Why was Mr. Gulen’s name brought up in the coup attempt in Turkey?


Date posted: July 17, 2016

Q: Do you know why the president (Erdogan) needed to bring your name up in this [coup attempt]?

Fethullah Gulen: He (Mr. Erdogan) has always had a reaction to those who do not obey him since the beginning.

As I previously expressed in other occasions, maybe, he was concealing some of his feelings.

There are things they were not able to achieve worldwide. People in the Hizmet Movement opened schools in 170 countries.

They tried to open Yunus Emre houses in 14-15 locations but they could not be successful. Turkish Olympiads displeased them.

Before founding the [AK] Party, he came to consult with me about founding the party. I met with him twice. One is when he came to ask my opinion about founding the [AK] Party. I suppose, he went to other people as well. It was not only a matter of asking opinion but also seeking support. I expressed my own considerations at the time.

Then my friends told me this. After he met with me in the 5th floor (Altunizade, Istanbul), when he was in the elevator, he said to the person next to him “we need to defeat them, vanquish them first.”

That is, they do not want any alternative formation, any service to exist.


Related News

Fethullah Gulen turns coup accusations on Erdogan

Fethullah Gulen, the man blamed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of orchestrating the attempted military coup that rocked Turkey, has tried to turn the accusation against his political rival by suggesting that Mr Erdogan’s ruling AKP party had staged the uprising. In a rare interview from his residence in rural Pennsylvania with the Financial Times […]

Turkey is gateway to Europe: exporters urged to collaborate with Turkish companies

Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkey (TUSKON) is organising a new track of its world famous series of international business summits, more than 2000 visitors from more than 124 countries are expected to participate in the event, expecting business agreements to the tune of $3 billion.

Turkey’s media watchdog asks Albanian counterpart to restrict Gülen documentary

The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) head İlhan Yerlikaya has sent a letter to his Albanian counterpart to restrict a documentary titled “Love is a Verb,” saying that the film was broadcasted to make propaganda on behalf of the Gülen movement.

Turkish Olympiad students sing Kurdish, Turkish songs in Diyarbakır

İPEK ÜZÜM, DİYARBAKIR Students visiting Turkey from 140 countries for the 11th International Turkish Olympiad, a festival that celebrates the Turkish language and has brought together 2,000 students to Turkey this year, fascinated locals in the predominantly Kurdish city of Diyarbakır by singing songs in both the Kurdish and Turkish languages on Wednesday night.   […]

University preparatory courses and the Hizmet movement in Turkey

Most (university) preparatory courses (in Turkey) are run by the Hizmet movement, and it is very clear that the government’s steps to close down such courses, an action against the movement, will negatively affect a great number of people. Many analysts said it is impossible for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), which does not have a good relationship with the Hizmet movement, to close down preparatory courses in the run-up to the pre-election period.

Mother of three arrested with baby as police fail to locate teacher husband

A mother of three in the western province of Izmir, Fadime Danışman was arrested along with her 8-month-old baby after police failed to locate her husband, a teacher by profession, as part of an investigation into the Gülen movement.

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

Global education turns Turkish teachers into world citizens

EU and Turkey’s rights abuse

Flynn stopped military plan against ISIS that Turkey opposed – after being paid as its agent

The Dutch Turkish community must speak out about the anti-Gülen violence

Gray domination’ and Turkey’s civil rights challenge

Foreign Policy’s emotional and biased journalism on Turkey

Kimse Yok Mu heals the wounds of flood victims in Sudan

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News