Gülen urges Hizmet members to defend prep schools in civilized way

Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen. (Photo: Today's Zaman, Selahattin Sevi)
Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen. (Photo: Today's Zaman, Selahattin Sevi)


Date posted: November 28, 2013

Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has urged followers of the Hizmet movement to insist on the “right and logical” and defend prep schools, which the Turkish government has said it will shut down despite tremendous public outrage.

In a speech broadcast by herkul.org, a website that usually publishes his speeches, Gülen said not insisting on what is “right” in some way means leaning toward “what is wrong,” by implication prodding the members of the Hizmet movement to stand strong against the closure of prep schools. He did not directly mention the prep schools, but it was obvious that he was referring to the education facilities that are Turkey’s most effective institutions in closing the widening gulf between failing public education in secondary and high schools and universities.

“Let’s destroy these schools. They are vanity! … Let’s stop this initiative. They are futile,” Gülen said, imitating those who are defaming the educational institutions. “God will bring you [Hizmet members] to account. They [the schools] are not yours; they are entrusted to you for safekeeping,” Gülen said. The remarks were a repetition of earlier statements in which he has frequently argued that it is wrong to associate the schools, which are now established in over 160 countries, with the Hizmet movement and that they are the property of the entire Turkish nation. He was referring to the fact that the nation has entrusted these educational institutions to the Hizmet movement to run and for safekeeping.

He urged the Hizmet members not to be “indifferent” to a plan to shut them down. “You will defend this [initiative]; you will absolutely defend this but without compromising your [established] method [of being gentle],” he added.

Gülen recalled that “winds are blowing opposite [the Hizmet movement] today” and that this may cause some to go “adrift” in certain feelings, thoughts and statements.

“Considering all these things, we need to stand determined against going adrift,” Gülen stressed.

Gülen also recalled accusations against members of Hizmet such as “realizing some joint projects with the children of Uncle Sam, Ham, Tam.” He was referring to allegations that Hizmet is working with certain countries. He said if it were necessary to approach the issue in a simple form and if he was 10-15 years old, he would say “may God curse them thousands of times who are part of such activities [working with other countries].”

He prodded members of the Hizmet movement not to go astray from the line of defending what is right and always preserve the accepted method of being civilized. He cited a famous saying of late Turkish Islamic scholar Said Nursi, who said, “The result of illegitimate love is a ruthless agony.”

He said if “someone” doesn’t deserve to be loved, appreciated and supported to a certain extent and if “you went beyond that line,” then God may punish a person for this.

“I believe that the punches I get are the result of this [love]. We have done things that we didn’t do to anyone else until today. The result of the illegitimate love is ruthless agony. I get punched by God. May God forgive me.” This is because the practice of attaching value to people who don’t deserve it, Gülen said, runs in contrary to the reality. He stated that “fate” has told the Hizmet movement that “this is not the way it is [to express love to the wrong person]; you will be snubbed!” “[Fate] has punched us one after another. We’re the one getting the slap in the face, not anyone else,” Gülen added.

Gülen reiterated that members of the Hizmet movement should stand firm in the right direction and should not compromise and flatter (for the sake of wealth or promotion). He said if there is something wrong within the Hizmet movement, it should be warned of but asked followers of the Hizmet movement not to make concessions in walking on the right path.

Gülen said God would test one’s fidelity by putting one at a disadvantaged position and also in a bid to separate “clean and dirty.”

The Turkish Islamic scholar also urged the members of the Hizmet movement not to retaliate against the attacks of others in kind. He said they can call you “siyon, miyon, çiyon or khiyon,” but Hizmet followers should not respond in the same way. The words Gülen used have no meaning in Turkish language, but it was clear that he was referring to the allegations of others who claim that the Hizmet movement are affiliated with countries or ideologies that are unpopular in Turkey.

He said the members of the Hizmet movement should constantly check whether the path they are walking on is “right” by frequent negotiations and what he called “cooperative minds.”

He added that one needs to ask leading figures of society and scholars about the righteousness of the policies one pursues.

Source: Today's Zaman , November 28, 2013


Related News

Human rights group urges foreign gov’ts to ensure safety of Gülen followers

Virginia-based human rights organization Advocates of Silenced Turkey (AST) in a piece on HuffPost has called on foreign governments to ensure the safety of participants of the Gülen, or Hizmet, movement.

[Erdogan’s] Turken Foundation: A Wolf in the Neighborhood [in the US]

Members of the Saudi royal family are known financiers of madrassas, informal education centers around the world that propagate Wahhabiism, an extremist interpretation of Islam. Will the [pro-Erdogan] New York dormitory function as a madrassa?

Fethullah Gulen and Gulen Movement discussed in New York

A special conversation on Fethullah Gulen and the Gulen Movementby Peace Islands Institute was held at NY Turkish Cultural Center on April 9. The professor of Political Science and Public Administration, analyst and columnist Prof. Dogu Ergil was the guest speaker of the event hosted by Peace Islands Institute President Zafer Akin. In his opening speech, […]

Our new neighbor [Al-Qaeda] poses a great risk for Turkey

Because some European countries failed to share intelligence with Turkey on al-Qaeda militants moving through Turkey to Syria — a dynamic that turned Syria into an Afghanistan and Turkey into a Pakistan — a fairly negative outlook on Turkey emerged. Al-Qaeda and similar organizations were able to step up their presence and activity in Syria by using the Turkey-Syria border, which has become uncontrollable in recent years.

Another ‘coup suspect’ found dead in Turkish prison, bringing total to 21

At least 21 people have reportedly committed suicide either after they were imprisoned over ties to the movement or after being linked to the movement outside prison. The relatives of most of them claim that the detainees are not the kind of people to commit suicide, shedding doubt on the official narrative. Rumours also have it that some of the detainees were killed after being subjected to torture under custody.

Zephyrs from the Presence, the latest book by Ahmet Kurucan…

The book, Huzurdan Esintiler (Zephyrs from the Presence), published by Işık (Light) Publications in 2012, is a total of 216 pages. The author collected the articles he had previously written for Zaman, a Turkish daily newspaper, and his new articles in this book. The shared subject of these articles written in various occasions is Fethullah Gulen. In this article of both presentation and criticism I will attempt to underline these two matters: Firstly, how does Kurucan describe the conversational environment with Gulen, and secondly, how exactly does the author illustrate Gulen’s portrait?

Latest News

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

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

Turkish, Arab intellectuals meet around Hira in Cairo

Iftar at Afghan-Turkish Schools

Turkish aid organizations deliver clean water to 20 million

Kimse Yok Mu lends helping hand to 3,000 orphans in 4 countries

Fethullah Gülen’s dialogue and tolerance discourse parallels Gandhi’s

Woman gave birth while in detention, handcuffed to bed by police

3-month-old with oral disease also under arrest as parents imprisoned over coup charges

Copyright 2024 Hizmet News