Was there a sincere alliance between the Gulen Movement and Erdogan?


Date posted: August 24, 2016

NRT correspondent Huner Anwer interviews Fethullah Gulen in his Pennsylvania residence ask the crucial question on alliance between the Gulen Movement and Erdogan. Gulen says, briefly, there has never been sincere alliance between them but the movement supported Erdogan as long as Erdogan stayed in line with democratic values and honored rule of law.

Below is transcript of the interview

Huner Anwer: You and Mr. Erdogan were friends, some sort of allies until 2013. Your movement seems more like an education movement. What brings you politics and what did happen between you and Erdogan that made you end friendship now?

Fethullah Gulen: There has never been an alliance, a sincere alliance, in the sense of a political alliance between us. During the formation efforts of their party, Mr. Erdogan visited me and I spoke with him at that time once. And I also met him when he was Istanbul’s mayor when we organized a charity soccer game for the benefit of Bosnian war victims. So I met him only two or three times throughout this period. But despite the absence of an actual alliance, people outside always saw this as an alliance.

The true nature of this relationship is as such that they have promised to uphold the rule of law, justice. They promised to respect the diversity of opinions. They promised to respect religious freedom. They promised to respect different opinions and worldviews. And our friends along with the majority of Turkish people supported them based on these promises, such as Mr. Suleyman Demirel who was prime minister and then president of Turkey, Mr. Turgut Ozal who was also Prime Minister and the President of Turkey, and Mr. Bulent Ecevit who was the Prime Minister. They all received support for similar promises for democracy, and the rule of law, and freedom. So Turkish people, based on the promises of these political leaders, supported them at different times.

But I should note that we have not received this kind of treatment from any of those previous leaders. We have not received this form of harassment and persecution neither from Mr. Suleyman Demirel nor Mr. Turgut Ozal nor Mr. Bulent Ecevit. While this process was going on, I was in the United States. And whenever I saw a democratic reform, I supported it.

In 2010, there was a proposal for the constitutional amendment and I supported it because it was democratizing the judiciary. And I supported it, but we have never formed a party. We have never joined a party. We have not become political. We have simply preserved our line of thought, our core values, which are universal human values: peace in the world, unity and harmony among human beings, and to fight against poverty. These are our core values and we have not strayed from them. If we wanted we could have taken a place in the party. We could have demanded parliamentary seats. We could have demanded seats in the Cabinet or a bureaucratic position of the government. But we have not done any of this. They have designed the Parliament, they have designed the Cabinet, they have designed bureaucratic institutions as they wished. And all of the worlds is a witness to this.

So if you’re going to talk about the separation or the split, this is because they strayed from their promises. We have not changed our position, our core values, but they made a U-turn. That’s why the split occurred. And now this treatment of our friends in Turkey and the polarization of the Turkish society is so bad that even the honorable Khizer and Prophet Moses, even if they were to work together, they could not improve and solve the situation in two or three years.


Related News

Portrait of the Gülen Brotherhood, sworn enemy of Turkey’s President Erdogan

Some are answered by a confidential document produced by the European Union Intelligence and Situation Centre (INTCEN). Nevertheless, its authors feel that the Gülen movement is not behind the coup attempt. There is no evidence that the army (…) and the Gülenists (…) had had any intention to cooperate in overthrowing Erdogan, they say.

Transparency and trust is our only weapon says Turkish NGO chairman

İsmail Cingöz underlined how Kimse Yok Mu is an organization praised around the world for its independent, transparent and efficient humanitarian aid activities and that the current investigation of it being an armed terrorist group is being closely monitored by international agencies including those in the UN and EU.

Turkish educator says Demirel stood with Turkish schools abroad

Turkish educator Süleyman Alptekin has said that Turkey’s ninth president, Süleyman Demirel, who died on Wednesday at the age of 90, won people’s hearts with his open support for Turkish educators and Turkish schools abroad inspired by the views of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen. Alptekin was flown back to the country in Demirel’s plane after being seriously injured in an accident in Bangladesh in 1997.

Friends of Hrant slam gov’t attempt to associate Dink murder with Gülen movement

A group called Friends of Hrant Dink, including lawmakers and activists, has harshly criticized the government’s recent attempt to associate the Dink’s murder with the Gülen movement, inspired by the teachings of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, calling on authorities to expose the real criminals behind the murder.

Time For Gulen Movement To Leave Turkey?

Turkey is a hell for people inspired by teachings of cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is residing in rural Pennsylvania. Participants of the movement always say that their dream is way big to fit in the constraints of Turkey. Perhaps it is time to jump out of these constraints. At least for now.

Let Mr. Erdogan Fight His Own Battles

Mr. Erdogan is trying to drag the United States into the argument by threatening to demand Mr. Gulen’s extradition to Turkey. Some experts say there is no legal basis for an extradition request because there are no charges or legal cases against Mr. Gulen, who has permanent-resident status and has lived in rural Pennsylvania since 1997.

Latest News

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

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

Woman detained over links to Gülen movement after giving birth

HRW report: No evidence to accuse Gülen movement of terrorism

The Gülen Movement and human rights values in the Muslim world

Study Reveals Horrible Pattern Of Hate Speech By Erdoğan, The Chief Hatemonger In Turkey

NTIC: Showcasing Nigerians’ Academic Prowess

Huntsville’s Peace Valley Foundation sets annual Dialogue Dinner and awards

Plan to finish off the Hizmet movement

Copyright 2023 Hizmet News