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

A Comparative Approach to Islam and Democracy

Religion, particularly Islam, has become one of the most difficult subject areas to tackle in recent years. Contemporary culture, whether approached from the perspective of anthropology or theology, psychology or psychoanalysis, evaluates religion with empirical methods. On the one hand, religion is an inwardly experienced and felt phenomenon, one mostly related to life’s permanent aspects.

AK Party gov’t spokesman confirms National Intelligence Organization profiling of faith-based movements

The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government spokesman confirmed that the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) profiled some movements and groups, but rejected allegations that the government had taken action against those groups upon MİT profiling. AK Party government spokesperson Hüseyin Çelik raised the issue of government profiling of a large number of individuals who […]

8.5-month pregnant woman under arrest though baby faces heart, kidney problems

With only days to go before the delivery, a Kayseri woman is still held under arrest even though her baby has heart and kidney problems. If she was not under arrest, the baby would have been treated before it was born.

Zaman school [in Cambodia] resists call for closure

Zaman school officials and parents yesterday urged the Cambodian government not to shutter the schools as the Turkish Ambassador to Cambodia Ilhan Tug has requested, saying students will ultimately suffer. Officials would also need to consider legal and administrative procedures, and so far, the schools have not violated any Cambodian law or regulation, he said.

Hizmet movement demonized by Erdogan regime but loved abroad

South Africa is a good example of a country that has not been pressured into adopting the narrative touted by the Turkish government. Local politicians, students and academics regularly acknowledge the Hizmet Movement’s altruistic activities in the country.

Fethullah Gulen condemns the coup attempt in Turkey

I condemn, in the strongest terms, the attempted military coup in Turkey. Government should be won through a process of free and fair elections, not force.

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

Gülen has strongly rejected comparison to Iran’s Khomeini time and again

60-year old man covers 309 km in 17 days to protest son’s arrest on coup charges

Witch hunt against the Gülen followers in Europe

Pictures of friendship drawn on hearts: Philippines

Parallel hearts…

Fethullah Gülen on Acts of Terrorism – in light of Paris and Beirut

First Lego League qualifier at Brooklyn Amity School

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News