Fethullah Gülen, US-based Islamic cleric accused of Turkish coup plot, dies in Pennsylvania

• Fethullah Gülen, a U.S.-based Islamic cleric who led a planetary societal movement, has died successful his eighties aft a semipermanent illness.
• Gülen was confirmed dormant by his nephew and Turkish quality sources, with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan calling him the person of a "dark organization."
• Once an state of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Gülen became a foe, with Erdogan accusing him of orchestrating the failed 2016 subject coup successful Turkey.

Fethullah Gülen, a reclusive U.S.-based Islamic cleric who inspired a planetary societal question portion facing accusations helium masterminded a failed 2016 coup successful his autochthonal Turkey, has died.

Abdullah Bozkurt, the erstwhile exertion of the Gülen-linked Today’s Zaman newspaper, who is present successful exile successful Sweden, said Monday that helium spoke to Gülen's nephew, Kemal Gülen, who confirmed the death. Fethullah Gülen was successful his eighties and had agelong been successful sick health.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the decease has been confirmed by Turkish quality sources.

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"The person of this acheronian enactment has died," helium said.

Turkish Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen speaks to members of the media astatine his compound successful Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, successful July 2016. Gülen, a reclusive U.S.-based Islamic cleric who inspired a planetary societal question portion facing accusations helium masterminded a failed 2016 coup successful his autochthonal Turkey, has died. (AP Photo/Chris Post, File)

Gülen spent the past decades of his beingness successful self-exile, surviving successful a gated compound successful Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains from wherever helium continued to wield power among his millions of followers in Turkey and passim the world. He espoused a doctrine that blended Sufism — a mystical signifier of Islam — with staunch advocacy of democracy, education, subject and interfaith dialogue.

Gülen began arsenic an state of Turkish person Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but became a foe. He called Erdogan an authoritarian bent connected accumulating powerfulness and crushing dissent. Erdogan formed Gülen arsenic a terrorist, accusing him of orchestrating the attempted subject coup connected the nighttime of July 15, 2016, erstwhile factions wrong the subject utilized tanks, warplanes and helicopters to effort to overthrow Erdogan’s government.

Heeding a telephone from the president, thousands took to the streets to reason the takeover attempt. The coup-plotters fired astatine crowds and bombed parliament and different authorities buildings. A full of 251 radical were killed and astir 2,200 others were wounded. Around 35 alleged coup plotters were besides killed.

Gülen adamantly denied involvement, and his supporters dismissed the charges arsenic ridiculous and politically motivated. Turkey enactment Gülen connected its most-wanted database and demanded his extradition, but the United States showed small inclination to nonstop him back, saying it needed much evidence. Gülen was ne'er charged with a transgression successful the U.S., and helium consistently denounced coercion arsenic good arsenic the coup plotters.

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In Turkey, Gülen’s question — sometimes known arsenic Hizmet, Turkish for "service" — was subjected to a wide crackdown. The authorities arrested tens of thousands of radical for their alleged nexus to the coup plot, sacked much than 130,000 suspected supporters from civilian work jobs and much than 23,000 from the military, and shuttered hundreds of businesses, schools and media organizations tied to Gülen.

Gülen called the crackdown a witch hunt and denounced Turkey’s leaders arsenic "tyrants."

"The past twelvemonth has taken a toll connected maine arsenic hundreds of thousands of guiltless Turkish citizens are being punished simply due to the fact that the authorities decides they are someway ‘connected’ to maine oregon the Hizmet question and treats that alleged transportation arsenic a crime," helium said connected the one-year day of the failed coup.

Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan said Monday that Gülen’s decease "will not marque america complacent oregon relaxed. This enactment has been a menace seldom seen successful the past of our nation."

"Our nation, our authorities volition proceed to combat against this enactment arsenic they bash with each kinds of violent organizations," Fidan said.

He besides called connected Gülen's followers to crook distant from "this treasonous incorrect path."

Turkish Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen meets members of the media astatine his compound successful Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, successful July 2016. (AP Photo/Chris Post, File)

Fethullah Gülen was calved successful Erzurum, successful eastbound Turkey. His authoritative commencement day was April 27, 1941, but that has agelong been successful dispute. Y. Alp Aslandogan, who leads a New York-based radical that promotes Gülen’s ideas and work, said Gülen was really calved sometime successful 1938.

Trained arsenic an imam, oregon supplication leader, Gülen gained announcement successful Turkey immoderate 50 years ago. He preached tolerance and dialog betwixt faiths, and helium believed religion and subject could spell manus successful hand. His content successful merging Islam with Western values and Turkish nationalism struck a chord with Turks, earning him millions of followers.

Gülen’s acolytes built a loosely affiliated planetary web of charitable foundations, nonrecreational associations, businesses and schools successful much than 100 countries, including 150 taxpayer-funded charter schools passim the United States. In Turkey, supporters ran universities, hospitals, charities, a slope and a ample media empire with newspapers and vigor and TV stations.

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But Gülen was viewed with suspicion by immoderate successful his homeland, a profoundly polarized state divided betwixt those loyal to its fiercely secular traditions and supporters of the Islamic-based enactment associated with Erdogan that came to powerfulness successful 2002.

Gülen had agelong refrained from openly supporting immoderate governmental party, but his question forged a de facto confederation with Erdogan against the country’s aged defender of staunch, military-backed secularists, and Gülen’s media empire threw its value down Erdogan’s Islamic-oriented government.

Turkish Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen meets members of the media astatine his compound successful Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, successful July 2016. (AP Photo/Chris Post, File)

Gülenists helped the governing enactment triumph aggregate elections. But the Erdogan-Gulen confederation began to crumble aft the question criticized authorities argumentation and exposed alleged corruption among Erdogan’s interior circle. Erdogan, who denied the allegations, grew weary of the increasing power of Gülen’s movement.

The Turkish person accused Gülen’s followers of infiltrating the country’s constabulary and judiciary and mounting up a parallel state, and began agitating for Gülen’s extradition to Turkey adjacent earlier the failed 2016 coup.

The cleric had lived successful the United States since 1999, erstwhile helium came to question aesculapian treatment.

In 2000, with Gülen inactive successful the U.S, Turkish authorities charged him with starring an Islamist crippled to overthrow the country’s secular signifier of authorities and found a spiritual state.

Turkish Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen meets members of the media astatine his compound successful Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, successful July 2016. (AP Photo/Chris Post, File)

Some of the accusations against him were based connected a portion signaling connected which Gülen was alleged to person told supporters of an Islamic authorities to bide their time: "If they travel retired excessively early, the satellite volition quash their heads." Gülen said his comments were taken retired of context.

The cleric was tried successful absentia and acquitted, but helium ne'er returned to his homeland. He won a lengthy ineligible conflict against the medication of then-President George W. Bush to get imperishable residency in the U.S.

Rarely seen successful public, Gülen lived softly connected the grounds of an Islamic retreat halfway successful the Poconos. He occupied a tiny flat connected the sprawling compound and near mostly lone to spot doctors for ailments that included bosom illness and diabetes, spending overmuch of his clip successful supplication and meditation and receiving visitors from astir the world.

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Gülen ne'er joined and did not person children. It is not known who, if anyone, volition pb the movement.