Erdoğan distorts Gülen’s NYT op-ed, says it is about Bank Asya operation

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressing a meeting in Bursa on Friday. (Photo: DHA)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressing a meeting in Bursa on Friday. (Photo: DHA)


Date posted: February 7, 2015

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has presented a distorted interpretation of an op-ed written by Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen that was published in The New York Times, claiming the op-ed is about the takeover of the board of Islamic lender Bank Asya by Turkey’s banking watchdog.

Contrary to the claims of the president, the op-ed was a discussion of the erosion of democracy in Turkey under Justice and Development Party (AK Party) rule.

“You see, a person in Pennsylvania writes for a newspaper in America. Why does he write? About a lender. Hodja, are you really a hodja or a bank boss? Who are you?” Erdoğan said during a speech in Bursa.

Gülen’s op-ed, however, was published hours before the banking watchdog handed over management control of 63 percent of the privileged shares of Bank Asya to the state savings fund. The op-ed was published on Tuesday, while the appointment of executives from the state savings fund to Bank Asya took place Tuesday night.

Moreover, the op-ed, which primarily discussed the reversal of democratic progress in Turkey, didn’t make direct reference to the bank or the operation that took place hours after the publication of the piece.

The banking watchdog seized control of the bank on Tuesday, citing insufficient transparency to allow for proper regulation.

During the same speech, Erdoğan also criticized The New York Times for publishing Gülen’s op-ed and implied that the newspaper and the scholar are cooperating against “a powerful Turkey.”

“Look, what does he [Gülen] lean on? The New York Times, that so-called newspaper. Well, where is this patronage? You can find it: Who is the manager of this newspaper? How do they let him write here? The plan is different. You should know that those inside and outside of the country don’t want a powerful Turkey. Everyone has risen up for this,” Erdoğan said.

Source: Today's Zaman , February 06, 2015


Related News

Erdogan’s hunt for Gülenists, at home and abroad, includes abductions, torture and disappearances

Turkey’s crackdown has targeted ordinary citizens, suspected of links with Gülen’s Islamic movement. The country’s secret services have seized people in broad daylight, at home and abroad. Violence is used to extort confessions and denunciations. A victim speaks out.

Whistleblower Fuat Avni: Gov’t to plant weapons in Hizmet buildings to declare it terrorist group

A government whistleblower who tweets under the pseudonym Fuat Avni has alleged that the government is planning to plant weapons and ammunition in houses and buildings used by followers of the Hizmet movement in order to declare the movement a terrorist organization ahead of the upcoming general election.

Setting the facts straight on the Gülen movement

25 April 2012 / JAMES C. HARRINGTON Much of what Dan Bilefsky and Şebnem Arsu’s recent article in the International Herald Tribune (“Shadow Force Grows in Turkey,” published on April 18 describes about Fethullah Gülen and Turkey’s recent history is accurate, but the authors cast a shadow of innuendo and loose conclusions, apparently more driven […]

Turkey’s Kurdish question and the Hizmet movement

This is the title of a new report authored by Dr. Mustafa Gurbuz and published on the website of the US-based think tank Rethink Institute

Inside the eye of Turkey’s political storm, in rural Pennsylvania

A moderate preacher rooted in the Sufi mystic tradition of Islam, Mr. Gulen is known for emphasizing interfaith dialogue. But Mr. Erdogan calls Mr. Gulen and his followers a “cancer” and a “terrorist organization” that is building a “parallel state.” The rancour is personal.

‘When the last gang becomes a thing of the past’

The prime minister has put forward many claims since Dec. 17, but he has not provided any satisfactory evidence to back up these claims.

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

Kimse Yok Mu establishes 16 water wells in Cameroon

The Gulen Movement Is Not a Cult — It’s One of the Most Encouraging Faces of Islam Today

Fatih University wins European Universities Championship

Human Rights Foundation asks Kosovo PM to free 6 Gulen followers

INTERPOL and U.S. reject baseless charges against US-based Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen

Representatives of Abrahamic religions meet in Iftar in Antioch

Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) bridging Eastern, Western worlds

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News