Gulenist-AKP Clash
Is Now in the Open
A statement by the Journalists and Writers Foundation of the Gulen movement exposes the clash with the ruling Justice and Development Party.
![Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen is pictured at his residence in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen is pictured at his residence in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania in this December 28, 2004 file photo. A rare defence from a secretive Islamic movement of its role in Turkish political life has exposed a rift with Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan that could weaken one of modern Turkey's most powerful leaders. The spell of Gulen, a 72-year-old U.S.-based Islamic preacher with a global network of schools, whose supporters say they number in the millions, has long loomed large over Turke](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2013/08/1-RTX12NLZ.jpg/1-RTX12NLZ.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=aYAUpRLx)
That there was a covert power struggle between the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party [AKP] and "The Service," a sociopolitical Islamic movement under the spiritual leadership of Turkish Sunni man of religion Fethullah Gulen is known. This struggle broke out into the open on Aug. 13 with a communiqué issued by the Gulen movement.
What makes the struggle interesting for third parties is the prowess and potentials of The Service, popularly called Cemaat [faith community], in affecting the political course of the country.