Giuseppe Sandro Mela.
2016-07-22.
Nemico personale oppure religioso oppure ancora politico di Mr Erdogan?
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«Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim confirmed Tuesday an official request was sent to the United States for the extradition of Fethullah Gulen, a suspect linked to Friday’s coup attempt, according to state-run media.»
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«“We have sent four dossiers to the United States for the extradition of the terrorist chief,” Turkish Prime Minister Birnili Yildirim said during the ruling Justice and Development Party meeting at the parliament in Ankara, the Anadolu Agency reported.»
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«Mark Toner, deputy spokesman at the State Department, said Turkey this morning sent the State Department materials “which we are in the process of analyzing under the treaty” that governs extradition requests»
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«Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that if an extradition request for Gulen was made, the U.S. would agree to it only if there were compelling proof of wrongdoing by the cleric.»
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«Gulen, a former political ally of Erdogan, preaches a moderate form of Islam and has lived in self-exile in Pennsylvania since 1999. His followers run a network of charter schools and cultural centers in the United States and are prolific political donors.»
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Qualifications.
Extensive knowledge and teaching experience in Islamic scholarship. Proficient author with more than sixty books translated into many world languages. Recognized as the world’s top public intellectual in Foreign Policy / Prospect poll in 2008. Years of service as an imam, preacher, and civil society activist with acclaimed competence as a speaker on Islam, education, and dialogue in Turkey.
Education.
Classical education in Islamic scholarship at various divinity schools (Kurşunlu, Kemhan, Taşmescid) under a number of Turkey’s renowned Sufi scholars and masters, such as Ramiz Gülen, Muhammed Lütfi, Haci Sitki, Sadi Efendi, and Osman Bektaş (1951–1956)
Compulsory elementary education (1946–1949)
Home schooling along with memorization of the whole Qur’an and mastering recitation skills (before 1946)»
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L’intervista allo Spiegel è molto esplicativa.
Il suo epilogo contiene la condanna turka del Fethullah Gülen.
«”Hillary Clinton is a good woman,” he says. “She is a figure of hope for this country.”»
→ Spiegel. 2016-07-21. Public Enemy No. 1: A Visit with Fethullah Gülen, Erdogan’s Chief Adversary
In a meeting at his compound in Pennsylvania, Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen defends himself against claims made by Turkey’s president that he was behind this weekend’s failed coup. He alleges that power has poisoned Erdogan.
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Fethullah Gülen is sitting in a small reception room in his home. There’s a small side table next to him, a blue fan and a glass of water. He wears a dark blazer and leather slippers. The elderly man has something he wants to say.
“I am prepared to be screened by an international commission,” he says. “If they find that I am guilty, then I will go to the execution chamber. But that won’t happen because I haven’t done anything.”
Gülen has been the focus of a considerable amount of international attention in recent days, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan having accused him and his influential Islamic movement of engineering the failed weekend military putsch in Turkey from his home in the United States. The preacher has been living in American exile since 1999 because of his many enemies in Turkey: His organization, called Hizmet, operates a global network of schools, firms and media companies — and is treated like a terrorist organization by Erdogan’s people. Gülen’s guarded complex, located near the small town of Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, around 100 miles from New York, is considered by officials in Ankara to be the headquarters of its greatest enemy.
Erdogan’s accusations are serious, and Gülen wants to defend both himself and his movement. He says he had nothing to do with the putsch and that Erdogan’s behavior borders on insanity. “I have already said several times that I am against any form of violence when it comes to achieving political goals,” he says. Gülen also claims that he supports democracy in Turkey. “I reject military putsches,” he says.
A Rare Visit
Those visiting the 75-year-old are subjected to a security screening at the entrance to his spacious complex, with armed guards conducting checks of each guest. The subject of anonymous death threats, the FBI advised Gülen to take this precaution several years ago. There are several buildings on the park-like property where his followers dedicate themselves to prayer. Few people are in sight and a Porsche SUV can be seen in a parking spot. Normally, guests are only rarely received here — and the media have virtually no access.
But this weekend, Gülen opened his doors to a group of reporters. He lives reclusively, in the back part of the property and guests must either take off their shoes or wrap them with plastic foil before entering his rooms. Women must cover their shoulders.
The reception room is formal, with lots of gold, ornamentation, elegant carpets and fine porcelain. Koran suras hang from the walls and an encyclopedia of Islam can be found on the shelves. One shelf unit is covered with all kinds of knick-knacks: a plastic combat helicopter, a globe, a vase. There’s a portable radio in one corner and a view of the surrounding green hills from the window.
