Turkish imam in Australia mobilizes worshippers to spy on Gülen movement


Date posted: April 10, 2017

Arslan is heard asking people to report “every kind of information” regarding Gülen movement activities in Australia to Turkish consulates, in video footage captured at the Süleymaniye mosque.

Consulates should even be informed of who buys advertising in movement-affiliated newspapers, Arslan underlined.

According to Arslan, the video was recorded after a religious gathering at the mosque in Perth, the capital city of the state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia.

Süleymaniye mosque is funded by Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), a controversial institution that has been mired in allegations of espionage against Turkish expatriates critical of the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The Turkish government has pinned the blame for the July 15 coup attempt on the Gülen movement and has launched a worldwide witch hunt against its sympathisers.

German weekly Der Spiegel said last week that the Turkish government has been spying on its own citizens in 35 countries with the help of its diplomatic missions and mosques. Diyanet played a crucial role in the spying activities, asking its overseas personnel to profile movement supporters.

Source: Turkish Minute , April 7, 2017


Related News

US intel director: Turkish purge impeding fight against ‘Islamic State’

Turkey’s purge has removed military officers who’d been key figures in the US-led fight against the so-called “Islamic State,” says US intelligence head James Clapper. He called it a setback in US-Turkish cooperation.

South Africa is not a hunting ground for Erdogan

South Africans know what it means to be detained without trial and tortured. With that history in mind, the ANC-led government is not about to extradite a list of Turkish expats working in South Africa to Turkey, where their detention and torture is likely.

Ambassador says US having difficulty in seeing clear criterion in anti-Gülen operations

Speaking to a group of reporters in Istanbul on Friday, Bass said although the Turkish government insists that the anti-coup measures it has taken against followers of the Gülen movement are proportionate, it is difficult see that the Turkish government is taking its actions based on a clear criterion. Bass said the US was having difficulty in assessing whether the measures are proportionate and reasonable.

RTÜK fines Samanyolu for news about boy named after Gülen

The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) fined Samanyolu TV on Sunday for running a news story about a student named Fethullah Gülen who prepared for the Transition to Higher Education Examination (YGS) with the Hizmet-affiliated Körfez University Preparation School in İzmir. RTÜK said broadcasting the name of a student along with the school’s name […]

Supreme court calls on AK Party’s Şahin to substantiate claim about Gülen

The Supreme Court of Appeals has asked a senior Justice and Development Party (AK Party) official to hand over any evidence regarding his allegations about US-based Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen amid claims by the official that a judge at the high court had acted contrary to legal procedures and contacted Gülen before issuing his final verdict in a case against a businessman several years ago.

Gulen Accuses Erdogan of ‘Hijacking’ Kosovo Deportees

Fethullah Gulen, the Turkish preacher who has lived in voluntary exile in the US since 1999, on Tuesday criticized the deportation of six Turkish citizens from Kosovo to Turkey in an operation conducted by Turkish state intelligence, likening it to a hijacking.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

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

In Case You Missed It

Concluding statement of the International panel on Mary announced

Government allegedly plots to blame Bingöl attacks on Hizmet movement

Erdoğan’s ‘enemies’ find sanctuary in Greece

Defamation campaign against Gülen draws heavy criticism

Bank Asya says it weathers ‘stress test’, still strong

Purge-victim mother of three dies of heart attack

Islamism is dead!

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News