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

Erdogan presses Kyrgyzstan for action against Gulen group

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday urged Kyrgyzstan to take stronger action against the group blamed for a failed 2016 coup, as new President Sooronbai Jeenbekov visited Ankara in a bid to ease tense ties.

Turkey’s ‘Nazi-style’ purge of academia condemned

The mass sacking of more than 1,200 academics in Turkey has been compared to tactics used in Nazi Germany. Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg’s foreign minister, made his comments shortly after Turkish authorities released a list of 1,273 academics fired from public universities on 29 October.

Gülen rejects labeling of Hizmet as ‘gang,’ calls it ‘traitorous’

Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has rejected the labeling of the Hizmet movement as a “gang,” saying those who uttered this word committed “traitorous” behavior. The term gang, “örgüt” in Turkish, has become a famous euphemism in Turkey to denote the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and has a negative connotation.

‘Islam and I’

The number of books written by Western academics on Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen’s ideas and Hizmet, the faith-based social movement he has inspired, is growing.

Dr. Lilian Sison: Fethullah Gülen is a pioneer of peace

Speaking at a conference held the Philippines’ 400-year-old university, University of Santo Tomas, Dr. Lilian Sison, the Dean of International Relations Department of the University of Santo Tomas, indicated that Fethullah Gülen, a well-respected Turkish-Islamic scholar, is a pioneer of peace.

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

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.

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 paper says journalist expelled for criticizing Erdogan

The story of the government media’s smear campaign against Hizmet

Thousands pay final respects to Gülen’s brother in Erzurum

[Part 4] Gülen calls for respect of diversity in Turkey to end polarization

Turks Seen as Sympathetic to US-Based Muslim Cleric Say They Face Threats

Kimse Yok Mu gives away meat aid to six thousand Afghan families

A helping hand to orphan leader’s country Benin

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News