BBC Interviews Fethullah Gulen (Powerful but reclusive Turkish cleric)
Date posted: January 27, 2014
Tim Franks – BBC Newshour, Pennsylvania
– Speaking to the BBC’s Newshour, Fethullah Gulen said: “It is not possible for these judges and prosecutors to receive orders from me.”
– Fethullah Gulen has been called Turkey’s second most powerful man. He is also a recluse, who lives in self-imposed exile in the US.
– But now, the BBC has had exclusive access to the Muslim cleric. I travelled with Guney Yildiz from the BBC Turkish Service to a remote part of Pennsylvania to meet the man.
– In the interview, Mr Gulen denied using his influence to start investigations into alleged corruption among senior members of Mr Erdogan’s AK Party which have led to a number of police commissioners being sacked and to some of Mr Erdogan’s allies being arrested.
– Fethullah Gulen may be, as the former US ambassador to Turkey James Jeffrey told me, Turkey’s second most powerful man – an Islamic cleric who sits atop a movement with perhaps millions of followers, worth perhaps billions, with a presence, often through its high-achieving schools, in 150 countries.
– “It is not possible for these judges and prosecutors to receive orders from me. I have no relation with them. I don’t know even 0.1% of them.”
Click the source link below to read the entire story.
Pro-gov’t columnist: Turkish state must assassinate Fethullah Gülen
Fatih Tezcan, a pro-government columnist, said in a video that he is sure the Turkish state had embedded a secret agent in the Gülen movement and that now it is time for him to “terminate” Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen. During his 1.08-minute video, Tezcan curses the Gülen movement and the US-based Gülen and says that the murder of Gülen is something desired by the entire Muslim world.
Fethullah Gulen Issues Strong Condemnation of ISIS
As a practicing Muslim deeply influenced by tenets of my faith, I strongly condemn the brutal atrocities of the ISIS terrorist group. Their actions are a disgrace to the faith they proclaim and are crimes against humanity. Religion provides a foundation upon which to establish peace, human rights, freedoms and the rule of law. Any interpretations to the contrary, including the abuse of religion to fuel conflicts, are simply wrong and deceitful.
PM Erdoğan widens hostile stance to include more and more groups
Erdoğan has been trying to dodge the damaging impact of the corruption scandals by using Hizmet as a scapegoat. Gülen, an ardent supporter of transparency and accountability in government, was critical of Erdoğan government’s efforts to stall the corruption investigations. Speaking to the BBC on Monday, Gülen said that the massive corruption investigations that have shaken the government cannot be covered up no matter how hard the government tries to derail the probes — not even by blaming the scandal on what the prime minister has called the “parallel state,” a veiled reference to the Hizmet movement inspired by Gülen.
Kurdish singer Perwer says freedoms should be gained via peaceful means
HAŞİM SÖYLEMEZ, ARBIL Renowned Kurdish singer Şivan Perwer has voiced his support to the ongoing peace talks between the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government and the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to resolve Turkey’s long-standing Kurdish problem and urged that freedom should be taken through peaceful means. In an exclusive with Sunday’s Zaman […]
Fethullah Gülen Offers Antidote For Terror
Fethullah Gülen responds as the voice of an intellect, in the name of Islam, to those who engage in brutal terrorist acts. His response is crucially important. Gülen presents a recommendation of culture based on tolerance. Thus far, the war against terrorism has been waged through the obstruction of terrorist activities, spearheaded by security units. It is impossible for Western countries to do more.
Fethullah Gülen on Islam, democracy and freedom of speech
Publishing a book in 2009 about Francis of Assisi’s peaceful encounter with Egypt’s Sultan Malik al-Kamil during the Fifth Crusade led me to meet a lot of people with an interest in improving interreligious relations. Among them were a number of Turkish immigrants who are followers of the Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen. I observed that through a network of private schools, foundations and media organizations, they have worked very hard to improve Muslim-Christian relations.
Latest News
Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison
Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney
Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement
ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment
New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement
European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests
ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases
Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade
Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet
In Case You Missed It
My opinion on the book ‘Imam’s Army’
A House Divided: Civil Society and Democracy in Turkey
Royalties provide Fethullah Gülen with modest income, his lawyer says
Unimpressed by Turkish ‘parallel structure’ defense, MEPs approve critical report
Faith Compatible with Science
The 14th Annual International Language and Culture Festival
No measures taken against ‘parallel structure’ at top security meeting: General Staff