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.

Tags: | | |


Related News

Turkey squandered historic opportunity to achieve democracy, says Gülen

Stressing that In Turkey or elsewhere, authoritarian rulers have exploited the differences within the society to polarize various groups against each other, Gülen said “citizens should come together around universal human rights and freedoms and be able to democratically oppose those who violate these rights.”

Finance Minister is the 1001st volunteer at meat distribution campaign

Mehmet Simsek, the Minister of Finance, spent the first day of Eid-Al-Adha at his hometown, Batman, an ethnically diverse city in the Southeastern Turkey. There he attended Kimse Yok Mu Association’s brotherhood event. When Simsek was told that a thousand volunteers from outside the city were gathered in Batman for the Eid-Al-Adha, he replied “Then, I’d be the thousand and first one!”

Turkey seizes billions of dollars worth 691 companies over alleged ties to Gülen movement

The state-run Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) has announced that a total of 691 companies, some of whose assets are worth billions of dollars, have been seized by the government due to alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement. The government has been confiscating the private property of non-loyalist businesspeople without due process on unsubstantiated charges of terrorist links.

Terrorism charges against Karaca do not make sense, CHP leader says

The leader of the main opposition party has implied that the recent arrest of Hidayet Karaca, the general manager of the Samanyolu Broadcasting Group (STV), on charges of heading a terrorist organization does not make sense as there is no solid evidence against the suspect.

Turkish Scholar Fethullah Gulen Speaks about PKK

Mustafa Tabanli Turkish scholar Fethullah Gulen broke a self-imposed 16-year broadcast silence and spoke to BBC about his home country Turkiye. One of the key issues facing the country is the Kurdish issue, Hizmet movements support for the peace process. Fethullah Gulen, Turkish scholar: “We were never completely aligned with any political party. But on […]

Gülen’s relatives dismayed over smear campaign against Islamic scholar

Dismayed, if not surprised, by the unabated smear campaign against distinguished Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, the scholar’s relatives have expressed their disappointment and anxiety over the endless accusations and slander against Gülen.

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

Moderate Muslims Find Voice and Spotlight in Worldwide Gulen Movement

HRW to Turkey: Investigate Ankara abductions, disappearances

AK Party gov’t treats critical letters, columns as ‘treachery’

“Hizmet Movement making tremendous contributions to Muslim culture”

A Turkish family has disappeared in Pakistan, and suspicion turns to intelligence agencies

Kimse Yok Mu continues its aid for Bosnian flood victims

CSOs slam ongoing black propaganda against Hizmet movement

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News