Fethullah Gulen Calls Crackdown ‘Dark Pages’ in History – Responses to World Affairs Council of Philadelphia


Date posted: September 16, 2016

Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen whom Turkey accuses of masterminding July’s abortive coup again condemned the Turkish government crackdown on his supporters, saying Thursday that his “heart is aching.”

In videotaped remarks to the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia, Fethullah Gulen said the Turkish government is using the attempted coup to justify persecuting his followers, who he said are being “subjected to oppression and tyranny, molestation and unlawful acquisition of their private properties.”


Related News

A little fairness, please!

Please, take a deep breath and take a trip back to a short time ago. What do you remember of the “Justice and Development Party (AK Party)-Gülen movement disagreement”? Here’s a brief reminder, for a better understanding of the discussion: Fethullah Gülen was taken to the hospital in an ambulance because of an emergency. Because I visited him that day, I wrote as follows: “One of the persons who made [the] first phone call was Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The Mystery of Turkey’s Failed Coup

In my research, I have been on the inside living with his followers while teaching English at one of the schools. Religion is not taught. It is not in the curriculum. The idea that these are jihadist madrases, or that Gülenists are extremists or terrorists is beyond absurd as anyone who knows them will attest.

General Staff ordered broadcasting of anti-Gülen recordings

Journalist Mehmet Ali Birand has claimed that the General Staff ordered the broadcasting of anti-Fethullah Gülen audio recordings by some TV stations in the run up to the Feb. 28, 1997 unarmed military intervention.

Rising Value of Turkey: ‘The Gülen Movement’

HÜSEYİN GÜLERCE A series of articles published in Sabah daily about the Nur (Light) Community and the Gülen Movement ended yesterday. Emre Akoz made an evaluation on the final day of the series, which lasted 26 days. Mehmet Gundem’s article series begins with the announcement, “Interview to Shake the Agenda: 11 Days with Fethullah Gülen,” in […]

Turkish Cultural Center Brooklyn Honors Borough’s Elected Officials

The Turkish Culture Center of Brooklyn feted a bevy of Brooklyn elected officials tonight as part of their eighth Annual Friendship Dinner & Award ceremony celebrating cultural diversity with the theme of the evening being “Hate Crime.”

Government circular bans Gülen followers from collecting sacrificed animal skins

A recent government circular sent to police departments across Turkey told police to seize the skins of sacrificed animals during Eid al-Adha collected on behalf of the “Fethullah Gülen terrorist organization” (FETÖ) — a derogatory term President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his political associates developed in order to disparage the faith-based Gülen movement, which is […]

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

GYV discusses respect for sacred values at UN panel

Turkish Gov’t Systematically Violated 12 Fundamental Rights During Emergency Rule

Alevis voice unease over lack of promised rights at Abant meeting

America’s Friends Get Arrested in Turkey’s Post-Coup Purges

TAA to hold annual Turkic American Convention in Washington

Human Rights Watch: Emergency Decrees Facilitate Torture in Turkey

Wiretapped recordings erased on orders of new police chief

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News