The US-Appointed Sunni Caliph is Naked
Edip Yuksel
12 July 2012
www.19.org
No, I am not the only child who has been screaming this; but if you read this article, you will see that my voice is perhaps the loudest and clearest one. Let’s start with a piece of old news. The reputed American magazine Foreign Policy, in its August 4, 2008 issue, had declared “Fethullah Gülen, the World’s Top Public Intellectual.” The announcement started with the following introduction:
“When Foreign Policy and Prospect magazine asked readers to vote for the world’s top public intellectual, one man won in a landslide: Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, an inspirational leader to millions of followers around the world and persona non grata to many in his native Turkey, where some consider him a threat to the country’s secular order.”
Top public intellectual? Did they really mean it? Yes, they really meant it. I checked the date on the magazine and it was not April 1st! Let’s ask a few more serious questions. First, who are those “readers”? How do they know him? Which book or lecture of him makes him deserving such a title? Could it be a promotional service for the America’s new Caliph? Anyone who knows Fethullah Gülen closely will know that the word “intellectual” befits him as much as the word “fast” befits a turtle, or the word “person” befits a corporation. Fethullah might be the top business person; since he created a foundation that now owns big corporations, newspapers, television channels, hundreds of schools, and is valued in Billions of dollars. Fethullah might be the leader of the biggest, yet the most secretive and the least transparent cult. Fethullah might be the most successful politician in Turkey;
He is perhaps the world’s best living politician, since from being a preacher, he managed to gain the control of the nation’s political system; without even establishing a political party, without debating against a single opponent, without being cross-examined by a journalist; not even once. How such a person becomes a top public figure without being subjected to neither intellectual nor political scrutiny is beyond me.
From leakage to a stream, brook, river, and into a dam
Fethullah Gülen was our family friend. He and my father, Sadreddin or Sadrettin Yüksel, knew each other well. Though they had differences in their style and political attitudes, there was a mutual respect between them; both were sharing the desire for a theocratic regime (sharia) in Turkey. Both were students and admirers of the Kurdish mullah, Said Nursi. (Said Nursi was born in our town, Bitlis, and he studied in the same madrasa where my father would study later. The madrasa in the town of Norşin was run by my mother’s family). Fethullah was found of Ottoman glory so much so that he would write his private letters in Arabic alphabet. His letter of condolences to my father, after my brother’s assassination by the Turkish nationalists, was in Ottoman.
In 1980s, when I was a best-selling Islamist author, I met Fethullah several times and wrote a few articles in his first monthly magazine, Sızıntı (Leakage, Ooze, or Seepage). He was writing editorial articles and poems, filled with Arabic and Persian vocabulary, under the nickname Dahhak, which was the exaggerated form of the Arabic translation of his last name, Gülen, that is ‘the one who laughs a lot’. From the title of his first magazine, it was obvious that he intended to infiltrate the Turkish institutions such as education, media, business, police, military, in a clandestine manner. His organization steadily flourished; starting from leakage it turned into a stream, brook, river, and currently has become a dam, perhaps the biggest one in the Muslim world. Years ago, the highly paranoid anti-religious Turkish generals were alarmed and they detected infiltration of the cult and they kicked them out in waves. But, the cult has been very successful in other fronts, including police. Today, the Turkish police force is dominated by Fethullah’s followers and many of the recent raids against high ranking military officials, including generals who are accused of planning military coups are considered to be the power struggle between Fethullah and the Turkish generals.
The fate of this colossal dam is difficult to predict, but the exponential growth of this movement was noticed by the USA-Inc long time ago, and apparently it has struck a deal with its leader, who is enjoying his life since 1999 in a ranch in Pennsylvania. Remember Khomeini was in Paris and led the revolution in Iran? Fethullah is leading a revolution in Turkey, albeit a stealthy one. Khomeini’s revolution was loud and obvious; but Fethullah’s cult is working like termites. I know what you might think, “Edip, you too live in the USA and you too have some controversial ideas. Then, what about you?” Well, I am open as one can be. My connections, income, wealth, history, character, and plans all are open. And some of my enemies, who wish to drawn me in a teaspoon, would not doubt about my integrity and bravery to stand for what I believe to be the truth. As for Fethullah and his cult, they are secretive, opaque, cunning, and full of hideous surprises.
Fethullah Gülen’s movement or the FG Cult
The members of Fethullah’s Nurcu (read, Nurju) cult do not rally or protest on the streets, but they are savvy and effective behind doors as well as in managing businesses. Ironically, two rival camps, both the secular and the anti-imperialist Islamist segment of the Turkish population, are in agreement that Fethullah is used as a pawn to create a model of “Cool Islam” (read it, imperial-friendly) in the Middle East. Of course, I have no hard evidence for the existence of such a deal, but regardless, Fethullah is a perfect choice for the USA’s imperialistic policies in the Middle and Far East. Fethullah might be justifying his alliance with the USA as “taqiyya.” Knowing both, I see who will be used in the end.
FG had a well-calculated plan to take over every major institution in Turkey. He used emotional appeal while preaching in mosques or private meetings. He would tell the stories of courage and dedication of Sahaba, (the idealized and idolized friends of the Prophet Muhammad) and weep and make his audience weep together. In those years, I noticed the prophetic irony between his last name and his style of communication. He was always crying in front of crowds.
He would raise funds and more funds. Soon, his organization and foundation became the wealthiest religious Sunni organization in Turkey, and now, in the world. Thanks to Fethullah’s talent of exploiting the religious and then the nationalistic emotions with sob stories aspiring to the golden days of the past. The power of his exploitation increased exponentially parallel to the number of people he influenced. Like an avalanche, more people attracted more people. It is a fact that a great majority of people prefer to follow a band wagon, especially the ones run by charismatic megalomaniacs.
