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Fethullah Gülen

155 quotes

“I would like to stress that any terrorist activity, no matter who does it and for what purpose, is the greatest blow to peace, democracy, humanity, and all religious values. For this reason, no one—and certainly no Muslims – can approve of any terrorist activity.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Qur’an declares that one who takes a life unjustly has, in effect, taken the lives of humanity as a whole, and that one who saves a life has, in effect, saved the lives of humanity as a whole.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I strongly condemn this latest terrorist attack on the United States. It only deserves condemnation and contempt, and it must be condemned by every person in the world. I believe that before America’s leaders and people respond to this heinous assault, I would like to express that they surely understand why such a terrible event occurred and how similar tragedies can be avoided in the future.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They try to portray us as a pro-Israeli movement, in the sense that we have a higher regard for them than our nation. We are accepting them as a people, as part of the people of the world.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If I were to say anything to people I may say people should vote for those who are respectful to democracy, rule of law, who get on well with people. Telling or encouraging people to vote for a party would be an insult to peoples' intellect. Everybody very clearly sees what is going on.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is deeply disappointing to see what has become of Turkey in the last few years. Not long ago, it was the envy of Muslim-majority countries: a viable candidate for the European Union on its path to becoming a functioning democracy that upholds universal human rights, gender equality, the rule of law and the rights of Kurdish and non-Muslim citizens. This historic opportunity now appears to have been squandered as Turkey’s ruling party, known as the A.K.P., reverses that progress and clamps down on civil society, media, the judiciary and free enterprise.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Turkey’s current leaders seem to claim an absolute mandate by virtue of winning elections. But victory doesn’t grant them permission to ignore the Constitution or suppress dissent, especially when election victories are built on crony capitalism and media subservience. The A.K.P.’s leaders now depict every democratic criticism of them as an attack on the state. By viewing every critical voice as an enemy — or worse, a traitor — they are leading the country toward totalitarianism.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Turkey’s rulers have not only alienated the West, they are also now losing credibility in the Middle East. Turkey’s ability to assert positive influence in the region depends not only on its economy but also on the health of its own democracy.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The core tenets of a functioning democracy — the rule of law, respect for individual freedoms — are also the most basic of Islamic values bestowed upon us by God. No political or religious leader has the authority to take them away. It is disheartening to see religious scholars provide theological justification for the ruling party’s oppression and corruption or simply stay silent. Those who use the language and symbols of religious observance but violate the core principles of their religion do not deserve such loyalty from religious scholars.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Speaking against oppression is a democratic right, a civic duty and for believers, a religious obligation. The Quran makes clear that people should not remain silent in the face of injustice: “O you who believe! Be upholders and standard-bearers of justice, bearing witness to the truth for God’s sake, even though it be against your own selves, or parents or kindred.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For the past 50 years, I have been fortunate to take part in a civil society movement, sometimes referred to as Hizmet, whose participants and supporters include millions of Turkish citizens. These citizens have committed themselves to interfaith dialogue, community service, relief efforts and making life-changing education accessible. They have established more than 1,000 modern secular schools, tutoring centers, colleges, hospitals and relief organizations in over 150 countries. They are teachers, journalists, businessmen and ordinary citizens.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The rhetoric used by the ruling party repeatedly to crack down on Hizmet participants is nothing but a pretext to justify their own authoritarianism. Hizmet participants have never formed a political party nor have they pursued political ambitions. Their participation in the movement is driven by intrinsic rewards, not extrinsic ones.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have spent over 50 years preaching and teaching the values of peace, mutual respect and altruism. I’ve advocated for education, community service and interfaith dialogue. I have always believed in seeking happiness in the happiness of others and the virtue of seeking God’s pleasure in helping His people. Whatever influence is attributed to me, I have used it as a means to promote educational and social projects that help nurture virtuous individuals. I have no interest in political power.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Many Hizmet participants, including me, once supported the ruling party’s agenda, including the 2005 opening of accession negotiations with the European Union. Our support then was based on principle, as is our criticism today. It is our right and duty to speak out about government policies that have a deep impact on society. Unfortunately, our democratic expression against public corruption and authoritarianism has made us victims of a witch-hunt; both the Hizmet movement and I are being targeted with hate speech, media smear campaigns and legal harassment.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Like all segments of Turkish society, Hizmet participants have a presence in government organizations and in the private sector. These citizens cannot be denied their constitutional rights or be subjected to discrimination for their sympathy to Hizmet’s ideals, as long as they abide by the laws of the country, the rules of their institutions and basic ethical principles. Profiling any segment of society and viewing them as a threat is a sign of intolerance.