Gülen movement

The Gülen movement (Turkish: Gülen hareketi) or Hizmet movement (Hizmet hareketi) is an Islamist fraternal movement. It is a sub-sect of Sunni Islam based on a Nursian theological perspective as reflected in Fethullah Gülen's religious teachings. It is referred to by its members as the "Service" ("Hizmet") or "Community" ("Cemaat") and it originated in Turkey around the late 1950s. It is institutionalized in 180 countries through educational institutions as well as media outlets, finance companies, for-profit health clinics, and affiliated foundations that have a combined net worth in the range of 20–50 billion dollars as of 2015.

Its teachings are considered conservative in Turkey but 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. On the other hand, it has also been reported to have a "cultish hierarchy" and as being a secretive Islamic sect. The movement is also known for initiating forums for interfaith dialogue.

The movement was previously led by the Islamic preacher, Hoca Fethullah Gülen, who left Turkey in 1999 after being threatened by lawsuits and settled in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania.

The Gülen movement was a former ally of the Turkish Justice and Development Party (AKP). When the AKP came to power in 2002 the two groups formed an alliance against military and the Turkish secular elite despite their differences. It was through this alliance that the AKP secured national electoral victories sufficient to form majority governments consecutively in 2002, 2007, and 2011. During this time, hundreds of Gülen supporters were appointed to positions within the Turkish government.

Once the old establishment had been defeated, disagreements began emerging between the AKP and the Gülen movement. The first breaking point was the so-called ″MİT crisis″ in February 2012 which has been interpreted as a power struggle between the AKP and the pro-Gülen police and judiciary. After corruption investigations in 2013 into several politicians and family members of the ruling AKP of Turkey by the Gülen friendly judiciary, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan claimed the movement had initiated the investigations as a result of a break in previously friendly relations. President Erdoğan said Gülen had attempted to overthrow the Turkish government through a judicial coup using the investigations. In response to the investigations, the government seized the group-owned newspaper Zaman, which was one of the most circulated newspapers in Turkey, as well as several companies that had ties to the group.

Since May 2016, the Gülen movement has been classified by Turkey as a terrorist organization under the names Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (Turkish: Fethullahçı Terör Örgütü) (FETÖ) and Parallel State Structure (Turkish: Paralel Devlet Yapılanması) (PDY). The movement has also been designated as a terrorist organization by Pakistan, Northern Cyprus, and the Gulf Cooperation Council. After the failed coup attempt in July 2016, the government blamed the group for the coup and authorities arrested thousands of soldiers and judges. Other members of the group who worked for Turkey's governmental agencies were dismissed and over ten thousand education staff were suspended and the licenses of over 20,000 teachers working at private institutions were revoked due to their affiliation to Gülen. Gülen condemned the coup and denied any involvement. However, the Gülen movement is not recognized as a terrorist organization by the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The Gülen movement was included in the declaration in the trilateral memorandum signed by Turkey, Finland and Sweden during the NATO summit in Madrid on 28 June 2022, but did not define it as a terrorist organization.