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

How to Interview Fethullah Gulen

Turkey is in the spotlight (again) with TIME magazine’s choices for its 2013 list of the 100 most influential peoplein the world. Turkish spiritual leader Fethullah Gulen and the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) Abdullah Öcalan were both listed under the leaders section. Öcalan and Gulen are two enigmas. One lives in self-imposed […]

An ‘impossible’ choice: Leave 5-year-old son in foster care or risk being tortured

Nehir Aydin could be forced to make what she calls an “impossible” decision: either leave her five-year-old son alone in Canada, making him a ward of the state, or return to Turkey with him, where she and her family are at risk of persecution because of their religious beliefs.

What was the ‘postmodern coup’ about?

Şahin Alpay,  Sunday March 4, 2012 In the summer of 1996, a coalition government was formed in Turkey between the Islamist Welfare Party (RP) led by Mr. Necmettin Erbakan and the center-right True Path Party (DYP) led by Mrs. Tansu Çiller, who had declared herself to be the foremost opponent of the RP. This coalition […]

Yalçınbayır: Turkey has tendency towards institutionalization of bribery, corruption

Former Deputy Prime Minister and a former leading member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Ertuğrul Yalçınbayır said on Sunday that bribery and corruption have always been in Turkish politics and that there is a tendency toward the institutionalization of such crimes in the country.

Gülen extends condolences to coal mine victims

Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has extended condolences for victims of the coal mine blast in western Turkish town of Soma, wishing speedy recovery for injured workers.

Failure of political Islamists in Turkey

Gülen’s unwavering stand against Erdoğan’s cycle of corrupt power despite pressure, threats and intimidation has already exposed how much damage political Islamists have dealt to the religion of Islam as well as the Turkish nation. The appeal of politically exploited Islamist ideology has lost its shine and its strength has been diluted or broken during Erdoğan’s version 2.0 regime.

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

Afghan minister says proud his children studied at Turkish schools

Opposition deputy: Police detain one more woman shortly after delivery

Turkey detainees tortured, raped after failed coup, rights group says

Gülen says prefers staying longer in US to avoid ‘harming positive things’

The unwanted truth: the Muslim enemies of Islam

Cemevi next to mosque embraced by residents in Malatya

Gülen says never considered establishing political party

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News