Royalties provide Fethullah Gülen with modest income, his lawyer says
M. Fethullah Gulen
Date posted: January 10, 2013
Turkish religious scholar Fetullah Gülen makes a living off the royalties he receives from his more than 60 books, the self-exiled Muslim leader’s lawyer has said in response to media scrutiny.”My client has written over 60 books which were all listed among best sellers. He makes a living by copyright income,” said Gülen’s lawyer, Nurullah Albayrak.
Turkish journalist Ayşenur Arslan had previously asked how Gülen managed to live in Pennsylvania based on a retirement pension alone.
“His residence costs are paid by the royalties; he has never taken anything for free from anyone,” Albayrak said in a statement.
“Gülen has diabetes, and he cannot eat heavy foods; he eats just soup and yoghurt most of the time,” Albayrak said, noting that the scholar did not need much money for living.
Albayrak also accused Arslan of defamation by raising doubts in people’s minds about his client, labeling her questions as “non-innocent.”
During a trial focusing on Gülen’s application for a U.S. green card, American prosecutors claimed Gülen had a financial worth of $25 billion that included contributions from the CIA.
Fethullah Gülen donates $10,000 for victims of Typhoon Haiyan disaster in Philippines
Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen donated to the Kimse Yok Mu foundation $10,000 for the victims of the Typhoon Haiyan disaster in the Philippines. “According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs [UNOCHA], 4.3 million people have been affected by the typhoon and 330,000 people are now homeless. Ninety percent of the houses in Tacloban city have been damaged,” AFAD stated recently.
Indonesia and Turkey: Similar but Different
On the other side, there is one very important thing that Indonesia must avoid. The Turkish government has been inching ever closer to becoming an Islamist nation, abandoning its secularity that has acted as the foundation of modern Turkey until now. The government’s power is also getting increasingly concentrated in the hands of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
[Event of the Week] Gülen breaks his silence, responds to allegations
Having stayed largely silent in the face of relentless attacks amounting to hate speech by beleaguered Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who was incriminated in a massive corruption scandal, Fethullah Gülen spoke to Today’s Zaman and provided his account of how he sees the recent events in Turkey in his first interview with the Turkish media since Dec. 17.
The Gulen Movement has become Turkey’s most significant export
The Gulen movement has become a global movement. In other words, it is Turkey’s most important export. When you cross boundaries, you have to watch the balance. His statement on the flotilla incident was both domestic and international. However, we must not forget that Gulen does not recommend that people fight those in authority. His statements disturbed both the government and the conservatives in Turkey.
Gülen’s lawyer warns about possible doctored tapes
Lawyer Nurullah Albayrak in a written statement referred to lies and defamation about Gülen in the media which have become widespread and said Gülen’s phone calls have been illegally wiretapped. “These calls are reported in the media without taking any ethical principles into consideration,” he said, adding that it is very likely there will be edited phone calls as part of a black propaganda campaign against Gülen.
Graham Watson, the president of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party and the former chairman of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe in the EP also criticized Erdoğan for using hate speech against Hizmet.
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