Founder of “Turkish Schools” Dies

Fethullah Gülen, the leader of the “Hizmet” movement and a prominent Turkish religious and political figure, passed away at the age of 83.

According to media reports, his health had been deteriorating for the past few months, and he died on October 20, 2024, in a hospital in Pennsylvania, USA.

In Tajikistan, Fethullah Gülen is known as the founder of “Turkish schools” in the country. These educational institutions were popular among the people. However, in 2016, the Tajik authorities closed all Turkish schools and later nationalized them.

Born in 1941 in Erzurum, Turkey, Gülen began his career as an imam in Izmir. In the late 1960s, he founded the public movement “Hizmet,” which became widely spread both in Turkey and abroad.

The movement sponsored around a thousand educational centers worldwide and helped high school students in 150 countries learn the Turkish language and prepare for university entrance exams.

Previously, Gülen supported Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, but their relationship soured in 2013 when Erdoğan accused the “Hizmet” movement of creating a “state within a state.”

The exact number of Gülen’s followers is unknown. According to various estimates, the number of followers ranges from one to eight million.

The confrontation between Gülen and the Turkish authorities reached its peak after the failed coup attempt in July 2016, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people. Turkish authorities blamed Gülen and his supporters for organizing the coup, leading to mass arrests. Gülen himself denied any involvement in the coup attempt.

In May 2016, the Turkish authorities declared the movement a terrorist group.

Since 1999, Gülen had been living in the USA in voluntary exile, from where he continued to influence his followers around the world.