Fethullah Gülen

> "*You must move within the arteries of the system, without anyone noticing your existence, until you reach all the power centres. You must wait until a time where you have all the state power, and you have brought to your side all the power of the constitutional institutions in Turkey"*
> -Fethullah Gülen
>
>

## Fethullah Gülen

### Alias

Master
Honorable

### Occupation

Imam
Preacher
Terrorist

### Powers / Skills

Propaganda
Usurping
Planning
Manipulation

### Hobby

Hiding in Pennsylvania
Giving speeches

### Goals

Usurp thr millitary commands (succeeded)
Destroy the secular Turkey and bring sharia (failed)
Avoid punishment for his crimes (ongoing)

### Crimes

Mass murder
High treason
Terrorism
Usurpation of millitary commands
Coup attempt
Founding and leading a terrorist organization
Corruption
Abuse of power
Espionage
Document forgery
Blackmail
Coercion
Fraud
Conspiracy
Propaganda
Privacy invasions
Deprivation of liberty
Money laundering
Embezzlement
Aggravated assault
Death threats
False information
Home invasion
Hate speech
Misogyny
Xenophobia
Sectarianism
Aiding and abetting
Incrimination
Mass property damage
Theft of exam questions

### Type of Villain

Cult and Terrorist Leader

**Fethullah Gülen** (April 27 1941 - ) is a Turkish preacher, imam and leader of Fethullahist Terrorist Organization. According to some, Gülen's aim is to promote a version of Islam that embraces science, education and interfaith dialogue. According to some, Gülen's aim is; is to infiltrate state institutions, take over the Republic of Turkey and establish a theocratic Islamic dictatorship that makes Islamic rules dominant. Since October 28, 2015, he has been in the red category of the "most wanted terrorists" list published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, being the leader of the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization and Parallel State Structure (FETO/PDY).

## Biography

Fethullah Gülen was born on 27 April 1941 to Ramiz and Refia Gülen in a village of Erzurum Pasinler's district. His father Ramiz Gülen was a mosque imam. Gülen is second of eight siblings. Gülen started to reading Quran at a young age. He learned the Quran before he even started primary school. In 1951 Gülen become a Hafiz (someone who has completely memorized the Quran) and later received religious education in different cities.

Before and after his military service, he worked as imam at Edirne Üç Şerefeli Mosque for a total of four years. After his millitary service he joined a Anti-Communist organization. In 1965, he was appointed to Kırklareli and worked as a preacher there for a year. Gülen, who was appointed as the preacher of Kestanepazarı Mosque in Izmir in 1966 , continued his duty there until 1971.  He went on Hajj for the first time with an official assignment in 1968 ; and as a traveling regional preacher, he gave sermons and conversations in various cities and districts of the Aegean Region. During this period, he also met Turgut Özal who would later become prime minister and then president.

Following the Memorandum of 12 March 1971, he was arrested on 3 May 1971 under Article 163 of the Turkish Penal Code .  ​​After being detained for 6 months, he was released pending trial on 9 November 1971. He was convicted on September 20, 1972. On October 24, 1973, the Military Supreme Court overturned the decision. His trial ended in 1974 as a result of the 1974 General Amnesty issued by the government under the Prime Ministry of Bülent Ecevit. And later worked as preacher in different cities.

After the September 12 Coup in 1980 , the military junta's Izmir and Aegean Army Martial Law Commands issued an arrest warrant.  He left İzmir on the same date. He traveled around various provinces in Anatolia and stayed with friends and relatives. He resigned from his position as a preacher at the Presidency of Religious Affairs on March 20, 1981. Leader of the coup Kenan Evren harshly criticized Gülen at the Council of Ministers meeting held on July 25, 1986 for his anti-Kemalist speeches.

In 1990's Gülen started to meet with well-known political leaders such as Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Alparslan Türkeş, Tansu Çiller, Bülent Ecevit, Mesut Yılmaz, Süleyman Demirel, Turgut Özal and Pope Paul II. He also wanted to meet with Kenan Evren but Evren rejected this request. He requested to meet again and sent a watch to Evren, but Evren did not receive the watch and rejected the offer again. Evren referred to this watch as a bribe.

During the February 28 period , Ankara Police Department prepared a report about Gülen and his organization. According to the report, Gülen was the leader of an organization and members of the organization he led were infiltrating Turkish police units. On 21 March 1999, 3 days after the General Directorate of Security received this report; Gülen, citing health problems, went to the United States. Since then, he is living in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania. According to some this was a trade between USA and Turkey. USA delivered PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan to Turkey and received Gülen in return.

