AfSV Statement on the Turkish government’s detainment of Kutbettin Gülen


Date posted: October 8, 2016

Alliance for Shared Values issued the following statement on the Turkish government’s detainment of Kutbettin Gülen

News of the detention of Kutbettin Gülen, the brother of Fethullah Gülen, is as unsurprising as it is troubling, and it is yet the latest example of the Turkish government’s persecution of innocent citizens in the wake of the July 15 coup attempt. Kutbettin Gülen, like tens of thousands of others in Turkey, has been detained on trumped-up charges used by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s administration to silence dissent and cement his autocratic hold on power. Just in the last few days, Erdoğan extended the country’s state of emergency, issued arrest warrants for more than 100 citizens and suspended more than 12,000 police officers, adding to a total of more than 100,000 innocent people systematically detained, jailed or purged.

 About the Alliance for Shared Values

The Alliance for Shared Values (AFSV) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that serves as a voice for dialogue organizations affiliated with Hizmet, a civil society movement inspired by prominent preacher and peace advocate Fethullah Gülen. Based in New York, the Alliance strives to promote peace and to eliminate prejudice and discrimination against any or all ethnic, cultural and religious communities. To learn more about the Alliance please visit www.afsv.org.

About Fethullah Gülen

Fethullah Gülen is an Islamic scholar, preacher and social advocate, whose decades‐long commitment to interfaith tolerance and altruism has inspired millions in Turkey and around the world. Gülen is the honorary chairman of the Rumi Forum, Washington, DC; the Intercultural Dialogue Platform, Brussels, Belgium; and the Foundation of Journalists and Writers, Istanbul, Turkey.

-For legal inquiries, please contact:

Jason Weinstein

Steptoe & Johnson LLP

202-429-8061

jweinstein@Steptoe.com

-For all other inquiries, please contact:

Dr. Y. Alp Aslandogan

Alliance for Shared Values

212-682-4278

media@afsv.org

Source: Alliance for Shared Values , October 4, 2016


Related News

Abant Platform on Africa to convene on Friday

SEVGİ AKARÇEŞME, İSTANBUL The 29th meeting of the Abant Platform, to focus on Africa, will be held from June 28-30 on Lake Abant in the province of Bolu. Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) Secretary-General Hüseyin Hurmalı told Today’s Zaman on Wednesday that the Abant Platform had established a partnership earlier this year with the African Union, which […]

New Book – “Beginnings and Endings: Fethullah Gülen’s Vision for Today’s World”

Instead of apocalyptic visions of clashing religions and civilizations, Gülen envisions eschatological fulfillment of the world, and thus meets the reader as a man of devout and informed hope. This seminal hope manifests itself in the determined actions of the committed men and women working to end ignorance, poverty, and disunity in todays world.

The Gulen Movement is not a cult or terrorist group

The Gulen movement doesn’t support or engage in any terrorist activities. Although an Islamic movement, it is a social movement rather than a political one that focuses on the growth and change of education as a way to empower the Muslims for the future. They are open to dialogue, tolerant, moderate and non-violent. So for anyone to say that the Gulen movement is a cult, doesn’t know that they emphasize on dialogue and peace.

Malaysia detains Turkish academic second time at Turkey’s request

İsmet Özçelik, a Turkish academic with a UNHCR refugee card, was detained again on Thursday in Malaysia amid news that two other Turkish citizens who were believed to have been kidnapped were in fact detained by the authorities.

Turkish PM Erdoğan launches another war [in Turkey]

Turkey’s Islamic camp is more diverse than one would think. In fact, the traditions that Erdoğan and Gülen come from have almost always been distinct and different from each. The former has been more explicitly Islamist, at times anti-Western and anti-Semitic. The latter, the line of Gülen, which goes back to scholar Said Nursi (1878-1960), has rather stayed closer to center-right parties and have been more friendly to the West and also other “Abrahamic” faiths.

Astonishing questions about the failed coup attempt in Turkey

Many people watching the stunning events in Turkey believe that the coup attempt was nothing but a pure ‘theater.’ The leader of the coup was a pro-Erdogan General Mehmet Disli, brother of AKP deputy Saban Disli, who defines himself as Erdogan’s confidante. The poorly-planned coup attempt has started with the capture of Istanbul’s Bosporus Bridge. […]

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

Turkish Islamic scholar Gülen rejects any link to graft probe

Gülen offers condolences for slain İstanbul resident shot at protest

Today is another Human Rights Day, but atrocities persist | Opinion

Gülen’s lawyer to sue daily Sabah over black propaganda

Turkey’s failed coup could worsen Nigeria’s recession

Professors in Gaziantep profiled alongside students

President emphasizes importance of domestic peace for development

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News