Everything you've ever wanted to know about Fethullah Gulen, Turkey's most controversial cleric
Questions remain concerning the future of Fethullah Gulen, a minor preacher who quickly rose to become one of Erdogan's closest allies, only to fall out of favor and remain in self-imposed exile in the US.
As 2015 came to a close, the Grand Ballroom of the Conrad Hotel in Manhattan presented a diverse tableau: Around the meticulously set tables sat Muslim women wearing colorful headscarves with oriental motifs, African-American clergymen from Queens, Jewish students from a Turkish charter school and veteran New York state politicians.
The lights dimmed. Murat Omur, president of a New York-based nonprofit called Peace Islands Institute, used two giant screens to present an overview of the past year’s highlights, which included setting up hospitals and orphanages in Haiti.
As the guests enjoyed their entrees, the institute silently auctioned a Barack Obama autograph and a pair of boxing gloves. By the end of the night, the Peace Islands Institute had raised half a million dollars, Omur said.
There were brief speeches. “I admire the vision set forth by honorable Fethullah Gulen,” said Leonard Petlakh, vice president of the American Zionist Movement. “Principles and teachings of Fethullah Gulen are the antidote of fundamentalism,” said Victor Hall, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Queens.
