Gülen movement acted ‘courageously’ when gov’t-involved graft revealed, Altan says

Ahmet Altan, the former editor-in-chief of the Taraf daily
Ahmet Altan, the former editor-in-chief of the Taraf daily


Date posted: March 31, 2015

Ahmet Altan, the former editor-in-chief of the Taraf daily, has said that the Gülen movement acted “courageously” during the public revelations of the Dec. 17, 2013 corruption scandal that implicated several senior members of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government.

In a televised interview with journalist Ayşegül Doğan on the İMC TV station on Monday, Altan praised the Gülen movement — also known as the Hizmet movement and inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen — for its courageous and critical stance while the graft operations were being conducted. “The AKP would not take such a stand in a similar situation,” Altan said.

He further said that the accusations leveled against the movement claiming that it is a “parallel state” within the state — a term coined by then-prime minister and current President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in order to smear members of the movement over their alleged role in the biggest graft scandal in recent Turkish history — have no legal substance.

“It is said that the movement was aware of corruption within the government for years but remained silent. But with good reason, because that was necessary to eventually uncover it. I think that the movement took a very courageous stance during this period. There is no crime related to ‘parallel’ organizations under the law,” Altan added.

Source: Today's Zaman , March 31, 2015

Tags: | |


Related News

How hateful discourse manipulates our perception

Claims have been made that these multi-billion-dollar deals have generated a huge hoard of funds for Erdoğan to buy off some media outlets through proxies, hire new sets of journalists to defend his government line and even convert critical analysts with fat checks to prod them to the other side of the aisle. And these claims also explain why some media groups are conducting black propaganda against the Hizmet movement.

Persecution of the Gülen Movement in Turkey

The Gülen (a.k.a Hizmet) movement, a faith-based community, has been subject to political persecution for more than two years by the Turkish government since they stood up against corruption and injustice under the rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan has publicly called for a “witch hunt,” and arrests, threats, and harassments have now become a routine for participants and sympathizers of the movement.

The Islamic roots of the conflict in Turkey

he roots of the Gülen movement go back to Said Nursi (1878-1960), a preacher from Eastern Anatolia whose teachings (the Nurcu movement) emphasized the compatibility of Islam with rationalism, science and positivism. Nursi’s main contribution to Islam was a 6,000-page commentary he wrote on the Quran. This body of work is known as the “Risale-i Nur” (The Light Collection) and advocates the teaching of modern sciences in religious schools as the way of the future for an Islamic age of enlightenment.

Defamation campaign against Gülen draws heavy criticism

Many prominent figures in the society have slammed an apparent defamation campaign targeting Turkish-Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen through the inclusion of his name among the list of most dangerous terrorists, saying that Gülen is a figure who has devoted his entire life to peace building efforts.

Gov’t’s hate campaign against Kimse Yok Mu draws condemnations

Various segments of the society, including politicians, volunteers and legal experts, continue to express frustration at a recent government decision to remove the status of public interest of Kimse Yok Mu, the largest volunteer and global aid organization based in Turkey.

Power struggle for the state or deep rift about Turkey?

As an external observer, I see a profound rift having taken place between Erdoğan — more than anybody else in the AKP — and the Hizmet movement; and that has much less to do with the power struggle than a resistance to another massive, individual attempt to accumulate power in one person.What has defined Erdoğan’s way with various social segments since 2011 is to alienate, antagonize, suppress and devour. So was his pattern with the dissident Kurds, Alevis, leftists, liberals and now Hizmet.

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

Turkish-Americans in Tennessee worry about their homeland

Diagonal Dialogue from Turkey to Senegal

Turkish Cleric, Accused in Coup Plot, Calls Crackdown ‘Dark Pages’ in History

AFSV Statement on Media and Business Crackdown

Fethullah Gulen Condemns the Assassination of Russian Ambassador to Turkey

Egyptian Congressmen Visited the Turkish School in Cairo

Turkish schools dominate award ceremony in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News