SAYLORSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA // The influential Muslim cleric lives quietly on a gated 26-acre compound in the Pocono Mountains, where he prays, works, meets admirers and watches from afar as terrorism accusations that have landed him on Turkey’s most-wanted list unfold in court.
Rarely seen in public, Fethullah Gulen has long been one of Turkey’s most important scholars, with multitudes of followers in his native country and around the world. More recently, Turkey’s increasingly autocratic president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has accused Mr Gulen of plotting to overthrow the officially secular government from his Pennsylvania idyll some 5,000 miles away.
Mr Gulen’s supporters call the charge baseless and, so far, the US has shown little inclination to send him back to Turkey to face a trial that began without him January 6 and is expected to last several months.
If the reclusive leader worries about the possibility, he has not shared it with confidants, they say.
“He said that the United States has a long tradition of democracy and rule of law,” said Y Alp Aslandogan, who sees Mr Gulen about once a week as president of the New York-based Alliance for Shared Values, a group that promotes Mr Gulen’s ideas. “They will see that these are politically orientated charges, and they will not allow Erdogan to spread his ambition into the United States.”
Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr declined to comment on Mr Gulen’s case.
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The National long read: Where are Turkey's missing?
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Mr Gulen’s followers run a loosely affiliated global network of charitable foundations, professional associations, businesses and other projects, including about 150 taxpayer-funded charter schools throughout the US. But details about Mr Gulen’s personal life and his ties to those ventures have long been murky, giving rise to suspicions about his motives.
Some of the US schools have been investigated by the FBI amid allegations of financial mismanagement and visa fraud. One of the most explosive claims, levelled by a lawyer who is representing the Turkish government in a US lawsuit against Mr Gulen, is that the schools are importing Turkish teachers to identify impressionable students and indoctrinate them into Mr Gulen’s movement, sometimes called Hizmet, Turkish for “service”.
Nobody associated with the US schools has been charged, and there has been no public outcry from parents or students about teachers promoting Islam, Mr Gulen’s supporters say. In America, the schools are public and open to students of all faiths.
“Try proselytising evangelical Christians in the centre of Texas. See what happens,” Mr Aslandogan said. “Anybody who knows American society and climate today would know that’s a ridiculous claim.”
In any event, he said, Mr Gulen has nothing to do with the schools’ finances or operation.
Trained as an imam, Mr Gulen first gained notice in Turkey some 50 years ago, promoting a philosophy that blended a mystical form of Islam with staunch advocacy of democracy, education, science and interfaith dialogue. Supporters started 1,000 schools in more than 100 countries. In Turkey, they have run universities, hospitals, charities, a bank and a large media empire with newspapers and radio and TV stations.
But the extent of Mr Gulen’s reach is shrouded in such mystery that Loyola University Maryland sociologist Joshua Hendrick, who has studied and written about him, estimates his following at anywhere from 500,000 to 4 million people.
“I think deep down in the hearts of these people, they want to create a better world, a world of peace, a world of respect,” said University of Houston sociologist Helen Rose Ebaugh, who travelled the world studying the Gulen movement’s finances and aims. “I saw no indication they are after power or creating any kind of (Islamic) state.”
In 2000, a year after travelling to the United States to seek medical treatment, Mr Gulen was charged by Turkish authorities with leading an Islamist plot to overthrow the regime. He was acquitted after a trial in absentia.
Now, after a public split with Mr Erdogan, he is facing another trial. This time, the Turkish government contends Mr Gulen has been running a parallel state by getting his followers into key police and court positions to instigate a 2013 corruption probe that targeted people close to Mr Erdogan.
Mr Erdogan’s government has branded the movement a “terror organisation”, though it is not known to have committed any acts of violence.
“The grain of truth, which we don’t deny, is that yes, there are some sympathisers in every government institution. But to claim that there is a parallel entity, or there is a mastermind or puppeteer, is simply an empty claim,” Mr Aslandogan said.
A continent away, Mr Gulen, who is in his mid-70s, lives like a monk on the grounds of the Golden Generation Worship & Retreat Center, an Islamic retreat founded by Turkish-Americans.
He spends hours a day in prayer and meditation and goes out rarely, mostly to see doctors for ailments that include heart disease and diabetes, according to Mr Aslandogan. During a tour this week, an Associated Press reporter visited Mr Gulen's book-lined living quarters, where shelves hold jars filled with soil from various regions of Turkey.
The reporter was unable to see the cleric. He was in another building on the compound and declined to be interviewed.
* Associated Press
Napoleon
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
UAE’s revised Cricket World Cup League Two schedule
August, 2021: Host - United States; Teams - UAE, United States and Scotland
Between September and November, 2021 (dates TBC): Host - Namibia; Teams - Namibia, Oman, UAE
December, 2021: Host - UAE; Teams - UAE, Namibia, Oman
February, 2022: Hosts - Nepal; Teams - UAE, Nepal, PNG
June, 2022: Hosts - Scotland; Teams - UAE, United States, Scotland
September, 2022: Hosts - PNG; Teams - UAE, PNG, Nepal
February, 2023: Hosts - UAE; Teams - UAE, PNG, Nepal
match details
Wales v Hungary
Cardiff City Stadium, kick-off 11.45pm
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre V6
Power: 295hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 355Nm at 5,200rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km
Price: Dh179,999-plus
On sale: now
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
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More from Neighbourhood Watch:
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Tuesday (UAE kick-off times)
Leicester City v Brighton (9pm)
Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United (11.15pm)
Wednesday
Manchester United v Sheffield United (9pm)
Newcastle United v Aston Villa (9pm)
Norwich City v Everton (9pm)
Wolves v Bournemouth (9pm)
Liverpool v Crystal Palace (11.15pm)
Thursday
Burnley v Watford (9pm)
Southampton v Arsenal (9pm)
Chelsea v Manchester City (11.15pm)
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.