03.08.2016

Mr. President, Dear Council Members,

“I would like to wish that the Extraordinary Religious Council titled ‘Unity, Solidarity, and a

Perspective for Future

against July 15 Coup Attempt and Exploitation of Religion’ may bring

good results and thank all participants in the name of our Presidency.”

“For the first time in our history, we as the Presidency are holding an Extraordinary Religious

Council with a single agenda item. Because those who sowed seeds of sedition and malice in

this land for 40 years inflicted the greatest damage not only on our country and nation but also

on Islam with their bloody coup attempt. This treacherous network bombed our parliament

building, our cities, our streets in their betrayal on the night of July 15 while they had been

talking for years about ‘moderate Islam, interfaith dialogue, tolerance, reconciliatory

Muslims, etc.’”

“Members of this terrorist organization showed with the

madness and violence they launched

on July 15 that those who try to work their way up with political trickery despite gathering

under the roof of religion will not hesitate to use their religion and morals as a form of

deceit.”

“Nobody and no organization

can see themselves as the representative of religion and demand

people’s absolute obedience and devotion. Religious guidance is a part of educational process

only in terms of knowledge and morals; it does not entitle

any other privilege.”

“

Another sin committed by this group was to ingratiate themselves into others’ favor and

seeking honor in their eyes saying

“we have the Islam you like better” under the guise of

tolerance, interfaith dialogue, etc., using the caricaturized and demonized Muslim image with

Islamophobia at a time when the wave of Islamophobia was rising in the West

.”

“

It is unacceptable to create a common theology or a union of religious culture for the sake of

dialogue. Human relationships can be established among followers of religions in incidents

concerning the entire humankind such as starvation, poverty, and disaster. Efforts can be

made to help the aggrieved and the victims regardless of their religion. However, unity cannot

happen for the sake of some interfaith political engineering. It is not possible to approve of

such attitude from a religious perspective.

”

“It is incompatible with Islam’s universal principles to turn teaching Quran and Sunnah into a

network of power and interest, to make a material, political, and commercial structure out of

it, and to make it open to all sorts of filthy relations.”

“Structures established in the name of religion and in the name of Allah by exploiting

people’s religious sentimen

t are in stark contrast to Islam. These structures never resonated

with Islamic communities throughout history

.”

“The Islamic community is a whole with all its schools of thought. Islam does not legitimize

division, faction, grouping, and partition. Islam’

s concept of community is related to its

concept of Ummah. It has nothing to do with fractionalization and division. Difference does

not mean dividing the social structure and tearing it apart. Differences show the intellectual

and scholarly richness in the Islamic community. It is not possible to regard difference as

divergence.

”

“

It is impossible to consider the FETO terrorist organization a religious body, which was

known to exist for many years, which deemed everything permissible to reach their goals, and

which was caught in the act with their recent coup attempt. It is impossible to view the head

of this organization as a religious scholar and a religious mentor.

”

“I would like to

bluntly state that the religious and academic silence is inexplicable in the face

of this organization which plans to grasp and take over Turkey in all aspects. It is a matter of

urgency to examine into the Diyanet community and into the academic activities in Theology

Faculties about the issue.

”

“Now is the time to serenely c

ontemplate after the reactions given in the heat of what we went

through. It is a fact that we need common sense to prevent the period we have ahead from

turning into an inextricable dissension. Only when it is crowned with high justice will the

noble resistance of our nation have its place in history.

”

“As a society, we will better protect each other’s rights and look out more for one another. We

will take back all our values and sons and daughters that were stolen by FETO and other

organizations that exploit religious sentiment and thought. There is not a single Muslim to be

lost to terrorist organizations. There cannot be. We will continue walking on the unwavering

path of Islam.

”