Fethullah Gülen: Turkey is being dragged into a civil war


Date posted: December 18, 2016

Issuing a press statement following the latest terrorist attack in Turkey on Saturday, Muslim scholar Fethullah Gülen claimed that Turkey is being dragged into a civil war but underlined that sympathizers of the movement sometimes called after him would always remain peaceful no matter how they are treated.

“God forbid, it seems that Turkey is being dragged into civil war as a ground for ethnic and sectarian conflicts is built,” Gülen said on the hergul.org website, the online platform on which Gülen’s latest messages are shared with the public. He urged everyone who loves his or her country to be on the alert against such a possibility.

Gülen emphasized that the Hizmet, a.k.a Gülen, movement, has adopted “positive action” as a principle and that no matter how its sympathizers are treated, they would never pursue unconstitutional or illegitimate methods.

Despite Gülen’s consistent messages against violence, the Turkish government, led by the Justice and Development Party (AKP), has been accusing him of plotting a July 15 coup attempt and labeling the movement as a “terrorist” in the absence of any violent action by its followers.

Gülen has been living in self-imposed exile since 1999 in Pennsylvania. Over the years, a significant, yet unknown number of, people from Turkey have been inspired by his teachings promoting education and the peaceful coexistence of different faiths and have opened schools and dialogue centers around the world.

Turkey has been pursuing a relentless purge against the real and perceived sympathizers of the Gülen movement that gained momentum after July 15. Over 40,000 people have been arrested over alleged Gülen links while schools and companies that were run by the movement’s followers have been seized in the unprecedented purge.

Gülen previously argued that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan waged an all out war against the movement after the movement refused to support his bid for leadership of the Muslim world.

Source: Turkish Minute , December 18, 2016

Tags: | |


Related News

On front lines of fight for press freedom in Turkey

“I’m happy to be a journalist despite all the stress and pressure we’ve been under from the government,” Akarcesme said last Tuesday during a visit to the newspaper’s offices by group of Capital Region journalists and academics led by the Turkish Cultural Center of Albany.

Don’t forget! The real agenda is corruption, theft

The core matter is neither a power struggle between the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government and the Hizmet movement or a so-called imaginary “parallel state,” claim propagated in reference to the natural presence of sympathizers of the Hizmet movement in the public sector. Despite all attempts at diversion and distraction, what we should always keep in mind in our discussions is the charges of corruption, graft and unfair revenues.

Al-Zuhayli says Gülen’s ideas hope of humanity

Leading Islamic scholar Al-Zuhayli said the ideas of well-respected Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen stand as a hope for humanity. Leading Islamic scholar Wahba Mustafa al-Zuhayli from Syria, a participant of the two-day “Prophet’s Path Symposium” held over the weekend, October 9and 10, 2010, said the ideas of well-respected Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen stand as a hope for humanity. […]

Erdogan’s crackdown – Woman detained while showing newborn baby to jailed husband

S.Ö., whose husband was jailed a few weeks before she gave birth to a baby, was detained in Sakarya on March 8 when she went to Sakarya Prison to show him their newborn baby.

Dialogue Institute provides insight in Kansas City area on Turkey

Erdogan contends the failed takeover was inspired by cleric Fethullah Gulen, now in voluntary exile in the U.S. Erdogan is systematically trying to eliminate Gulen’s followers and has asked the U.S. to extradite him. Gulen has emphatically denied any involvement in the coup attempt and has suggested that it was staged as an excuse for Erdogan to stop dissenters. Gulen’s history suggests he is more humanitarian than militant.

The Dutch Turkish community must speak out about the anti-Gülen violence

Labour MP Ahmed Marcouch calls on Turkish-Dutch organisations to speak out about violence and intimidation and to build bridges instead. There’s a silence and it’s hurting my ears. It’s the silence that surrounds the violence against the Gülen supporters. What happened to the organisations normally so quick to ask for protection against intolerance? Where are […]

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

America Shouldn’t Give up Fethullah Gülen to Turkey

Turkey Now Back in Africa with Turkish Schools

Romanian Minister of Education gives Turkish Schools Teachers a Standing Ovation

Exiled Turks Fleeing Erdogan Find New Lives in Greece

Thousands attend Turkish Festival in Johannesburg

Panicky parents calmed over Feza Schools closure reports

Student from Pak-Turk school to represent Pakistan

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News