The Mahdi and his soldiers
I found myself neither close to him nor to the people around him. I found them too calculating and sneaky. Too timid and obedient to their leader… They were a troop of nice “yes men”. I found FG too manipulative and dangerously charismatic for the naïve, and on top of that, too delusional. When his maudlin disposition, sobbing and crooning moved his audience and allowed him to raise big money for his foundation, he diversified his preaching style with sobbing, blubbering, weeping, sniveling, bawling and vociferating. Once, he added even more drama by throwing the holy book to his audience, but after receiving too many negative reactions, he did not repeat that gimmick again.
If you do not know about FB’s backward and dangerous theological dogmas and his infinite thirst for power, you might try to defend him based on Psalms 126:5-6. If you are an American, you may imagine Saint Paul, Dalai Lama, Billy Graham, Tim Lahaye, Glenn Beck , Sai Baba, Rick Warren, Pat Robertson, Benny Hinn, Jim Baker, Deepak Chopra, Robert Tilton, Robert Tilton II, and Jimmy Lee Swaggart. Mix them in a blender and add a gallon of tears and a sack of secrecy, replace the names of Jesus or Hindu gods with Muhammad, and the names of Christian and Hindu saints with the Sunni ones, you get our maudlin preacher whose last name laughs, even while he cries in public most of the time.
His cult also could be likened to a composite of Mormonism, Jehovah Witnesses, Cabbalists, Discovery Institute, and the Left-Behinders. Fethullah, who is inspired by Said Nursi, has a messianic conviction. His followers pray daily for the coming of Mahdi who would be supported by Christ. Though there is no public declaration, but many among his followers believe that Fethullah is the Promised Mahdi.
Fethullah and his cult has become a major political and economic force in Turkey. He transformed Turkey, and his support for Tayyip Erdoğan’s AKP is vital. Fethullah and his followers focused on education system and opened private schools with dormitories in Turkey and also in former Russian Turkic republics, where he attained great success and respect for his cult. They are now operating dozens of secondary Charter Schools (privately run, yet funded by the USA government) here, in the USA. In city where I live, they run one of the top secondary schools and they recently built a huge campus of their own. Gülen’s cult has also been organizing Turkish businessman in the USA and they are getting successful, gaining the respect of many secular-minded Turkish expatriates. A Turkish lawyer and her businessman husband last year consulted me whether should they accept their invitation to join their business organization, I found myself in difficulty to say yes or no. Like a doctor prescribing a medicine, I told her about the benefits and side effects.
I am always impressed by their diligence, focus, hard work, and peaceful rhetoric and demeanor. Yet, I also find the cult extremely dangerous, since today’s good robots could easily turn to monster robots of tomorrow by the push of the button.
Top religious actor
In 3 October 2010, I published an article titled, “Fethullah Gülen’e 19 Soru” (19 Questions for Fethullah Gülen). I gave him and his close circle several months to respond. Yet, as I expected, he ignored my questions. I am almost sure that his lieutenants had informed him about my questions, since I am a well-known author in Turkey and my questions were on vital political and theological issues with important background information; they were a sort of indictment. Instead, I received ad hominem attacks, from his followers and admirers. Then, about a year after that article, I decided to answer them according to his religious and past political positions. I added that I would be gladly correcting any statement if he or his inner circle sends me a correction.
So far, they have been totally silent. Why? One might say, “Well, Edip who you think you are? Fethullah is a saint, he is the world’s top intellectual, he is the leader of hundreds of thousands followers. He is the most powerful man in Turkey and beyond! He even shook hands with Pope. He does not have time to respond questions by an author who dares to call him by his first name.” I understand. But, I still do not understand why anyone, any reporter would not be curious about those questions. Why all the reporters who interview him turn into zombies or sheep, and ask questions only to boost his image.
In other words, one of the secrets in Fethullah’s accomplishment is the truth-proof, the Socrates-proof walls of protection around him. It is an incredible achievement, which makes him the “World’s most powerful and the most protected religious/political leader.” This protection was initially accomplished through his well-calculated behind-the-scene dealings, and his loyal followers. But, since the moment he accepted the role of being the American Caliph in the Middle East, he has been protected and even promoted through his handlers, the WLTV, which stands for… Well, read on.
Fethullah might be a great preacher and cult leader. Fethullah might be a gifted orator who knows how to impress his audience by talking in Ottoman language which is fully understood by almost none of his audience. Fethullah might be the reincarnation of St. Paul or Machiavelli. Fethullah might be Pope’s best hope and America-Inc’s dope in the Muslim world. But, “the world’s top public intellectual”? You must be kidding.
The crying, sobbing, wailing, weeping, bawling, howling, yowling, and snivelling preacher
While preaching his congregation, like some American televangelists with mega churches, Fethullah displays a one-man show. As a strange irony, contrary to the meaning of his last name (Güler = Laughs), he almost always cries, and after each crying, he collects thousands and sometimes millions of dollars for his foundations, or more accurately, cult. Pavlov! Some video clips at youtube that allow us to study his face gestures, his quick and freaky look at the camera in the middle of crying, the well-calculated timing, diction and tone of the sound-bites that he hurls during his hysterical crying sessions to elicit emotional reactions, etc., are textbook examples of not public inspiration or intellectual enlightenment but cunning manipulation. He is another proof for Marxist maxim, that Religion is opium of masses… He would be a good actor in Broadway or Hollywood. Take away the ostentatious archaic language from his articles, you will end up with a mediocre rambling, bumbling, ranting of a town preacher.
Fethullah indeed should receive the World’s Top Naked Intellectual award. He has only elementary school education, yet he compensates with his smarts. He is capable of fooling his admirers and cheerleaders by mixing some scientific terminology into the mix, like new age gurus mix quantum physics into their mumbo-jumbo. He is a mediocre Sunni preacher who has the ability to peddle the most bizarre and stupid religious stories, and promote the VERY SAME backward and despotic religious dogmas and teachings that gave birth to various flavors such as Salafi version in Saudi Arabia, Shiite version in Iran, and Sunni version in Afghanistan. He has never directed any criticism to the source of multifold problems, Hadith, Sunna and Sectarian jurisprudence, afflicting Muslims for centuries. Yet, our Naked Sunni Mullah or Beardless Khomeini fools the world by the help of four distinct groups:
- His handlers (WLTV).
