish leaders have accused him of inspiring.
Accused by Erdogan of plotting a coup, Hizmet movement fears for freedom in Turkey
The Hizmet is based on the idea of a “modern Islam compatible with democracy” that has been disseminated by Fethullah Gülen since the 1960’s. Gülen, now 75 years old, is a former imam, writer, thinker and teacher. He has been living in the US in volunteer exile since 1999, when he left Turkey due to successive military coups. Even from afar, Gülen keeps influencing thousands of Turks and Muslims around the world.
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Within days of the coup attempt, James Clapper, the then-Director of US National Intelligence, said that they had not seen any intelligence indicating Gülen’s involvement. Bruno Kahl, head of Germany’s BND foreign intelligence agency, said during an interview in March 2017 that he did not believe Gülen was behind the coup.
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Gülen is highly respected both in Turkey and in many countries around the world for educational activities he has pioneered, along with his efforts to promote intercultural and interfaith activities around the globe. He is in self-imposed exile in the US, though there is no legal hurdle that prevents him from returning to Turkey.
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