Turkish cleric calls for international body to examine coup charges


Date posted: September 25, 2016

The U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen has called for an international commission to investigate Turkey’s charge that he orchestrated a failed coup last July, and said he would accept the findings if such a body found evidence of his guilt.

Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania since 1999, told the German broadcaster ZDF in an interview broadcast on Friday that there was no evidence linking him to the thwarted putsch, which he has denounced.

He accused Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan of using the coup to silence opponents.

Turkey has dismissed or suspended more than 100,000 people in the military, civil service, police, judiciary and education system since a group of rogue soldiers tried to topple the government.

“An international organization should examine the issue. If the charges are correct, I will gladly accept what they want. But they haven’t proven anything or responded to my suggestions. It’s all just pure conjecture,” Gulen told ZDF.

“If they can prove that I spoke personally or by telephone with those responsible for the attempted coup, I would be happy to bear the consequences,” he said.

Erdogan on Tuesday called on world leaders at the United Nations to take measures against what he called Gulen’s “terrorist network”, which he said threatened their security.

Turkish authorities have accused Gulen of building up over decades a network of followers inside the armed forces and civil service that attempted to take control of the government.

They have asked the United States to extradite or detain the cleric, who was once a close ally of Erdogan’s.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden last month told Erdogan during a visit to Ankara that Washington was cooperating with the extradition request but needed evidence to meet U.S. legal standards.

Gulen told ZDF that, if Washington approved the extradition request, he would comply. “If the U.S. says ‘Yes’, then I will go. Then I will spend the rest of my numbered days being tormented by them so that I can free myself even more from my sins and mistakes and reach God as a pure man.”

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Source: Reuters , September 23, 2016

Tags: | |


Related News

Turkish-Armenian intellectual says failed coup staged to purge Gülen followers

Turkish-Armenian linguist and writer Sevan Nişanyan, who escaped from a prison in İzmir in July, shared his take on a failed coup in Turkey last year, saying it was staged in order to cleanse the Turkish military of followers of US-based Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.

Book Review — Fethullah Gülen: A Life of Hizmet

Gülen comes off in the book as a charismatic figure, who is defined by humility. You can understand why some might find him troubling. He has inspired great loyalty. Yet, like the Dalai Lama and Pope Francis, he has used this charisma and loyalty for the good. A biography like this is important because it brings to life both the person, whose vision led to the creation of the movement and the nature of the movement itself.

Erdogan, Gulen Combat Islamophobia, Extremism

The main factor fueling Islamophobia in the West is extremist elements in the Muslim world. But non-extremist Muslims as well as religious leaders representing and interpreting Islam also have a share in the problem. Muslim religious leaders, for instance, fail to stand up against extremism as strongly as necessary. A major exception in this regard is a person from Turkey: Fethullah Gulen.

Defamation campaign against Gülen draws heavy criticism

Many prominent figures in the society have slammed an apparent defamation campaign targeting Turkish-Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen through the inclusion of his name among the list of most dangerous terrorists, saying that Gülen is a figure who has devoted his entire life to peace building efforts.

Standing by the Education Rights of Schoolgirls

Influential Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, who is considered by TIME magazine as “the most potent advocate of moderation in the Muslim world,” has strongly condemned the kidnappings in Nigeria as well as other such violent acts. In an interview he said that denying girls access to education simply goes against the spirit of the Muslim religious tradition and that women should be able to take on every role in our society, including those of physicians, military officers, judges and head of state.

Gülen urges patience over prep schools row

Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen expressed unhappiness over government [in Turkey] plans to abolish educational institutions that assist high school students to prepare for the national university admission examination and urged people to be patient in the face of this move, which is interpreted as a blow to education in the country.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

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

In Case You Missed It

Education in Mother Tongue: Eventual Solution to the Problem

Arrested Turkish Development

Rumi Peace and Dialogue Awards given in Washington

Why so merciless on yourself?

Police, gov’t inspectors raid Gülen-inspired private, prep schools in Gaziantep

Fethullah Gulen calls on Muslims to help Hurricane Sandy victims

Rumi Forum bestows Peace and Dialogue awards 2013

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News