- The core cult lieutenants who enjoy the perks and power bestowed on them.
- A growing crowd of admirers who are impressed by the growing number of the crowd; a fascinating loop, a perpetual machine, or self-fulfilling prophecy!
- The tailors; in this case, the Western and Eastern “intellectual and academic prostitutes.” Some are paid well by the cult and others work for WLTV.
- Great talent to sell himself.
What has he done? He has opened hundreds of schools. So what? Governments and private companies and charter schools do the same, and some do much better job than his followers, with much less financial resources. He has opened numerous secondary schools in many countries, including the United States. How? By collecting money from religious people! How? By weeping, bawling, howling, yowling, and sniveling!
F and his cult has also done some little PR work for Turkey, which in fact is a fantastic PR work for him and his cult. Of course, with the fraction of the money any advertising company could do a much better job, but that is another issue. The teachers serving in the cult’s school abroad pick some students and help them memorize Turkish poems. Then, they offer the best ones a free round-trip to Turkey to participate in the so-called Turkish Olympics, where teenagers from different countries recite poetry in Turkish. Of course, only a few people outside of Turkey know about this event, but the event is televised in Turkey and it attracts the attention of every Turk, from a student to the President. It is all about selling Turkishness to Turks. Unfortunately, the Turkish population have major psychological trauma since the demise of the Ottoman Empire. They have not yet accepted the defeat, the loss of so many lands. A great majority of Turks still angry with Arabs, accusing them of betraying Ottomans during the World War I. They just cannot accept their decline, from being the number one bully of the world, to have become a third world country. There is deep down nostalgia and anger in Turkish population. Thus, the nationalistic and jingoistic hormones are abundant. The expression of bragging about Turkishness is ubiquitous. You can see “Ne Mutlu Türküm Diyene” (Happy is he who can call himself a Turk) at almost every corner, at every government institution. Millions of Turks repeat this mantra daily like a prayer. Thus, they are the easiest to be tickled by charlatans, by religious and political leaders. A few dozen foreign students who recite Turkish poetry on television screens, feed the inferiority complex of Turkish nationalists. By recognizing this demand and providing a cheap supply, Fethullah and his cult have received great sympathy and support from the population.
That’s it? No, he does the crying while he tells the exaggerated stories of idolized companions of the Prophet Muhammad. Why? To recruit the brightest of them and indoctrinate them in houses and dormitories controlled by the cult, turning them into nice robots, albeit until the master hits the red button to activate. If making a religious congregation hysterically cry in chorus for their miserable lives, for not having married, for their sins, or for losing the glorious days of the Ottoman Empire, and then afterwards collecting buckets of money is an intellectual activity, then Fethullah deserves the first place as the “Top Public Intellectual”.
No, I am not making it up nor I am exaggerating. Search youtube for Fethullah Gülen and watch 5 to 6 videos randomly. You will understand what I mean.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3O9qtgEAYk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPnHQxEHEuY
“The Quran is Orphan, The Quran is orphan. Quran’s father died!”
The following video is hilarious. Fethullah is manipulating his audience as usual, through a well-timed mix of weeping, sobbing, repetitions, literary eloquence, and provocative statements to elicit emotional reactions. At one point, he makes a ridiculous statement and repeats it over and over.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s8Lv4q_4CQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lofgsQW6rhM
He repeats: “The Quran is orphan, the Quran is orphan!” What? The Quran is orphan? It is an utter disrespect to God’s word. But, when he notices that his statement excites his audience and make them cry loud, he takes advantage of the moment. He knows that he has now full control of their emotions. They are in a hypnotic trance, crying, weeping, sobbing, and screaming. He continues, “It does not know the language of this world!” and repeats it to get more reaction. What? How in the world an imam could claim that God does not know the language of this world! He then turns the metaphor into pure nonsense, buy declaring the following: “Quran’s father died!” Quran’s father? His first statement could be taken as a metaphor, but his second statement turns the metaphor to a stupid claim, to an insult to God’s word. Then, witnessing the impact of his silly statement, he start repeating the same statement “Kuran Yetim, Kuran yetim” (The Quran is orphan, the Quran is orphan). His audience goes bonkers. The manipulation and the act is basically no different than of a stand-up comic in front of an audience.
During that speech he also wishes to repair one of the oft-criticized actions years before. Ten years before he declared the holy book orphan without father, he had flung the Quran to his flock. The Sunni and Shiite population might care less about the message of the Quran, but they worship its physical form in book format. Sunni and Shiite masses consider touching the manuscript without ablution or holding it below waist to be a great sin; they kiss the book an hang it to the wall with utter respect… Thus, hurling the manuscript of the Quran in the middle of the mosque was an outrageous sin. If any other preacher had done such a thing, he would receive a long term condemnation. But, Fethullah survived and continued increasing the number and power of his cult. Yet, he was aware of the negative impact of that action. His opponents would always cite that scene to criticize him. So here, while his audience are crying compulsively, he tries to repair his tarnished image. Hem turns it to the opposite, a wise act, a prophetic event: “Ten years ago, I had flung the Quran to your chests…” and now I see that you have owned the Quran….
A Compassionate Peacemaker or a Jingoist Instigating Mass Murder
Fethullah has both in him. The sins of the America’s Caliph or the Promised Mahdi, is not limited with manipulating his audience through emotional exploitation, or recruiting members for his cult from among students ending up in cult’s dorms because of their financial need, or exploiting the teachers by paying them half of what is on their official contract, or similar tactics common in every cult and religious organization… Fethullah is a Janus; he has two faces. Besides being a peaceful preacher, he is a racist instigator.
Don’t be fooled by his weeping in public and by his religious garbs. He is a man who is extremely talented to dance between extremes; between extreme show of compassion and extreme expression of cruelty, between humility and enormous hunger for power by any means possible. Thanks to his handlers, he is one of the most influential public figures in Turkey and beyond.
