By Jenna Ebersole
Pocono Record Writer
An international brouhaha brewing between the United States and Turkey focuses on an infamous occupant of a compound in Saylorsburg.
At the center of the controversy is a Turkish cleric named Fethullah Gülen.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday that his country would officially request that the United States extradite Gülen, whom detractors have accused of trying to undercut Erdogan’s government, according to media reports.
Gülen, 73 and said to be in poor health, left Turkey in the 1990s after being accused of urging an overthrow of the government, The New York Times reported.
Gülen denied the charges, and after Erdogan came to power, the charges were dropped, The Times reported.
Gülen has lived at the Golden Generation Worship and Retreat Center in Saylorsburg for more than a decade, but remains mostly unknown to Americans.
For Turks, however, he is a prominent figure who many believe promotes education and a moderate, peaceful form of Islam.
Gülen and the large movement he inspired remain at the center of discussion about Turkish politics, though his followers say he is non-political.
Corruption scandal
In the last few months in Turkey, an extensive corruption scandal has engulfed Erdogan. The Associated Press has reported that revelations of bribery and illicit money transfers to Iran threatened Erdogan and his government.
Ties between Gülen’s movement and Erdogan have been broken, with conspiracy theories pointing to Gülen as the force behind the corruption investigation, the AP has reported.
Though the evidence for Gülen’s involvement in the investigation is weak, his movement’s influence in the country seems clear.
Protesters arrived at the Gülen Saylorsburg center last summer from across the U.S.
Protest leader Armagan Yilmaz said Wednesday by email that he does not support Erdogan’s government or Gülen, but believes Gülen should be extradited for his activities.
Still, Yilmaz said Erdogan’s proposal does not have legal support, which he knows, and he is putting the U.S. in a bad position and hurting global public opinion.
The Times reported Wednesday that the State Department has a policy of not commenting on pending requests, and quoted legal experts as saying the Turkish government’s request for Gülen’s extradition faces long odds.
The Alliance for Shared Values Organization, which speaks for the Gülen movement, said in a statement that it is “deeply disturbed” by Erdogan’s recent politically motivated attempts to limit democratic dissent.
“The prime minister’s talk about demanding the extradition of Mr. Gülen, when there are no charges or legal case against him, is a clear indication of political persecution and harassment,” the statement said. “Such manipulative tactics are common practices in autocratic regimes, not in a democratic country that respects the rule of law.”
via Turkey pressures US over Saylorsburg Muslim cleric | PoconoRecord.com.