Gulen Denies Involvement – Erdogan Uses Coup for Repression


Date posted: July 31, 2016

Cathy Burke

The Muslim cleric being blamed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for masterminding a bloody coup attempt says “ultranationalists” were behind the plot in a “scenario” that looked “more like a Hollywood movie” than a military uprising.

In an interview aired Sunday on CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS,” Fethullah Gulen, living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, denied having any direct connection with those who plotted the coup attempt.

He suggested that the immediate arrest or firing of thousands of Turkish officials showed that Erdogan had planned such a move, and was waiting for a pretext.

Gulen is a moderate Islamic theologian and preacher who leads the Hizmet movement, which opposes Islamic extremism, jihadism or terrorism in any form. The group has held enormous influence in Turkey’s public bureaucracies, and has pushed for stronger ties between Turkey and Europe as well as NATO.

“If there is anyone I told about this verbally, if there is any phone conversation, if one-tenth of this accusation is correct, I will band my neck and say, ‘they are telling the truth, let them take me away, let them hang me.'”

“I have neither talked to anyone, nor did I say anything to anyone on the phone,” he insisted.

According to The Washington Post, Turkish leaders are stepping up their calls for the United States to detain and deport Gulen to Turkey for his supporters’ allegedly being behind the failed July 15 coup attempt.

On Sunday, Gulen said, “They (the Erdogan government) will do whatever it takes, but if they could provide evidence for one-tenth of what they have been claiming and take me back by force, there is not much I can say about this.

“What matters is whether or not they can do this by means of law, and I don’t think this will happen with the will of God,” he said.

Gulen speculated about “ultranationalisst” behind the attempt.

“According to some… ultranationalists have planned this and they put some religious-appearing people at the front in order to demonize them, with the idea that such a scenario would receive grassroot public acceptance,” he said.

Gulen also mocked the idea those in the military, bureaucracy and the judiciary loyal to him might be trying to destabilize the Turkish government, and suggested a “state scenario.”

“I don’t think it is possible … some people stated a scenario, then someone who’s seemingly a fan has led some people into this,” he said. “It looks more like a Hollywood movie than a military coup.

“It seems something like a state scenario… from what is being seen, that they have prepared the ground for what they have already planned,” he added.

Gulen and President Erdogan had once been allies. But the two broke as Erdogan began taking steps to undermine Turkey’s democracy and constitution. Since taking power, Erdogan has fired or arrested most of the country’s senior military staff.

He has also embarked on a systematic effort to squelch political dissent. Hundreds of journalists have been arrested in recent years, making Turkey the most repressive of media in NATO.

Gulen conceded some supporters might have been among the rebels.

“There might have been some sympathetic people among them,” he said. “I would consider them to be betraying the nation, I would consider them to be disrespectful of my long-time ideas. ”

“I would curse people who resort to coups against democracy, liberty and republic,” he declared.

Source: NewsMax , July 31, 2016


Related News

GYV says arrest warrant for Gülen motivated by upcoming election

The Journalists and Writers Foundation’s (GYV), of which Fethullah Gülen is the honorary president, issued a statement on Wednesday slamming the government-orchestrated arrest warrant for Gülen as a government election tactic.

Erdoğan receives harsh criticism from civil society over bid to close Turkish schools

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s bid for the closure of Turkish schools affiliated with the Gülen movement in African countries has drawn harsh criticism from various segments of the society, including journalists, artists and politicians.

Turkish minister: Gulenists are more dangerous than ISIL because they’re well-educated

Berat Albayrak, Turkish energy minister and son-in-law of President Tayyip Erdoğan, has said at a conference that people affiliated with the Gülen movement are more dangerous than Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants because they’re well educated and have “higher IQs” than his own.

Opposition lashes out at terror investigation against Kimse Yok Mu

Opposition deputies have shown strong reactions to a shocking investigation being conducted by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office against prominent charity organization Kimse Yok Mu on charges of terrorism, defining the probe as an “oddity of law.”

Foreword to “The Gulen Movement: Civic Service without Borders”

I have long been an admirer of Fethullah Gulen not only because he speaks of and promotes a compassionate version of Islam, but also because the movement he has inspired enables that vision by establishing educational institutions that practise and embody what they teach.

Gulen followers encourage education, awareness

In spite of the recent subversive attempts to have cleric Fethullah Gulen extradited to Turkey, members of the Alliance for Shared Values are encouraging education and awareness to combat the government’s tactics.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Corruption investigation: Questions that will hound PM Erdoğan

Turkey’s top Muslim cleric visits Turkish school in Cameroon

Real democrats cannot politicize Islam

German gov’t dismisses parliamentary question on Hizmet

World’s oldest temple closed to visitors due to excavation team links with Gülen

Welcome to the Republic of Paranoia

Gülen calls for peaceful coexistence, warns about deceit and oppression

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News