Last October (2011), Fethullah Gülen, issued a fatwa and political instruction by calling on the Turkish government to pursue a draconian policy towards the Kurds. His statement can be found on his website, herkul.com or youtube.com.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_kS-NZeLKE
There he advised and urged the Turkish government to kill up to 50 000 (Fifty Thousand) Kurds. He invoked God’s name with an emotional appeal by praying “May God rain fire on their homes,” and “May He uproot them root and branch.” You do not need even to know Turkish to understand that he is in provocation mode; he is pushing the red button. With both of his hands he makes the gesture of grabbing someone from the neck and suffocating him or her to death, like the cartoon character Simpson does to his son, Bart. But, unlike Simpson, Fethullah is no cartoon character and his words have real life consequences: soon after his instruction to kill the dissident Kurds, the Turkish military massacred dozens of civilians in Uludere.
Fethullah has always been with the powerful. He supported the Turkish military, in both military coups. No wonder, this, arguably most powerful Sunni Muslim leader, dared to criticize the Turkish human rights activists who tried to take medicine and other humanitarian aid to people in Gaza concentration camp through Mavi Marmara flotilla. The Israeli gestapos, in violation of both the Sixth Commandment and the international law, raid in international water massacred 9 of the activist and wounded many. According to our Pope-friendly Sunni evangelist, “they should have received permission from Israeli authorities” before sailing towards Gaza concentration camp.
Before Fethullah, there was Khomeini
Now let’s see a few examples about Fethullah’s intellectual capacity. He is no better than Khomeini. Once when I was an Islamist youth leader Khomeini was my hero. He led a historic revolution. Though he should get some credit for leading the revolution but most of the organization and work were done by his lieutenants, handlers, allies, merchants, and people on the street. So, we tend to unjustly distribute the credit to the lead person, while forgetting about many leaders and followers that support and manage the activities in his name. Sometimes, the success of activities has little to do with the visible leader; it is more due to chance and circumstances, such as the unfolding events, the factors, players, circumstances, the power struggle among competing groups, and pure luck.
Khomeini, in fact, was more a symbolic leader and an ignorant clergyman and the most important decisions, activities were carried out by a group of well-educated dissidents who were somehow forced to unite around him. As we know, after obtaining power, this clergyman sided with the worst party among his supporters and eliminated the progressive groups in the coalition that led to the revolution.
Later, when I discovered the backwardness of the Sunni and Shiite teaching, for the first time I got a chance to read a religious book authored by Khomeini. I was disappointed greatly. This mullah, who supposedly led a revolution in Iran, could not get his head out of the toilet seat. In his book Towzihul Masail he had obsession with pedantic details.
More than a quarter of the questions in Resaleh (846 out of nearly 2900), talk about purity and impurity. Khomeini relates
how many times to wash a container contaminated by a dog (three times in “small water” (a quantity of water less than about 380 liters [5C]) after first rubbing it with dirt, #150);
how many times to wash a container “from which a pig has drunk fluid” (seven times “with small water as well as with Kor (“big water,” i.e. greater than 380 liters) or running water,” #152);
that running water (from a stream or river) with excrement or urine in it is pure provided the “odor, color, or taste” hasn’t been changed by the excrement or urine (#29, #30). If it has, it can purified by “running water of rainwater which falls directly into it, or rainwater driven into it by the wind, or carried to it by a drainpipe.” (#53, (Resaleh p.66)
… but says not a word about purifying water by boiling or adding iodine. In fact soap is only mentioned in regards to how to clean IT (soap) once IT’S been contaminated. (#164, #165)
COMMENT: Should we care? After all these are religious definitions of cleanliness for religious rituals and duties. You want laws of religion you listen to a religious scholar. You want disease prevention or control you go to a public health worker … right? Not quite.
More on Purification
If a person crushes a mosquito on his skin and cannot determine whether the blood there from is the insect’s or his own, this blood is pure; but if the time between the bite and the death of the mosquito is so short that no such distinction can be made, the blood is impure. (#206, Resaleh, p.61)
What difference does it make? If it’s the person’s own blood, it’s impure and the person must wash himself. If it’s the mosquito’s blood, there’s no such need because it’s an insect and their blood is not impure.
**
Khomeini on Urinating and Defecating
Urinating and defecating are forbidden in four places: blind alleys, except with the permission of those living along them; the property of a person who has not given permission to do so; places of worship, such as certain madrasas; graves of believers, unless one does so as an insult to them. (#64, (Resaleh p.40))
It is not necessary to wipe one’s anus with three stones or three pieces of fabric: a single stone of single piece of fabric is enough. But if one wipes it with a bone, or any sacred object, such as for example, a paper having the name of God on it, one may not say his prayer while in this state. (#69, (Resaleh p.41))
Ayatollah Khomeini’s Gems of Islamism, (Excerpts from some of the legendary Ayatollah’s books, speeches, comments [1A] ), Elmer Swenson, accessed on 3 July 2012.
http://gemsofislamism.tripod.com/khomeini_works.html#answer_resaleh
Since the similarities between Khomeini, who appeared to be a peaceful man before the revolution whose supporters were hurling slogans like, Istiqlal, Azadi, Hukumeti İslami, that is, Independence, Freedom, Islamic Government. Many intellectuals, such as Bazargan, Bani Sadr, were duped by Khomeini’s preaching and his apparently peaceful nature. They ignored the real-life consequence of the sectarian dogmas and literature he was advocating. Here, I would like to share with you one more article to demonstrate Khomeini’s intellectual level and state of dogmatic mind, which is no different than our America’s choice of the “top intellectual” for the Sunni world.
New versions of the Tahrir-al-Waslah have been published with all references to Khomeini’s perversions taken out. In fact, it is now illegal in Iran to publish Khomeini’s first edition of his book because of its blunders or that young generations of Iran’s ‘revolutionary society’ will ask, “Did the Imam sleep with sheep …. or small girls … or both”.
Anyway, I think it is the duty of all Iranians to know exactly how bonkers Khomeini was. Here are some of my favorite excerpts from Khomeini’s book:
“A man can have sexual pleasure from a child as young as a baby. However, he should not penetrate vaginally, but sodomizing the child is acceptable. If a man does penetrate and damage the child then, he should be responsible for her subsistence all her life.”
