Islamic Scholar Fethullah Gülen has described himself as “speechless” and expressed his disappointment about a National Security Council (MGK) decision in 2004 signed by the government and recommending an action plan against Hizmet movement. A secret national security document recently discovered by the Taraf daily has revealed that Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK […]
The row between followers of the Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen’s movement of and the Turkish government took another dimension after a daily revealed Nov. 28 that a decision from the National Security Council (MGK) recommending an action plan against the Gülen movement be signed by the government in 2004.
In a statement published on herkul.org, a website that broadcasts his speeches, Gülen said he was deeply saddened to see “those elderly men” standing trial in these cases, adding that he would favor their release if he was able to. “If I had the means at my disposal, I would tell them, ‘You are all free.’ How? Just like the Prophet said to all on the day of the Conquest of Mecca: ‘Go! You are all free today’.”
The lawyer of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has denied alleged remarks made by his client against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) that were published by a leftist daily on Oct. 9. The leftist Birgün daily published the transcript of an alleged audio recording, which the newspaper claims belongs to Gülen and which was first released by a hacker group, Roj Hack, on the Internet.
Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has always supported the settlement process aimed at ending decades of conflict in Turkey, his lawyer said on Sunday. “Gülen has always made positive statements about the [settlement] process,” Nurullah Albayrak, Gülen’s lawyer, said. Albayrak’s remarks were aimed at dismissing claims that Gülen was “sabotaging” the settlement process and supported […]
The lawyer of Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has strongly dismissed claims by a French publication that followers of Gülen are among members of an alleged jihadist formation encouraged by Turkey to fight a political offshoot of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Syria as baseless slanders. “The claim in question is first of all […]
ABDULLAH BOZKURT Der Spiegel’s recent article titled, “Dangerous Friends: Power Struggle Splits Turkish Ruling Party,” by Hasnain Kazim and Maximilian Popp, is perhaps the best example of the way in which Der Spiegel misrepresents and unfairly presents the magazine’s biased view of the Gülen movement in Turkey. This unscrupulous news piece may only pass as […]
A Turkish-American professor has slammed German Der Spiegel’s what he called “inflammatory and biased” reporting in its article about the movement associated with Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen. “Reading today’s article on the Gülen movement was a real shock for me,” Yavuz, who is a professor at the University of Utah, told Today’s Zaman, referring […]
As expected, the 11-article declaration by the Journalists and Writers Foundation, of which Fethullah Gülen serves as honorary chair, has attracted attention. The follow-up debates show that this has been remarkably positive and appropriate to prevent disorder.
The Journalists and Writers Foundation’s (JWF) response to allegations against Hizmet Movement. In recent days there has been a growing campaign of defamation and misinformation against the Hizmet Movement; this campaign has been directed particularly through social media. Despite the maxim that “the one who makes allegations bears the burden of proof”, it seems that […]
The Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) has responded to a series of controversial claims and slanderous accusations made about the Hizmet movement which the foundation said are designed to pit the government against the movement and create tension between the two. Releasing a statement on Tuesday, the foundation felt an obligation to respond to the allegations as a sign of respect for the public’s right to be informed.
As we are about to tolerate this scandalous error, he writes a very harsh article about the rift between the [Gülen] Community and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), targeting the Community. In this article, his tone is like that of a party spokesperson. Does he want certain columnists to be censored or silenced? Does he want them to be fired? The news ombudsman of the paper where he is the chief columnist is fired.
Hizmet cannot establish a political party because politics all over the world are mostly based on contention, challenge, belittling opponents and division. Forming a political party would harm the Hizmet movement but similar to Rumi’s compass, it endeavors to establish critically constructive contact with every single human being on the planet. Its main mission is to build bridges across cultures, communities, religions and so on.
The media organization that has been labeled as the mouthpiece of the [Gülen] Community is one of the rare Turkish media organizations where freedom of thought and expression and freedom of conscience are fully exercised. No Turkish media organization welcomes different intellectual and religious opinions as Zaman does. It is one of the few newspapers in Turkey where people can write without worrying about being punished.