Aksoy: Property where Gülen resides is not joint-owned
Golden Generation Worship & Retreat Center Chairman Bekir Aksoy has denied Süleyman Hamit Müftigil's claim of owning a share in the property on which Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen lives in Pennsylvania, stating that the land is not a joint-owned property but is fully owned by the center.
In recently leaked telephone conversations, Müftigil, who introduces himself as a member of the Hizmet movement, claims that he owns a share in the property where Gülen is residing.
Aksoy firmly denied the claims and said that the Golden Generation Worship & Retreat Center owns the entire property, which covers around 0.104 square kilometers. "Besides the Golden Generation Worship & Retreat Center, no person or institution has any share in this land," Aksoy said, adding that Müftigil has no relationship with the center.
Aksoy said that he doesn't know who Müftigil is, adding that he has never heard the name Müftigil in his life.
Aksoy said the 0.104-square-kilometer parcel of land was purchased for $230,000 in 1993 with the intention of building a retreat and educational center for Turkish people living in New York and nearby states. "This land was purchased at that time by the 'Beyaz Gül' (White Rose) foundation. Between 1998 and 1999, the Beyaz Gül and 'Altın Nesil' (Golden Generation) were merged and the Golden Generation Worship & Retreat Center was established. This is a foundation property. Thus, no individual has any share either in the land or the buildings constructed on this land. Aksoy said that Gülen has been living as a guest at one of the houses on the property.
In the leaked tapes, Müftigil voiced baseless claims about the movement. However, the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV), whose honorary chairman is Gülen, recently denied any relationship with Müftigil, against whom Gülen's lawyers have filed a criminal complaint.
Müftigil claims in the tapes that a new political party will be set up by 78 defectors from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). He also claims that the movement has connections with Israel-linked lobbies and interest groups and predicted that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's government would soon fail.
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