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

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

Turkey targets the Gulen family

Turkish police detained Fethullah Gulen’s brother on Sunday. Fethullah is one of five siblings. He has three brothers – Mesih, Salih, and Kutbettin – and two sisters, Nurhayat and Fazilet. Turkey accuses the preacher of organizing the July 15 coup attempt. His organization denies any involvement in the coup.

Former Hampton Roads physicist arrested after Turkey coup attempt

When Alicia Hofler of Newport News heard about terrorists bombing the Istanbul airport in June, she shot off an email to her old college friend, Serkan Golge, a NASA contractor in Houston.

Erdogan drags Turkey toward totalitarianism

Though the attempt ultimately failed, its aftermath and the president’s swift response have the potential fundamentally to shape Turkey’s future as a democratic nation. The all-encompassing, repressive nature of these actions is deeply worrying. All signs point to Erdogan seizing on the opportunity provided by the attempted insurrection, using it as justification to fully consolidate his power over Turkey.

Detainee says was pushed to make accusations about Gülen movement

Cleaning company owner Abdullah Yıldırım, who testified in court as part of an investigation launched based on a complaint from Okyanus Group CEO Nusret Argun, said police officers encouraged him to make accusations about the faith-based Gülen movement during interrogation.

‘I see the Hizmet movement as the best expression of Islam’

The Prophet Muhammad said that, it is in the Quran, it says that, we are created in different societies, cultures and backgrounds as a challenge to come together and understand each other and to bring about peace.

The era of dialogue will never be over

I saw, once again, what it means to be “stuck in time.” Breivik looks only to the past and disregards the potential for the human will to create change. He claims, in opposition to Gülen, that the time for dialogue is over. “We gave peace a chance. The time for armed resistance has come,” he declares.