Fethullah Gulen: From presidential ally to Turkey’s alleged coup mastermind

Fethullah Gulen, the arguable Turkish cleric and ally-turned-foe of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has passed distant astatine the property of 83.

No origin of decease has yet been fixed though helium was known to person been successful mediocre health.

Gulen had resided since 1999 successful Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains successful the United States, wherever helium was said to person lived successful an flat connected a compound owned by the Golden Generation Foundation, a nonprofit operated by his supporters successful the US.

Though helium reduced his nationalist appearances successful his aboriginal years, helium continued to merchandise statements and writings urging followers to support their committedness to education, dialogue, and peaceful activism.

Within Turkey, however, helium grew to beryllium a notorious figure, accused by the authorities of moving a transgression ringing that infiltrated authorities institutions.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who confirmed Gulen’s decease this morning, described the cleric arsenic the caput of a “dark organisation”, telling a quality conference: “Our nation’s determination successful the combat against coercion volition continue, and this quality of his decease volition ne'er pb america to complacency.”

Early life

Gulen archetypal came to prominence as a preacher successful the 1960s successful the occidental state of Izmir, Anatolia, where he founded a web of boarding houses known arsenic “lighthouses” that offered students academic help.

Gulen gradually expanded his web of boarding houses to see schools, charities, and different civilian nine organisations.

His supporters would spell on to unfastened much than 1,000 schools successful 160 countries.

While not specifically Islamic institutions, the schools offered prime acquisition to each students, galore of whom went connected to cardinal positions successful Turkey, including the judiciary, police, and bureaucracy.

Over the years, their power grew, with the organisations’ supporters establishing the influential Zaman paper successful 1986, and Samanyolu Television successful 1993.

In 1996, supporters of Gulen besides launched Bank Asya, further extending the organisations’ reach.

Children play connected April 16, 2008 astatine Istanbul, Turkey’s Fatih College, a schoolhouse tally astatine the clip by followers of Fethullah Gulen [File: Osman Orsal/Reuters]

Move to the United States

In 1999, Gulen near Turkey for the US, wherever helium would remain.

His allies said helium had moved owed to wellness reasons, but his critics suggested his departure from Turkey was much apt prompted by a authorities probe into his activities, which were perchance undermining the government.

The pursuing year, Gulen was convicted successful absentia of conspiring to overthrow the state through embedding civilian servants, a condemnation that would beryllium cited arsenic grounds against him aft a 2016 coup effort successful Turkey.

An aerial presumption of Fethullah Gulen’s compound successful agrarian Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, the US is seen successful this representation taken July 9, 2013 [File: Gulen/Reuters/Staff]

Allies and adversaries

In the aboriginal 2000s, Gulen and his followers were intimately allied with Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party).

This led to the emergence of galore Gulen followers into influential positions successful the authorities apparatus arsenic some camps sought to antagonistic what they saw arsenic the power of the secular elite successful Turkey’s subject and judicial establishments.

However, rumours of hostility betwixt the 2 groups began to circulate successful the aboriginal 2000s, becoming undeniable successful 2013 erstwhile constabulary officers and prosecutors who were seen arsenic Gulen followers launched corruption probes to the precocious ranks of the AK Party and Erdogan’s interior circle.

Erdogan blamed Gulen for orchestrating the resulting scandal, accusing the spiritual person of seeking to usage his web of institutions and highly placed officials to run a “parallel state” wrong Turkey.

Gulen denied the allegations.

Demonstrators question Turkish flags arsenic they outcry slogans demanding the extradition of Fethullah Gulen aft the 2016 failed coup effort [File: Osman Orsal/Reuters]

Coup effort successful 2016

Three years later, Erdogan again blamed Gulen for a coup attempt connected July 16, erstwhile factions wrong Turkey’s equipped forces attempted to oust Erdogan’s authorities and instal a assemblage of their ain making, the Council for Peace astatine Home, successful its place.

While their efforts were unsuccessful, hundreds were killed successful what was the bloodiest coup successful Turkey’s modern history.

In the months that followed, suspected Gulen sympathisers were purged crossed the government, judiciary, and military, and the authorities designated Gulen’s question arsenic the FETO (Fethullah Terrorist Organisation).

Turkey made a fig of extradition requests for Gulen, but nary were granted, with US officials claiming a deficiency of evidence linking Gulen straight to the coup.

For galore of Gulen’s followers, the post-coup purges marked the extremity of an era. Schools and charities affiliated with Gulen were shuttered and galore of his supporters either imprisoned oregon forced into exile.

Internationally, the question continued to operate, though with little visibility, peculiarly successful countries wherever the Turkish authorities had asked authorities to adjacent Gulen-affiliated institutions.

Within the US, a fig of the organisations’ charter schools person been investigated for visa irregularities, arsenic good arsenic accusations of having defrauded the US Treasury of up to $4bn.

Fethullah Gulen ne'er married.