Fethullah Gulen Calls Crackdown ‘Dark Pages’ in History – Responses to World Affairs Council of Philadelphia


Date posted: September 16, 2016

Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen whom Turkey accuses of masterminding July’s abortive coup again condemned the Turkish government crackdown on his supporters, saying Thursday that his “heart is aching.”

In videotaped remarks to the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia, Fethullah Gulen said the Turkish government is using the attempted coup to justify persecuting his followers, who he said are being “subjected to oppression and tyranny, molestation and unlawful acquisition of their private properties.”


Related News

Islamic scholar Gülen rejects involvement with graft probe and wiretappings

“If among those who conducted the graft investigations were some people who might be connected to the Hizmet movement, was I supposed to tell these people, ‘Turn a blind eye to the corruption charges?’ It appears to me that some people were expecting me to do this. Did they expect me to do this? How can I say something that would ruin my afterlife? How else can I act?” Fethullah Gülen said.

Turkey Coup Attempt: Who is Fethullah Gülen, The Cleric Being Accused Of Orchestrating The Turmoil?

In an address to his supporters at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport early on Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Fethullah Gülen — a cleric living in a self-imposed exile in the United States — of orchestrating the coup attempt against his government. Here’s what you need to know about Gülen, who has denied being involved in the […]

Informant on Gülen movement members says he fabricated testimony to avoid jail time

İbrahim Demirtaş, a major in the Turkish military who testified as an informant in investigations into sympathizers of the faith-based Gülen movement, has admitted that his statements were false and made in order to avoid prosecution and jail time.

Local Muslims share Ramadan meal with each other and the community

Golden light was still streaming outside of the tent situated between East College Avenue and East Calder Way on Friday night, a small fact of large significance to the people seated inside, the majority of whom had not eaten or drank anything since sunrise.

Erdoğan vows to strip Gülen sympatizers off Turkish citizenship

Speaking in his Black Sea hometown of Rize on Saturday, Erdoğan repeated his unsubstantiated accusations against the Gülen movement, calling its sympathizers “terrorists.” Erdoğan urged these people under persecution to become citizens of the countries in which they are living, saying that “they will not be considered citizens of this country.”

Gülen’s lawyer files criminal complaint against several Twitter accounts

In the criminal complaint, which was filed at the Ankara Public Prosecutor’s Office, it was written that suspects were claimed to have committed a crime by “tapping phone calls, and [making] audio and visual recordings [of] Mr. Gülen illegally.”

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

Biden in Turkey: Holding the Line on Human Rights

Minister of Defense Yilmaz Visits Turkish School in Tokyo

A Letter To The Free World | Hidayet Karaca

Can resurrecting the caliphate solve Muslims’ problems?

Turkish school students raises pocket moneys to buy stoves for refugees

668 Babies to welcome Eid Al-Adha in Turkish prisons

Abant Platform on Africa to convene on Friday

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News