By Sevgi Akarcesme.
As a prominent preacher, Fethullah Gulen has to express his opinion on politics, argues the author.
Trying to understand what has been going on in Turkey over the last couple of months is impossible without taking into account the corruption scandal that broke out on December 17, 2013. Yet an article which appeared on Al Jazeera succeeded in doing just that. It made no reference to the biggest graft probe that the country has ever seen.
On the contrary, as if to distract attention from the corruption probe, this op-ed placed the blame squarely on Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen, claiming that he aims to control the state through his followers within the bureaucracy.
The Hizmet (Service) movement is a religious and social community inspired by the peaceful and progressive teachings of Gulen and encompasses a wide network of people not only in Turkey but also in 160 countries around the world.
It is true that Gulen is no simple preacher. Indeed, he encourages pious Turks to receive the best education possible, to go beyond the limits that the bureaucratic-authoritarian state has set for them and claim positions that were traditionally reserved for the elite. For this, he became the target of the Kemalist military, which views Gulen’s movement a threat to the oppressive Turkish secular state.
Doctored tapes
When the military launched a psychological warfare campaign to topple the Islamist government in Turkey on February 28, 1997, Gulen naturally faced the wrath of the soldiers and became a target. Some media outlets, which had been used as a “convenient tool” by the military, at the time, broadcast doctored tapes of Gulen to create the impression that his followers had “infiltrated” the state. Indeed, this was an argument that the aggressively oppressive secular state employed against religious citizens at large.
It is therefore an ironic twist of fate that pious Muslims would resort to the same tools previously employed by the repressive military regime to undermine Gulen and his movement.
The recent op-ed referred to the same videotapes that were used by the military during the February 28 coup era.
Although Gulen was charged with an attempt to change the nature of the regime during the height of military pressure in 1999, he was acquitted of all charges in a trial that lasted eight years.
It is no secret that Gulen encourages the sympathisers of the Hizmet movement to not shy away from holding positions within the state. Every Turkish citizen, at least on paper, is equally eligible for government jobs as long as they possess the necessary qualifications.
As a prominent preacher, Fethullah Gulen has to express his opinion on politics, argues the author.
Trying to understand what has been going on in Turkey over the last couple of months is impossible without taking into account the corruption scandal that broke out on December 17, 2013. Yet an article which appeared on Al Jazeera succeeded in doing just that. It made no reference to the biggest graft probe that the country has ever seen.
On the contrary, as if to distract attention from the corruption probe, this op-ed placed the blame squarely on Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen, claiming that he aims to control the state through his followers within the bureaucracy.
The Hizmet (Service) movement is a religious and social community inspired by the peaceful and progressive teachings of Gulen and encompasses a wide network of people not only in Turkey but also in 160 countries around the world.
It is true that Gulen is no simple preacher. Indeed, he encourages pious Turks to receive the best education possible, to go beyond the limits that the bureaucratic-authoritarian state has set for them and claim positions that were traditionally reserved for the elite. For this, he became the target of the Kemalist military, which views Gulen’s movement a threat to the oppressive Turkish secular state.
Doctored tapes
When the military launched a psychological warfare campaign to topple the Islamist government in Turkey on February 28, 1997, Gulen naturally faced the wrath of the soldiers and became a target. Some media outlets, which had been used as a “convenient tool” by the military, at the time, broadcast doctored tapes of Gulen to create the impression that his followers had “infiltrated” the state. Indeed, this was an argument that the aggressively oppressive secular state employed against religious citizens at large.
It is therefore an ironic twist of fate that pious Muslims would resort to the same tools previously employed by the repressive military regime to undermine Gulen and his movement.
The recent op-ed referred to the same videotapes that were used by the military during the February 28 coup era.
Although Gulen was charged with an attempt to change the nature of the regime during the height of military pressure in 1999, he was acquitted of all charges in a trial that lasted eight years.
It is no secret that Gulen encourages the sympathisers of the Hizmet movement to not shy away from holding positions within the state. Every Turkish citizen, at least on paper, is equally eligible for government jobs as long as they possess the necessary qualifications.
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