Furkan Bölükbaşı shares 'I questioned my life' post after prison release: Asks followers for prayers
AKP-affiliated social media personality Furkan Bölükbaşı made a lengthy post on his social media account after being released from prison and asked his followers for prayers.
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Bölükbaşı, who was imprisoned on charges of insulting the President, was released after a short period. After taking a break from his posts following his release, Bölükbaşı made a new post to announce his new decisions.
Stating that he had the opportunity to listen to his inner voice in prison, Furkan Bölükbaşı indicated that he would be a different person from now on. Bölükbaşı used the following expressions:
My dear friends, companions, and brothers. Greetings to you all.
I am writing these lines to address everyone who supports me, loves me, does not love me, or is curious about me. I want to appeal to everyone's heart.
During my two-month prison process, I turned to my own world, listened to my soul, spirit, and heart. The forced solitude I experienced, being away from digital media and the hot agenda, provided a great opportunity to question my methods, my style, my life, and my perspective on life.
Although I have never done anything other than strive to express my sincere thoughts in the past, I want to seek reconciliation with everyone whose heart I have broken due to errors in my methods and style, from every social community, every ideology and belief circle, and every lifestyle. I value the concept of reconciliation and believe it is 'essential' to heal our social wounds.
As a result of the personal accounting that solitude forced upon me, I have concluded that the algorithms of digital platforms, in particular, push us toward overstepping boundaries, extremism, radicalism, and excess, and that I have received more than my fair share of this. As someone who started his professional life as a scientist and set out with the dream of humbly becoming a thinker, I realized that I did not even notice how I entered this vortex of extremism that our religion warns us to avoid at every opportunity.
This was one of the greatest realizations that the isolated world of prison, which insulates a person from all kinds of influences, created in me. I understood the importance of abandoning hatred and embracing love, getting rid of anger and becoming one of the righteous, and moving away from fanaticism to take the side of justice.
Even though we often hear the concept of 'Sırat-ı Mustakim' (The Straight Path), which means 'a balanced, clear, and upright path away from all kinds of extremism,' we live far from comprehending its meaning. This, of course, includes me, but I intend to change this. Therefore, by taking 'Sırat-ı Mustakim' as my guide, I desire to continue my work on an academic level, with a certain pursuit of quality, in a measured and balanced way. Of course, I will criticize with 'measure' and accept your criticisms with 'humility,' but I will also make an effort not to break anyone's heart.
In a debate in the past, I told my interlocutor that I could not imagine anything worse than not changing or transforming. Now it is my turn to change and transform. Learning from the mistakes of the old Furkan, learning from the trials, and preserving the existing goodness and beauty, I am embarking on a journey toward the new Furkan. I request your prayers and good wishes for this journey of mine.
With lasting affection and greetings.