Turkish Scholar Fethullah Gulen Speaks about PKK [terrorist organization]

Turkish and Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen
Turkish and Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen


Date posted: January 29, 2014

Mustafa Tabanli

Turkish scholar Fethullah Gulen broke a self-imposed 16-year broadcast silence and spoke to BBC about his home country Turkiye.

One of the key issues facing the country is the Kurdish issue, Hizmet movements support for the peace process.

Fethullah Gulen, Turkish scholar: “We were never completely aligned with any political party. But on the Kurdish issue, we were supporting the peace process before the government.”

The Hizmet or service movement, through civil service initiatives, has been active in the region. It has focused on education, healthcare and religious affairs.

But establishing security in this region has been an uphill climb..

Abdullah Ocalan is a divisive figure in Turkiye. He is either considered as the leader of the Kurdish movement or a terrorist. Right now, he is in prison, and the government is fragmented on whether to engage with him or osctracize his cause. Gulen speaks of his understanding of the issue

Fethullah Gulen, Turkish scholar: “I never said anything openly but they once called him terrorist.”

Ocalan and PKK have resented the educational services and interfaith intercultural dialogue provided by the Hizmet movement. They accused Fethullah Gulen of being part of assimilation project for the Kurds.

Fethullah Gulen: “Ocalan was unhappy with our activities”

Gulen says the upcoming elections can be used to portray the Hizmet movement as opposing the peace process, while the government supports it.

Fethullah Gulen: “The current government– to get Kurdish votes– now blames the Hizmet movement as an obstacle to the peace process.”

Prime Minister Erdogan’s government’s decision to have contact, organize talks and even negotiations with Ocalan or the PKK has been fiercely criticized by opposing parties.

Gulen offers an alternative civil solution to the region without opposing nor criticizing the government.

In an already destabilized region, the peace process has the potential to finally bring about true change. But the road to security and prosperity is a long and winding one.

Source: Ebru News , January 28, 2014

Tags: | | |


Related News

Slandering Turkish schools is treason according to well-known politician

In an interview with the Cihan news agency, Durak showed reaction to Erdoğan’s order to the ambassadors and he visited some of the Turkish schools in foreign countries. “Children of prime ministers and presidents and high-level bureaucrats are sent to these schools opened in Africa and many parts of the world… Many significant people are given education in these schools. I am of the opinion denouncing these schools to the ambassadors instead of supporting them is equal to treason,” said Durak.

Hizmet really has expanded my understanding of what it means to be human.

Kenneth Hunter is the Principal of the Prosser Career Academy High School. He studied theology at Chicago Loyola University and taught world religions in high schools. He served as the chairperson of Illinois State Board of Education Language Arts Assessment Advisory Council (2002-2012). He is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Chicago.

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.

Source claims US not probing into Gulenists’ alleged role in Russian ambassador’s murder

No investigation has been launched in the United States in connection with Turkey’s comments of the Gulen movement’s possible role in the Russian ambassador’s murder, a senior US Department of State official told TASS.

Fethullah Gülen’s book ‘Love and Tolerance’ translated into Greek

The book “Love in Human Essence” by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, known as the pioneer of the Hizmet movement, has been translated into Greek with the title “Agapi ke Anektikotita,” Greek for “love and tolerance.” The book, which was published by Sideris Publishing House a month ago, marks the first book by Gülen published in Greece.

Turkish Scholar Fethullah Gulen Speaks about PKK [terrorist organization]

Fethullah Gulen, Turkish scholar: “We were never completely aligned with any political party. But on the Kurdish issue, we were supporting the peace process before the government.” The Hizmet or service movement, through civil service initiatives, has been active in the region. It has focused on education, healthcare and religious affairs.

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

Flynn stopped military plan against ISIS that Turkey opposed – after being paid as its agent

Russian scholar: Gülen promotes peaceful education for a world mired in conflict

Bridge-building in ‘enemy country’ – Story of a Turkish asylum seeker in Greece

Does Erdogan really want Gulen in Turkey?

Panel on Middle East perspectives held at Ishik University

Kimse Yok Mu extends helping hand to orphans in eastern Turkey

Senegal minister: Turkish schools’ students our hope for the future

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News