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

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

Fethullah Gulen on ‘GPS’: Failed Turkey coup looked ‘like a Hollywood movie’

“I have always been against coups, and I cursed them,” he said. “I would curse people who resort to coups against democracy, liberty, republic.” Gulen said returning to Turkey would only complicate matters. Asked if he had a message for Erdogan, Gulen said: “I only pray that he would not go to the presence of God with all these sins he committed.”

Enes Kanter calls Turkey’s Erdoğan ‘Hitler of our century’ after airport detainment

Oklahoma City Thunder center Enes Kanter expressed his desire to become a US citizen and underscored a previous claim that Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is the “Hitler of our century” on Monday in New York in his first comments since his detainment at a Romanian airport over the weekend.

Pakistan – Staff expelled from Turkish-backed schools on Erdogan’s demand

Amnesty South Asia Director Champa Patel: “With 24 million Pakistani children out of school, Pakistan’s decision to expel teachers from the Pak-Turk International Schools and Colleges will only hurt Pakistan’s children. What the country needs is more classrooms and more teachers, not a politically-motivated decision to purge educators at the behest of the Turkish government.”

Written Evidence to UK Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee on Hizmet

The Alliance for Shared Values of the US & The Dialogue Platform of the UK have prepared a report on “UK’s relations with Turkey” that focuses on the Hizmet Movement. The report may be downloaded, disseminated for free and even printed. Representatives from these organizations were personally invited to submit written evidence by the Committee to explain Hizmet and provide Hizmet’s response to the AKP government’s allegations against Fethullah Gülen and the Hizmet movement.

Fethullah Gulen: From Izmir to the Global Hizmet Movement

Gulen’s name has progressively reached a wider Western audience. But, let us note that most of news coverage paints Gulen within a political narrative — forgetting (or ignoring) four decades of civil society advocacy, education and dialogue activities and support for democracy and human rights. There is more to Gulen than this current political paradigm. Some history and perspective will help set the facts straight.

Man gets prison sentence, fine after attack on Gülen-linked institutions in France

A 28-year-old man of Turkish origin has been handed down a prison sentence of eight months and a fine of 23,000 euros by a French court after he attacked several institutions affiliated with the faith-based Gülen movement in the country. M.Y. admitted to have taken part in six other attacks against Gülen-affiliated education and culture centers in France.