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"Fethullah Gülen Hocaefendi has passed away, having succumbed to a heart condition from which he had been suffering for a long time," his nephew, Kemal Gülen, said in a post on X, formerly Twitter on Friday, Oct. 18. "I am so deeply saddened by this great loss that I cannot accept condolences. May his position be high... ."
He passed away in the Saylorsburg area of the Poconos, Monroe County Coroner Thomas Yanac told us.
In 2016, Gulen was accused of being behind a failed coup against Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. Gulen denied any involvement and the US refused to extradite him to Turkey, the Washington Post reported.
In the aftermath of the coup attempt, thousands of Gulen supporters were fired from their jobs while others were jailed, according to the Post. Universities and media outlets thought to be fronts for Gulen's followers were closed.
Gulen remained a harsh critic of Erdogan, calling him a "narcissistic dictator."
He spent the last 8 years of his life in a gated compound in the Pocono Mountains where he continued to wield influence among his millions of followers in Turkey and throughout the world.
Editor's Note: A previous version of this article noted Gulen's alleged involvement in the 2016 Turkish coup attempt. After being contacted by his family this article was updated.
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