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We are not the only victims of the A.K.P.’s crackdown. Peaceful environmental protesters, Kurds, Alevis, non-Muslim citizens and some Sunni Muslim groups not aligned with the ruling party have suffered, too. Without checks and balances, no individual or group is safe from the ruling party’s wrath. Regardless of their religious observance, citizens can and should unite around universal human rights and freedoms, and democratically oppose those who violate them.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Turkey has now reached a point where democracy and human rights have almost been shelved. I hope and pray that those in power reverse their current domineering path. In the past the Turkish people have rejected elected leaders who strayed from a democratic path. I hope they will exercise their legal and democratic rights again to reclaim the future of their country.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I condemn the military coup attempt in Turkey in the strongest terms. Governments should be changed through fair and free elections, not by force. I pray for Turkey, the Turkish people and everyone in Turkey right now. I pray to God that this problem will be resolved in the fastest and most peaceful way.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As someone who has suffered through every military coup in the last 50 years, it is humiliating to be associated with such an initiative. I unconditionally reject such slander.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“During the attempted military coup in Turkey this month, I condemned it in the strongest terms. “Government should be won through a process of free and fair elections, not force,” I said. “I pray to God for Turkey, for Turkish citizens, and for all those currently in Turkey that this situation is resolved peacefully and quickly.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Despite my unequivocal protest, similar to statements issued by all three of the major opposition parties, Turkey’s increasingly authoritarian president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, immediately accused me of orchestrating the putsch. He demanded that the United States extradite me from my home in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania where I have lived in voluntary exile since 1999.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Not only does Mr. Erdogan’s suggestion run afoul of everything I believe in, it is also irresponsible and wrong.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“At a time when Western democracies are searching for moderate Muslim voices, I and my friends in the Hizmet movement have taken a clear stance against extremist violence, from the Sept. 11 attacks by Al Qaeda to brutal executions by the Islamic State to the kidnappings by Boko Haram.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In addition to condemning mindless violence, including during the coup attempt, we have emphasized our commitment to preventing terrorists’ recruitment from among Muslim youth and nurturing a peaceful, pluralist mind-set.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Throughout my life, I have publicly and privately denounced military interventions in domestic politics. In fact, I have been advocating for democracy for decades. Having suffered through four military coups in four decades in Turkey — and having been subjected by those military regimes to harassment and wrongful imprisonment — I would never want my fellow citizens to endure such an ordeal again. If somebody who appears to be a Hizmet sympathizer has been involved in an attempted coup, he betrays my ideals.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Nevertheless, Mr. Erdogan’s accusation is no surprise, not for what it says about me but rather for what it reveals about his systematic and dangerous drive toward one-man rule.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Like many Turkish citizens, the Hizmet movement’s participants supported Mr. Erdogan’s early efforts to democratize Turkey and fulfill the requirements for membership in the European Union. But we were not silent as he turned from democracy to despotism. Even before these new purges, Mr. Erdogan in recent years has arbitrarily closed newspapers; removed thousands of judges, prosecutors, police officers and civil servants from their positions; and taken especially harsh measures against Kurdish communities. He has declared his detractors enemies of the state.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Hizmet, in particular, has been the target of the president’s wrath. In 2013, Mr. Erdogan blamed Hizmet sympathizers within the Turkish bureaucracy for initiating a corruption investigation that implicated members of his cabinet and other close associates. As a result, scores of members of the judiciary and the police forces were purged or arrested for simply doing their jobs.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Violent extremism feeds on the frustrations of those forced to live under dictators who cannot be challenged by peaceful protests and democratic politics. In Turkey, the Erdogan government’s shift toward a dictatorship is polarizing the population along sectarian, political, religious and ethnic lines, fueling the fanatics.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For the sake of worldwide efforts to restore peace in turbulent times, as well as to safeguard the future of democracy in the Middle East, the United States must not accommodate an autocrat who is turning a failed putsch into a slow-motion coup of his own against constitutional government.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Turkey experienced the biggest disaster in its recent history with the coup attempt that took place on the night of July 15, and came back from the brink of a cliff. What happened that night can be described as a terrorist coup in the harshest terms. All segments of Turkish society, who thought that military interventions were a thing of the past, showed that they were on the side of democracy by taking a common stance against the coup attempt. I condemned the coup in clear and unambiguous language while the attempt was still going on.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Just 20 minutes after the start of this treacherous coup attempt, before the perpetrators of the incident were even revealed, Mr. Erdoğan accused me. It is thought-provoking that the culprit was declared so quickly, even before the details of the incident were revealed and without knowing who did it and why. As someone who has suffered from many military coups over the last 50 years, it is offensive to me to be associated with such an initiative. I absolutely deny these accusations.