There certainly won’t be any public show of grief in Turkey today over Fethullah Gülen, whose death was announced overnight. The 83-year-old’s name is toxic, and not just because the government blames him for the 2016 coup attempt. That notoriety makes him a pivotal figure.
The question most disinterested outsiders ask is “did he order the coup?” It’s a question we still can’t answer dispassionately because that night’s events are still so murky. What’s certainly true is that many members of his network were involved. Some fled. Others are in jail.
That word “network” is crucial here: over decades Fethullah Gülen weaved a web of supporters throughout Turkey’s government, judiciary, military and private sector, and there’s no doubt he used them to further his agenda. For a man never elected, his political influence was vast.
His supporters adored him. For some, the word “worship” might be appropriate. You don’t have to reach too far into the past – 15 years ago, if that – to find people praising Gülen for wearing his faith with moderation and for demonstrating how Islam and democracy could coexist.
And when a definitive history of Turkey in the 21st century is written, it will have to chart the relationship between Gülen and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The two met rarely, yet together between (roughly) 2007 and 2013 they reshaped the very fabric of their country.
Their alliance fell apart publicly, bitterly, violently. The 2016 coup led directly to an executive presidency with sweeping powers for Mr Erdoğan. Many in Turkey, the president’s admirers and detractors alike, blame the new system for Turkey’s economic and political ills.
But many more blame the trouble on Gülen himself and are responding today with Quranic passages and religious quotes. He started all this, the argument goes, but did not face justice in this plane of existence. Perhaps he will in the next. That is Fethullah Gülen’s toxic legacy.
(This article originally appeared as a thread on social media)
