‘Parallel’ lies won’t patch giant tear, Gülen tells government


Date posted: October 15, 2014

Turkish Islamic Scholar Fethullah Gülen has decried recent claims by the government and the president that his followers are behind recent violent street protests in Turkey, indicating that the government is attempting to patch up a “giant tear” it has made with these claims in an effort he said is bound to fail.

“Some tactless people would say there are ‘parallels’ behind such incidents. They do not even believe these lies, but in order to gloss over their wrongdoings they are cheering themselves up with this patch, which in fact cannot fix their tear. This tiny patch will not conceal that giant rip, friend!” Gülen said in a speech broadcast on the Herkul.org website on Wednesday.

Gülen and his Hizmet movement have been the direct targets of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government ever since a corruption probe in which some senior government members were implicated went public on Dec. 17. Erdoğan, who refers to Hizmet as a “parallel state” or “parallel structure,” accuses the movement of being behind the corruption operation.

The government now headed by Erdoğan’s successor Ahmet Davutoğlu has taken action to ensure the closure of schools opened by Hizmet followers in many countries around the world. Hizmet-affiliated institutions and schools in Turkey are also under intense pressure from the government.

Erdoğan has accused the movement of being behind almost every negative development in Turkey since then. Most recently, he said “Pennsylvania,” referring to Gülen’s current place of residence, is behind violent protests that engulfed the country last week over the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s (ISIL) siege of the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani.

The Islamic scholar has repeatedly denied the government’s claims that he or Hizmet have tried to establish a parallel state.

Gülen said in his latest speech that even if the government now tries to conceal its wrongdoings, they will be written down in history and “they will have [their crimes] thrown in their faces in this world if they are alive, or in the other world if they are not.”

“Slander and displays of hate, like attributing street protests to this movement, [is an act that] cannot even be seen [being done by] unbelievers. Yes, such tactlessness cannot be seen in people from across the world who have different religions and cultures,” Gülen said.

Source: Today's Zaman , October 15, 2014


Related News

Alevis and Sunnis to Search for Peace and a Future Together at Abant Meeting

Upcoming 30th meeting of the Abant Platform will search for a peaceful common future for Alevis and Sunnis who have been living peacefully together in Anatolia despite external provocations and some unwanted interruptions. The coexistence in the past promises hope for future. The meeting is themed as “Alevis and Sunnis: Searching for Peace and a Future Together,” which will be attended by intellectuals who will also be part of the solution.

Pro-gov’t media continues smear campaign against Hizmet movement

In order to defame the Hizmet movement, A Haber — a member of the government-designed “pool media,” created through funds raised by various businessmen to protect the government’s interests — has described a Felicity Party (SP) election campaign conducted by women in the province of Hatay as “black propaganda” against the Justice and Development Party (AK Party).

Tip of the iceberg

BERİL DEDEOĞLU A significant allegation is circulating. Some people claim that the government wants to close prep schools because of a secret deal with the Kurds. They probably suggest that the Kurds are against the education institutions established by those close to Fethullah Gülen’s thinking, and they want to replace these prep schools with Kurdish […]

Pregnant woman kept in prison for 4 months over Gülen links despite regulations

Arzu Nur Özkan, a former teacher, has been in Bünyan Prison in Kayseri province for the last four months for alleged links to the Gülen movement despite being six months pregnant. Özkan is experiencing complications related to her pregnancy and is frequently put in quarantine cells because of her hospital visits.

EP kills parallel state lies

Nobody believes that the mass culling and reassignment of up to 10,000 public officials (most from the police department and the judiciary and many of whom are mid-level and senior personnel) so far by embattled Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has anything to do with what the government purports is a fight against a “parallel structure,” a veiled reference to members of the Hizmet movement inspired by Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.

Irrationality rules

Nobody outside of Turkey understands why a government that claims to be innocent and portrays itself as the victim of dirty conspiracies uses every legal — and according to many illegal — means at its disposal to stop further investigations and punish those who gathered the evidence or wrote the indictments.

Latest News

Erdogan’s Failed Crusade: The World Rejects His War on Hizmet

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?

In Case You Missed It

Turkish family kept at Kiev airport for days at Turkey’s request

3 dead, 5 missing in attempt to escape Turkey’s post-coup crackdown

Turkey’s treatment of dismissed officials reminiscent of Nazis: Luxembourg

Islamic scholar Gülen calls on praying for Palestinians, Syrians

Gabon is very satisfied with Turkish school

Faith Communities and Home-Grown Extremism

Turkey Continues Its Witch Hunt Against Gülen Followers

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News