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

Opposition leader Destici: Since when has exposing graft been a crime?

Allegations previously dismissed by judicial authorities are being raised again. People in the bureaucracy are being profiled. Officers have been removed from their posts in some ministries. Furthermore, mayoral elections are scheduled for March, and campaigning is becoming tenser.

Friends of Hrant slam gov’t attempt to associate Dink murder with Gülen movement

A group called Friends of Hrant Dink, including lawmakers and activists, has harshly criticized the government’s recent attempt to associate the Dink’s murder with the Gülen movement, inspired by the teachings of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, calling on authorities to expose the real criminals behind the murder.

Theologians: Lies, slander and defamation is unislamic

Islamic theologians coming together in a workshop organized by the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) have condemned recent allegations directed at the faith-based Hizmet movement by top government officials, stating that it is unislamic to engage in lies, slander and defamation.

Islamic scholar Gülen urges followers to remain calm in face of insults

Fethullah Gülen, the inspiration behind the Hizmet movement, which Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan continues to insult and target with a smear campaign, threatening to pursue criminal proceeding against it, has urged his followers to remain calm and avoid making inflammatory remarks about those who appeal to insults.

Deputy PM threatens Taraf daily, Baransu for covering controversial MGK docs

Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç on Monday called on prosecutors to take legal action against the Taraf daily and journalist Mehmet Baransu, who last week revealed a controversial National Security Council (MGK) document indicating that Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) signed on to a planned crackdown on the Hizmet (Gülen) movement in 2004.

Pregnant behind bars with a two-year-old kid

Elif Aydın, 31, is one of the educators arrested in Turkey over the past three years. She was two-months pregnant when she was sent to prison. The pregnant woman stayed by sharing the same bed with his son in prison for months.

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

Kimse Yok Mu extends hand to Syrian refugees

Fethullah Gülen’s Message of Condolences and Condemnation of the Terrorist Attack in Istanbul

Child of purged victim in Turkey says: I was 14 months old when my dad jailed

Prominent figures gather together at GYV iftar dinner in Istanbul

‘I like the vitality of the participation and the vitality of hospitality within the Hizmet Movement’

Gülen movement’s silent majority

Rumi Forum Pakistan for fostering intercultural dialogue

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News