Religious leader: I was told to blame Gülen movement for police banning my group meeting


Date posted: June 20, 2017

Alparslan Kuytul, president of the Furkan Foundation and leader of a religious group critical of the Turkish government, said he was advised to put the blame on the faith-based Gülen movement for a police intervention in a meeting of his followers in April and that the government would ultimately clear the way for his group to operate freely.

Speaking in a video recently published in the foundation’s website, Kuytul said a person, apparently close to the government, approached one of his advisers during a press conference in İstanbul in April after a violent police intervention in a gathering of his followers in Adana and said, “Tell your leader his way will be cleared if he blames FETÖ [a derogatory term used by government circles to refer to the Gülen movement].”

“I told my adviser to tell him that I would be a dishonest person to tell such a lie,” Kuytul said in the video.

On April 22, police in Turkey’s Adana province attacked members of the Furkan Foundation after Kuytul announced opposition to a presidential system of governance proposed by the ruling party Justice and Development Party (AKP).

When a group of around 200 people, including women and children, gathered at Atatürk Park in downtown Adana and representatives of the foundation wanted to read out a press release to mark the Holy Birth Week of the Prophet Muhammad, police attacked them with water cannons and tear gas after warning them that their gathering was not permitted.

When members of the group insisted on continuing with the event, 50 people were detained and four others were taken to a hospital after suffering injuries during the police intervention.

Following a failed coup last summer for which Turkish authorities blame the Gülen movement, a smear campaign was launched by government circles as part of efforts to demonize sympathizers of the movement, despite the fact that Fethullah Gülen, whose views inspired the movement, continuously has denied any involvement in the coup.

Source: Turkish Minute , June 20, 2017


Related News

Handcuffed justice

The ruling party has been undermining rule of law since the graft and bribery investigation that became public on December 17, 2013. It sees itself unfettered by laws and the Constitution. It has been sticking to the hoax of “parallel structure” –a veiled reference to members of the Hizmet movement inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen– in a desperate attempt to cover up the graft investigations.

Steller: For Turks, post-coup purges make U.S. safe harbor

There’s the political rhetoric — mainly Donald Trump’s proposal to ban Muslim immigrants or, in the most recent version, to suspend immigration from countries that have exported terrorism.

Erdoğan has to respect civil society

ŞAHİN ALPAY Colleagues and friends ask me, “What is the reason for the feud between the government and the Gülen movement and between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Fethullah Gülen?” This is, briefly, my response. In Turkey the demand for education is very high. Universities are unable to meet the demand and there are […]

Zaman school [in Cambodia] resists call for closure

Zaman school officials and parents yesterday urged the Cambodian government not to shutter the schools as the Turkish Ambassador to Cambodia Ilhan Tug has requested, saying students will ultimately suffer. Officials would also need to consider legal and administrative procedures, and so far, the schools have not violated any Cambodian law or regulation, he said.

On Gülen vs Erdogan – “And not equal are the good deed and the bad”

Martin Luther, the Christian leader who is called “the Father of the Reformation,” described two kingdoms: the kingdom of the world and the kingdom of heaven. In the contrasts between Erdoğan and Gülen, we surely see examples of this distinction.

Unscrupulous news reporting by Der Spiegel

ABDULLAH BOZKURT Der Spiegel’s recent article titled, “Dangerous Friends: Power Struggle Splits Turkish Ruling Party,” by Hasnain Kazim and Maximilian Popp, is perhaps the best example of the way in which Der Spiegel misrepresents and unfairly presents the magazine’s biased view of the Gülen movement in Turkey. This unscrupulous news piece may only pass as […]

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

A Personal Story from Turkey: I am a “Man of Law” Not a Terrorist!

Fethullah Gülen’s initiatives for peace to be discussed in Rotterdam

More than 60 countries attend panel organized by GYV at UN

The Mystery of Turkey’s Failed Coup

Who speaks for Islam in Turkey?

Kimse Yok Mu opens school for Syrian children

Fatih University graduates receive Feb. 28-like treatment at İstanbul University

Copyright 2024 Hizmet News