AFSV Condemns Erdoğan’s Persecution of the Hizmet Movement

The Alliance for Shared Values
The Alliance for Shared Values


Date posted: June 4, 2016

Designation Allows Turkish Government to Treat All Critics as ‘Terrorists’

NEW YORK – The push by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the Prime Minister’s cabinet to designate the Hizmet movement — also known as the “Gülen movement” — as a terrorist organization only serves to further Erdoğan’s crackdown on dissent, civil society and the media. Erdogan’s announcement represents the latest in the string of his paranoid, authoritarian actions that ultimately harm Turkish citizens and undermine the international efforts against violent extremists.

“President Erdoğan’s witch hunt against Fethullah Gülen sends an alarming message and sets a dangerous precedent,” said Alp Aslandogan, Executive Director of the Alliance for Shared Values, an American nonprofit dedicated to promoting interfaith dialogue, religious tolerance and education. “It illustrates that should any group – including journalists, opposition parties, Kurdish citizens and other political and religious minorities in Turkey – refuse to bow to President Erdoğan’s wishes, the president will strong-arm his government into treating them as enemies of the state.

“Hizmet, the movement inspired by Mr. Gülen, seeks to counter extremism and terrorism by promoting peace, education, humanitarian aid and interfaith dialogue,” he said. “The efforts of Hizmet participants have been welcomed and praised by local authorities in over 150 countries around the world.”

Erdoğan’s actions to control the Turkish government and judiciary and silence civil society have included shuttering dozens of media outlets and filing court cases against nearly 2,000 Turkish citizens for “insulting the president,” including former Miss Turkey Merve Buyuksarac. Instead of concentrating the governments’ resources on the international fight against real terrorist groups such as ISIS, Erdogan is focusing on consolidating all power in his office, a pattern at odds with the Turkish constitution.

Recent reports by human rights watchdogs and the U.S. State Department have criticized the Erdogan government’s abuse of powers to silence all democratic dissent. According to the New York Times, with the resignation of Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, “Mr. Erdoğan’s transformation from democrat to autocrat is nearly complete, his ambition of establishing an executive presidency closer at hand.”

About Alliance for Shared Values

The Alliance for Shared Values (AFSV) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that serves as a voice for dialogue organizations affiliated with Hizmet, a civil society movement inspired by prominent preacher and peace advocate Fethullah Gülen. Based in New York, the Alliance strives to promote peace and to eliminate prejudice and discrimination against any or all ethnic, cultural and religious communities. To learn more about the Alliance or Mr. Gülen, please visit www.afsv.org.

Source: http://afsv.org/afsv-condemns-erdogans-persecution-of-the-hizmet-movement , June 3, 2016


Related News

Turkish Repression Targets Americans

It’s an old story with dictators. If unopposed, they become ever more brazen in their aggression. Case in point: Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. On May 16, during a state visit to Washington, Erdoğan’s bodyguards beat up peaceful protesters, many of them American citizens, in front of the Turkish embassy. At least 11 protesters were injured.

Erdogan is transforming Turkey into a totalitarian prison

In Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the tweet has been turned into a crime, and a troubled democracy is being turned into a dictatorship. Gradually but inexorably, a nation that once aspired to be an exemplar of enlightened moderation is being transformed by Mr. Erdogan into a dreary totalitarian prison.

Government blocks bank accounts of aid organization

The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government’s efforts to disrupt the work of Turkey’s leading aid organization Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There) continues with the unlawful blocking of the organization’s bank accounts on Oct. 22.

Rule of law(lessness) in Turkey?

It turned out that I was overly optimistic, for I did not want to believe that a prime minister who bravely fought the old, authoritarian establishment in the people’s name for years could have changed so much, adopting just the same behavior we were subjected to in the past. I had thought that those bitter experiences were only a distant memory. Unfortunately, I was wrong — terribly so.

African Professor lauds ‘Kimse Yok Mu’ as model relief organization

University of South Africa Professor Yousuf Dadoo has congratulated Kimse Yok Mu, one of the largest charity organizations in Turkey, for making its work a model for all charitable groups. He said that during a recent visit to Turkey he had been privileged to spend some time with members of Kimse Yok Mu, a relief organization connected to the faith-based Hizmet movement.

Filling the gap left by Gulen

Erdogan and Gulen shared the goal of creating a “devout generation”. Yet despite their similar outlook on life and objectives, the Gulen movement never merged completely with the AKP. However, Gulen was never willing to subordinate himself to Erdogan, which is why the two men fell out in 2013 and the informal coalition with the Gulen movement collapsed.

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

Don’t lose the plot

Cleric Accused Of Plotting Turkish Coup Attempt: ‘I Have Stood Against All Coups’

Will Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Allow Kidnappings In His Country?

Becoming a Dialogue Movement: What Can Dialogue Learn from Other Movements?

Winds of ‘ijma’ beginning to pick up speed

Alaton: I’m telling everyone about Turkish schools’ contribution to world peace

Turkish cultural center celebrates opening in Mount Prospect

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News