Ayse Bohurler says International Herald Tribune misquoted remarks on Gülen movement

Ayşe Böhürler
Ayşe Böhürler


Date posted: April 22, 2012

22 April 2012 / TODAYSZAMAN.COM

Ayşe Böhürler, a founding member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), has said her remarks on the faith-based Gülen movement were misquoted in an International Herald Tribune article last week, denying statements that were highly critical of the movement and attributed to her by the paper. “It would be impossible for me to say such things,” Böhürler told the Cihan news agency. “I will also send a disclaimer to the newspaper.”

An article published on April 18 and titled “Shadow force grows in Turkey” by Şebnem Arsu and Dan Bilefsky in the International Herald Tribune claimed that the movement inspired by well-respected Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has a hidden agenda.

“The movement’s stealthy expansion of power as well as its tactics and lack of transparency are now raising accusations that Gülen supporters are using their influence in Turkey’s courts, police and intelligence service to engage in witch hunts against opponents with the aim of creating a more conservative Islamic Turkey,” the report claimed.

The report also claimed that Böhürler “bemoaned that the lack of transparency and clear organizational structure that make it impossible to hold the group accountable.” “There is no reference point, they are kicking in the shadows. …They are everywhere and nowhere,” she was quoted by the paper as saying.

Böhürler said Arsu, who was translating her remarks, did not take any notes during the interview and made a translation “in her own way.” “The spots used in the article are irrelevant to what I said. I made very objective comments to prevent any misunderstanding during the interview. What I said was the movement may create a more transparent and correct perception if it is organized as a single NGO rather than multiple ones. But the remarks published in the report do not belong to me. They are based on perceptual selectivity of the translator as the interview was not recorded,” she said.

Gülen’s lawyer earlier dismissed the allegations which appeared in the article. Orhan Erdemli said in a statement on Friday that claims in the article, which accused Gülen supporters of infiltrating the police and judiciary, are unfounded and baseless.

Source: Today’s Zaman http://www.todayszaman.com/news-278204-founding-ak-party-member-says-iht-misquoted-remarks-on-gulen-movement.html


Related News

For first time, Fethullah Gülen curses purge of police officials in emotional speech

Fethullah Gülen has cursed those responsible for a purge of police officials involved in a corruption investigation. Turkish PM Tayyip Erdoğan has called the detention of scores of people seen as close to the government a “dirty operation” aimed at undermining his rule. Erdoğan has refrained from naming Gülen as the hand behind the investigation and he referred to an “illegal gang within the state” and systematically purged officials, including journalists in public broadcasters.

Gülen’s lawyer refutes Erdoğan’s claims as baseless

Nurullah Albayrak, the lawyer of Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, has denied President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s accusations against his client, saying the president has misrepresented the claims included in a recently unveiled indictment on a bugging scandal.

Turkish PM calls on Islamic scholar Gülen to return to Turkey

Self-exiled Islamic leader Fethullah Gülen should return to Turkey, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan suggested last night without directly mentioning the controversial religious figure by name. “We want this yearning to end,” Erdoğan said. “We want to see those who are abroad and longing for the homeland among us.” Erdoğan’s remarks came after he was granted […]

Islamic scholar Gülen sues interior minister over coup accusation

“Making efforts to set people up against one another and stir hostility by expressing those words is a behavior morally unacceptable,” lawyer Nurullah Albayrak said.

Why the West ‘failed to understand’ Turkey

Erdoğan has exploited the presence of Gülen-inspired people in the state bureaucracy as a tool to silence all opposition and grasp yet more power. If the Gülen movement did not exist, the president would have needed to create another “enemy of the state” to fight against in order to reach his ultimate aim.

Court accepts indictment against 9 officers in case seen as political witch hunt

The investigation into the nine police officers is being carried out by Adana Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor Ali Doğan. The investigation drew strong criticism, as they were based on claims made in government media outlets’ news reports. This raised suspicions as to whether the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) had kicked off a witch hunt against the Hizmet movement, which the prime minister recently threatened to “punish with a large-scale operation.

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

Religious freedom threatened by Turkey’s response to coup

A Different Kind of Coup? Why You Should Care About A “Reclusive” Turkish Imam in Pennsylvania

Biden’s office refutes Turkish minister’s claim that US has proof Gülenists plotted coup

Bruised by lavish palace, Erdoğan pictures fake Gülen compound

Intellectual deviations

Education minister in Jamaica joins Kimse Yok Mu to feed needy

Ceremony canceled after Gülen’s relative wins short film contest

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News