Date posted: November 18, 2013

Mehmet Gündem: If you were to write a letter or send a message to the Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan, what would you tell him?

Fethullah Gülen: Instead of what I would say, let me use a saying of our Prophet: “If God has blessed a state president, a sovereign, a ruler with mercy, He provides him with qualified viziers (consultants) who will guide him from wrongdoing to righteousness.” Many great statesmen were raised both in the Ottoman State and in the Republic. But the problem was the lack of consultants who were qualified to guide these statesmen to the truth only for the sake of the interests of the state and the nation, seeking no personal aspirations. In the past, even though it was perhaps not my responsibility to do so, I sent my greetings and reverence via a friend to one of our former heads of state, enclosing the following thoughts:

“Do not be content with employing consultants only from among the admirers of your party. Do not only speak with your own organizations. Benefit from the wise people who love Turkey; because they act objectively, and seek no personal gain.”

I gave some names with whom they could consult concerning various issues in Turkey. In my message to Mr. Erdogan I would tell him to seek wise people who don’t have any political goals, who are concerned with the truth, and who frequently resort to their ideas. This seems to me very important when standing firm on one’s own two feet. I would have sent the same message to Mr. Ecevit and Mr. Demirel, if I had had to.

Source: Interview with Mehmet Gundem , January 2005

Tags: Fethullah Gulen | Hizmet and politics | Turkey |