A pro-Erdoğan supporter walks on a poster of Gülen during a rally in Istanbul in 2016 after the alleged “coup attempt”. (Ozan Kose/AFP)
I witnessed with regret that an opinion piece titled “Humanitarian legacy of Fethullah Gülen” written by Farid Esack, professor emeritus in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Johannesburg, a devotee of the “Hizmet Movement”, that is the Fethullahist Terror Organisation (Feto) that orchestrated an attempt to overthrow the democratically elected government on 15 July 2016, was published by the Mail & Guardian on 1 November 2024.
Feto targeted Turkish democracy by attempting to take over its institutions eight years ago. This treacherous coup attempt has caused the bloodiest terrorist attack Türkiye has ever been faced with. Turkish Presidential Residence, Turkish Grand National Assembly, security and intelligence institutions were attacked by fighter jets and 253 citizens were martyred while more than 2000 were injured.
It is evident that an organisation wishing to take control of all government institutions through an attempted coup, has no true connection to Islam, ethical values or sense of justice. In this respect, such groundless praise of a cult leader whose organisation is responsible for the death of his fellow countrymen as humanitarian is an insult to my country. Let alone comparing the Turkish judicial system to that of the genocidal Israeli state and comparing the supporters of Gülen who are immersed in criminality and terrorism to innocent Palestinians is morally unacceptable. Portraying him as an altruist and a mere critic of the government does not reflect the truth while there is ample evidence that points to his written instructions in the clandestine mobile application used by members of Feto on the night of July 15th and the days preceding it.
Gülen spent the last 25 years of his life at a mansion in a big farm in Pennsylvania. His supporters accumulated immense wealth over the years, often through illegal means (illicit financial flows, money laundering) that are well-documented in both Turkish and international records. All of these are inconsistent with the image that was painted of him in the article as an Islamic cleric that led an austere life and was victimised by an “oppressive state”.
The allegations in the article lack academic or legal basis. In fact, if an academic work needs to be consulted, the books Empire of Deceit: An Investigation of the Gülen Charter School Network and Empire of Deceit: Vol II: Web of Influence by London and Washington law firm Amsterdam & Partners could be referenced, where all the illegal activities of the chartered school network in the US are evidenced. The network’s main financial sources lie in the private schools, companies and NGOs established in the US and abroad.
Türkiye’s experience was very similar to state capture in the South African context, except that it was done through an illegal intelligence network that took over the critical organs of state (judiciary, security, military complex) by appointing its own recruits (state officials who took instructions from a third party).
As manipulated by various foreign intelligence services, Feto’s tactics clearly reveal that its true intentions are neither about education, religion nor tolerance. A closer look into the activities of this network in various countries would reveal the inherent harm caused to the social fabric and economies of those countries.
Unfortunately, the countries which host and protect entities of Feto do not draw the necessary conclusions from the painful experiences of our country and ignore the risk of being possibly exposed to the same fate in the future. The terrorist organisation continues to present itself to the international community as a pro-dialogue, moderate, peaceful and democratic NGO by hiding its true face and colours. Feto members, in cooperation with circles hostile to Türkiye, are trying to invent stories of victimisation through unfounded news by using propaganda and lobbying facilities and trying to be visible in the media, through dishonest means.
Their purpose is to spread defamation and slander while gaining money and power. Such baseless claims as stated in the opinion piece serve only to mislead the international community, trying to hide Feto’s actual agenda.
Calling the democratically elected president of Türkiye a dictator is not just disrespectful to the Turkish government that has had good relations with South Africa for 30 years, it is also an attack on the political will of the Turkish people.
Such unjust allegations, which aim to slander Turkish democracy while gratifying a convicted criminal and an abuser of Islamic values have no factual basis. We trust that the South African government and public will review the evidence from reliable sources to get a clear picture of Feto and its traitor leader and be aware of the real intentions behind this smoke screen attempt of propaganda.
Ayşegül Kandaş is the ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye in Pretoria.