Shortly after the foundation of Justice and Development Party, Gülen and Cemaat Movement become a huge ally of it whose influence in the judiciary has helped to weaken the opposition against the AKP. With the help of Cemaat Movement, Erdoğan was able to curb the political power of the military through the Sledgehammer and Ergenekon court cases where lots of army officials incriminated and imprisoned for planning a secularist coup against the government. Gülen closed his ties with AKP in 2014 and AKP government blamed Gülen for corruption scandal in 2013, where AKP clearly made corruption.

## Lawsuits filed against him

While the February 28 process was continuing, some video footage broadcast on national television channels in June 1999 led to accusations that he was encouraging his supporters to establish an Islamic state based on sharia instead of secular order in Turkey.  After the amendment made to the Anti-Terrorism Law (TMK) in 2006, it was retried due to the application of Gülen's lawyers. In 2008, he was acquitted because *there was no evidence that he formed an organization by resorting to crime and violence, and the decision was unanimously* approved by the Supreme Court of Appeals Criminal General Assembly .

On 22 August 2000 , Ankara State Security Court No. 2 initiated a trial against him on the grounds of "establishing an illegal organization with the aim of changing the secular state structure and establishing a state based on religious rules instead of establishing a state based on religious rules", with a request for up to 10 years of aggravated imprisonment, and an arrest warrant was issued in absentia.

As a result of the National Security Council (MGK) held on October 30, 2014, which lasted approximately 10 hours, institutions affiliated with Fethullah Gülen were identified and recorded as *parallel structures carrying out illegal activities under a legal appearance .* Before this decision, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, "*We will take a very different step regarding them. Because this operation is not that local. It is general and we will take this step. I will also have an important agenda at the National Security Council meeting we will hold this month, and that too. It is the review of the National Security Document to address whatever elements threaten our country*" he said. Following this decision , institutions affiliated with Fethullah Gülen were added to the official book called the Red Book or National Security Policy Document (MGSB) by MGK Secretary General Seyfullah Hacımüftüoğlu, under the name PDY/PÖ (Parallel State Structure/Pennsylvania Organization), and Fethullah Gülen was accepted as an enemy of the state.

In the indictment prepared within the scope of the investigation alleging that the Fethullah Gülen Community conspired and committed irregularities in the investigation against Mehmet Doğan , known as "Mullah Muhammed", and his group , Gülen was sentenced to 15 to 22.5 years for "*establishing or leading an armed organization*" 3 to 7.5 years in prison for "*forgery of official documents*". 1 to 4 years for the crime of "*slander* ", for a total of 19 to 34 years in prison.  In the indictment , 32 people, 15 of whom were detained, were included as suspects, including Samanyolu Publishing Group President Hidayet Karaca and former police officers.

## Fetullahists

Until the coup attempt, while the Fethullahists also known as Cemaat Movement or Service Movement were supported by various segments of society inside and outside Turkey for their contributions to education, promotion of Turkish culture, interfaith dialogue and the fight against poverty, they were also criticized by other segments for being seen as a danger to secularism.

## 2016 Turkish Coup attempt

On July 15, 2016 coup attempt where more than 300 people died , it was claimed that he attempted a coup to overthrow the government of the Republic of Turkey on the morning of July 16, 2016, with the order he gave to his followers within the Turkish Armed Forces from Pennsylvania. On July 17, 2016 , President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called on US officials to "*hand over that person (Gulen) to us now*. "  Officials of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Turkey stated that an official request was made to the USA seven times for the extradition of Fethullah Gülen, due to 27 different accusations.  Fethullah Gülen, by the State of the Republic of Turkey ; "*attempting to abolish the constitutional order", "establishing and managing an armed terrorist organization", "attempting to eliminate the government of the Republic of Turkey or partially or completely preventing it from performing its duties by using force and violence", "having a nature in terms of the security of the state or its internal or external political interests" "Providing confidential information for the purpose of political or military espionage", "assassination of the President", "fraud", "forgery of official documents", "stealing of exam questions", "illegal wiretapping", "laundering of assets resulting from crime"*, He is accused of committing the crimes of "*violating the right to privacy*" and is also stated to be the number one perpetrator of the coup attempt on July 15, 2016.  In addition, Fethullah Gülen is currently on trial as the number one defendant in 45 cases filed against him, including the crimes allegedly committed by Fethullahists before the coup attempt and the coup attempt of 15 July 2016.