Gülenist totalitarian community

Gülenist totalitarian community

The confessions of the former prosecutor in the eastern province of Van, Fethat Sarıkaya, are a typical example of how the “conspiracy” mechanism functioned in the judiciary. He admitted that upon the Fethullah Gülen community’s demand, he fabricated an indictment to eliminate the chief of general staff of the time, Gen. Yaşar Büyükanıt. 

Well, who was the person who asked for this conspiracy in the name of the community? That person was a judge who was a member of the community. It was a conspiracy that accused Büyükanıt and two other generals for having a bookstore bombed. At that time, I wrote and criticized that this indictment of Sarıkaya could not even be called an indictment or an accusation. 

But along with several law people, I also thought this was a professional failure; we did not see the “conspiracy.” 

Especially after July 15, the entire picture came out. They made several of these conspiracies to open the way for their own people in the army, judiciary, police, in almost every governmental bureaucracy; they stole the questions of central exams and distributed them to their members so they could get high scores.  

In this extremely sick picture there are very serious problems. First of all, how can it be compatible in terms of religion to form communities in the name of Islam and block the future of thousands of young people with stolen questions and conspiracies? One of the greatest sins in Islam is violating the “rightful share,” isn’t it?  
Of course it is, but when they say it is for “the cause,” then it is instantly considered “fair.” 

Therefore, it is essential to stand clear of all trends that consider the “cause” superior to moral principles such as honesty, justice and law, as well as any illegal and immoral practices. 

The other significant illness is the mystic belief in assuming the personality of Gülen has supernatural features, even prophesy and Mahdi features. There are widespread rumors that he met with Prophet Muhammed in a dream, that he was the “last scientist.” Whereas these psychological states are not considered religious evidence in Islam, they do not attribute superhuman features to the individual.

Esteemed scholar Prof. Ali Bardakoğlu’s statement should always be remembered: “The more mystery one attributes to religion, the more the probability of abuse of religious feelings and searches. Almighty God did not send us a mysterious and coded book.” 

The sincerity test in Islam’s philosophy field, which is a rich flower garden, is easy: To seek or to not seek power. It is whether or not to consider all the unfairness, cruelty and seizure “in the name of the cause” permissible.

The other sick aspect is the “cult of personality.” The inevitable problem caused by assuming that a person has “supernatural” mystic features is unquestioning obedience. This illness is not only seen in mystic movements, it is also seen in political and ideological movements (remember Big Brother in George Orwell’s novel “1984” explaining totalitarian systems or Number One in Arthur Koestler’s novel “Darkness at Noon”). 
In patriarchal societies, where instead of individual freedoms and independent personalities the culture of “not standing out from the crowd” is stronger, this illness finds a better environment. Marxism, which is a philosophy in the West, has become a “totalitarian doctrine” in the East, hasn’t it?  

In the “Fethullahist Terrorist Organization” (FETÖ) investigation, the focus should be on the crime but rule of law and justice should be very carefully watched over. Any unlawful behavior such as revenge, hate or generalization will create more damage in the future. 

While care should be taken in separating the guilty from the innocent, the problems regarding the religious culture of the issue should not be overlooked. At this point, duty falls on the religion scholars equipped with common sense.  

The most important aspect in the long run is education which advances individual freedom, independent personality and the culture of rule of law; the ones that somehow we have not been able to develop.   
Generations of independent personalities with free thought are the guarantee of the future of Turkey.