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.
‘The work of Hizmet followers is really tackling the fundamentals of what is needed in the society’
Hizmet Movement is represented by the people that I’ve met. I see that there is a common purpose of like-minded people, in a very grass-root way, coming together, pushing for some ideals that they believe in, in the society, and I’m touched by the genuine motivation of the people that I’ve met. I am impressed with the sacrifice that individuals that believe in this contribute to this collective goal that they are trying to reach.
Gov’t cancels Kimse Yok Mu’s previously obtained permissions
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Terrorist organization seeks to fill void in Southeast after closure of prep schools
Terrorist organizations are getting ready to fill the void in the education system in Turkey’s Kurdish-dominated Southeast following the government’s decision to shut down prep schools and study centers, the Bugün daily said on Monday. “The [terrorist Kurdistan Workers Party] PKK is increasing the number of Education Support Houses [EDEV] in the eastern and southeastern […]
Gülen movement’s engagement with political processes
Fethullah Gülen is often portrayed as the quintessential idealist, relaying on spirituality, ideas and engagement rather than political power. Gülen, in fact, is a far more complicated man than such a simplistic portrayal would lead us to believe. He has an astute sense of hard and soft power and understands power in terms of its various components and limits.
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Turkey’s tryst with democracy (1)
All of Erdoğan’s recent acts reflect a serious deficit of democracy in the ruling government. These acts include making bogus claims of a parallel structure; targeting institutions linked to Fethullah Gülen’s Hizmet movement; embark on a massive reshuffle of thousands of officials without any reasonable grounds; changing the structure of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) to subjugate the judiciary; openly interfering in the media; strengthening the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) and bringing it under the direct control of the prime minister; banning Twitter and YouTube; and speaking with a threatening, bullying and polarizing tone.
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