After the Dec. 17 and 25 judicial coup attempts failed, FETÖ started to be likened to the Assassins. During the July 15 coup attempt, FETÖ members bombarded the parliament, took the Chief of General Staff hostage, tried to assassinate the president, and killed civilians with tanks, war jets and helicopters. These were all shocking incidents. FETÖ’s atrocity and ravenousness made the FETÖ members commit unprecedented offenses that have not been attempted by any other illegal organization throughout Turkey’s history – all facts that lead to their association with the Assassins.
Founded and headed by Fethullah Gülen, this terror organization has many common aspects with the Assassins movement foun ded by Hasan Sabbah in the 11th century, which terrorized the Islamic world. Just like the disciples of Sabbah infiltrated the Seljuk Empire, Gülen’s disciples infiltrated various state institutions of Turkey. Obeying all his orders unconditionally, Gülen’s disciples partook in a bloody coup attempt in Turkey. Deception is their biggest weapon A comparative analysis of the psycho-theological resemblances between Hasan Sabbah’s and Gülen’s disciples shows that the association is quite sensible.
One of the leading resemblances is the educational practices that tend to diverge from their doctrine are strictly prohibited. Sabbah prohibited his disciples from engaging in science based on the claim that they could reach Allah only through him. And we know Gülen has prohibited his followers from reading all religious sources other than his books. One of the leading aspects the Gülen movement took over from the Assassins and Shia traditions is deception politics, which can be defined as talking or acting according to the conditions introduced by the context. Deception politics conceals its true motivations under the pretext of a lofty aim. While listening to Turkish pop singer Sezen Aksu was forbidden in their student dorms, they played English music in the lounge where guests were hosted. This mindset is full of such contradictions. With deception as a weapon, FETÖ members are raised and trained like robots who must unconditionally obey their superiors (abiler) in the organization. This keeps them away from any kind of intellectual activity or discussion. Despite this, they represent themselves as the disciples of democracy, liberal values and pluralism in the international arena.
Another common trait of all mystical organizations is the eradication of all individual qualities for the maintenance of the group, which Gülenists and Assassins share in common. For the sake of the group, Gülenists stay away from sıla-i rahim (Islamic order to maintain close ties with family and relatives). For the integrity of the group, Gülenists disregard the lives of their own and other individuals. In this way, one disciple of the Gülen movement can unconditionally accept working as a math teacher in Mozambique despite being a computer engineer. As can be seen, the only differentiating aspect between the Gülenists and Assassins is Gülen’s rhetoric and crying sessions in place of the role of hemp for Sabbah’s disciples.
Half-century-old secret organization
After the coup attempt, the number of state officials suspended from duty due to their ties with FETÖ shocked us all. However, the picture is not so surprising when it is considered that the parallel state is the outcome of an organization gradually and patiently formed over the course of half a century.
The Gülen movement regards the people outside of the organization with a Machiavellian and unhealthy point of view. For FETÖ, people fall into three categories: the first group includes the saved ones believing in Mahdi Gülen. This group has four subcategories, namely “leader,” “senior imams,” “mid-level managers,” and “lower class.”
The second group comprises people that the Gülen group could manipulate regardless of their religion, nationality, or social status. A part of these people serve the movement for their own interests, while the other part serves since they are subjected to threats and blackmails by FETÖ. And the third group includes the people whom Gülen referred to as “deceived souls.” The movement attaches no value to the third group regardless of whether they are Muslim or not.
Beginning in the 1970s, the Gülen movement started to infiltrate the state institutions. It is known that this peculiar imam, who makes dramatic gestures during his ceremonies, also has a special interest in intelligence issues. By using the weapons of precaution, deception and patience, they leaked into the state. In 1986, the infiltrations within the army were revealed when the questions of the military high-school entrance exam were stolen. During the 1990s, Gülen introduced himself as a representative of liberal Islam defending dialogue between religions. Since then Gülen’s followers aggressively set up their own cadres in public offices, particularly in security institutions. During this period, they resorted to various obnoxious methods including threat, blackmail, lies, and cheating that targeted those who were not in the movement.
Relations with the CIA
Gülen was probably noticed by the CIA, which carefully monitors social and religious movements across the world since the 1970s. In the 2000s, Gülen started to reside in the United States with the help of people with CIA connections and Gülen’s schools were given great opportunities to organize themselves and enjoyed freedoms that were not allowed to any other Islamic movement across the world. All these factors indicate that there is a direct and active cooperation between Gülen and the CIA. While organizing and forming networks within public offices, FETÖ also built its own media outlets, NGOs, private schools and finance organizations. The financial source managed by this terrorist group is estimated to have reached150 billion dollars, which corresponds to the budget of a small country. As a result, by 2013, Gülen started to see himself as the ruling power. The first crisis between Gülen and the legitimate government arose during the appointment of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) chief. Being aware of FETÖ’s rising power, President Erdoğan prevented a FETÖ-affiliated name from taking up the position. Upon that, the Gülen movement began to overtly challenge the state. This was followed by a coup attempt targeting the MIT, the Dec. 17 and 25 judicial coup attempts, the Gezi Park uprisings, and the July 15 insurrection.
When this picture is considered, it seems obvious that FETÖ has posed the biggest threat to the democratic constitutional order of the Turkish Republic so far. The dissolution of the organization, which does not value anyone but itself, is of vital importance for the future of our state and democracy.
