Van NGOs: Calling Hizmet movement ‘virus’ and ‘hashhashin’ unnaceptable


Date posted: January 27, 2014

VAN
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) active in the eastern province of Van said in a press conference that the tension experienced in Turkey recently has ruined the country and that any remarks or behavior against the Hizmet movement will not be tolerated.

Twenty NGOs operating in Van have also stated that labels such as “virus, “hashhashin” and “gang” should not be associated with people and organizations serving the country.

In mid-January, when speaking about those he accuses of orchestrating the ongoing government corruption investigation, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke about members of a group who are like “hashhashins.” His thinly veiled reference was aimed at Islamic scholar Fetullah Gülen‘s Hizmet movement.

Addressing the press conference on behalf of twenty NGOs, İskender Sezek, general secretary of the Van Active Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (VASİAD) said that likening the followers of the Hizmet movement to a historic group of assassins is an attempt to disgrace the Hizmet movement. “The Hizmet movement is being targeted and labeled as a parallel state, a gang, a virus, a secret organization and a group of hashhashins without presenting any legal information nor documentation and without any legal basis. A black campaign is being led about the Hizmet movement via all kinds of lies and slander by various media outlets, which totally undermines the journalism criteria,” Sezek said.

Sezek acknowledged that businesspersons affiliated with the Hizmet movement are being pressured by arbitrary threats from the regime and the licenses of some businesses are being abandoned. Sezek also said that the state is leaving some banks in difficult situation.

“Some officials and bureaucrats considered to be part of the Hizmet movement have been blacklisted without any legal justification. Educational institutions abroad, working to introduce Turkey to foreign countries where there aren’t even Turkish embassies, have been shut down despite their efforts to popularize our country among people who have no idea about Turkey,” Sezek said. He added that despite all of the closures, people have continued to be voluntary ambassadors of Turkish culture overseas.

Source: Todays Zaman , January 26, 2014

Tags: | | | |


Related News

Erdoğan’s harsh, xenophobic rhetoric damages fight against Islamophobia

The increasingly punitive and xenophobic discourse adopted by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in recent years has done a huge disservice to the fight against Islamophobia, dealing a blow to the decades-long efforts of organizations such as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Hizmet movement in international forums.

Kimse Yok Mu delivers iftar meals to homes

Turkish charity organization Kimse Yok Mu (KYM) delivers fast-breaking (iftar) meals for the needy families in their homes during the holy month of Ramadan. In the central province of Kayseri, volunteers from the KYM have been distributing iftar meal to the families in five neighborhoods which received great appreciation.

Fethullah Gülen versus Ayatollah Khomeini?

Gülen will not return to a society that is expecting him as the Savior or the true representation of Turkishness or the antidote to current political failures. Although it is true that Gülen’s imminent return would cause tensions, it would only be tensions created by political interest groups which would use his presence for their […]

EU, US Have Little Leverage as Turkish Democracy Backslides

“In the big picture, Erdogan knows that the EU needs Turkey and will come back begging for a new agreement on the migrants. That’s why he will play a game of brinksmanship,” said Soner Cagaptay, the director of the Turkish program at The Washington Institute.

Turkey’s latest bombing will help its president amass more power

Mr Erdogan likes to cast himself as a cure for the chaos spreading across Turkey. Yet he is also one of its causes. Courting the nationalist vote, Mr Erdogan has ruled out peace talks with the PKK. Responding to PKK attacks against security targets in 2015, he inflamed the conflict by arresting Kurdish politicians, pulverising towns in the southeast, and displacing some 500,000 people.

Islamic scholar Gülen offers condolences for those killed in Dağlıca attack

Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has offered his deep condolences to the families of the soldiers killed in a terrorist attack in Dağlıca in Hakkari province on Sunday, while expressing his belief that the people of Turkey will defeat terrorism by maintaining their solidarity.

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

Hizmet Movement discussed at Mexico’s UNAM

Erdoğan’s aide: Unjust to suggest Hizmet eavesdropped on PM

Nigerian Turkish Foundation donates educational materials to Lagos schools

A little fairness, please!

Gulen Movement: An attempt to represent Islam and Muslims positively

Irvine’s new arrivals — Turkish asylum seekers, after a failed coup and a sadly successful purge

Gülen: I hope they avoid the adventures of the Union and Progress Party

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News