Fethullah Gulen’s Statement on Devastating Bush Fires in Australia
Date posted: January 9, 2020
I am shocked and deeply saddened by the news of the enormous bush fires in Australia that caused the deaths of 24 Australian citizens, burned over 1000 homes and took the lives of millions of animals.
My thoughts and prayers are with those across Australia who are continuing to face these devastating fires.
I had a chance to visit Australia in 1992 and was struck by the beauty of the land and the warm-heartedness of its people. It pains me to see the unprecedented damage to this beautiful land and its wildlife.
I am confident that the brave and energetic spirit of the Australian people will help them overcome this challenge and restore the damaged habitat.
May this tragic event be an occasion to reflect worldwide on the blessings we enjoy on this planet, strengthen our commitment to protecting the environment and wildlife and review our response measures.
I express my heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of those who lost their lives, to the country’s national and local leaders and to the people of Australia.
I invite everybody from around the world to help Australians and pray to God, the Most Compassionate, to help emergency service workers and all Australians at this difficult time.
Who is Fethullah Gülen, why is the Gülen movement currently being targeted by the Turkish government?
since 2010 the movement and Fethullah Gülen himself have been critical of the authoritarian tendencies in Turkey. It was noticeable during the Gezi Park protests in 2013. The movement began to belong to the increasingly long list of state enemies, according to Erdoğan and the AKP politicians. Different kinds of actions have been directed since then against a so called “parallel state.”
Turkish PM Erdoğan launches another war [in Turkey]
Turkey’s Islamic camp is more diverse than one would think. In fact, the traditions that Erdoğan and Gülen come from have almost always been distinct and different from each. The former has been more explicitly Islamist, at times anti-Western and anti-Semitic. The latter, the line of Gülen, which goes back to scholar Said Nursi (1878-1960), has rather stayed closer to center-right parties and have been more friendly to the West and also other “Abrahamic” faiths.
Analysis: Power of Turkey’s Fethullah Gulen
PM Erdogan accuses Hizmet supporters within the state of plotting a “coup” against the government. But the scale of the upheaval in the police, judiciary, Turkish state TV and other parts of the bureaucracy is already similar to what happens in a coup. The current Erdogan-Gulen stand-off is reminiscent of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s hostile relations with Said-i Nursi, a politically active Kurdish preacher in the formative years of the Turkish Republic.
Lawyers for Gulen Call Flynn’s Comments ‘Troubling’
Gulen has never been charged with a crime in the U.S., and he has consistently denounced terrorism as well as the failed coup in Turkey. One of Gulen’s lawyers, Jason Weinstein, called Flynn’s comments about Gulen “troubling” but said the extradition process is a legal matter in the hands of the Department of Justice.
U.S.-based Turkish cleric says used as scapegoat in graft scandal
REUTERS U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen has denied giving orders to police and prosecutors in a corruption inquiry rocking the government, saying his worldwide movement of followers was being used as a scapegoat to divert attention. In his first TV interview in 16 years, the influential preacher told the BBC that Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan […]
Gulen Movement, civilian governments and the AK Party
The Gulen movement’s understanding of politics and the political process differentiate it from the military and bureaucratic elite. Its main political objective is to transform society by raising the moral consciousness of individuals. By raising moral consciousness, the movement hopes to cleanse the bureaucracy of widespread corruption, increase the efficiency and transparency of state institutions, reinvigorate public work ethic to serve the people in order to enhance the legitimacy of the state, and create opportunity spaces for marginalized sectors of the Anatolian population.
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