Former Turkish President Gül denies having any relationship with the Gülen movement or Fethullah Gülen but history tells…

In this 2011 photo, President Abdullah Gul greets Seref Ali Tekalan, rector of Fatih University, which was closed down during the anti-Gulen crackdown.
In this 2011 photo, President Abdullah Gul greets Seref Ali Tekalan, rector of Fatih University, which was closed down during the anti-Gulen crackdown.


Date posted: January 4, 2017

HizmetNews.Com

Former Turkish President Abdullah Gül answered 27 questions sent to him by the parliamentary Coup Investigation Commission, while current President Erdogan, Chief of Staff Hulusi Akar and National Intelligence Agency head Hakan Fidan were not questioned although they were directly affected by the attempted coup.

In his answers, Gül denied having relations with neither the Gülen movement nor Fethullah Gülen. But, history tells the opposite: Gül attended many activities of the Gülen movement; he even hosted, in his official residence, students of Turkish schools from many countries during a Turkish Language and Culture Olympiad in 2011.

In a video available in the internet, Gül is seen attending to the opening of Bank Asya, an Islamic lender established by sympathizers of Gülen, in 1996 along with Gülen current President, then-mayor of İstanbul Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and then-Prime Minister Tansu Çiller.

When hosting the students from Gülen-inspired Turkish schools President Gül in his speech praised these initiatives and said: “This is (the schools) a great service to Turkey, Turkish language and culture.” He was also bestowed with “Karamanoglu Mehmet Bey Turkish Language Award” by the organizing committee of the Olympiad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcscBk2KOD4

It was not clear why President Gül gave a statement as if he had been unaware of the Gülen movement. Once, it was even perceived and circulated in the media that that he was a follower of Fethullah Gülen.

President Gül attended many activities of the Gülen movement in Turkey and abroad. Below are some of them:

President Gül opens Turkish-Kazakh school in Astana

President Gül inaugurates Turkish school in Kenya

Turkish President Gül: Turkish schools abroad largest non-state project

President Gül hosts Turkish Olympiad students in Ankara

 

Tags: | |


Related News

Client fearfully waiting his turn to be tortured at Ankara police station: lawyer

An Ankara lawyer who wants to remain anonymous has said his/her client, detained over his links to the Gülen movement, was waiting his turn in fears to be tortured at a detention facility in Turkey’s capital.

Turkish coup attempt: who is Fethullah Gülen?

The Turkish government, including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has pointed the finger at Fethullah Gülen – also known as leader of the Hizmet movement – as the mastermind behind Friday’s attempted coup by the country’s military. But who is Gülen? We take a look at the Islamic cleric and how he has affected Erdoğan’s presidency

Will the AKP lose votes in disagreement with Gülen movement?

It is very likely that the real purpose of the government is indeed to punish the Gülen movement. Many political observers disagree with such a claim however, AKP officials have not find any convincing argument that will convince conservative people that the government is not punishing the Gülen movement, a movement that has touched many lives among the conservative people in the heartland of Anatolia.

Germany investigates possible anti-Gulen spies

German police have raided apartments of four men suspected of carrying out espionage on behalf of the Turkish government. The men, said to be clerics, are accused of spying on supporters of cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Paralyzed by ill-treatment in Sivas prison, Turkish police officer dies at 33

Kadir Eyce, a 33-year-old police officer who was jailed due to alleged links to the Gülen movement, has died several weeks after he was released from prison due to health problems. According to photos and tweets posted by family members on Twitter, Eyce had been denied food and water in jail, thereby losing 45 kilograms in three months.

The more we learn, the more we are the same

During my stay in Turkey, I met with many business leaders and academics that provide funding for schools and universities based on this philosophy. As one businessman told me, “Educated people can understand each other.”

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

Doğan: Gülen stood against anti-cemevi campaigns

Nigerian education minister says Nigeria indebted to Turkish schools

Turkey’s Brain Drain and the Disappearing Academic Freedom

Fethullah Gulen Calls Crackdown ‘Dark Pages’ in History – Responses to World Affairs Council of Philadelphia

Liberals silent as Turkey targets its own Khashoggi

Persecution In Turkey Left Kids With A Down Syndrome Suffering Tremendously

Who put those 4.5 million dollars there?

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News