A Friendship Turned Sour
Gülen is sitting on a beige sofa and looks weak. One of his aides says he has been suffering from heart trouble and diabetes. Gülen speaks in Turkish with a quiet voice, but his answers are long — very long. The preacher comes across like a statesman himself as he talks about Erdogan. He knows the Turkish president well.
During the rise of Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP), Gülen and Erdogan were allies, united by their deep faith. Today they despise each other.
When Gülen went into exile, he called on his supporters to take over power in Turkey by infiltrating state institutions, thus prompting law enforcement officials to issue an arrest warrant for him.
Gülen’s rise began in the 1970s when he was an imam at a mosque in the northwestern Turkish city of Edirne. The charismatic cleric distributed his sermons via video and audio cassettes, and his following continuously grew. During the same period, he built up a network of private schools, private tutoring centers and dormitories, which he called “houses of light.” The alumnus of these institutions ultimately grew into a network of Gülen supporters over the decades. Today they own newspapers, television stations and banks.
Opinions about the imam couldn’t be more divergent. People who have left his movement describe the community as a sect, not unlike Scientology. Others view Gülen as being one of the most important preachers of modernist Islam, which seeks to spread a more tolerant interpretation of the religion.
For a long time, Erdogan was one of Gülen’s most prominent supporters — and they even entered into an informal alliance: Gülen’s supporters secured votes for AKP and Erdogan gave protection to the Gülen movement’s opaque businesses after he came into power in 2002.
Parting Ways
But after the parliamentary elections in 2011, in which AKP won almost 50 percent of the vote, Erdogan apparently felt strong enough on his own to break the pact with Gülen. Erdogan, who was prime minister at the time, fired important justice officials and party functionaries considered to be Gülen followers. He also ordered the secret services to monitor the movement.
The final break between the two came in November 2013, when Erdogan announced his decision to close the Gülen movement’s tutoring centers. Around 2 million Turkish youth visit the schools in order to prepare for university entrance examinations. They provide Gülen with his most important source of revenue, but also serve as places where he can recruit new followers.
For years, Erdogan has believed that Gülen sought to challenge his hold on power. Gülen, meanwhile, believes that his one-time friend has become a tyrant intent on eliminating any opposition.
“Erdogan is so hungry for power that he believes everyone else is too,” says Gülen. “Erdogan comes from a poor background and now he lives in many palaces. Success and power have poisoned him.”
In Gülen’s Bedroom
These days, Gülen is seeking to present himself as the polar opposite of the president in Ankara. His organization has millions in assets at its disposal, but Gülen himself claims to have practically no personal belongings. His aides say that he lives solely for his faith. His small apartment, which he has willingly opened up to his visitors on this day, has two rooms. He sleeps on a mattress on the floor, and next to it is a desk with books on it, small bottles of oil and a little Ottoman treasure box. A picture of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem is hanging on the wall and a Turkish flag covers the shelf.
A closer inspection suggests that much consideration here has been given to security. Gülen’s large veranda is furnished with black panels to ensure that he can’t easily be seen and the rooms in his apartment can only be opened with a special chip card. An elevator takes Gül directly to the garage, from which he is driven to the hospital for regular check-ups. Otherwise, his people say, he never leaves the house.
Why Is He So Sealed Off?
Gülen has been described as extremely introverted, but it’s difficult to imagine that being the case. How, after all, could someone so reserved build up such a major and influential movement? Followers of his movement are in important positions at all levels of the state — in the judiciary, the military and in the political sphere. When Erdogan flexes his muscles inside the government apparatus, as he is currently doing, parts of Gülen’s network are also affected.
But this quiet and modest-seeming gentleman also has a firm grasp on the political game back in his home country. Gülen insinuates it may have been Erdogan himself who staged the putsch in order to strengthen his power and he notes that the president spoke of a golden opportunity to conduct a purge. But Gülen says he was also surprised by the unusual course taken by the putsch. After all, he said, the rebels failed to eliminate the political leadership right at the beginning. In effect, he is spinning his own conspiracy theory to counter Erdogan’s. But he has no proof.
Intrigues, Propaganda and Power Struggles
In this conflict, it is difficult to tell those telling lies from those telling the truth, or even just the half-truth. Turkish domestic politics long ago became filled with intrigue, propaganda and power struggles. But a visit with Gülen doesn’t leave you with the impression that he is some sort of terror mastermind or putschist. Still, it is impossible to be certain. In such appearances, it is difficult to tell what is real and what is staged.
So what happens next? Erdogan is demanding that the United States extradite Gülen, but he hasn’t yet filed an official request and Gülen doesn’t believe he will be extradited. Erdogan, he says, has no evidence to show the Americans. “The US justice system works. The Americans won’t turn me over if there isn’t a tangible reason.”
