Turkish preacher Fethullah Gülen, Erdogan's sworn enemy, dies in the United States

Turkey confirmed on Monday the death of Muslim preacher Fethullah Gülen, sworn enemy of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been in exile in the United States for a quarter of a century and whose influence had already greatly weakened.

The death of the 83-year-old preacher, accused by Ankara of plotting a coup attempt in 2016, was initially announced by a media outlet close to the Gulenist movement.

“The leader of this dark organization is dead, but our nation's determination in the fight against terrorism will continue,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced.

“He leaves behind a lot of suffering and betrayal,” said the chairman of the main opposition party (CHP, social democrats), Özgür Özel, who regretted that the deceased had not been held accountable in Turkey.

The inspiration for the Gülen movement, also called “Hizmet” (“Service” in Turkish), Fethullah Gülen had settled of his own free will in Pennsylvania in 1999.

Initially an ally of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the preacher had been accused for more than a decade by the Turkish authorities of leading a “terrorist” group. Mr. Gülen claimed to be at the head of a simple network of charities and businesses.

The preacher had expressed the wish in 2012 to be buried in Izmir (west), “near his beloved mother”, which seems to be excluded.

– “traitor” –

Turkey, which considers him a “traitor” and calls his movement “Fetö” (acronym for Fethullah Gülen Terrorist Organization), stripped him of his nationality in 2017.

According to the private television channel NTV, which cites Turkish security sources, “the location of his grave will be kept secret” after a small funeral, possibly in a forest belonging to a leader of the movement in the United States.

Pro-nationalist university students demonstrate against the Muslim preacher Fethullah Gülen and his supporters, on July 21, 2016 in Ankara, Turkey © AFP – ADEM ALTAN

Despite official statements, believes Bayram Balci, a researcher at Ceri-Sciences Po in Paris, his death “will remain a non-event in Turkey” where the Gülenist movement is very weakened.

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“Since the break with Erdogan in 2010 and especially after the attempted coup in 2016, Gülen's image has been very bad. Very few people have kept their esteem for him,” assures this specialist of the movement.

But “the work will continue,” assured Monday to AFP Ercan Karakoyun, the spokesperson for the Gülenist movement in Germany, where the main Turkish diaspora resides, around three million people.

Knowing that he was ill, the preacher had organized committees to survive him, he assured denouncing “a witch hunt”: “We were accused of something we did not do”.

Ankara had been accusing him of terrorism since a corruption scandal orchestrated by magistrates who supported the Gulenist nebula had tarnished those close to the then Prime Minister Erdogan in late 2013.

After the failed coup of July 15, 2016, the authorities launched vast purges targeting the Gulenists, which are still continuing on a smaller scale. In addition, he demanded that his allies extradite any member of the network or anyone close to the imam.

Prosecutions have been initiated against nearly 700,000 people, and 3,000 of them, accused of having played a role in the failed putsch, have been sentenced to life in prison, according to the Turkish authorities.

– “it's over” –

Large-scale purges have targeted the ranks of the administration and the army: more than 125,000 people have been dismissed from public institutions, including some 24,000 soldiers and thousands of magistrates.

“The fight against this organization, which continues to constitute a fundamental problem of national security (…) will continue,” promised the Turkish Minister of Justice, Yilmaz Tunç, on Monday.

But for Bayram Balci “there is in reality little left of this movement which was at the center of Turkish political life and contributed to Turkey's influence in the world”, notably through a powerful network of schools as far as Africa and Asia.

Today, continues the researcher, many of them have closed, notably in Africa and Asia central, victims of President Erdogan's good relations with many countries where Turkey is increasing its investments.

His last followers are mainly found within the diasporas in Germany and the United States, he believes.

“During the good years when they were allies, the Gülenists were also at the service of Erdogan's repression,” he recalls.

According to him, “Erdogan's enemies hate them even more (than the president): the Kemalists (supporters of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the republic, editor's note), the nationalists, the Islamists hate them,” he insists.

The movement Gülenist “is no longer a threat. The community is no longer as strong: it is mainly focused on helping victims of the repression” orchestrated by Ankara, he adds. “It's over, they know it.”

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