Dark era concludes: The beginning and end of Fetullah Gulen

Fetullah Gulen, the founder and ringleader of Fetullah Gulen Terrorist Organization (FETO), passed away in Pennsylvania, United States, on Sunday October 20th. 

Within the cult-like group, Fetullah was referred to by followers with the self-proclaimed title of “Imam of the Universe.”

His passing marks the closure of a dark chapter in Turkish history of high treason on behalf of foreign powers. 

Here is all you need to know of the mastermind behind the July 15, 2016, coup attempt. 

Amassing members

In Türkiye’s 3^rd largest city of Izmir in the mid-1960s a mysterious Muslim religious congregation emerged under the cleric Fetullah Gulen. His movement became locally known as “hizmet” (the service), “cemaat” (congregation) and “Gulenciler” (the Gulenists). 

Amassing direct members estimated to range between 200,000 to 450,000, the movement was Türkiye’s largest. Some liberal estimates believed the movement reached as far as 4 million individuals out of the country’s 85 million populace. 

The roots of their recruitment strategy can be traced back to its early phases, which focused on educational institutions and special dormitory houses particularly targeting high school and university students. 

These dorms played a crucial role in indoctrinating and recruiting new followers, primarily targeting students from impoverished households. 

Poor students were given a free dormitory, individuals and families were given financial backing, afterwards ranking jobs in exchange for sessions of indoctrination and following orders.

These members who were then educated through their system were placed within various government organs – primarily the Turkish National Police, Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Justice. And in essence creating a parallel state structure.

FETO members were kept under strict supervision, operated in secrecy and would not be informed of the entire membership structure, and often received commands from only superiors.

Their business empire would expand from education to entering the realms of finance, NGOs, health and media. 

FETO’s business empire

The organization’s financial assets were reported by Anadolu Agency to range between $150 to $200 billion. 

In 2014, it was estimated that more than 2 million students were enrolled in private FETO-affiliated schools worldwide enrolled in more than 2,000 educational premises, which included charter schools, universities, language centers and religious courses across 160 countries. 

FETO operates 150 schools in the U.S. and in 2019, former American first lady Melania Trump would visit a FETO school in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in her “Be Best” anti-bullying campaign. Receiving much attention from the Turkish press. 

In the media they controlled the Zaman and Taraf newspapers, and Samanyolu, Bugun and Ebru television channels. The organization even operated a bank named Bank Asya. 

Crackdown on all domestic business operations occurred leading up to and after the July 15, 2016, coup attempt. 

Ankara started to take over FETO-run schools after the failed coup attempt in 2016. These activities are carried out through the Turkish government’s Maarif Foundation. 

As of October 21, 2024, the Maarif Foundation is conducting educational activities in 55 countries and has contacted 114 countries to takeover FETO schools. 

FETO’s business empire, at least in Türkiye, would completely collapse after the 2016 coup attempt. 

Lonesome war against the Gulenists

In a democratic struggle in the 1990s, the long oppressed conservative segment of the society came together eventually under one bloc to unseat a mixture of dysfunctional coalition governments and secularist military conducting coups. 

Yet as they amassed power the differences within the conservatives quickly emerged – including a power struggle between FETO and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). FETO operatives tried to get the bureaucracy to implement its own policies. 

After identifying secular elements within the military, media and academia as obstacles, FETO began its efforts to eliminate these groups. Highly controversial judicial cases included the Ergenekon and Sledgehammer Trials that dominated the period between 2008 and 2014.

FETO orchestrated conspiracies during these trials, victimizing hundreds. Their media outlets acted as mouthpieces, manipulating public perception during these trials, which were framed as an effort to settle scores with alleged  secular coup plotters. 

Hundreds of journalists, soldiers, academics, and businesspeople were arrested. 