His praise is more than idle. With permanent resident status, he says he likes America a lot and feels at home here. Indeed, he has even taken up an interest in American politics.
“Hillary Clinton is a good woman,” he says. “She is a figure of hope for this country.”
→ Usa Today. 2016-07-21. Turkey demands extradition of cleric Fethullah Gulen from U.S.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim confirmed Tuesday an official request was sent to the United States for the extradition of Fethullah Gulen, a suspect linked to Friday’s coup attempt, according to state-run media.
“We have sent four dossiers to the United States for the extradition of the terrorist chief,” Turkish Prime Minister Birnili Yildirim said during the ruling Justice and Development Party meeting at the parliament in Ankara, the Anadolu Agency reported.
Mark Toner, deputy spokesman at the State Department, said Turkey this morning sent the State Department materials “which we are in the process of analyzing under the treaty” that governs extradition requests.
“I am not in position at this point in time to judge whether they constitute a formal extradition request,” Toner said. “There’s a well-defined process in place that govern these types of actions.”
Toner added that this was not an “overnight process” and that he did not want to comment on the documents until “we determine they constitute a formal extradition request.”
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the materials would be reviewed by the Departments of State and Justice.
President Obama spoke by telephone Tuesday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, reiterating U.S. commitment to the democratically elected government of Turkey, but also urging those arrested in the wake of the coup attempt be afforded their rights of due process under the Turkish Constitution, Earnest said.
Gulen has denied allegations that he was involved in the overthrow attempt and told reporters that he would have tried to stop any takeover had he known about it.
“I condemn and reject in the strongest terms the attempted coup,” Gulen, 77, said in an interview Monday with USA TODAY and several other reporters.
Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that if an extradition request for Gulen was made, the U.S. would agree to it only if there were compelling proof of wrongdoing by the cleric.
“We need to see genuine evidence that withstands the standard of scrutiny that exists in many countries’ system of law with respect to the issue of extradition,” Kerry said. “If it meets that standard, there’s nothing — there’s no interest we have in standing in the way of appropriately honoring the treaty that we have with Turkey.”
Earnest said Monday that “the suggestion that somehow the United States is harboring Mr. Gulen is factually incorrect.”
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said there are 9,322 suspects involved in the coup attempt and all are going through legal procedures, Kurtulmus said.
A thousand pro-government protesters rallied in Istanbul on Tuesday, waving flags and demanding the death penalty for those involved with the coup, the Associated Press reported.
The Supreme Council of Radio and Television also canceled licenses of 24 Gulen-linked broadcasters — including Samanyolu, Can Erzincan television and Dunya Radio, according to the agency.
Erdogan, who beat down the attempted coup by Saturday morning, has rounded up and dismissed thousands of members of the military, police and judiciary he accuses of being followers of Gulen and plotting against Turkey’s democratically elected government.
Turkey’s Board of Higher Education requested resignations from 1,577 university deans. Of the deans dismissed, 1,176 worked in public universities and 401 in private institutions, Anadolu reported Tuesday.
Gulen, a former political ally of Erdogan, preaches a moderate form of Islam and has lived in self-exile in Pennsylvania since 1999. His followers run a network of charter schools and cultural centers in the United States and are prolific political donors.
→ Ansa. 2016-07-21. Chi è Gulen, accusato da Erdogan
Fethullah Gulen, il leader religioso che il presidente turco Recep Tayyip Erdogan ha accusato di essere dietro il colpo di stato di stanotte, vive dal 1999 in una fattoria di Saylorsburg nei boschi della Pennsylvania in cui barattoli di vetro racchiudono terriccio proveniente da diverse regioni della Turchia.
75 anni, dal 2008 residente legale negli Usa con tanto di green card, Gulen e’ stato un alleato di Erdogan fino al 2013 quando e’ scoppiato uno scandalo di corruzione nel governo turco. Gulen finora sembrava aver avuto la peggio nel braccio di ferro con il presidente. Gulen, un ex imam, afferma di credere nella scienza, nel dialogo interreligioso e in una democrazia multipartitica.
Secondo Wikileaks, ha aperto canali di dialogo con il Vaticano e con organizzioni ebraiche. Il sito web di Gulan non ha traccia finora di quanto sta succedendo in Turchia. Secondo i media Usa, Gulen vive presso la Golden Generation Worship and Retreat Center, un centro per anziani fondato da americani di origini turca. Passa ore a pregare e in meditazione e e a vedere medici per varie malattie tra cui il diabete e problemi di cuore.