Or how about this gem:
“A man can have sex with animals such as sheep, cows, camels and so on. However, he should kill the animal after he has his orgasm. He should not sell the meat to the people in his own village, but selling the meat to a neighbouring village is reasonable.
If one commits the act of sodomy with a cow, a ewe, or a camel, their urine and their excrement become impure and even their milk may no longer be consumed. The animal must then be killed as quickly as possible and burned.”
(http://www.iranian.com/main/blog/simorgh555/mullah-slept-sheep;
The Mullah that slept with sheep, Simorgh555, 30-Aug-2010 , accessed on 3 July 2012.)
Unfortunately, many people who supported Khomeini in the beginning of revolution did not care about his distorted state of mind, his multiple personality.
Pandora’s Box of Theological and Political Contradictions
Fethullah is a Muqallid, that is, an adherent of Hanafite sect. He has never questioned a single hadith in the so-called Six Books. He frequently sites Buhkari, Muslim, Tirmizi, Ibn Majah, Abu Dawud, and Ibn Hanbal… He relies on many other books, including Tabari, Qurtubi, Ibn Abidin, and of course, his main source of inspiration, Said Nursi. Said is notorious for his delusional statements that he received the 114 booklets as a revelation, and other claims that contradicts with the dogmas of all the four Sunni sects. In other words, Fethullah is a Pandora’s Box of Contradictions, both theological and political. The following statements, according to the numerous Quranic verses are idolworship and are exactly the statements of ingrates quoted in the Quran:
“God does not allow the corpses of his messenger to rot under the ground. The Most Honorable Messenger (PBUH), according to the statements of those who discover is “alive” and lives like martyrs. He is always aware of the situation of his people. Thus, when you say “Peace and praise to you O the Messenger of God” you should say it with respect and reverence as if you have kneeled next to the knees of the Sultan of Great Glory, as if you are in direct presence of him. Do not forget! If you become less aware, you may feel your knees touching his knees. And if you establish such close relationship, you may witness that his soul reincarnated there in front of you. (Seyyar (Gezginci) Melekler, Fethullah Gülen, 22 May 2006, http://tr.fgulen.com/content/view/10826/150/ Last accessed on 10 July 2012)
Our weeping preacher’s books and articles contain many stories in which he or his grandfather frequently meet and talk to his lord, Prophet Muhammad and other idolized figures in Sunni history, and they experience numerous miraculous events… For instance, in Küçük Dünyam (My Little World), he tells the story of Muhammad and Ali bin Abi Talib visiting his grandfather visiting his grandfather. Ali, according to Fethullah’s story, was carrying stakes in his hand and hammering in the ground to stop the earthquakes. He does not tell these stories as dreams, but real life events.
Fethullah is a clone of St. Paul. Both are endowed with delusional mind capable of making up stories of meeting the incarnations of their idols, oratory and acting skills to peddle every ridiculous story as profound wisdom, cunning ability to manipulate impressionable people, becoming everything to everyone in order to reach their end, unrelenting desire to collect money and more money from their flock, and keen interest in carving idols.
Fethullah knows how to move and manipulate his religious audience. He tickles the raw religious emotions of his flock. For instance, in the link below, you will see him talking with cadence and great story telling skills. He hits the names of carefully selected three idolized heroes. He tells another delusional or schizophrenic story. He claims that three great saints of the past, who died centuries before, visited him on the land of his first K-12 school in Fatih, Istanbul. He tells them about his conversation with these dead people. Each time he mentions the glorious names of Hasan Basri, Abu Hanifa Numan bin Sabit, and Mevlahum Celaleddin Rumi, his flock cries and screams in chorus.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7pxyy_hasan-basri-ebu-hanife-mevlana-okul_people
In another speech, he tells his flock that the Prophet Muhammad appeared to him, not in a dream, but in real life as a real person, and talked to him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcD1uvbnMvk
Fethullah, in one of his books, writes the following “intelligent” comments on verse 19:17. Note that he refers to Muhammad as “Efendimiz” (Our Lord), which is condemned by the Quran as idolworship. Using God’s attribute Lord (Rabb) for Muhammad has recently become very popular in Turkey among the religious leaders.
“Mary took to a barrier which separated her from them, so We sent Our Spirit to her, and he took on the shape of a human in all similarity.”
So what was that spirit? Almost all commentaries consider the “spirit” as the angel Gabriel (peace be upon him). However, the Quran uses the word “rooh” (spirit) here, and there is disagreement regarding its meaning. The limits of probabilities are beyond the limits of disagreement; it is as wide as including the spirit of our Lord. Yes, this is a possibility; since the Honorable Mary was a very chaste and pure woman. Thus, no other image entered her eyes, nor it should have. Only someone who was morally acceptable could look at her. And that person could only be our Lord, since he once stated that the Honorable Mary was married to him [6]. Accordingly, it is a possibility that the “spirit” is the spirit of our Lord. But, this is not certain. The possibilities do not amount to certainty until they are supported by evidence.
[6] Taberânî, el-Mu’cemü’l-kebir, 8/258.
(Kuran’dan İdrake Yansıyanlar, Fethullah Gülen, Meryem, 19/17, 25 May 2006, http://tr.fgulen.com/content/view/1568/3/ Last accessed on 10 July 2012)
Fethullah suggests Prophet Muhammad as most likely candidate to be the father of Jesus appears to be in love with Muhammad, whom he frequently calls as Efendimiz (our lord), exactly like evangelical preachers call Jesus. (According to the Quran, we can call only God as “our lord”). Fethullah strives to emulate his role model. To find the examples of his role model he relies on hadith books and he uses them as a holy sources besides the Quran. Yet his Holy Hadith collections, depict Muhammad as violent, coward, cold-blooded murderer, sex-crazy, misogynist, perverted, superstitious, plunderer, hedonistic, retarded, racist, duplicitous, ungrateful, and manipulator. Hadith reporters and followers are the real enemies of Muhammad (For instance, see verse 6:112-116 and 25:30).
