Under any circumstances, if I had to return to Turkey and face the gallows, I will not blink an eye.
The greater jihad is proclaiming war on our ego's destructive and negative emotions and thoughts... which prevent us from attaining perfection.
Islam's basic principles of belief, worship, morality, and behavior are not affected by changing times. Islam does not propose a certain unchangeable form of government or attempt to shape it. Islam has never offered nor established a theocracy in its name.
If somebody who appears to be a Hizmet sympathizer has been involved in an attempted coup, he betrays my ideals.
I don't see a bright future for Turkey. It pains me. But I have some hope, I pray for it to be better. It is a blessed country, a NATO member, and was an E.U. candidate. These were things we wanted.
Entrepreneurs and volunteers inspired by Hizmet's values have invested in modern education and community service in more than 150 countries.
Regardless of their religious observance, citizens can and should unite around universal human rights and freedoms, and democratically oppose those who violate them.
A Turkey under a dictatorial regime, providing haven to violent radicals and pushing its Kurdish citizens into desperation, would be a nightmare for Middle East security.
I probably will not live to see Turkey become an exemplary democracy, but I pray that the downward authoritarian drift can be stopped before it is too late.
In many places around the world, including Turkey until the 1950s, Muslims didn't have full freedom of religion. Even personal practice was not allowed, and they had to practice in secret.
Even if, at the helm of the country there are people who would like to replace me and suppress me and oppress me at the level of blood-sucking vampires, then I do not want to remove them with anti-democratic means. This is my attitude toward any and even the idea of the consideration of a military coup.
Avoiding the physical sciences due to the fear that they will lead to heresy is childish.
I cannot accept concepts such as Gulenism or Gulenist. I was only a writer and an official preacher among people. I can have no direct influence on any person or activity. It is inconceivable that I can exert pressure on anybody.
Turkey is a diverse country... I think that democracy is the ideal system for a country with a social foundation such as this. My view is based on my belief that everyone should be able to comfortably live what they believe, and this is only possible in a truly democratic environment. I am insistent in my views and I strongly believe in what I say.
The lesser jihad is our active fulfillment of Islam's commands and duties.
I consider myself an ordinary Muslim who is constantly working to put himself in the framework established by the Koran and the tradition of the Prophet Mohammed. I study the works of experts of jurisprudence, Koranic commentary, hadith commentary, and Sufism.
Erdogan's persecution of his people is not simply a domestic matter. The ongoing pursuit of civil society, journalists, academics and Kurds in Turkey is threatening the long-term stability of the country.
We invite our friends who hold high positions in the legislative branch of government and state institutions to master the skills of administration, so they could, when the time comes, reform the Turkish state and make it more fruitful at all its levels in the name of Islam.
My core belief is to seek peace in the world, helping people eliminate certain malevolent attitudes through education as much as possible.
I feel the pain of people who suffer in my own neurons and sometimes cannot even watch TV. It is impossible not to be worried. But I trust that however cruel treatment they receive, Hizmet sympathizers will continue to respect to the law and will remain peaceful.
