Gülen movement

The Gülen movement (Turkish: Gülen hareketi), or Hizmet movement (Turkish: Hizmet hareketi), or Fethullah Gülen movement (Turkish: Fethullah Gülen hareketi), referred to by its participants as Hizmet ("service") or Cemaat ("community") and since 2016 by the Government of Turkey as FETÖ ("Fethullahist Terrorist Organization", Turkish: Fethullahçı Terör Örgütü), is an Islamist fraternal movement led by Fethullah Gülen, a Muslim scholar and preacher who has been living in the United States since 1999. The movement is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, Pakistan, Northern Cyprus, and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Owing to the outlawed status of the Gülen movement in Turkey, some observers refer to the movement's Turkish Muslim volunteers as effectively a sub-sect of Sunni Islam; these volunteers generally hold their religious tenets as generically Turkish Sunni Islam.

A U.S.-based umbrella foundation which is affiliated with the movement is the Alliance for Shared Values. The movement has attracted supporters and drawn the attention of critics in Turkey, Central Asia, and other parts of the world. It is active in education and operates private schools and universities in over 180 countries. It has initiated forums for interfaith dialogue. It has substantial investments in media, finance, and for-profit health clinics. Despite its teachings which are considered conservative in Turkey, some have praised the movement as a pacifist, modern-oriented version of Islam, and an alternative to more extreme schools of Islam such as Salafism. But it has also been reported as having a "cultish hierarchy" and as being a secretive Islamic sect.

The Gülen movement is a former ally of the Turkish Justice and Development Party (AKP). When the AKP came to power in 2002 the two formed a tactical alliance against military tutelage and the Turkish secular elite, despite their differences. It was through this alliance that the AKP accomplished an unprecedented feat in Turkish republican history by securing national electoral victories sufficient to form three consecutive majority governments in 2002, 2007, and 2011. The Gülen movement gained influence in the Turkish police force and the judiciary during its alliance with conservative President Erdoğan, which saw hundreds of Gülen supporters appointed to positions within the Turkish government. Once the old establishment was defeated around 2010 to 2011 disagreements emerged between the AKP and the Gülen movement. The first breaking point was the so-called ″MIT crisis″ of February 2012; this was also interpreted as a power struggle between pro-Gülen police and judiciary and the AKP. After the 2013 corruption investigations in Turkey into alleged corrupt practices of several bureaucrats, ministers, mayors, and family members of the ruling AKP of Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan blamed the movement for initiating the investigations as a result of a break in previously friendly relations. President Erdoğan said Gülen attempted to overthrow the Turkish government through a judicial coup by the use of corruption investigations and seized the group-owned newspaper (Zaman— one of the most circulated newspapers in Turkey before the seizure) and several companies that have ties with the group.

Since May 2016, the Gülen movement has been classified as a terrorist organization by Turkey under the assigned names Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (Turkish: Fethullahçı Terör Örgütü) (FETÖ) and Parallel State Structure (Turkish: Paralel Devlet Yapılanması) (PDY). After the failed coup attempt in 2016, the government of Turkey blamed the group for the coup and authorities have arrested thousands of soldiers and judges. Over ten thousand education staff were suspended and the licenses of over 20,000 teachers working at private institutions were revoked for stated affiliation to Gülen. Fethullah Gülen condemned the coup and denied any involvement.