Below are the hearsay reports from Sunni sources respected and frequently cited by Christians and atheists. Keep in mind that Fethullah endorses all the 6 hadith books cited below and frequently uses them as the authorized references. Fethullah has so far never questioned nor rejected their authority. He also refers to Ibn Ishaq, Tabari, Qurtubi and other Sunni sources:
- The Prophet said, “We will go to attack them (i.e. the infidels) and they will not come to attack us.”—Sahih Bukhari, 5.59.435.
- The Prophet allowed the raping of war-captives.—Sahih Bukhari, 3.46.718.
- The Muslim soldiers had sex with the captive women in the presence of their husbands and “some were reluctant to do so.”—Sunaan Abu Dawud 11.2150.
- One can have sexual intercourse with a captive woman after she is clear of her period and/or delivery. If she has a husband then her marriage is abrogated after she becomes a captive.—Sahih Muslim 8.3432.
- Ali (Muhammad’s son-in-law) had sex with booty captive women. Muhammad presented him with the captive woman (to have sex).—Sahih Bukhari 5.59.637.
- Women are domestic animals; beat them.—Tabari, vol. ix, pp. 9.112-114.
- Muslims killed Umm Qirfa, “a very old woman” by tying her legs with a rope attached to two camels driven in opposite directions thus tearing her body (Ibn Ishak, pp. 664-665).
- The Prophet said spears were his livelihood—Sahih Bukhari, Vol 4, Chapter 88.
- Muhammad ordered a Muslim woman to breastfeed a man. She protested but ultimately had to do so— Ibn Majah, 3.1943.
- Muhammad ordered a Muslim woman to breastfeed a bearded man.—Sahih Muslim, 8.3428.
- Allah says that a woman must sexually satisfy her husband even when on top of a camel.—Ibn Majah, 3.1853.
- Muhammad ordered the murder of Asma bt. Marwan, a Jewish poetess when she was suckling her babies.—Ibn Ishaq, p.676, Ibn Sa’d, vol. ii, p. 30-31.
- Muhammad ordered the assassination of Abu Afak, a 120-year-old man of Medina.—Ibn Ishaq, p. 675, ibn Sa’d, vol. ii, p. 31.
- Muhammad conducted ethnic cleansing of Banu Quaynuqa Jews from Medina.—Tabari, vol. vii, p. 85.
- Muhammad hired a professional killer to assassinate Ka’b b. al-Ashraf, a poet of Medina.—Sahih Bukhari, 5.59.369.
- The messenger of Allah said, “Whoever of the Jews falls into your hands, kill him.” So Muhayyish b. Masud killed his friend and business-partner Ibn Sunaynah- Tabari, vol. vii, p. 97-98.
- Muhammad’s death squad murdered Abu Rafi, a critic of Muhammad in Medina.—Tabari, vol. vii, p. 103, Sahih Bukhari, 5.59.371.
- Muhammad’s death squad assassinated Sufyan ibn Khalid.—Ibn Ishaq, p.664-665, ibn Sa’d, vol. ii, p. 60.
- Muhammad did ethnic cleansing of B. Nadir Jews from Medina.-Tabari, vol. vii, p.158-159, Heykal, ch. B. Nadir, Sahih Bukhari, 3.39.519.
- Muhammad beheaded between 600-900 Jews of B. Qurayzah who did not fight Muslilms but were attacked, and they surrendered unconditionally—Tabari, vol.viii, ch. B. Qurayzah; Heykal, ch. the Campaign of Khandaq and B. Qurayzah, ibn Ishaq, ch. B. Qurayzah.
- Arabs are the chosen people of Allah; Allah resembles an Arab.—Ibn Sa’d, vol.1, p.2.
- Allah favours Arab racism—prophets are to be of Quraysh stock and of white complexion (Ibn Sa’d, vol.1, p.95-96, Sahih Muslim, 20.4483.
- Shafi Law m4.2 The following are not suitable matches for one another: (1) a non Arab man for an Arab woman (O: because Prophet said: Allah has chosen the Quraysh Arabs as His agent to rule the world (Islamic Caliphate).—Sahih Bukhari, 4.56.704.
- Muhammad approved killing of women and children of the pagans because they (the children) are from them (i.e. the pagans)…(Sahih Bukhari 4.52.256).
- Muhammad blessed Jarir for conducting the genocide (including the slaughter of the children) at Dhu Khalasa.—Sahih Bukhari, 4.52.262
- Muhammad had a black slave; he traded in slaves.—Sahih Bukhari, 9.91.368 and Kasasul Ambia of Ibn Kathir Vol 3, p. 112—Bangla translation by Bashiruddin.
- Muhammad traded slaves for beautiful, young, and sexy women, such as Saffiya.—Sunaan Abu Dawud, 2.2987, 2991.
- Muhammad’s hired killer assassinated Al-Yusayr b. Rizam and a party of Khaybar Jews at al-Qarqara.—Ibn Ishaq, p. 665-666.
- Muhammad forced jizya on Zoroastrians—several cases.—Tabari, vol. viii, p. 142, Sunaan Abu Dawud, 19.9038.
- The gratuitous destruction of pagan temples and their idols.—Several references: Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa’d, Tabari: ch: The Occupation of Mecca .
- Killing of polytheists is laudable—Muhammad said.—Tabari, vol. ix, p. 76.
- Muhammad’s marauding troops conducted genocide at Jurash, Yemen.—Tabari, vol. ix, p. 88-89.
- Killing infidels is fun.—Tabari, vol. vii. p. 65.
- Muhammad ordered to kill the apostates; if somebody (Muslim) discards his religion, kill him)—Sahih Bukhari, 4.52.260.
- Blood of animal is very dear to Allah.—Ibn Majah, 4.3126.
- The Prophet said: A man will not be asked as to why he beat his wife.—Sunaan Abu Dawud, 11.2142.
- The Prophet said: – People ruled by a woman will never be successful.—-Sahih Bukhari, 5.59.709.
- Majority of women are in hell.—Sahih Bukhari 1.6.301.
