Is Gülen Really a Terrorist Leader?
Some would call Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen a man who has devoted his life to raising a new generation of well-educated Turks. Others may call him simply a religious fundamentalist. But can we really call Gülen the leader of a terrorist gang?
Ankara State Security Court (DGM) Chief Prosecutor Nuh Mete Yuksel has opened a case against Gülen charging that the preacher has set up a terrorist group which has infiltrated state ranks. He has charged that the hundreds of companies and schools set up by Gülen and his followers are designed to serve the purpose of turning Turkey into a religious state.
All these are absurd. Everyone knows Gülen has been preaching tolerance and goodwill. He has always encouraged dialogue not only between the believers and nonbelievers but also among religions. That is why he met the pope and sowed the seeds of inter-religious dialogue.
How can we now turn and say Gülen is a terrorist and his companies and schools are part of an intricate terrorist network?
Everyone knows well that Gülen's schools in Turkey are designed to raise a new generation of Turks who respect moral values and are educated through contemporary means. Gülen's schools throughout the world are very popular. If any of these schools were ever involved in any fundamentalist activity, the host countries would be the first to close them down; yet, even the religiously sensitive Central Asian republics always have praise for the schools where the children of leading officials are educated.
So how can we call these schools a part of the terrorist network?
Gülen and his followers have set up numerous flourishing companies to finance these schools. If Gülen were to hand over the schools to the state today, authorities who are pushed to finance their existing state schools would be pushed to run them as well. Besides, it is questionable whether the authorities could maintain the current high standards at these schools...
What Gülen has done is no different than what the legendary Ihsan DoðramacI has done by setting up Hacettepe and Bilkent universities and financing Bilkent through the giant Tepe industrial group.
We feel those who say so much about Gülen and his enterprises should visit these establishments and see for themselves how they operate and what happens in these schools which are supervised by the Ministry of Education.
Gülen is an ailing man. He is sick and is receiving treatment in the United States. Is it wise to push around a person who is obviously not a terrorist? Are we doing a service to our country by discouraging his followers to push ahead with Gülen's project to raise a new generation of well-educated Turks who respect moral values as well?
TURKISH DAILY NEWS
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