Fethullah Gülen

Muhammed Fethullah Gülen was a local state imam in Turkey from 1959 to 1981, preaching a theological vision that embraced democratic modernity and encouraged followers to establish secular schools, charities, and institutions across society. By 2010 the Gülen movement had grown to 8-10 million followers worldwide with over 2,000 STEM-focused schools in more than 150 countries. In 2003 Gülen-aligned participants allied with Erdoğan's AKP party, a tactical partnership that helped weaken Kemalist factions but fractured by 2011. After Gülen criticized Erdoğan's response to the 2013 Gezi Park protests, a corruption scandal erupted - leaked recordings of Erdoğan viewed 3 million times in 24 hours - and Turkish prosecutors accused Gülen of directing the investigation. Erdoğan later blamed him for the 2016 coup attempt; Gülen denied it and called for an international inquiry, while Turkey designated him a terrorist and arrested 511,000 people for alleged movement ties. The U.S. repeatedly rejected extradition requests for lack of evidence. He died in Pennsylvania on 20 October 2024; 15,000 attended his funeral in New Jersey.