Turkish Scholar Fethullah Gulen Speaks about PKK


Date posted: January 29, 2014

Mustafa Tabanli

Turkish scholar Fethullah Gulen broke a self-imposed 16-year broadcast silence and spoke to BBC about his home country Turkiye.

One of the key issues facing the country is the Kurdish issue, Hizmet movements support for the peace process.

Fethullah Gulen, Turkish scholar: “We were never completely aligned with any political party. But on the Kurdish issue, we were supporting the peace process before the government”

The Hizmet or service movement, through civil service initiatives, has been active in the region. It has focused on education, healthcare and religious affairs.

But establishing security in this region has been an uphill climb..

Abdullah Ocalan is a divisive figure in Turkiye. He is either considered as the leader of the Kurdish movement or a terrorist. Right now, he is in prison, and the government is fragmented on whether to engage with him or osctracize his cause. Gulen speaks of his understanding of the issue

Fethullah Gulen, Turkish scholar: “I never said anything openly but they once called him terrorist.”

Ocalan and PKK have resented the educational services and interfaith intercultural dialogue provided by the Hizmet movement. They accused Fethullah Gulen of being part of assimilation project for the Kurds.

Fethullah Gulen: “Ocalan was unhappy with our activities”

Gulen says the upcoming elections can be used to portray the Hizmet movement as opposing the peace process, while the government supports it.

Fethullah Gulen: “The current government– to get Kurdish votes– now blames the Hizmet movement as an obstacle to the peace process.”

Prime Minister Erdogan’s government’s decision to have contact, organize talks and even negotiations with Ocalan or the PKK has been fiercely criticized by opposing parties.

Gulen offers an alternative civil solution to the region without opposing nor criticizing the government.

In an already destabilized region, the peace process has the potential to finally bring about true change. But the road to security and prosperity is a long and winding one.

Tags: | | |


Related News

Islamic scholar Gülen calls for ‘reasonability’ in prep school row

Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has called on the government to act “reasonably” in its plan to close test prep schools, adding that they were the ones receiving a “slap,” in a veiled reference to a statement from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. You have to defend it without making concessions in the language you use,” Gülen said in an apparent message to members of the “Hizmet” [Service] movement.

Fethullah Gülen is a Chance for Humanity: His Inclusive Perspective for Sustainable Global Triangulation

The basic values that mark the twenty-first century are modernism, pluralism, individualism, and religion. Some claim that modernity embraces individual and social life as a whole, and that it has created new forms of religious, cultural, and political pluralism. There is no doubt that the world today is in need of dialogue between cultures and civilizations more than at any other time; this is of the utmost urgency.

Prof. Scott Alexander: Hizmet is a social movement for peace

“What I have personally observed is that Hizmet is a movement that embraces contrasts and in which everyone can find a place for themselves. It’s a globally transformational movement. It is, on the other hand, able to combine tradition and modernity and bring them around the common values. Although I might not be necessarily exercising your values, I consider myself a part of this movement. The principles that lead the movement are what lead my life as well.” Alexander remarked.

Why does Öcalan need to approach the Gülen movement?

Emre Uslu The Turkish public has recently been discussing Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan’s peace offer to the Gülen movement. Many observers saw this as a surprise step from Öcalan. Last week I had the chance to speak with both Kurdish politicians and followers of Gülen in the Southeast. Unlike widely believed rumors, […]

Turkey After the July Coup Attempt – Alan Makovsky’s testimony before Committee on Foreign Affairs

The vastness and persistence of the purge of the civil service, arrests of journalists, and closure of media outlets—many seemingly having nothing whatsoever to do with the exiled Turkish preacher Fethullah Gülen or his Gülenist movement that the Turkish government blames for the coup attempt.

WaPo publishes editorial from Fethullah Gulen on the day Erdogan meets Trump

If nothing else, the timing of this is certainly interesting. Yesterday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Washington for his meeting with President Trump scheduled for later today. It’s an encounter which I already described as problematic at best, given Erdogan’s new status as a strongman and tyrant, and it doesn’t seem to hold the promise of much benefit on our part.

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

Dialogue Eurasia: Humanitarian Davos

Is it struggle between AK Party and Hizmet?

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

Enes Kanter Education Fund to award students with scholarship

Peacebuilders Conference

Gülen’s lawyer denies client facing arrest warrant or extradition

Gulen: Erdogan will end up like Hitler and Stalin

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News