The vast but nebulous movement of Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish Muslim cleric living in self-exile in the US, brings together interests ranging from finance to schools to media, and has emerged as enemy number one of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Erdogan has vowed to crush the "dark forces" of the movement who he accuses of seeking to create a parallel state in Turkey aimed overthrowing his administration.
Scores of police officers have been targeted in several raids since the summer against forces suspected of being loyal to Gulen, but a new swoop on Sunday for the first time directly targeted his media interests resulting in over two dozen arrests.
The raids came almost a year to the day after a probe was opened on December 17, 2013, into corruption allegations that rocked the government of Erdogan, then premier.
The authorities -- who vehemently denied the claims -- said Gulen was the source of the allegations and Erdogan has since shown no mercy in the fight against his movement.
"We are not just faced with a simple network, but one which is a pawn of evil forces at home and abroad," Erdogan said Friday.
"We will go into their lairs again. Whoever is beside them and behind them, we will bring down this network and bring it to account."
- From ally to enemy -
The movement has no formal name but it is known to its followers as Hizmet (Service) or Cemaat (community).
Gulen, 73, lives in exile in a countryside compound in the US state of Pennsylvania. Washington has so far not responded to Turkish demands for his extradition.
He went to the United States in 1999, ostensibly for health treatment, but also at a time when the then staunchly secular Turkish authorities were charging him with trying to infiltrate and destroy the state.
Those charges were based on a notorious tape broadcast on Turkish TV where Gulen purportedly urges supporters to undermine the Turkish state.
"Work patiently at taking control of the state. Do not make mistakes," he is quoted as saying. Gulen has always argued the tape is a fake.
He was put on trial in absentia but was finally acquitted of the charges in 2006, by which time Erdogan's Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) had been in power for almost half a decade.
His network grew even beyond Turkey into Central Asia and Africa, with a lucrative and highly successful system of private schools at its core.
Praised by admirers for promoting a forward-looking organisation and regarded by detractors as leading a dangerous cult, Gulen was received by Pope John Paul II in 1998.
But his influence, particularly in education, grew in a way that troubled the AKP and the corruption allegations of 2013 marked the start of an all-out war against his movement.
The Turkish parliament in March 2014 passed a key bill to close down thousands of cram schools in the country, many of which were owned by Gulen.
Government action against a major bank allied to Gulen -- Bank Asya -- resulted in a crash of its share price and a massive downscaling of its operation.
- 'Aim of eliminating us' -
Even the charity set up by the Gulen movement Kimse Yok Mu (Is there anybody there?) has found itself targeted by the authorities.
"These operations... are carried out with the sole aim of eliminating us," the head of the charity Ismail Cingoz told AFP in an interview last month.
"The government sees us as a competitor as it wants to have absolute control on society."
The latest arrests on Sunday targeted the Zaman newspaper closely linked to the Gulen movement and which is Turkey's biggest selling daily, as well as the similarly pro-Gulen TV channel STV.
"Zaman will maintain its pro-democracy, pro-freedoms and peaceful approach without any fear as it has thus far done," the newspaper said after the arrest of its editor-in-chief Ekrem Dumanli.
The vast but nebulous movement of Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish Muslim cleric living in self-exile in the US, brings together interests ranging from finance to schools to media, and has emerged as enemy number one of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Erdogan has vowed to crush the “dark forces” of the movement who he accuses of seeking to create a parallel state in Turkey aimed overthrowing his administration.
Scores of police officers have been targeted in several raids since the summer against forces suspected of being loyal to Gulen, but a new swoop on Sunday for the first time directly targeted his media interests resulting in over two dozen arrests.
The raids came almost a year to the day after a probe was opened on December 17, 2013, into corruption allegations that rocked the government of Erdogan, then premier.
The authorities — who vehemently denied the claims — said Gulen was the source of the allegations and Erdogan has since shown no mercy in the fight against his movement.
“We are not just faced with a simple network, but one which is a pawn of evil forces at home and abroad,” Erdogan said Friday.
“We will go into their lairs again. Whoever is beside them and behind them, we will bring down this network and bring it to account.”
– From ally to enemy –
The movement has no formal name but it is known to its followers as Hizmet (Service) or Cemaat (community).
Gulen, 73, lives in exile in a countryside compound in the US state of Pennsylvania. Washington has so far not responded to Turkish demands for his extradition.
He went to the United States in 1999, ostensibly for health treatment, but also at a time when the then staunchly secular Turkish authorities were charging him with trying to infiltrate and destroy the state.
Those charges were based on a notorious tape broadcast on Turkish TV where Gulen purportedly urges supporters to undermine the Turkish state.
“Work patiently at taking control of the state. Do not make mistakes,” he is quoted as saying. Gulen has always argued the tape is a fake.
He was put on trial in absentia but was finally acquitted of the charges in 2006, by which time Erdogan’s Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) had been in power for almost half a decade.
His network grew even beyond Turkey into Central Asia and Africa, with a lucrative and highly successful system of private schools at its core.
Praised by admirers for promoting a forward-looking organisation and regarded by detractors as leading a dangerous cult, Gulen was received by Pope John Paul II in 1998.
But his influence, particularly in education, grew in a way that troubled the AKP and the corruption allegations of 2013 marked the start of an all-out war against his movement.
The Turkish parliament in March 2014 passed a key bill to close down thousands of cram schools in the country, many of which were owned by Gulen.
Government action against a major bank allied to Gulen — Bank Asya — resulted in a crash of its share price and a massive downscaling of its operation.
– ‘Aim of eliminating us’ –
Even the charity set up by the Gulen movement Kimse Yok Mu (Is there anybody there?) has found itself targeted by the authorities.
“These operations… are carried out with the sole aim of eliminating us,” the head of the charity Ismail Cingoz told AFP in an interview last month.
“The government sees us as a competitor as it wants to have absolute control on society.”
The latest arrests on Sunday targeted the Zaman newspaper closely linked to the Gulen movement and which is Turkey’s biggest selling daily, as well as the similarly pro-Gulen TV channel STV.
“Zaman will maintain its pro-democracy, pro-freedoms and peaceful approach without any fear as it has thus far done,” the newspaper said after the arrest of its editor-in-chief Ekrem Dumanli.
