Gülen urges to take Turkish protests seriously, work to mitigate problems
Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has urged not to underestimate and overlook protests that gripped Turkey for nearly ten days, saying that “we share blame” for the unrest.
Gülen frequently used “we” to refer to members of his movement in particular and repeatedly blamed his movement in general for doing not enough to eliminate problems the Turkish society faces, particularly on ethical level. He said while trying to prevent one wrong, “fifty-fold more wrongs are being committed, sparking more rancor and hatred.” It was not clear whom he was referring to.
Gülen mostly urged not to underestimate the protests and said if one claims that prosters are not seeking for their rights, then some of their what he called “innocent demands” would be ignored. He added that initial protesters who gathered in Taksim's Gezi Park last week in a sit-in protest to prevent construction workers from demolishing trees could be rightfully demanding to preserve the ecosystem and green spaces. He branded their initial demands as “logical.”
But he blamed subsequent violence and said the following events showed that they sometimes could not “maintain the balance right.” He said stoning and burning public assets are “illogical and inhumane.”
Gülen noted that indifference and inability not to comprehend events could cause another problem on the other side, likely referring to the government, who most observers believe misread the protests.
During his entire speech, he rarely referred to real events and mostly formulated his speech hypotethically.
Gülen said underestimating negative developments could be stemming from problems in “judgment, mind and logic.” He likened the latest protests to “invasion of ants” and said “don't overlook them.”
“We need to act smart and see the smallest problems as very big and we need to handle them in a smart way,” he added. Gülen said some legitimate demands of innocent people are being exploited by some groups inside and outside of Turkey. He said the international media both in the US, Europe and elsewhere are publishing stories against Turkey and exaggerating events in the country as if “there is an apocalypse happening.”
“Who is to blame for this unrest? Those who overlooked the protests by labeling it as 'this and that?' Or should we blame those who are involved in the violence? Or should we blame the system overall?” Gülen said.
Gülen said sometimes “we need to ask ourselves if we share the blame for all those kids involved in violence.”
Gülen said the cause of those kids involved in violence in the streets are not “right” and if their cause were right, they would have peacefully gathered in a square and ask for their rights.
Gülen pointed to the ballot box as a way to change governments and said they could have worked door by door and urge people to vote for their candidate in next elections. “If they also don't like the candidate they elected, they can wait for another season and vote again,” he underlined.
Gülen said if one starts fire and war, it is sometimes difficult to stop them later, drawing parallels with Turkish protests authorities belittled. “Things we are experiencing now are no different from fire,” he added. He urged authorities to use all their tools at their disposal to “extinguish fire when it is small,” referring to the unrest.
He stated that if innocent people are being killed, educational facilities are bombed, people are being choked with gas bombs and there are still some people who are blind to see the background of these events, then the “fire could rage.”
Gülen also urged restraint and patience for his followers and said “our duty is to work to rehabilitate hearts.”
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