Who is Fethullah Gulen, the man Erdogan blames for coup attempt in Turkey?

In the wake of last week's failed military coup,the Turkish government wants the worldto know there's anew name in terror:FETO(FethullahGulenTerrorist Organization).

AndTurkey's president,Recep Tayyip Erdogan, claims an Islamic scholar livingin a secluded, gated compound in Pennsylvania's PoconoMountainsis its leader.

While most in the West were unfamiliar with FethullahGulen,the recent failedcoup in Turkey, which left 246 people dead and around9,000 arrested, haschanged that.

Erdogan is adamantthat Gulen, a former ally, is responsible for the rebellion,and the Turkish president's ambassadors around the world are spreading thatmessage.

• Turkey declares 3-month state of emergency after failed coup
• Arrests continue to mount in Turkey after failed coup
• Why is Turkey blaming Gulen and followers for coup attempt?

The Turkish Embassy in Ottawa, for example, sent out a news release earlier this week saying thecoup attempt was staged"in no uncertain terms by theFethullahGulenTerrorist Organization."

Born in Erzurum, in eastern Turkey, in 1941, Gulen built uphis reputation as a Sunni Muslim preacher with intense sermons.

His movement, known as Hizmet, or "service" in Turkish, set uphundreds of schools and businesses in Turkey and later abroad,with an initial focus on post-Soviet Turkic-language-speakingCentral Asia.

Gulen's philosophy stresses the need to embrace scientificprogress, shun radicalism and build bridges to the West andother religious faiths.

The reclusive Muslim clerichas lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvaniasince 1999, when, according to his website, he "went to the United States for medical treatment of an ailment."

His departure from Turkey came at a time of turmoil for him, some observers have suggested.

"Having fled the country in 1999 as Turkey's old secular elite charged him with trying to overthrow the state, he landed in the United States, where a former CIAofficial helped him get a green card," the New York Times reported earlier thisweek.

• In his moment of need, Erdogan finds a use for a TV network he distrusts: Nahlah Ayed

Little informationhas emerged regarding his personal life.

"Details about Gulen's personal life since his arrival in Pennsylvania and his organizations have remained obscure, giving rise to suspicions about his motives both in Turkey and the United States. He is said to be frail and in ill health, suffering from diabetes," philly.com reported late last week.

Erdoganaccuses Gulenofrunning a "parallel" structure to the Turkish government with the hopes of overthrowing the president. Hewants the United States to extraditehimto Turkey, where he couldface a prison sentence of up to 34 years.

U.S. Secretary of State JohnKerryhassaidTurkey would have to produce "legitimateevidence that withstands scrutiny" before the United States would act on an extradition request.

Who isGulen?

Gulen espouses a philosophy that blends a mystical form of Islam with democracy.Turks describe himas everything from a troublemaker to a scholar toa crook and a charismatic leader. One thing that is certain is thatheis a polarizing figure in Turkey.

In the aftermath of Friday's failed coup, the normally reclusive cleric spoke out, denying any involvement.

"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," he said in a statement.

• A view from Istanbul as the Turkish celebrate failure of military coup
• Why is Turkey blaming Gulen and followers for coup attempt?

He didn't, however, rule out the possibility thathis followers might have been involved, and Gulen's opponents say he hassupportersin severalkey sectors of Turkish society.

"His people have infiltrated the army, the justice ministry, the media they're incredibly influential," Robert Amsterdam, a lawyer for the Turkish government, alleged onCBC Radio'sAs It Happens earlier this week.

"There is no part of the government that hasn't been infiltrated by Gulen.So, the evidence that will come out will be, as we've already seen on Turkish news, that the ringleaders have connections to him."

Distinguishing true supporters from scapegoats

The trouble for Erdogan isthat it's not clearwho is a follower of Gulen and who isn't, who might pose a threat to Erdogan's presidency and who might be accused of doing so even if they have nothing to do with Gulen.

"They're not really card-carrying members of an organization," Bessma Momani, a senior fellow at Waterloo's Centre for International Governance and Innovation, told The Current.

That makes it easy for Erdogan to cast a wide net. Some high-ranking people in fields of law, medicine and civil service are believed to be Gulenists.

There remains no evidence that Gulen played any role in the attempt to overthrow Erdogan, something the U.S. secretary of state reiterated on Monday.

But Momani says it's not surprising thatErdoganwouldblame the Gulenist movement.

"The vast majority of Turks, I would say in the order of 95 per cent or so, feel that the Gulenist movement is a parallel government," Momani said. "They dislike their so-called power. They feel as though that they are up to no good."

Erdogantightenshis grip

But in the wake of the failed coup, many worry Erdogan, who is already widely seen as an autocrat,will seize onthe fact that his democratically elected government was threatened and clamp down even harder on elements who oppose him.

"It does give them a political upper hand in basically blaming opposition in any way, shape or form that they like," Sanem Guner, assistant director of the HollingsCentre for International Dialogue, aWashington, D.C.-based NGO,toldThe Current.

'What we're finding is that this is really just a witch hunt.-BessmaMomani

The government has already detained or jailedthousands of people following the rebellion, including judges, political figures, journalists andmembers of the military. Thousands of public sector employees, including those in education, lawenforcement and government, were fired as part of the crackdown.

"There's a lot of fear,"Momanisaid. "I think and legitimately so that [Erdogan] will call people Gulenist when they have nothing to do with the organization, just for the sake of jailing them.I think what we're finding is that this is really just a witch hunt."

Network of schools, culture organizations

It's unclear how many members the Hizmet movement has, but Momani estimates it could be as high asfive per cent ofTurkey's population, or about four million.

For decades, Gulen'sinternational network has built Turkish language schools and interfaith organizations around the world, including in Canada.They promote Turkish culture, education and faith, but most of all the movement itself.

Many in Turkey compare Hizmet to the Freemasons, asecretive network of fraternal organizations that operate in various countries.

Turkey's secularists have long been suspicious of Hizmetand its members, particularly because of what used to be Gulen's cozy relationship with Erdogan, who himself is seen by secularists asoverly tolerant of religious intrusionsinto state affairs.

In the past, Erdogan even jailed journalists for publishing pieces critical of Gulen's growing power in every aspect of Turkish society. But that was before the allies became enemies.

The cracks in their relationship began to emerge in 2010, when Gulen commented publicly on the Mavi Marmara incident, in which nine Turks were killed when Israeli soldiers stormed a Turkish ship attempting to break a blockade.

But the big breakup came in 2013 when Gulen's pervasive, soft power became too much andErdogan closed all of Gulen's preparatory schools across the country.

• Turkey fires thousands from government jobs
• Expect more instability in aftermath of failed coup

In the past two years, the Turkish government also seized and shut down theGulen-affiliatedBank Asya, as well as newspapers and television stations linked with the movement.

Now, both leaders, who rarely give interviews, are pointing the finger at each other.

Gulen says Erdogan staged the attempted coup himself while Erdogan says Gulen is a traitor to his country.

The Turkish people are, once again, caught in the middle of a fight. Only it's not about what so many think Turkey is always fighting about religion versus secularism but about power.

• Erdoganvows Turkey coup plotters will pay 'heavy price'