Fethullah Gulen, a renowned Islamic cleric originally from the US, who constructed an influential Islamic movement in Turkey before being tangled in trials of plotting a coup against the Turkish leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has passed away at the age of 83. This news was reported on a website named Herkul that features Mr Gulen’s sermons. It mentioned that his demise took place on a Sunday evening while he was undergoing treatment in a Pennsylvanian medical facility.
Although Gulen and Erdogan were former associates, a significant disagreement led to a fallout. Erdogan subsequently blamed Gulen for the insurrection attempt in 2016, wherein military tanks, helicopters, and jets were employed to overthrow him, resulting in the death of about 250 individuals. However, Gulen, who had chosen to reside in the US in 1999, rejected any involvement in this violent move. Despite this, his movement was labelled as a terrorist band by Turkey.
Turkey’s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, verified Gulen’s demise, referring to his network as a “sinister organisation” while reasserting Turkey’s commitment to combatting it. “The appetite of our nation to confront terrorism will persist, and this bulletin of his death will not hammer our resolve,” stated Fidan at a media gathering.
Followers of Gulen’s movement, termed “Hizmet” or “service” in Turkish, describe it as intending to diffuse a moderate form of Islam that nurtures western-oriented education, the liberal market, and dialogue between different religions.
The failed coup, however, has led to the systematic dismantlement of his movement within Turkey, thereby reducing its global sway.
Fondly known as Hodjaefendi or the esteemed tutor amongst his followers, Gulen was born in 1941 in a village in the eastern Turkish province of Erzurum. The son of an Islamic cleric, he had been studying the Koran since his early years.
In 1959, he assumed the role of a mosque imam in Edirne, a city situated in northwest Turkey and his reputation as a preacher was solidified during the 1960s in the western Izmir province. Here, he established student accommodations and was known for frequenting tea houses to give sermons. These student dormitories symbolised the birth of an informal network, which in the subsequent decades, expanded into various sectors such as education, commerce, media, and state organisations. Additionally, his influence reached beyond the frontiers of Turkey to regions such as the Central Asia’s Turkic republics, the Balkans, Africa, and West via a series of schools.
Mr Fidan expressed his wish for Mr Gulen’s demise to revoke the “charm” cast over those Turkish youngsters who had chosen a path of “treason” towards their nation, under the false guise of religious beliefs. He emphasised, “This is not the right path.”
Initially, Mr Gulen was a key supporter of Mr Erdogan and his AK Party, but their relationship began to deteriorate amidst increasing conflicts which boiled over in December 2013 with the exposure of corruption investigations against ministers and officials closely associated with Mr Erdogan. Mr Gulen’s Hizmet movement was perceived as the driving force behind these probes and resulted in an arrest demand for Mr Gulen in 2014.
Post the 2016 overthrow, Mr Erdogan categorised Mr Gulen’s network as betrayers and likened it to a “cancer”, declaring his determination to eradicate them, no matter their location. Swift actions were taken – numerous schools, companies, media houses, and associations with ties to him were closed down, and their possessions confiscated.
Mr Gulen, in no uncertain terms, denounced the coup attempt. Furthermore, his network was also despised by Turkey’s opposition who accused it of conspiring to erode the secular principles of the republic over the years.
© Thomson Reuters 2024.