The Gülenist Terrorist Group (FETÖ) was already engaged in infighting before the reported death of its leader, Fetullah Gülen, on Sunday. His death will likely trigger a race for leadership of the group, which still has a significant following abroad despite repeated operations against terrorist suspects in Türkiye.
The rift between the group’s members has been exposed on social media by Gülen’s followers, who blamed two close names to Gülen, Mustafa Özcan and Cevdet Türkyolu, for "controlling" the frail ringleader.
A streaming interview with Ebuseleme Gülen, a nephew of Gülen, which was released in June on social media, made waves among members of the group.
The younger Gülen, one of many nephews and nieces of the terrorist leader, recently emerged as a "dissident" figure in the group, accusing the older Gülen’s close circle of attempts to kill him. His latest "interview" with a FETÖ member on the run like himself laid bare to dissent.
Önder Aytaç, an influential figure in the group who fled Türkiye in 2014 and settled in the United States, a destination for many fugitive members of the group, appeared to endorse Ebuseleme Gülen’s statements and criticized Kudret Ünal, the personal doctor of Gülen, as well as Emre Uslu, another fugitive FETÖ member for their support to the leader’s close circle.
Gülen's nephew has claimed that Cevdet Türkyolu, one of the co-leaders of FETÖ, stole funds the group’s members sent for activities of the terrorist group and "made himself rich." He said Türkyolu was expelled a few times from the Pennsylvania compound and came back every time, convincing the group’s leadership of his innocence. He said Mustafa Özcan, another top FETÖ figure, was also involved in plots of Türkyolu. Earlier, he claimed that they tried to "smuggle" Gülen out of the compound to sever ties with Gülen’s followers, who criticized their conspiracy.
Aytaç faced insults online following his comments but did not step back and slammed Ekrem Dumanlı, another fugitive member of the group he accused of heading the "online team of evil."
Barbaros Kocakurt, one of the names accused by Ebuseleme Gülen, has made his first appearance online, denying the latter’s claims, while other influential names in the group lined up online, releasing similar videos and statements. A website operated by the terrorist group also released a photo of Gülen against rumors of his death in June.
Mustafa Özcan, who met Gülen in the 1970s in Izmir, where he also worked at a religious institution, quickly rose in the ranks of the terrorist group and is viewed as a top lieutenant of Gülen in Türkiye. He is part of what the media dubbed the "Dark Council" of FETÖ, comprised of potential names to succeed Gülen in case of his death. In 1992, he settled in Istanbul and served as "imam" or main handler of terrorist group members in this most populated city of Türkiye. In the following years, he ran the group’s network in Turkish Air Forces and the Balkan countries. In 2003, he was appointed as "Türkiye imam" of the group, essentially becoming the ringleader of FETÖ in the country, some four years after Fetullah Gülen permanently left for the United States. In 2006, he was appointed as CEO of Kaynak, a major business conglomerate that provided the main finances to fund terrorist group’s activities. He was also the mastermind of major conspiracies by FETÖ, including the notorious "Dec. 17-25 coup attempt," which involved FETÖ-linked police chiefs and judiciary seeking to topple the government under the guise of a graft probe. A main indictment against FETÖ prepared after the 2013 coup attempt named him as number two of the group. Özcan fled Türkiye amid investigations and settled in the U.S. with Gülen. Like Gülen, he is on the most wanted list of Türkiye’s Interior Ministry.
Cevdet Türkyolu, married to a niece of Fetullah Gülen, has served as private secretary of Gülen in Pennsylvania, handling his daily affairs and visits by followers. Türkyolu also served as Gülen’s "coffer," according to Turkish media reports, and controlled a fortune of millions of dollars. He also amassed a fortune in Türkiye, where he owned 39 properties in four cities. Like Özcan, Türkyolu was among the executives of the now-defunct Kaynak and is among the wanted figures of the terrorist group.
Security sources say panic is in the air amid upper echelons of the terrorist group following Gülen’s death. A heated debate was already underway on whether to announce his death.
Sources said Gülen has been seriously ill for a long time and lost his sanity. Türkyolu is accused of feeding him medication to keep up appearances and releasing videos of Gülen recorded a long time ago to trick his followers into believing that he was still in good health and thus, kept the flow of aid to the group. Türkyolu was also behind Gülen’s first relocation from the retreat he stayed in for years, to the residence of Türkyolu’s son-in-law. Sources say members of the terrorist group were now at odds over the burial of Gülen and who would attend the funeral. Türkyolu reportedly seeks an immediate burial, while others expect a proper funeral for Gülen with the participation of the group’s members in Europe. Türkyolu also reportedly plans to hijack the body and bury him. Gülen's body is currently being kept at a morgue at St. Luke's Hospital in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, sources said.
According to the security sources, most members of the group seek to elevate Gülen’s status posthumously and hide his burial plot, to give him an air of myth.
The group is also divided upon a wealth of Gülen or rather, funds they amassed through donations. Again, Türkyolu may face attempts to cut off his power within the group due to his unchecked fortune obtained through donations to FETÖ. Other senior members seek a share in control of the fortune. Abdullah Aymaz, who heads FETÖ’s network in Europe, is among those seeking to erode the influence of Türkyolu and Özcan within the group. Sources say he even threatened to establish a new FETÖ independent of those in the United States in Europe. According to the sources, current infighting in the group can even lead to assassinations. Aymaz counts among his supporters prominent figures of the group, including Mustafa Yeşil, Ali Ursavaş, Barbaros Kocakurt, Talip Büyük, Bilal Karaduman and Ismail Cingöz. Among Türkyolu and Özcan’s supporters are Ekrem Dumanlı, Adem Kalaç, İsmet Aksoy, Naci Tosun and Muhammed Çetin.