Thousands pay final respects to Gülen’s brother in Erzurum

Seyfullah Gülen, the brother of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, was laid to rest in his hometown of Erzurum. (Photo: Cihan)
Seyfullah Gülen, the brother of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, was laid to rest in his hometown of Erzurum. (Photo: Cihan)


Date posted: November 30, 2014

Seyfullah Gülen, who died at the age of 72 on Friday and was the brother of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, was laid to rest in a funeral attended by thousands of people in the eastern province of Erzurum on Sunday.

Gülen passed away at the private Şifa Hospital in Erzurum, where he had been receiving treatment after a heart attack.

Gülen’s funeral took place at Lala Paşa Mosque in the Yakutiye district, with thousands of people from across the country in attendance. Among those at the funeral were Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) President Rıza Nur Meral, Boydak Holding Chairman Hacı Boydak, Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) President Mustafa Yeşil, Kimse Yok Mu President İsmail Cingöz, Zaman Managing Editor Veysel Ayhan, Cihan news agency General Manager Abdülhamit Bilici, Aksiyon Editor-in-Chief Bülent Korucu, Irmak TV General Manager Süleyman Sargın and many others from all walks of life.

Following the funeral prayer, Gülen was buried in the village of Korucuk in the district of Pasinler, also in Erzurum.

Gülen had been at the hospital due to heart and respiratory problems since suffering a heart attack four months ago. He was admitted to the intensive care unit a month ago after he was struck by partial paralysis. He had been on life support but failed to respond to the treatment given.

Known as Sıbgatullah by his family, he was a retiree who had worked at Atatürk University in the past. He was married and a father of nine. One of his sons is Samanyolu TV anchor Kemal Gülen.

On Friday, Seyfullah Gülen’s younger brother Mesih Gülen said they had spoken with Fethullah Gülen but that they did not expect him to attend his brother’s funeral.

Fethullah Gülen, who inspired the faith-based Hizmet movement which promotes inter-religious dialogue and educational activities, has been living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999 and has not returned to the country since then.

Unable to hold back tears, Mesih Gülen told Today’s Zaman that his children had been expecting him to recover.

Another of Fethullah Gülen’s brother, Hasbi Nida Gülen, died at the age of 66 in October 2012 at a hospital in Ankara, where he was receiving treatment for lung cancer.

The oldest of eight children, Fethullah Gülen has five brothers, the late Seyfullah (Sıbgatullah), Mesih, the late Hasbi (Nida), Salih and Kutbettin. He also has two sisters, Nurhayat and Fazilet.

Source: Today'z Zaman , November 30, 2014

Tags: | |


Related News

The fate of prosecutors

An election was held at the Ankara Bar Association recently. Nuh Mete Yüksel, who was among the powers that be in the prosecutorial community in the past, entered while this was taking place. He was once an awe-inspiring prosecutor. Apparently, he retired from prosecuting and became a lawyer. Of course, he is now deprived of the terrifying appearance he had in those years. He no longer has the frigid countenance that would send everyone’s hearts throbbing with fear. As it happens, some lawyers started to protest harshly the “fledgling lawyer.” Moreover, the hall was filled with shouts of “Go away!” So Yüksel had to go back without casting his vote…

Erdogan presses Kyrgyzstan for action against Gulen group

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday urged Kyrgyzstan to take stronger action against the group blamed for a failed 2016 coup, as new President Sooronbai Jeenbekov visited Ankara in a bid to ease tense ties.

Erdogan’s war on education: The exodus of Turkey’s teachers

They were happy when Greek police caught them. “They treated us very well,” Hakan says. “Zehra told us she felt safer spending [several nights] in jail than [she did] in Turkey. She said: ‘The Greek police are keeping us safe from the Turks.'”

Pro-AKP media flop as corruption charges swell

This may be a Gulen Movement attack on the government. However, one cannot help but ask who gave the Gulen Movement so much access in the government to begin with? Also, the government has been screaming “show us evidence” to all questions of financing and allegations of corruption. Now it seems there is some sort of evidence — should not those be dealt with first? Shouldn’t the AKP come clean with the Turkish public first, and then fight its battle with the Gulen Movement or other “foreign” provocateurs?

Turkish editor hits out at media coercion under Erdoğan

Segments of the Turkish media remain fiercely anti-government, however, including secularist dailies Sözcü and Cumhuriyet, and more recently Zaman and Bugün, which are close to Gülen and have become more critical since the graft scandal erupted.

Gülen issues condolence message for Iraqi victims of ISIL

Turkish-Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has sent a message of condolence to the families of the victims of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist organization in Iraq and he has condemned ISIL’s violence. Gülen’s statement, which addressed Kurdish, Turkmen, Arab, Yazidi, Shiite and Sunni families in Iraq, was published in the leading newspapers of Iraq’s Kurdish region such as Rudaw, Hawlati, Basnews, Kürdistany Nwe, Xebat and Çawder.

Latest News

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

In Case You Missed It

Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen gives first TV interview in 16 years

Ergenekon’s coup-lovers owe an apology to the Hizmet movement

Why is the Gulen movement’s statement on press freedom significant?

Charity Kimse Yok Mu to conduct 30,000 cataract surgeries

Karınca Yuvası (Ant Nest) from Turkish designers to Bangladeshi orphans

Despite obstacles, Kimse Yok Mu delivers aid to thousands worldwide

S.A. nun speaks at the U.N. on Gulen

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News