- A woman must keep her sexual organs ready for service at all times (Ihya Uloom Ed-Din of Ghazali, Tr. Dr Ahmad Zidan, vol.i, p.235)
- A wife can’t leave home.—Shafi’i law m10.4.
- If a woman claims to be having her period but her husband does not believe her, it is lawful for him to have sexual intercourse with her.—Shafi’i law e.13.5.
- Support of a divorced wife is for 3 months.—Shafi’i Law m11.10.
- Instant divorce is allowed for husbands. No support to a such divorced wives from that moment.—Many references.
- It is unlawful for women to leave the house with faces unveiled, whether or not there is likelihood of temptation. It is unlawful for women to be alone with a marriageable man.—Shafi’i Law m2.3.
- Muhammad said, “No nation prospers over which a woman rules.”—Ihyya Uloom Ed-din of Ghazali, Tr. Fazl-Ul-Karim, p. 2.35.
- If Muhammad wanted anyone to prostrate before another, he would have ordered a woman to prostrate before her husband.—Ibid, p.2.43.
- A woman, a slave and an unbeliever is not fit to be a moral police.—Ibid, p. 2.186.
- Muhammad said, “A woman is the string of the devil.”—Ibid, p. 3.87.
- A woman is the best coveted of things to a man. He takes pleasures in penetrating his genital organ into female vaginal canal. Thus, vagina is the most coveted thing in a woman.—Ghazali, p. 3.162.
- A woman is a servant and the husband is the person served.—Hedaya, the Hanafi Law manual, p. 47
- You can enjoy a wife by force.—Hedaya, p. 141
- Full dower is the payment for the delivery of woman’s person. Booza meaning Genitalia arvum Mulieris.—Hedaya, p. 44.
- Women are your (men) prisoners; treat them well, if necessary beat them but not severely.—Tirmidhi, 104.
- When a woman goes out, the devil looks at her; so conceal a woman.—Tirmidhi, 928.
- In paradise, there is a market of rich, beautiful and ever-young women; they will be pleased whoever buys them.—Tirmidhi, 1495.
- Women are stupid.—Ibn Majah, 5.4003.
- The best Muslims had the largest number of wives.—Sahih Bukhari, 7.62.7.
So, how in the world, a person who considers these Sunni hearsay books as main source of his religious guidance, could be considered as “Top Public Intellectual?” by a prestigious semi-official American magazine? How in the world, so many scholars are competing with each other to write paper and books, mostly praising this clergyman who is the Sunni version of Rohullah Khomeini, who will only bring misery, oppression, and corruption to Turkey and beyond.
Well, the West does not care. They only care about their own interest. As long as Fethullah plays their tune, without costing them too much, like the King of Saudi Arabia, like Shah of Iran, Mubarak of Egypt, Saddam of Iraq, and many other despots, they are happy with him. They care less whether Fethullah will restrict the democratic freedoms or take Turkey back to the darkness of Ottoman era. As long as he is in their pocket, they will be happy to accommodate the “sick man”
The America’s Strange Sultan
As it appears, the USA-Inc has also picked a Sultan for Turkey besides the Caliph, and advised them to work together so that they could both establish a moderate semi-democratic Muslim model in the Middle East, controlled by the USA and its allies. That will diminish the influence of Iran in the region, the rebellious nation.
By now, you should know who might be the appointed American Sultan: he is no more than my schoolmate and former comrade from youth moment: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Though Tayyip’s tamper, political views and background is very different than Fethullah, they are assigned to dance together the political realities created by the puppet-master. I know both men personally and professionally. Besides, I know the tricks in the sleeves of their master, perhaps more than they know.
These two people are the most important American local operatives in the Middle East and they will create a different ecology and different facade for the third major mutation of the Western colonialism.
The WLTV-appointed Sultan was declared since 2004 when Tayyip Erdoğan bragged repeatedly about of being appointed by the USA-Inc as the co-leader of the Greater Middle East project. This leader of a sovereign country, according to numerous Turkish newspaper reports, somehow intimidated his political opponents by bragging about his being “the chosen one” by the USA. According to the same reports, he had repeated his new status more than 30 times. As it appears, he was telling the truth.
Since then, with the blessing of the USA-Inc., Tayyip Erdoğan became the most powerful man in Turkey. Tayyip’s party, AKP won all elections since 2002 and currently comprises 60% of the Grand National Congress. All the AKP congressmen (about 325) were handpicked by Tayyip through a central list of candidates. Thus, the elected congressman from AKP are no more the Tayyip’s yes-men, following the foot-steps of the chosen Sultan who will be following the instructions of his handlers in WLTV.
During the last two years, Tayyip (no need to waste space for “the AKP” or “the government”) has castigated and imprisoned hundreds of hyperactive generals who once served as useful psychopaths for their master, NATO, or more specifically, the USA-Inc. The credit partially goes to Fethullah’s cult, since they infiltrated into the ranks of the Turkish police, as they have infiltrated in many other crucial institutions, and started gathering intelligence information about the secret military meetings and secret projects.
A great majority of people, including me, supported and prayed for Tayyip’s success against the overbearing generals. For the first time in the history of the Turkish Republic, the arrogant Turkish generals were being held responsible for their military coups, their meddling with politics and their illegal death squads. This was a celebration for me, since I was tortured for about one year in Turkish military prisons.
However, soon we noticed that after Tayyip eradicated the military juntas, he turned against dissenting voices in the media and political parties. To our dismay we learned that the illegal military gangs were now replaced by the Turkish police force, which operates under the instruction of attorneys and courts, which also have been infiltrated by Fethullah’s followers. Thus, both police and judicial system are now under the joint control of the American Sunni Caliph and Sultan. Parallel to this transformation of power, the dissenting media too were punished. The Hürriyet newspaper, the equivalent of the New York Times here, was once a loud critic of the duos, but since last year, it has transformed from being a formidable supporter of military and the paranoid voice of the secular segment of the Turkish population into a passive observer and occasionally a cheerleader for both the Sultan and Caliph. An incredible transformation in a short time!
What led such a shift in American policy? Why the USA-Inc decided to change horses?
