Lived in the USA

Turkish preacher Fetullah Gülen is dead

Fetullah Gülen(Bild: APA/AFP)

The Muslim preacher Fetullah Gülen has died in exile in the US, according to Turkish media reports. He was considered an arch-enemy of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The Herkul platform, among others, reported on Gülen's death. A few days before his death, it posted a video of the preacher on X (see below), but the death of the cleric was announced on Monday. He is said to have died on Sunday. Reuters was initially unable to independently verify the reports.

Turkey attributes coup in 2016 to Gülen
The cleric was the spiritual leader of the so-called Gülen movement. The Turkish government holds the organization responsible for the attempted coup in 2016 and classifies it as a terrorist organization. Gülen denied any involvement in the coup attempt. He had been living in the USA since 1999.

The preacher was considered a close ally of Turkey's Erdogan for over two decades before a rift occurred in 2013. At that time, Turkish prosecutors launched an investigation into suspected corruption against Erdogan and some of his confidants. As many Gülen supporters held important positions in the judiciary, Erdogan suspected the movement of being behind this.

The movement is said to have more than four million followers. It has founded schools in 100 countries and has numerous international associations and clubs in which the movement is organized. The organization stated on Monday that the structures of the religious organization are well established and that it can continue to work as it did before Gülen's death.