Fethullah Gulen: “If the allegations are proved, I agree to return to Turkey”

Islamic Scholar Fethullah Gulen
Islamic Scholar Fethullah Gulen


Date posted: August 11, 2016

Fethullah Gülen

French daily Le Monde published Turkish Islamic Scholar Fethullah Gulen’s op-ed on August 11, 2016. Below is short excerpt from his op-ed. Translation is by Google and slightly edited by HizmetNews.Com

“For seventeen years I have lived secluded in a small village in the USA. Claiming that I could, at 10,000 kilometers away, convince the army to carry out a coup against his government is simply defamation. Moreover, the charge was not taken seriously by world opinion. 

But if some in the military, who say they are supporters of the Hizmet were involved in the coup attempt, I say without any doubt, they are felons who have shaken the unity and the integrity of the country, have betrayed my ideals and have made hundreds of thousands suffer.

If some were under the influence of interventionist culture of the army and preferred to trample the values of Hizmet with this reflex – which I do not think – their sins can not be attributed to all supporters of the movement. May God punish them.

Nobody, including me, is above the law. I wish that all perpetrators, regardless of their affiliation, are sentenced to what they deserve through fair trial.

But since October 2014, the judiciary system is under the tutelage of the political power, the probability of getting a fair trial is almost zero. That is why I called for the creation of an international commission and announced that I would accept its findings.”

Read the op-ed in French.

 

Tags: | | | |


Related News

Interview: U.S. Judge Says Turkey’s Judiciary ‘Taken Over’ By Erdogan

Even before the coup attempt in July, the judiciary was being essentially taken over by [then] PM Tayyip Erdogan. When the attempted coup occurred in July, within 24 hours there were arrest warrants for almost 3,000 judges. And it’s very clear, and in fact it’s been admitted by the deputy chair of the High Council [of Judges and Prosecutors, the body that selects and assigns judges], that that list of judges had existed for years.

Greek broadcaster praises contributions of Gülen movement

HASAN HACI, ATHENS The Gülen movement’s contributions to opening Turkey up to the modern world were praised during a one-hour program launched on ERT, Greece’s national broadcaster, on Monday. The program, titled “Değişen Türkiye” (Turkey Changing), featured the opinions of many leading Greek journalists, academics and politicians on the Gülen movement. Fethullah Gülen was described […]

Hakan Şükür’s resignation

The resignation of İstanbul deputy Hakan Şükür from his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is not an ordinary resignation. It is the most serious incident that disrupts the prestige of the AK Party in the eyes of pious voters.
Şükür’s statement about his resignation must be carefully studied. This statement explains the Hizmet movement’s perspective regarding the recent row between the government and the Hizmet community for the first time and with a clear wording.

TUSKON: Twitter ban a disappointment in information age

Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) Chairman Rıza Nur Meral voiced his disappointment on Friday over the decision by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), which tries to attract voters with promises of democracy, more human rights, increased rule of law and reforms to gain EU membership, to block access to Twitter.

MEP: International investigation into Turkey’s rule of law needed

Schaake stated: “The separation of powers is under immense pressure in Turkey and the rule of law is not upheld. This crisis also impacts the relations between the European Union and Turkey, because measures taken, such as political intervention with the judicial branch, are not in line with European rules. The independence of the judiciary has been a concern for Europe for much longer.

Global Muslim networks: How far they have travelled

IT IS a long way from the Anatolian plains to a campus in the heart of London, where eminent scholars of religion deliver learned papers. And the highlands that used to form the Soviet border with China, an area where bright kids long for an education, seem far removed from a three-storey house in Pennsylvania, […]

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

EP discusses transparency call for Hizmet

Islamabad High Court moved against expected closure of Turkish schools

Man dies of heart attack while on way to help Turkish refugees in Greece

Comments on Turkey coup attempt by Prof. John Whyte

Interfaith Conference – Peace Islands Institute in Connecticut

Filling the gap left by Gulen

Student from Pak-Turk school to represent Pakistan

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News