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If there are those who were influenced by the interventionist culture in a section of the army and put these reflexes before their service values, which I do not think, their mistakes cannot be attributed to the entire movement. I leave them to God.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No one, including me, is above the law. I want those responsible for this coup, regardless of their background, to go through a fair legal process and receive the punishment they deserve. Since the judicial system in Turkey has been under political tutelage since October 2014, the possibility of a fair trial is low. That's why I have repeatedly declared that an international commission should be established on this issue and that I would willingly comply with the conclusion of this commission.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The participants of this movement have not been involved in a single act of violence throughout its 50-year history, and although they have been subjected to a "witch hunt", to put it openly by Erdoğan, in the last 3 years, they have not taken to the streets or defied the security forces. The Hizmet movement, which has been suffering under a systematic hate campaign and state oppression for 3 years, made its legitimate defense by complying with the limits set by the law and sought its rights only through legal means.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have more than 70 books published based on the articles I have written and the sermons I have given over the past 40 years. In these, there is not the slightest statement that allows the idea of a coup, on the contrary, universal human values that form the basis of democracy are addressed.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Turkey's salvation lies in the deepening of democratic culture and the internalization of a merit-based state administration. Neither a military coup nor an autocratic civilian administration is the solution.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Unfortunately, in a country where opposition media outlets are either closed or put under tutelage, a significant portion of Turkish citizens believed the allegations that I was the perpetrator of July 15, in the face of a massive propaganda bombardment. However, the world public opinion, which can look at the events more objectively, clearly sees that what is happening is an effort by those in power to increase their power under the pretext of a witch hunt.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Volunteers of this movement have been monitored by hundreds of governments, intelligence agencies, researchers or independent civil society actors around the world for 25 years and no illegal activity has been found. For this reason, many countries do not take seriously the Turkish Government's theses about the Hizmet movement.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As a matter of fact, the institutions that the Turkish Government closed down by declaring the Hizmet movement a terrorist organization as a political decision are schools, hospitals and humanitarian aid associations. The Hizmet volunteers, tens of thousands of whom have been detained and arrested, are teachers, entrepreneurs, doctors, academics or journalists. No evidence has been found to accuse these hundreds of thousands of witch hunt victims of either supporting the coup or any act of violence.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As the presidents of the United States and Turkey meet at the White House on Tuesday, the leader of the country I have called home for almost two decades comes face to face with the leader of my homeland. The two countries have a lot at stake, including the fight against the Islamic State, the future of Syria and the refugee crisis.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But the Turkey that I once knew as a hope-inspiring country on its way to consolidating its democracy and a moderate form of secularism has become the dominion of a president who is doing everything he can to amass power and subjugate dissent.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The West must help Turkey return to a democratic path. Tuesday’s meeting, and the NATO summit next week, should be used as an opportunity to advance this effort.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Since July 15, following a deplorable coup attempt, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has systematically persecuted innocent people — arresting, detaining, firing and otherwise ruining the lives of more than 300,000 Turkish citizens, be they Armenians, Kurds, Alevis, secularists, leftists, journalists, academics or participants of Hizmet, the peaceful humanitarian movement with which I am associated.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As the coup attempt unfolded, I fiercely denounced it and denied any involvement. Furthermore, I said that anyone who participated in the putsch betrayed my ideals. Nevertheless, and without evidence, Erdogan immediately accused me of orchestrating it from 5,000 miles away.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In April, the president won a narrow referendum victory — amid allegations of serious fraud — to form an “executive presidency” without checks and balances, enabling him to control all three branches of the government. To be sure, through purges and corruption, much of this power was already in his hands. I fear for the Turkish people as they enter this new stage of authoritarianism.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Erdogan’s persecution of his people is not simply a domestic matter. The ongoing pursuit of civil society, journalists, academics and Kurds in Turkey is threatening the long-term stability of the country. The Turkish population already is strongly polarized on the AKP regime. A Turkey under a dictatorial regime, providing haven to violent radicals and pushing its Kurdish citizens into desperation, would be a nightmare for Middle East security.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The people of Turkey need the support of their European allies and the United States to restore their democracy. Turkey initiated true multiparty elections in 1950 to join NATO. As a requirement of its membership, NATO can and should demand that Turkey honor its commitment to the alliance’s democratic norms.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Two measures are critical to reversing the democratic regression in Turkey.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“First, a new civilian constitution should be drafted through a democratic process involving the input of all segments of society and that is on par with international legal and humanitarian norms, and drawing lessons from the success of long-term democracies in the West.”
Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source