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

Detainees ‘beaten, sexually abused and threatened with rape’ after Turkey coup, Human Rights Watch claims

In a 43-page report published on Tuesday, the human rights group said a “climate of fear” had prevailed since July’s failed coup against President Tayyip Recep Erdogan and the arrest of thousands under a state of emergency.

Turkey Coup: Erdogan Uses Stalinist Measures To Crack Down On Education

In rhetoric reminiscent of the Stalinist purges, Erdoğan promised to “cleanse all state institutions”, rid Turkey’s judiciary of “cancer cells” and purge state bodies of the “virus”that has spread throughout Turkish state structures.

Victims of Turkey’s purge exploited also by lawyers with exorbitantly high fees

Victims of Turkey’s post-coup purge have been taking another toll from lawyers who ask outrageously high prices either to keep themselves out of trouble or to exploit from the lost causes. In Turkey, the presumption of innocence has been dramatically reversed and now everybody is assumed guilty until they prove their innocence.

Fethullah Gülen: President Erdogan is suffering from power poisoning

Mr. Erdogan’s witch-hunt in Turkey accelerated with the globalization of the Hizmet movement. When he closed the doors to activities such as language and culture festivals, other countries welcomed them. When Mr. Erdogan urged Turkish ambassadors to lobby their respective foreign governments to help close down schools started by Hizmet participants, those governments refused to go along.

The state, AKP, Religious Affairs Directorate, Alevis and rights

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) claimed it would minimize the space the state occupies in people’s lives and reduce bureaucracy and downsize the public sector when it was first elected to office. During the early years of its rule, it really moved to achieve these targets. But as it increased its control over the entire state apparatus, it has increasingly become yet another typical Turkish ruling party that prioritizes the state.

Albanian Ministry of Interior Violated Law in Trying to Deport Turkish National Selami Simsek

The Tirana Administrative Court of Appeal has concluded that the Ministry of the Interior acted illegally and bypassed UNHRC recommendations in its attempts to expel Turkish citizen, Selami Simsek.

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

US-based Turkish cleric denies involvement in coup plot

Turkish woman returned to prison with newborn 4 days after birth

Turkey Should Protect All Prisoners from Pandemic

Turkey to pay huge compensation for post-coup rights violations, main opposition says

Exit strategy for the AKP

Mali Minister of Education visits ‘Kimse Yok Mu’

Turkish Cultural Center’s Meat Drive in New York

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News