Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has strongly condemned an attack on a French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, and a series of shootings in Paris suburbs last week that left 17 dead, extending condolences to the families of the victims.
Gülen, who has been a clear voice in rejecting violence and terrorism, said in a statement on Wednesday that these revolting acts of terrorism are deplorable and that they serve no purpose but to bring about “destruction, sorrow and grief.”
“I reiterate my condemnation of all forms of terror regardless of its perpetrators or their stated purposes,” said the statement, published on behalf of Gülen by the New York-based Alliance for Shared Values.
The Islamic scholar said he shares his deep condolences with the victims’ families, loved ones and the people of France.
Gülen also extended his condolences to the victims of other recent terrorist attacks, including those in Turkey, Nigeria, Yemen, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. He urged world leaders to show sensitivity for lives lost in unspeakable tragedies, no matter where they occur.
Unlike Turkey’s classical Islamic activists, Gulen always distanced himself from politics, and like Said Nursi, his main source of inspiration, his message was focused on grassroots social activism, most importantly an education combining both Islam and modern science. Hizmet’s main goal was social: raising a new “golden” generation fusing moderate Muslim and Modern ethics to become the backbone of Turkey’s society and bureaucracy and its messengers to the world.
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