Fethullah Gülen urges Muslims to exercise restraint over anti-Muslim movie

M. Fethullah Gulen
M. Fethullah Gulen


Date posted: September 16, 2012

Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has called on Muslims to exercise restraint and act with common sense while expressing their outrage over an anti-Muslim film as a wave of largely violent protests has swept 20 countries. Gülen was responding to a question from students and a recording of his speech was broadcast in herkul.org on Friday.

Gülen issued his strongest pleas against resorting to violence by citing examples from the companions of the Prophet Muhammad, trying to defuse Muslim anger over the film on Friday when new attacks on US and Western embassies left at least eight protesters dead.

He rejected violent protests against offensive attacks by non-Muslims as “exorbitant behavior” but said remaining indifferent and silent in the face of insults and offenses against Muslims and Islam is also wrong. He urged Muslims to act in a delicate balance and move in the “correct direction” in appropriately responding to such offenses.

The protests across the Middle East were sparked by a once-obscure, amateurish movie called “Innocence of Muslims,” which ridicules the Prophet Muhammad. A 14-minute “trailer” for the movie, dubbed into Arabic, was posted on YouTube.

Gülen said insulting Islam and the Prophet Muhammad through a movie is a “violation of all Muslims’ rights” and said these kinds of attacks happen frequently for provocation.

Gülen added that Muslims need to be cool-headed and cautious in seeking ways to answer such attacks and said violently killing diplomats and setting buildings ablaze are far from the right response to the situation.

US Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and three other embassy employees were killed after a barrage of small arms, rocket-propelled grenades and mortar fire tore into the consulate buildings in Benghazi on Tuesday, setting the buildings alight.

The Turkish Islamic scholar also offered self-criticism, blaming Muslims for largely failing to appropriately explain the true nature of the Prophet Muhammad to non-Muslims. Gülen lamented that there are people who commit violence and suicide bombings, emphasizing that they don’t know Islam well. He said suicide bombings are actions tantamount to barbarism and are not related to Islam.

Gülen also described the killing of four US diplomats in Libya as “savagery” and “inhumane.” He said the diplomats were innocent and not related to the movie and that those who killed them have no idea what Islam is. He also blamed supporters of those who killed the diplomats and stormed US embassies across the Middle East, saying that they are wrongly “committing crimes in the name of Islam.”

Gülen also said he believes killing diplomats could be an orchestrated plan of “intelligence services,” without elaborating what intelligence services he is talking about. “Even if this is the case,” Gülen said, “Muslims should not be trapped.” He said Muslims are easily trapped in games like this thanks to “group psychology.”

He also slammed the Saudi grand mufti, without mentioning his name, and said his call to destroy churches in the Gulf region is not “friendly and humane.” He said this is an open invitation to non-Muslim countries to ban “mosques and minarets.”

Saudi Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al al-Shaikh had issued a fatwa, or religious order, against churches in May, prompting protests from Christian bishops across Europe and provoking a storm on Christian websites around the world.

Saudi Arabia does not allow churches on its territory, citing a saying of the Prophet Muhammad that there cannot be two religions on the Arabian Peninsula. But neighboring Gulf states have long had churches and some allow new ones to be built.

Gülen also condemned burning churches in Africa in retaliation to an attack on a mosque and said, “This is not the way Muslims should behave.”

Source: Today’s Zaman 16 September 2012 http://www.todayszaman.com/news-292483-.html


Related News

“It was so cold, it felt like an arrow through my heart”

Τhis situation (Persecutions by the Turkish government) made us leave our homeland. Why would people throw their children in to the fire, throw their children into the water? I want people to think of the reason behind, why all this is happening.

Hrant Topakiyan’s feelings about the Journalists and Writers Foundation

Hrant Topakiyan, Kentim Gazette, April 5, 2010 Journalists and Writers Foundation = Love For many years I have attended the love-filled Ramadan iftar dinners arranged by the Journalists and Writers Foundation. My Lord allowed me to meet very valuable people at these dinners. Since it is impossible to write all their names in this column, […]

Gulen, Erdogan and democracy in Turkey

Previously, most observers had wrongly assumed that these groups were inherent allies because of their faith-based worldview. In sharp contrast to this misperception, these groups came from entirely different pasts and political orientation, although they share a common interest in free market economy and cherished upward socio-economic mobility.

Karzai honored Turkish schools in his country

SULTAN FAIZY, KABUL Afghan President Hamid Karzai has honored Turkish schools in his country, awarding them a prestigious state medal during a ceremony in Kabul on Monday. The ceremony was attended by Afghan Education Minister Farooq Wardak; the director general of Afghan-Turkish high schools, Hikmet Çoban; and a number of Afghan deputies. Çoban was given […]

It is not fair to tar 1.8 billion for actions of a few

We, the undersigned members of the Auburn Ministerial Association, wish to disassociate ourselves from the remarks made by the Rev. Rudy Tidwell about Islam and Muslims in the Sept. 20 edition of The Auburn-Opelika News for these reasons: Any religion that demands its members to pray five times a day and to fast for an […]

Who wants peace?

ORHAN MİROĞLU The Hizmet movement also wants peace. And peace is of course desired by the movement’s leader, Fethullah Gülen, who has worked for so many years to see the brotherhood between Turks and Kurds improved. Words of sincerity and courage spoken by Gülen should stand as examples for the leaders of our political parties. […]

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

Fethullah Gülen’s message to the “Ideal Human & Ideal Society Conference” in Pakistan

HRW: 6 Turks taken from Kosovo to Turkey face risk of torture and abuse

Five new mosque-cemevi projects on the way

Child victims to be affected by smear campaign against KYM

Int’l language festival students given high-level welcome in Australia

MHP asks gov’t how many state officials reassigned after graft scandal

Fethullah Gulen promotes democracy (CBS News)

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News