Former Turkish General Chief of Staff Ilker Basbug, who was imprisoned between 2013 and 2014 by the Gulenists operating in the judiciary, would remark following the coup attempt that, “Between 2012 and 2016, Erdogan fought a lonesome war against the congregation.”

In 2012, the FETO  judiciary even went after the head of Turkish intelligence, current Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, in a failed attempt to cease him. And in December 2013, FETO’s prosecutors conducted a so-called corruption and bribery operation attempting to overthrow the government using fabricated evidence. 

These events marked the beginning of the openly public confrontation between the ruling AK Party government and FETO.

The final stage of this power struggle culminated in the failed coup attempt of July 15, 2016, during which over 250 Turkish citizens were killed. The movement had overestimated its power and influence over Turkish bureaucracy. 

Since then, Türkiye has recognized FETO as a terrorist organization with roughly 20,000 remaining in prison over coup plot affiliation. 

An encrypted and password protected digital messaging platform called ByLock available on android and apple systems, prior to the coup with 600,000 users, was used as FETO’s main messaging platform. 

Both the capture of FETO members and the hacking of the ByLock messaging platform by Turkish intelligence were crucial in collapsing the movements structure domestically. 

Gulen never extradited to Türkiye, a sore pain in diplomatic relations

In 1999, Gulen’s alleged health reasons caused his quick relocation to a secluded mansion complex in rural Pennsylvania. He passed away in exile. 

Despite countless extradition requests following the 2016 coup attempt and both U.S.-Türkiye enacting a “Extradition Treaty and Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement”, Gulen was never overturned. 

This situation drew significant criticism, with claims that the U.S. has not fulfilled its obligations despite Türkiye’s requests. 

This entire ordeal caused a complete reassessment of Turkish security apparatus, with partial diversification away from NATO weapons, signing a deal with Russia to procure S-400 air defense systems in 2017. 

Leaked emails made it apparent that Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) in Washington was also involved in the coup. 

Another minor stakeholder was the UAE. Flight records of Gulenists indicated flying in and out of Emirati airports. 

Ties would patch with Abu Dhabi as the red-carpet was rolled out in July 2023 during President Erdogan’s visit which marked the signing of major bilateral agreements, including economic. 

Flight records also showcased the revealing FETO records of flying back and forth from the U.S. in the leadup to the coup. Washington meanwhile would never comment at length on the situation. 

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin would be one of the first to call Erdogan following the putschist event which oversaw quick Türkiye-Russia rapprochement, meanwhile a then Vice President Joe Biden would come to Ankara in late August 2016 without delivering much appeasement. 

Türkiye’s NATO treaty allies continue to dismiss the security concern. They include Nordic countries, Germany, France, and the United States. FETO-run entities still exist in these partners, including the “Nordic Research Monitoring Network” operating  in Sweden. 

Ankara formally requested the extradition of FETO members from Western allies but to no avail. 

Will FETO disintegrate?

Following the death of Fetullah Gulen, the Turkish Ministry of Defense would issue the statement, “The ringleader of FETO, who has caused significant harm to our state and brave army, is dead. He plotted against the independence and future of our noble nation by manipulating brainwashed individuals.”

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who confirmed the account of the death to be true to the Turkish public, stated, “This news will not lead us to relaxation or complacency. It has been a rare threat of its kind… With this death, the spell on them (Gulenists) should be lifted. I call on them to renounce this betrayal. This path is not a good path. The end of this path is not a good end.”

Speculations in Turkish media had been growing in 2023 of an emerging power vacuum within FETO given the deteriorating health of Fetullah Gulen. Mainly between their U.S. and European legs, but also what little remains in Türkiye.

Their members are still caught trying to enter or leave the country at airports, on yachts in the Aegean, or at border crossings with Bulgaria and Greece. 

The death of Gulen comes as welcoming news to most Turkish citizens as the dark chapter concludes over treason of the highest degree. While its operations continue within the U.S. and Europe, this could mark the new beginnings between Türkiye and its allies.