Fethullah Gulen: From presidential ally to Turkeys alleged coup mastermind | Fethullah Gulen News [Video]

Fethullah Gulen, the controversial Turkish cleric and ally-turned-foe of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has passed away at the age of 83.

No cause of death has yet been given although he was known to have been in poor health.

Gulen had resided since 1999 in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains in the United States, where he was said to have lived in an apartment on a compound owned by the Golden Generation Foundation, a nonprofit operated by his supporters in the US.

Though he reduced his public appearances in his later years, he continued to release statements and writings urging followers to maintain their commitment to education, dialogue, and peaceful activism.

Within Turkey, however, he grew to be a notorious figure, accused by the government of running a criminal ring that infiltrated state institutions.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who confirmed Gulen’s death this morning, described the cleric as the head of a “dark organisation”, telling a news conference: “Our nation’s determination in the fight against …