September 10, 2012

Fethullah Gülen's solution to Kurdish issue discussed at panel

A solution to the Kurdish issue proposed by Turkish religious figure Fethullah Gülen has been discussed at a symposium in the southeastern province of Bingöl.

Photo: AA
Prof. Cengiz Yıldız spoke at the "Kurds from Ottoman to Today" symposium and gave a presentation describing a solution to the Kurdish issue as put forward by Gülen, daily Zaman reported today. "According to Gülen, a superior goal can only be achieved through legitimate means. A Muslim who wants to recieve God's grace cannot kill any person, no matter who. A terrorist cannot be a Muslim, a Muslim cannot be a terrorist," he said.

"The revival of the spirit of fraternity would only be possible through religion," he said. "The issue should not be approached with yelling and screaming, burning and killing, but rather through reasoning, compassion and understanding."

In its conclusion, the symposium, which ran for three days at Bingöl University, stated that the Turkish state had started to approach the Kurdish issue with "compassion," even though "many mistakes were done in the past."

The statement continued: "Initiatives such as TRT6 [which broadcasts in Kurdish] and education in mother tongue can not be hampered by provacative actions."

Published on Hurriyet Daily News, 09 September 2012, Sunday

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