Shah, Saddam and Mubarak were the USA-Inc’s former S.O.B.’s. But, the advancement in telecommunication technology, the rise of China, the imperatives of the global economy (read it as; global slavery) forced the Global Goliaths to change their modus operandi. Instead of psychopath generals, despot leaders, corrupt and repressive kings, they decided to use corporate-friendly “democratically elected” servants.
The Pope-friendly, Pro-Israeli Sunni clergyman, who recently became the chief-instigator of massacres against Kurdish population, is now declared as the USA-Inc’s official Khomeini for Turkey. Turkey has been prepared to replace Iran and Saudi Arabia as the new leader in the Middle East. Interestingly, I know personally the two actors in the new Middle East order.
Through a friendly and controlled Tayyip Erdoğan, an awkward ally of Fethullah Gülen, the uncontrolled voices against Israel will be eliminated. Though Tayyip does not hide the old sectarian hatchet and Ottoman sword against Shiites, but Fethullah is full of hate against Shiite and especially Iranian version of “rebelling the authority” or the United States.By replacing Turkey with Iran, as the champion of Palestinian cause, the Israeli-American hegemony aims to control the anti-imperialist sentiments and groups in the Middle East.
Through a friendly and controlled leaders, the USA-Inc will replace Saudi Arabia with Turkey, hoping to adapt to the new reality and also disguise its hypocrisy regarding its promotion of democracy and human rights.
Fethullah Gülen, the promised Mahdi or the America’s Caliph for the Middle East, receives the FP Magazine’s award not for any intellectual contribution, which is none, but for creating a motivated cult through collecting obscene amount of money by crying in public like televangelists and tickling the nationalistic and religious emotions of his audience. He follows all hadiths and sectarian teachings, yet he has shaken hands with Pope who declared Muhammad to be violent while the USA-Inc and its allies killed about a million Iraqis in a war based on lies. The same Fethullah supported the two Turkish military coups that committed atrocities, tortured thousands and halted the Turkish democracy for decades.
Fethullah or the FG-model will not serve the Turkish people, nor the Middle East as it has been intended by the West. He and his successors will probably serve their handlers WLTV pretty well. But they will be a disaster, akin to blood, locust and frogs, for Turkey and the Muslim World.
I will finish this article with a few verses from the Quran:
2:174 Surely, those who conceal what God has sent down of the book, and purchase with it a cheap price; they will not eat into their stomachs except the fire, and God will not speak to them on the day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them, and they will have a painful retribution.*
2:175 These are the ones who have purchased straying for guidance, and retribution for forgiveness. What made them patient towards the fire!
9:31 They took their scholars and priests to be lords besides God, and the Messiah son of Mary, while they were only commanded to serve One god, there is no god but He, be He glorified for what they set up.
9:32 They want to extinguish God‘s light with their mouths, but God refuses such and lets His light continue, even if the ingrates hate it.
9:33 He is the One who sent His messenger with guidance and the system of truth, to make it manifest above all other systems, even if those who set up partners hate it.
9:34 O you who acknowledge, many of the scholars and priests consume people’s money in falsehood, and they turn away from the path of God. Those who hoard gold and silver, and do not spend it in the cause of God, give them news of a painful retribution.
9:35 On the day when they will be seared in the fires of hell, their foreheads, sides and backs will be branded with it: “This is what you have hoarded for yourselves, so taste what you have hoarded!”
13:16 Say, “Who is the Lord of the heavens and earth,” Say, “God.” Say, “Have you taken besides Him allies who do not possess for themselves any benefit or harm?” Say, “Is the blind and the seer the same? Or, does the darkness and the light equate?” Or have they made partners with God who have created like His creation, so the creations all seemed the same to them? Say, “God has created all things, and He is the One, the Supreme.”
16:20 As for those they call on besides God, they do not create anything, but are themselves created!
16:21 They are dead, not alive, and they will not know when they are resurrected.
16:22 Your god is One god. Those who do not acknowledge the Hereafter, their hearts are denying, and they are arrogant.
16:23 Certainly, God knows what they hide and what they declare. He does not like the arrogant.
33:66 On the day when their faces will be turned over in the fire, they will say, “Oh, we wish we had obeyed God, and obeyed the messenger”
33:67 They will say, “Our Lord, we have obeyed our leaders and our learned ones, but they misled us from the path.”
33:68 “Our Lord, give them double the retribution, and curse them with a mighty curse.”
57:27 Then We sent in their tracks Our messengers. We sent Jesus the son of Mary, and We gave him the Injeel, and We ordained in the hearts of his followers kindness and compassion. But they invented Monasticism which We never decreed for them. They wanted to please God, but they did not observe it the way it should have been observed. Consequently, We gave those who acknowledged among them their recompense, while many of them were wicked.
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EDIP YUKSEL, J.D., American-Turkish-Kurdish author and progressive activist, spent five years in prison for promoting Islamic revolution in Turkey. In 1986, for criticizing the orthodox teaching and practices, multiple fatwa declared him heretic. Knows Turkish, English, Arabic, and Persian. Edip’s English books include Quran: a Reformist Translation, Manifesto for Islamic Reform, Peacemaker’s Guide to Warmongers, and Nineteen: God’s Signature in Nature and Scripture… After receiving his bachelor degrees from the University of Arizona in Philosophy and Near Eastern Studies, Edip received his law degree from the same university. Besides writing and lecturing, Edip works as an Adjunct Philosophy professor at Pima Community College. Edip is the founder of Islamic Reform and co-founder of MPJP (Muslims for Peace, Justice and Progress) organizations and organizes annual Critical Thinkers for Islamic Reform Conference. His online books, interviews, and articles are published at various Internet sites, including: www.19.org; www.yuksel.org; www.quranix.com; www.tanzil.net; www.islamicreform.org; www.free-minds.org; www.quranic.org; www.quran.org; www.mpjp.org
. All those who defended (!) him focused on my mentioning his name as Fethullah, without fancy titles and praises that is aimed to create a holy shield around his persona, such as Efendi, Hoja, Hazretleri… 
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