Bilal Erdoğan: 'Strict secularism itself gave birth to FETÖ'

Bilal Erdoğan, son of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has attributed the emergence of the Gülen movement, referred to as FETÖ, to "strict secularism" and societal pressure on religious individuals. His remarks were made during a documentary series titled "Asırlık Gece" (A Century's Night), which focuses on the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey.

Speaking in his capacity as the head of the İlim Yayma Vakfı, Erdoğan asserted that the movement's origins were not rooted in religious devotion or Islam itself. Instead, he argued that the "oppression of believing people" and a rigid, dogmatic form of secularism created the conditions for FETÖ to flourish within the state apparatus.

"What gave birth to FETÖ was the pressure exerted on believing people. What gave birth to FETÖ was strict secularism itself," Erdoğan stated in the documentary. He explicitly rejected the notion that piety, Islam, or specific religious texts like Risale-i Nurlar were the cause, suggesting that a proper analysis should identify the true catalysts for the group's formation.

Erdoğan's comments, made in the fourth episode of the documentary, quickly became a topic of discussion on social media following the program's broadcast. His perspective places the blame for the rise of FETÖ not on the group's ideology or actions, but on the state's historical approach to religion and the suppression of religious expression.

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FETÖ’yü doğuran, inanan insanlar üzerinde yapılan baskı olmuştur. FETÖ’yü doğuran o katı laikliğin ta kendisi olmuştur. FETÖ’yü doğuran dindarlık olmamıştır, FETÖ’yü doğuran İslam olmamıştır, FETÖ’yü doğuran Risale-i Nurlar olmamıştır. Dolayısıyla bunun da tespitinin yapılması gerektiğini düşünüyorum.