Indictment Against Fethullah Gülen by the General Prosecutor Nuh Mete Yüksel

GÜLEN MOVEMENT - I Indictment against Fethullah Gülen by the General Prosecutor Nuh Mete Yüksel

Introduction

The way one perceives Gülen movement depends on his/her socio-economic and political stance. Followers or sympathizers of F. Gülen strongly believe that he is a quasi-divine leader of contemporary Islam and will emancipate the Turkish society and eventually other Muslim ones that are suppressed by the State, whereas those who embrace secular and republican values consider Gülen and his followers as dissidents whose primary goal is to change the political structure of Turkey fundamentally. Gülen movement is also known as nurculuk, which means “divine radianceism”.

This paper summarizes the indictment against F. Gülen by Nuh Mete Yüksel, which was lodged to the State Security Court in 2000. (State Security Courts were established by the 1982 Constitution and repealed in 2004 by an amendment.) Therefore, all arguments and accusations explained in this work represent the secular point of view of the Turkish State.

After he wrote the indictment, a sex record of the prosecutor has come out and Yüksel was removed from the office by the Minister of Justice in 2002.

Culprit: Fethullah Gülen, son of Ramis and Rabia, born in Erzurum, 1941.

Crime: Founding and managing an outlawed organization with the aim of changing the secular state structure and establishing a new system which bases on religious rules.

Date: Since 1989

Religious Foundations

F. Gülen’s religious ideas mainly base on Said-i Nursi’s Islamic doctrines. Said-i Nursi was a Kurd who was born in 1873. His book, Risale-i Nur, is a 20. Century interpretation of the Qur’an. He also tried to evoke Kurdish nationalism before the foundation of the Turkish Republic and was sent to the jail after 1923. Here are some of his thoughts:

“(Referring to Atatürk) Evil with a single eye! Either you believe, or you will be the clown of the entire world.”

“ Turkish Republic is against religion by its foundation. There is no difference between secularism and atheism. Reformation is possible in Christianity but Islam is a perfect religion that does not need any reform.”

“Parliament should also undertake the duty of the Caliph.”

“Muslims do not need any constitution other than Qur’an. … Qur’an, unlike the Republican Consitution, is the result of the divine desire and not that of few people.

“Getting married with more than one woman is allowed by Islam.” According to Director of Religious Affairs of Turkey, Nur thoughts are null and void and may lead to the creation of special clans within the society.

After his death, Said-i Nursi’s followers divided into different groups, one of which is today’s Gülen movement.

Gülen Movement

Gülen movement is considered as the most powerful reactionary organization.

It aims at overthrowing the secular, democratic and social Turkish Republic and replacing it with a Sharia State and to this aim, educates young Turks in order to establish the future society that he plans. Gülen conceals his main goal by using democratic principles and moderate Islamism. He finds acceptance by the majority of the society thanks to his schools in Turkey and abroad. His interaction with the Pope II Jean Paul helped Gülen to represent himself as not only the leader of the Turkish Muslims but also that of the international Islam. He exploits the Turkish State by using his personal network within the political parties and bureaucracy and benefits a strong financial support which makes Gülen movement viable and powerful.

Strategy

a. To create the social basis by using his associations, schools and private courses. (Private courses system is an integral part of the Turkish education. Due to the distortion of the system, almost all students have to go those expensive courses to succeed in the university entrance exam. Therefore Gülen’s private courses provide a great opportunity for poor students and give Gülen an important leverage on future university students. E.D.) b. To broaden its network in bureaucracy, especially in the Ministry of Education and Police Organization.

Activities

Gülen Group has 88 foundations, 22 associations, 128 private schools, 218 companies, 129 private courses, 500 dormitories, 17 media agencies in Turkey. Gülen considers the Turkish Army as the biggest hurdle for his activities and plans get stronger within the police organization use it against army.

When it comes to external activities, Gülen movement owns six universities, 236 high schools, two primary schools, eight language courses, six university preparation courses and 21 dormitories in 35 different countries. The goal of these activities is to influence the future decision makers in those countries and seek possible cooperation between them and the Islamic Turkish State that he plans to build in the future. Financial sources

Gülen movement conducts its financial activities in high privacy. It owns a significant amount of real-estate, private companies and media agencies and accepts donations from wealthy members.

Political Goals

Gülen, having recognized that the dismantling of the existing system would be hardly possible in the midterm, focused on organizing his movement within the Turkish State. He also takes advantage of his reputation as a modern-moderate Islamist.

Growth of the movement bases on two different groups: students and small-scale businesses. While the first will constitute the future political group, the latter provides logistic and financial supplies. Thanks to its universities, the movement is disguised under an educational movement of Turkish society. Its activities to broaden Turkish culture in foreign countries are welcomed in Turkey.

Hierarchical Organization

After the Turkish Army, the Gülen movement is probably the best organized structure in Turkey. The movement has a lot of houses that provide education and shelter for students. Those houses are also places where Gülen’s ideas are indoctrinated. Supplies to those houses are provided by small-businesses and local investors (who are also called as Anatolian Tigers)

If it can be proved that Gülen is also supported by the US, this may lead to disorganization within the community. If Turkish Army would not exist in Turkey, Gülen would have already built its desired Islamic state. Even tough they praise the army on several occasions; they consider it as the biggest rival.