A reclusive religious scholar in Pennsylvania may be behind the attempted coup in Turkey

[rug]

In residence in Saylorsburg (Reuters/Selahattin Sevi)

WRITTEN BY
Steve LeVine
July 15, 2016
This post has been updated.

As tanks take up positions in the streets and jets fly overhead in a dramatic coup attempt in Turkey, suspicion has fallen on Fethullah Gulen, a US-based Turkish religious scholar and political enemy of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the strongman Turkish president.

Until now, Erdogan had appeared to have crushed the 75-year-old Gulen, who has deep roots in the Turkish political, military, judicial, and media establishments, as well as in Muslim countries around the world. If, as Erdogan himself has alleged, Gulen or his followers are involved in the putsch, then it demonstrates that he remains a force to contend with, though he has lived for years in seclusion in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania.

But the Alliance for Shared Values, the movement affiliated with Gulen, denied any involvement in the coup, saying: “we condemn any military intervention in (the) domestic politics of Turkey.”

In a July 16 statement to the New York Times, Gulen condemned the attempted overthrow:

"I condemn, in the strongest terms, the attempted military coup in Turkey. Government should be won through a process of free and fair elections, not force."

"I pray to God for Turkey, for Turkish citizens and for all those currently in Turkey that this situation is resolved peacefully and quickly,” he added. “As someone who suffered under multiple military coups during the past five decades, it is especially insulting to be accused of having any link to such an attempt. I categorically deny such accusations."

http://qz.com/733802/a-reclusive-religious-scholar-in-pennsylvania-may-be-behind-the-attempted-coup-in-turkey/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fethullah_G%C3%BClen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%BClen_movement

[Jim__]

1. The article doesn't cite any evidence of Gulen's involvement.

I guess we'll be hearing more about this.

[rug]

2. The article cites a Steven Cook, of the CFR, tweet cut not much more.

https://twitter.com/stevenacook?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Here's some more background:

http://blogs.cfr.org/cook/2013/06/07/weekend-reading-turkey-democrats-and-liberals-occupygezi-and-fethullah-gulen/

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/turkey-military-coup/who-u-s-based-cleric-fethullah-gulen-blamed-turkey-coup-n610681