Fethullah Gülen lost his friend Prof. Toktamış Ateş, an academic, writer, and eminent democrat


Date posted: January 20, 2013

HizmetNews.COM January 20, 2013

Turkish Professor Toktamış Ateş, also a columnist with the Bugün daily, passed away on Saturday January 19, 2013. Fethullah Gülen expressed his condolences in a statement he released the same day, describing Prof. Ateş an exemplary democrat in academia and media.

Fethullah Gülen:

I am deeply saddened to learn about the death of my friend, distinguished scholar and writer Prof. Dr. Toktamış Ateş, an exceptional member of academia and the media, who rendered great services in spreading the understanding of dialogue and tolerance with his brave pen, smiling face, and reconciling personality; who contributed to, with his firm stance, developing a culture of democracy during difficult times in Turkey.

I would like to offer my heartfelt condolences to his wife Nevin Hanımefendi and the grieving family, his relatives, friends and students. May God have mercy on his soul.”

Known as a Kemalist and a secular, Dr. Toktamis Ates posed to the cameras, in an Iftar Dinner in 1995, hand in hand with Mr. Fethullah Gülen, which drew harsh criticism of ultra-secularists.

Having written over 30 books, he also wrote columns for the Cumhuriyet daily for more than ten years. He was most recently writing regular columns for the Bugün daily.  He was among the recipients of the “Tolerance Award” given by the Journalists and Writers Association in 1996.

Gülen recognized his contribution to dialogue, tolerance and democracy in difficult times in Turkey.

Prof. Ateş , in addition to supporting Gülen movement’s activities, wrote a forward to Gülen’s book “Love and the Essence of Being  Human.” Below is an excerpt from his forward:

….. I have to answer such questions as, “Professor, how can you be so close to reactionaries?”; “How do you bear that kind of people?”; “Are you too changing mind?” etc.

I have either written or verbally explained hundreds of times: I am in dialogue with several religious and Shari’ah-oriented people not because I pursue an agreement with them in thought but with the aim of hope of being able to find an answer to the question, “How can we live together despite our differences in thought?” Actually, I already know the answer of this question. But I am rather trying to find out the answer to the question, “How can we practice it in life?” It is this same answer, which Mr. Fethullah Gülen is searching in his book in your hand. The answer to this question can be summarized as “By believing in democracy and being tolerant.”

I am also asked: “Professor, are you aware that there are some people who want to establish a Shari’ah government?” Of course, I am; I am not blind. Furthermore, I am trying to observe them as closely as I can. But I am also trying to distinguish people who pursue a conservative [pious] life style from those who want to establish a Shari’ah government, without feeling any fear.

We are traveling on the same ship. If it sinks we will sink all together. However, our aim is that the ship should not sink. Additionally, an internal conflict will mean the biggest disaster, which we must avoid at all costs.

 


Related News

US Sees No Need to Choose Between Partnership With Turkey, Gulen Extradition

The United States does not need to choose between its alliance with Turkey and the extradition of Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, US Department of State spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said in a briefing on Thursday.

Gulen Schools Fight Provokes New Tensions in Bosnia

RODOLFO TOE Row over schools operated by alleged Turkish coup leader could spark new conflicts and aggravate divisions in Bosnia according to experts. A feud between Bosnian schools connected to Fethullah Gulen, alleged leader of the recent Turkish coup, and Turkish authorities in Ankara could exacerbate rifts within Bosnia, an international relations expert told BIRN. […]

KCK suspect Ersanlı says doesn’t believe Hizmet behind coup, terror trials

Professor Büşra Ersanlı, who is among suspects in an investigation into the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) on terrorism charges, has said she doesn’t believe claims raised by some officials linked with government that the faith-based Hizmet Movement led by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen is behind major trials.

A reality check on [Turkey coup attempt] from America’s spy chief

Asked whether Turkish allegations that cleric Fethullah Gulen planned the attempted coup passed the “smell test” of credibility, National Intelligence Director James Clapper answered: “No. Not to me.” He said that Secretary John Kerry “was right on the ball” to press the Turks to back up their extradition request with evidence of Gulen’s involvement.

The Coup Attempt – Turkey’s Reichstag Fire

Once forces loyal to Turkish President Erdogan had put the attempted takeover down, he called the coup attempt “a gift from God” because it provided an excuse to crack down on competitors and opponents. Using enemies lists prepared well in advance, his purges have touched more than 100,000 and sparked widespread conspiracies among Turks that the July 15 coup was Turkey’s equivalent of the Reichstag fire.

U.S. Not Persuaded to Extradite Fethullah Gulen Over Turkey Coup

Officials aren’t convinced by evidence against Fethullah Gulen, Pennsylvania-based imam who Turkey says masterminded the failed putsch. U.S. officials don’t expect to extradite an imam Turkey blames for masterminding a failed coup because they aren’t convinced by the evidence Ankara has presented so far and are troubled by threatening public statements from Turkish officials, according to people familiar with the discussions.

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

Turkish aid organizations deliver clean water to 20 million

Thunder center Enes Kanter sure looks tiny compared to the world’s tallest man

Erdoğan’s African mission and dismantling Turkish schools

Turkish schools are being closed down

Who was behind the Turkish Coup: Sufi Islamic Scholar Fathullah Gülen or the Regime itself?

An AKP-neo-nationalist axis?

Pro-gov’t circles intensify hypocritical propaganda targeting Gülen movement

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News