→ Bbc. 2016-07-21. Turkey coup: What is Gulen movement and what does it want?
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blames US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen for last week’s bloody attempted coup.
Suspected Gulenists are now being purged in their thousands in a wave of arrests and sackings and Mr Erdogan has declared a state of emergency.
But what do we know about the movement, and what does it want?
What is the Gulen movement?
A well-organised community of people – not a political party – named after the US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen.
He is regarded by followers as a spiritual leader and sometimes described as Turkey’s second most powerful man.
The imam promotes a tolerant Islam which emphasises altruism, modesty, hard work and education.
He is also a recluse with a heart condition and diabetes who lives in a country estate in the US state of Pennsylvania.
The movement – known in Turkey as Hizmet, or service – runs schools all over Turkey and around the world, including in Turkic former Soviet Republics, Muslim countries such as Pakistan and Western nations including Romania and the US, where it runs more than 100 schools.
Followers are said to be numerous in Turkey, possibly in the millions, and are believed to hold influential positions in institutions from the police and secret services to the judiciary and Mr Erdogan’s ruling AK Party itself.
How did the movement emerge?
Mr Gulen made a name for himself by arguing that young Turks had lost their way and that education was the best response, a position that attracted a growing number of middle class followers and led the movement to open schools and expand into business.
As the movement grew, followers began taking jobs inside the machinery of state.
Some, such as commentator Mustafa Akyol, say the aim was to transform Turkey away from secularism, despite Mr Gulen’s claims to be focused more on faith and morality than politics.
After the military coup of 1980, the ruling generals suspected him of trying to topple the government and he was arrested after six years on the run. He was freed but eventually charged in 2000 and decided to remain in the US, where he was having medical treatment.
Both Mr Erdogan and Mr Gulen portray themselves as pious Muslims in opposition to secularism – but some see a slight difference in their approaches.
Mr Erdogan is seen as favouring a Turkish version of political Islam, according to Mustafa Akyol, while Mr Gulen presents himself as espousing a form of cultural rather than political Islam.
Many say the ultimate goals of the Gulen movement remain unclear.
“I know that their interest in education is not enough for them, they want more, but what?” author Fehmi Koru told the BBC. “I suggested in my columns that they set up their own party and ask for a mandate to run the country. They did not do that.”
How did Mr Gulen and Mr Erdogan become rivals?
With their focus on Islamic values, Mr Gulen and his followers were natural allies for Mr Erdogan as he took power.
He first used the Gulenists’ bureaucratic expertise to run the country and then exploited their connections to get the military out of politics.
In 2010, the big Sledgehammer case began, which led to 300 army officials being jailed for allegedly organising an attempted coup in 2003. Most of the evidence against them was later found to have been fabricated.
Turkish journalist and academic Ezgi Basaran says it is now acknowledged that the trials were orchestrated by Mr Gulen’s followers in the military, intelligence, police and judiciary.
Who was behind Turkey coup attempt?
Once the military had been sidelined, Mr Basaran says, a power struggle began to take shape as the AKP and the Gulenists vied for control of the state.
Who is winning that struggle?
“A war between two factions – one in power and the other having only infiltrated the civil and military bureaucracy – is a war whose winner is obvious from the start,” says Mr Koru.
Having dispatched the military, Mr Erdogan went after Hizmet in 2013 by vowing to shut down thousands of private schools that prepare students for exams, about a quarter of which were run by the Gulenist movement.
He also began attempting to force people believed to be Gulenists out of the security services and governmShortly afterwards, however, Turkish police carried out dawn raids against leading businessmen and allies of the prime minister.
They were alleged to have helped Iran bypass international financial sanctions against it by sending the regime in Tehran gold in return for oil and natural gas.
Turkey’s PM Erdogan faces threat from wounded ally
Many believed Gulenists were behind the raids and Mr Erdogan is said to have become convinced that a “Gulen-Israel axis” was out to get him, the Economist reported.
In May 2016, the Turkish government formally declared the Gulen movement a terrorist organisation.
How does the failed coup fit into this?
Mr Gulen has denied any involvement in the attempted coup and suggested Mr Erdogan himself may have been behind it, given the wave of arrests that has followed.
However, analysts have suggested that the coup authors – whether Gulenists or secularists – may have brought forward plans because they suspected Mr Erdogan was about to purge the military anyway.
The sheer numbers of arrests – almost a third of the military top brass as well as thousands of officials and bureaucrats – suggests that Mr Erdogan did already have lists of targets.
Turkey has now requested Mr Gulen’s extradition from the US to face trial but the US has said it will need to see evidence of Mr Gulen’s involvement first.
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