You can’t achieve democracy through military coup – Islamic scholar


Date posted: October 10, 2016

Chukwu Eze Romeo

A prominent Islamic scholar, Fethullah Gülen, has said that no country can achieve democracy through military interventions.  He spoke in reaction to another coup attempt in Turkey, saying he was a victim of four military coups in the past.

The Turkish government had alleged that Gülen, who is in self-imposed exile in the United States, was behind a failed military coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in July.

“Once again, the Turkish media, under government control or pressure, is circulating horrific rumours, this time about a supposed second coup attempt in the works, supposedly prepared by my sympathizers with the backing of the United States. Such rumours are unfounded and irresponsible,” Gülen said in a statement made available to newsmen.

He said that no matter the unwarranted attacks on his rights and the Hizmet Movement by the government of Turkey, he would never approve their removal through anti-democratic means.

“I strongly condemn the efforts to portray me as the architect of the treacherous July 15 coup attempt despite the fact that I condemned it in the strongest terms while it was in progress. I have repeatedly and clearly denied playing any role in it. If some people who appear to be sympathizers of Hizmet were involved in the treacherous coup attempt, they betray my ideals and should face justice. “I believe that the rumours of a second coup attempt are being circulated in Turkish media deliberately to set a trap against our citizens, especially Hizmet participants,” he said.


Related Video (added by HizmetNews.Com)

Fethullah Gulen’s stance on democracy 1994-2016

 

Source: Daily Trust , October 11, 2016


Related News

Zaman reporter says won’t leave her job on PM’s orders

Zaman correspondent Tuğba Mezararkalı, who was told by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to change her job and leave the Zaman daily during a press conference held on Friday, has said Erdoğan is clearly intervening in freedom of the press, stating she did not begin her job in Zaman, where she has been working for four years, on the prime minister’s orders and would not leave her job on his orders as well.

Turkey’s post-revolutionary civil war

What does this corruption investigation has anything to do with the AKP-Gülen Movement tension? Well, the prosecutor who apparently led this investigation in big secrecy, Zekeriya Öz, is believed to be a member of the movement. Corruption is a serious matter and the real best defense would be to help bring those who are charged to justice. Meanwhile, the Gülen Movement, normally a civil society group, should help save itself from the image of secrecy and infiltration that it has been drawn into in the past decade.

Abant meeting calls for commitment to EU process, new constitution

SEVGİ AKARÇEŞME, ABANT/BOLU/TURKEY Participants of the three-day-long Abant Platform meeting have emphasized the need to finish drafting a new constitution, stressed the importance of a state that is equidistant to all beliefs and underlined the significance of reviving Turkey’s membership talks with the European Union. Long a byword for describing a gathering that attracts a […]

Gülen says many would like to be in detained journalists’ shoes

Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has said he believes many people, including he himself, would like to be in the shoes of Zaman daily Editor-in-Chief Ekrem Dumanlı and Samanyolu Broadcasting Group General Manager Hidayet Karaca, who were detained in a police operation on Sunday, implying that it is an honor for the journalists to be in custody under Turkey’s current circumstances.

Turkish Airlines discriminates against critical newspapers on planes

THY significantly slashed its number of subscriptions to the aforementioned newspapers following an open disagreement between the government — which had made a decision to shut down prep schools — and the dailies, which held a critical editorial stance against the move. The numbers of these newspapers were lowered in THY’s private “Commercially Important Persons” lounge.

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

The signatory states and their courts need to decide where their loyalty lies: With the authoritarian Erdogan government or with the human rights and judicial guarantees solemnly enshrined in their respective constitutions?

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Enes Kanter – A Dervish in the NBA

Pakistan – Staff expelled from Turkish-backed schools on Erdogan’s demand

Father jailed over Gülen links, 6-months-old paralyzed baby left in intensive care

US Human Rights Report: Tens of thousands jailed in Turkey with little clarity on charges

Eid joy fills Kimse Yok Mu’s Ikbaliye town

German Greens MEP backs Gülen school official’s plea against extradition

Unlawful accreditation ban against Today’s Zaman reporter ends

Copyright 2025 Insightful Neighbor