Written Evidence to UK Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee on Hizmet
Date posted: December 15, 2016
The Alliance for Shared Values of the US & The Dialogue Platform of the UK prepared a report on “UK’s relations with Turkey” that focuses on the Hizmet Movement. The report may be downloaded, disseminated for free and even printed.
Two representatives from the above mentioned organizations were personally invited to submit written evidence by the Committee to explain Hizmet and provide Hizmet’s perspective, and response to the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government’s allegations against Fethullah Gülen and the Hizmet movement (Hizmet), including but not restricted to, the failed coup. The submission’s length and content, both checked in advance with the Committee Specialist, is a reflection of the variety and gravity of allegations made by the AKP government against Gülen and Hizmet.
Executive Summary
Hizmet (“Service’) is a decentralised civil society movement which originated in Turkey but is now transnational. Its lead scholar, Fethullah Gülen, teaches a peaceful, spiritual and dialogic form of Islam, recognises democracy as the best form of governance, favours an Anglo-Saxon style of secularism, and advocates for Turkey’s accession to the EU. He opposes identity politics and argues that Islam does not dictate a particular form of governance and there is no responsibility on Muslims to found an “Islamic state.” He suggests that Muslims should strive for a vibrant civil society. He has consistently and strongly denounced any form or type of terrorism.
Until recently outsiders perceived the movement as an ally of Turkey’s AK Party. However, with Erdoğan’s growing authoritarianism and since the Gezi Park Protests, the President and the AK Party have singled out Hizmet as a convenient political scapegoat and have taken continuous, accelerating, and frequently unlawful steps to dismember the movement and to eradicate it from Turkey and the rest of the world. Despite the fact that Turkey’s AK Party explains almost every detrimental development in Turkey today by reference to Gülen, it is important to note that this Committee’s 2010 – 2012 report on Turkey featured only one passing reference to Gülen. If the accusations about Gülen were true, then surely this would have been picked up and raised by at least some of the experts and witnesses that submitted written and oral evidence to the Committee for the 2010 – 2012 report.
Even when targeting Hizmet, Erdoğan uses specific allegations for specific purposes. For example, claiming that Hizmet has established a “parallel state” within the state allows the government to purge the state of non-loyalists en masse. Excommunicating Gülen and Hizmet from Islam serves to sever Hizmet’s public support. Claiming that Hizmet is CIA-, MOSSAD-, MI6-funded and coordinated is intended to turn ordinary Muslims against Hizmet. Claiming that Hizmet is in fact a “terrorist organisation” enables the government to proscribe the movement, terrorise its grass roots, and confiscate all of its property and assets. Pinning the coup on Hizmet enabled the AKP government to justify its persecution of Hizmet and its pre-designation of it as an “armed terrorist organisation.” Claiming that Hizmet is secretive helps support the other allegations but also works best outside of Turkey where the more bombastic accusations are approached with scepticism.
The spurious accusation against Gülen and the Hizmet movement is being used to justify a huge number of real and even deadly human rights violations against Hizmet participants inside and outside Turkey. These human rights violations are not confined to Hizmet, however, but encompass all opposition to or even critics of Erdoğan or the current government, especially journalists and members of Turkey’s Kurdish minority. Erdoğan’s threats to “eradicate” and “exterminate” Hizmet even beyond Turkey’s borders are an incitement to violence within the UK and this, as well as human rights violations within Turkey must be seen to have an impact on UK foreign policy.
Given the nature of the personal invitation to submit to the Committee, this written statement addresses the above-mentioned allegations as well as the nature of Hizmet, Hizmet in the UK, the persecution of Hizmet before and after the coup, why Hizmet is being singled out by the AKP government and some recommendations.
Contents
INTRODUCTION AND BIOGRAPHY
FETHULLAH GÜLEN
HIZMET MOVEMENT
HIZMET IN UK AND TRANSPARENCY
PERSECUTION OF HIZMET
Human Rights Violations against Hizmet between 2013 and 2015
Human Rights Violations against Hizmet since the failed coup
Defamation campaign against Hizmet condemned by CSOs from across country
A large-scale dark propaganda war is being conducted by some circles close to the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government against the Hizmet movement and Gülen, particularly since a corruption scandal erupted in December of 2013 in which three Cabinet ministers’ sons, many state bureaucrats and renowned businessmen accused of giving bribes in exchange for favors were implicated.
Fresh political raids targets leading Turkish NGO Kimse Yok Mu
Police teams from the Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime division stormed the office of UN member NGO Kimse Yok Mu’s branch in Turkey’s northwestern province of Kocaeli on Wednesday in the latest political raid to sweep the country.
Sacred, Secular, Twin Tolerations and the Hizmet Movement
Dr. Ihsan Yilmaz For me, the month of November is a month of conferences that I have to both endure but also enjoy. From New Orleans, I flew to Lahore to present a paper at another international conference titled “Ideal Human and Ideal Society in the Thoughts of M. Fethullah Gülen.” Scholars from many parts […]
Turkey’s spying imams also active in Norway: monitoring group
Norwegian Islamist religious organizations that are affiliated with the Turkish government and its Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) are reportedly involved in unlawful profiling activities of unsuspecting people of Turkish origin across Norway.
Turkey’s Gulen supporters flee to Greece – BBC World
Hundred of members of Turkey’s Gulenist network have sought refuge in neighbouring Greece. Turkey accuses the network of being behind the failed coup in July 2016. And in recent months, the number of lives in exile appears to be increased as the BBC’s Cagil Kasapoglu reports from Thessaloniki.
Council of Europe warns against hate speech by senior state officials in Turkey
The human rights body of the Council of Europe, the Commission against Racism and Intolerance, issued a report on Wednesday about the increasing use of hate speech, even by senior state officials. While President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called the Gülen sympathizers “viruses,” Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım labeled them microbes. The movement is the main target of a massive purge and witch-hunt in Turkey.
Latest News
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
University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links
In Case You Missed It
Turkish feast in Madagascar
The mother of all wars
For Turkish exiles in New Hampshire: No way back
Gülen’s attorney: Media speculation about extradition not true
Gulen Movement has been the driving force behind new relationships between Turkey and sub-Saharan African nations
Turkish charities dedicate well in Uganda to James Foley