HIzmet centre takes on Erdogan regime


Date posted: August 28, 2017

Beata Stur

The London-based Centre for Hizmet Studies has accused Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his regime of systematically trying to provoke the followers of the Hizmet Movement into violence and portray the movement as a violent organisation.

The centre said Erdogan is struggling to portray the Hizmet movement – inspired by the US-based Turkish preacher Fethullah Gulen – as an international security threat.

On its website, it said Gulen talked about a rumour of a plot, that some important public figures will be assassinated in Turkey, and the blame will be put on the members of the Hizmet movement. Gulen’s message, aired on August 13, however, was allegedly distorted by pro-Erdogan and anti-Gulen media circles as “an order of assassination to his followers”. On August 15, online access to the video was blocked by the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office. On August 18, it was reported that two people were arrested in Balikesir in preparation for the assassination of prominent figures, which turned out to be a case of fraud.

Gulen published a message condemning these new defamation efforts by Erdogan regime.

The Centre for Hizmet Studies wrote: “Although this plot has not materialised yet, that would not be the first time that the pro-Erdogan and anti-Gulen media circles (comprising mostly of Turkish media) pinned the blame on Gulen and his sympathisers without any evidence. In 2015, it was falsely reported that Gulen ordered the assassination of President Erdogan’s daughter Sumeyye. The news made to the headlines in the pro-Erdogan media outlets. The only evidence for the assassination was a twitter conversation between three people, including a journalist and two opposition MPs, which was later revealed to be fake.”

Dr Ismail Sezgin, Executive Director of the Centre for Hizmet Studies said: “Hizmet’s core principles and teachings are against use of violence. According to Gulen, peace and peaceful resistance is the default position.”

 

Source: New Europe , August 28, 2017

Tags: | | |


Related News

Threat to destroy the Hizmet Movement a hate crime

Erdoğan’s harsh attacks on the Hizmet movement, consisting of followers and sympathizers of Fethullah Gülen, reached a summit when he stated on Tuesday, “from A to Z everyone in this organization needs to pay the price. Either they will accept the presence of this state or they will disappear.”

AKP official: Let sacked public servants eat tree roots

The Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) Isparta branch head, Osman Zabun, has said the civil servants who have recently been dismissed from state institutions over alleged links to the Gülen movement can go and “feed on tree roots” if they don’t want to starve to death.

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.

Fethullah Gulen’s message to the “Ijma” symposium

Fethullah Gulen sent a message to the symposium entitled “Ijma as a Common Roadmap and Collective Awareness” which took place on April 27-28 in Istanbul. Gulen’s message received a standing ovation in the hall that a large number of guests crowded into. In the message, read aloud at the symposium in presence of a large number […]

Pro-Erdoğan troll calls on gov’t to execute Gülen followers

Amid assassination concerns following the suspicious deaths of two people who allegedly fell from the balcony of their homes, a pro-Erdoğan Twitter troll named Ahmet Üstün (@ustunn_ahmet) on Friday called on the government to assassinate Gülen movement sympathizers in the country and abroad.

Nigeria – Our students should not be victims of Turkey’s high-handedness and authoritarianism

We strongly condemn the arrest, detention and deportation of some Nigerian students from Turkey’s capital city, Istanbul, over the botched coup in the country. The harassment and intimidation of our students by the Turkish Government over a matter that does not concern them is undiplomatic and utterly reprehensible. The Turkish government should not visit the punishment for the alleged actions of its political enemies on innocent Nigerian students.

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

Turkey’s Kurdish question and the Hizmet movement

Islam is compatible with Democracy, despite Turkey’s recent example

Cancer patient arrested over Gülen links deteriorates to stage 4 in one month

Students of Turkish schools in Romania impress in science competition

Turkey seeks three consecutive life sentences for Zaman journalists on coup charges

Turkey bans math textbooks due to questions including Gülen’s initials

Book Review: Faith, Theology and Service in Peacebuilding

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News