Turkish nation had their longest night as Turkey experienced a failed coup d’état attempt on July 15, 2016. Turkish citizens flooded down to the streets after President Erdogan addressed the nation as the Commander of Chief via Face Time on CNN Turk and called them to the streets following an illegal coup notice announced by an anchorwoman on TRT (Turkish official state television channel). Thanks to our people acting as one body, this ugly attempt was thwarted; yet, this was a bittersweet happiness considering the terrifying repercussions that came to light the second day. 

A failed coup attempt on July 15

The result of the coup is that hundreds of our people have been martyred and many injured. For the first time in our history, the Turkish Parliament was bombed as well as the new presidential complex. In this respect it was an incident we did not experience even during our Independence War or when Allies occupied our country during the Ottoman times. Low-flying military jets were all over the skies of the capital and Istanbul until dawn and blasts followed one another. I feel it is important to note that it was not the TAF that attempted this coup, but a small fraction implanted within the Army. Also for the first time, some soldiers, who belong to this fraction either consciously or not drove tanks through civilian areas. I am deliberately saying “consciously or not” because some of the young privates were called to execute their regular duty on the pretext of a military exercise. However, some of them who were carrying arms that were purchased by the taxes of Turkish citizens, crushed people with those tanks, while some shot many others from helicopters.
The scenes were terrifying. I am unable to bring myself to call those who pointed guns at our civilians as human beings; they are simply inhumane, cold, and callous creatures that were oppressing their own people. They committed a very serious crime and it is hard to imagine what people with such a monstrous mindset would do if they come to power.

Coups always cause tribulation 

Being a citizen of a country, which has experienced many coups, it is fair to say that coups are always doomed to fail and never bring any development or positive change to a country. Coups have always paralyzed our country in the past and taken it backwards. Coups always cause tribulation (fitna) and “Fitna is worse than killing” (Qur’an 2/191). We will never allow our country fall into the hands of plotters. We are a country with a Muslim identity and we are living with a spirit of integrity, cohesion, love, and brotherhood. Our people are balanced and have always opposed fragmentation and conflict. We have always been side by side with our soldiers, police officers, nation and the state. However, such attempts may occur in any part of the world and since we are aware of their hazards, our people acted as one to thwart it and thanks to God succeeded. I called the people to be calm and act wisely from the moment things started to progress in the evening time during my live TV program that continued all through the night and the next day.    

Our nation made history 

Some circles acted superficially and believed that carrying out a coup would solve everything without thinking of its consequences. No good will come out through imposition. In many parts of the world, human life is considered valueless and the moment they see a threat, they spray the people with bullets without resorting to any other methods. Turkey would never accept such a transformation. Turkish people have pride and they love their nation. This was the victory of the people and if our nation had not acted as well-built walls, the coup plotters would have succeeded even if they had half of their power, may God forbid. Our citizens showed their love for and devotion to their country together with their grandfathers holding their walking sticks, grandmothers, with young men taking back the arms from the coup plotting soldiers by using force courageously. Turkey will never forget the heroic men lying on the ground or parking their cars in front of the tanks to stop them going forward. The night started like a nightmare marking as a black stain but the next day our lionhearted people made history by protecting their country as best as they could. May God have mercy on our precious martyrs and bestow them with His paradise. 

All the political parties are hand in hand against the coup 

People were hand in hand and shoulder-to-shoulder, so were the non-governmental organizations, the politicians and the political parties to stand against this coup attempt. MHP leader Devlet Bahceli made a very important statement right at the beginning of the coup attempt by saying that coups were unacceptable and they were with the government. Similar declaration came from the main opposition party (CHP) leader Kilicdaroglu a few moments later. These were priceless moments Turkish history has experienced and showed the entire world the strength of the unitary power of Turkey. They held joint meetings to denounce this attempt within the ruined walls of the Assembly Building. None of the MPs from both the party in power and parties in opposition left the Assembly even at the time it was kept bombing. Regrettably, it was not very common to see them standing side by side lately but thanks to this unwanted incident, they supported one another for the sake of our country’s well-being. 

Conclusion 

It is important to be on alert for a while and not to fall into slumber, as things seem settled. The government should take very comprehensive and attentive precautions and all the citizens should do everything to collaborate with them. People should act in compliance with the measures taken by the government to prevent a similar attempt to partake. May God forbid, we never want any of our civilians, or our officers or our soldiers to lose their lives. It is for everyone’s benefit to solve everything with a sane and rational perspective otherwise acting irrationally and emotionally would drag the country into a disaster. We should constantly sustain the spirit of brotherhood while carrying out these duties. Above all else, we should always keep in mind God controls everything and creates everything with wisdom. I pray God to turn our country back to stability and give serenity to our people.