This is beyond a witch-hunt – Turkey now blames Gülen movement for 9/11 attacks

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s chief advisor Yiğit Bulut.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s chief advisor Yiğit Bulut.


Date posted: October 31, 2016

In yet another example of scapegoating the Gülen movement for anything bad in Turkey or in anywhere else in the world, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s chief advisor Yiğit Bulut hinted at connections between FETÖ and the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US.

“FETÖ” is an abbreviation for the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization, coined by the Turkish government to label the movement as a terrorist organization. Erdoğan accuses the movement of masterminding a July 15 coup attempt in Turkey.

“This ‘terrorist network’ owns at least 230 schools in the US, and US nationals graduating from these schools hold positions at military and other institutions there. Such details are of crucial importance to the wise and to those who wish to figure them out.

“Considering these findings, let’s go back and ask: ‘Can there be a deep link between the FETÖ terrorist network and Sept. 11, 2001? What do you say, is it possible?” Bulut asked in his column published by the pro-government Star daily on Monday.

Bulut writes three columns per week for Star and also acts as a board member for Türk Telekom, Turkey’s largest telecommunication provider, which is partly owned by the state.
Accusing the movement of anything bad is nothing new in Turkey as top state officials as well as criminals and suspects also pin the blame on the movement for crimes, negligence and sometimes wrongdoing.

Last week, the infamous police officer who sprayed tear gas directly into the face of a female protestor, for which he received a suspended 20-month jail sentence, blamed his superior, whom he considers to be affiliated with the movement.

Earlier, Soma Holding Chairman Can Gürkan said Turkey’s worst mining accident that killed 301 people at his mine was a plot by the movement.

Sentenced to 19 years in prison for his ex-wife’s murder, Turkey’s infamous mob boss Alaattin Çakıcı earlier claimed that judges and prosecutors affiliated with the movement blocked a fair trial in his case.

Late in September, a report that the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office attached to its investigation into the movement stated that the removal of talented pilots from within the military and FETÖ’s ensuing infiltration has increased the occurrence of crashes.

Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli also suggested alleged links between the movement and the recent downgrade in the country’s sovereign debt rating by Moody’s.

Source: Turkish Minute , October 31, 2016


Related News

Somalia: Somaliland rules out closure of Gulen-linked school

Somaliland administration in northwestern Somalia has refused to follow in the footsteps of the federal government that suspended a school with links to reclusive Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen following a failed coup attempt in Turkey, Garowe Online reports.

‘Building Bridges Through Education’ explores education’s role in a globalized society

Leaders of more than a dozen universities from around the world recently visited California University of Pennsylvania to discuss collaborative educational opportunities and the cultural gap that education can bridge.

Unexpected consequences [of prep schools in Turkey]

The hottest debate in Turkey today is about the abolishment or, officially, the “transformation” of the private university prep schools. These are private enterprises. They are not schools but provide additional education to high school students to increase their ability to succeed in the nationwide university exams held every year.

Gülen says Turkey’s democracy eroding under AK Party rule

Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has said Turkey, which was not long ago the envy of Muslim-majority countries with its bid to become an EU member and dedication to being a functioning democracy, is reversing progress and clamping down on civil society, the media, the judiciary and free enterprise under the rule of the governing Justice and Development Party (AK Party).

This is too much! [About the Lies and Slanders directed to Gulen movement]

Prime minister said during the fourth ordinary general meeting of the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) in March of 2012:
“You are not backed by dark forces. You are not backed by the mafia, gangs, junta regimes. You are not backed by the bankers in Galata. You did not take advantage of the sources of the Treasury or public banks. You did not act according to an ideology. You did not surrender to the pressures and roadblocks. You only trusted in the people. Because you only relied on people, you are great and make this country great.”

Gülen, Erdoğan’s new agenda item with the West

Yet, no matter how strong of views he might voice to his interlocutors about the Gülen movement (Cemaat) he can’t save himself from the problem of credibility. While he was giving assurance in Brussels that he is not interfering with the judiciary, the fact that the very same day the pressure exerted by the undersecretary of the Justice Ministry to the chief prosecutor in his investigation on a corruption case was revealed through documents will lead the EU to approach these assurances with suspicion.

Latest News

Sacramento leaders gather for Iftar dinner in celebration of Ramadan

SEO Skill Suite: Tools for Keyword Research, Technical & Backlink Analysis

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

In Case You Missed It

International photography contest “Peace at the Frame”

HRW report: No evidence to accuse Gülen movement of terrorism

Light Academy schools groom global citizens

Fethullah Gulen’s Message of Condemnation and Condolences for St. Petersburg Terrorist Attack

Jailed Zaman editor says we are journalists, not terrorists

Turkey’s Erdogan and unending human rights repression

Berlin mayor accuses Turkey of waging war on Gulen supporters in Germany

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News