Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı, a close confidant of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and a journalist who describes himself as the president’s “spin-doctor,” revealed the government’s deliberate effort to label the faith-based Gülen movement as a terrorist organization before a failed coup in Turkey in 2016, acknowledging a coordinated media and political campaign to delegitimize the group.
Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, whose views inspired the Gülen movement, passed away in October in Pennsylvania, where he spent the last 25 years of his life in exile.
The movement he inspired was declared a terrorist organization by the Turkish government in May 2016 and accused of orchestrating the coup attempt on July 15, 2016.
The Gülen movement strongly denies both accusations.
The movement is the subject of constant scapegoating in Turkey, although many of its followers are behind bars on bogus terrorism or coup charges or had to flee abroad to avoid government persecution.
Erdoğan, who has been targeting followers of the Gülen movement since the corruption investigations of December 17-25, 2013, which implicated then-prime minister Erdoğan, his family members and his inner circle and was labelled as a “coup” by Erdoğan against his government by members of the Gülen movement in the bureaucracy and judiciary, intensified the crackdown on the movement in the aftermath of the coup attempt in 2016 that he accused Gülen of masterminding. Gülen and the movement strongly deny involvement in the abortive putsch, any terrorist activity or the corruption investigations.
Many likened Erdoğan’s post-coup crackdown to a witch-hunt.
Kütahyalı, known for his close ties to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has admitted to playing a pivotal role in framing the Gülen movement as a terrorist organization before the coup attempt took place.
Kütahyalı revealed in a recent interview with the pro-government Ensonhaber news website that he was central to the AKP’s campaign to delegitimize the Gülen movement and boasted about having coined the term “FETÖ,” a derogatory acronym used by the government for the Gülen movement.
“I was part of the team that ended FETÖ,” Kütahyalı said. “We popularized the term FETÖ in 2014. It was a deliberate effort to shape public perception and solidify the narrative that they were terrorists,” he added, crediting the AKP-aligned Sabah newspaper for amplifying the term in daily headlines.
Kütahyalı’s remarks provide rare insight into how the AKP government, along with pro-government media outlets, systematically vilified the Gülen movement to justify widespread purges and arrests that would come to pass after the failed coup. Erdoğan is accused of using the coup and the label FETÖ to suppress dissent and consolidate power to establish one-man rule in the country.
In the early 2000s the Gülen movement was supportive of the AKP’s efforts to curb military influence and implement democratic reforms. However, the relationship soured in the 2010s with Erdoğan’s increasingly authoritarian turn, and following a corruption scandal implicating Erdoğan and his inner circle in 2013, Erdoğan accused Gülen of using his sympathizers in the judiciary and the police of orchestrating the investigation, labelling it “a judicial coup.”
In the aftermath, the government reassigned thousands of police officers, prosecutors and judges suspected of Gülenist ties, arrested a number of them and initiated a media campaign labeling the movement a “parallel state structure.” This term evolved into FETÖ in late 2014, a narrative bolstered by pro-government newspapers like Sabah and Yeni Şafak and TV channels such as A Haber .
According to Kütahyalı, these efforts were not merely rhetorical.
“We didn’t just theorize — we acted,” he said, describing the AKP’s coordinated approach to dismantling the movement’s influence. Legislative measures, including the closure of Gülen-affiliated schools and seizure of businesses, were key components of the campaign.
The pro-government media played an indispensable role in demonizing the Gülen movement. Daily exposés published lists of alleged Gülen sympathizers in state institutions, often based on anonymous sources or unsubstantiated claims. State-run and private media accused the movement of espionage, illegal wiretapping and even global conspiracies.
Kütahyalı is often accused by opposition supporters due to his role in curbing military influence and praising Gülen movement in the early 2000s of being a “FETÖ” member.
In his interview, Kütahyalı compared his critics who accused him of being a “FETÖ” member to people using an iPhone while criticizing Steve Jobs. “Every time you use the term FETÖ, you are actually serving Erdoğan and the AKP,” he said, illustrating the government’s success in embedding its narrative into the political lexicon.
This narrative has been so pervasive that even opposition figures have adopted the term. Özgür Özel, the leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), as well as jailed Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş and others have invoked the label “FETÖ” to discredit rivals, aligning themselves with government rhetoric to emphasize their own political legitimacy.
The Turkish government’s campaign against the Gülen movement has faced international scrutiny. While Ankara has pressured countries to close Gülen-affiliated schools and extradite movement members, many nations, including the United States, have resisted such demands. The movement, with its network of schools and institutions abroad, is often viewed as peaceful, with civic initiatives focused on education and humanitarian relief.
Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have criticized the Turkish government for using the “FETÖ” label to justify mass purges and widespread human rights abuses.
Turkey’s crackdown intensified after the 2016 coup attempt, with Erdoğan declaring a state of emergency that allowed the government to purge public institutions, shut down media outlets and arrest dissidents. Tens of thousands of people have been imprisoned on allegations of Gülenist ties, often without credible evidence.
The hysteria surrounding the Gülen movement has since permeated all levels of Turkish society.
From high-profile murders to government’s failure respond in the case of natural disasters like the major earthquakes of February 2023 that killed 50,000 people, the movement is frequently scapegoated. Pro-government commentators have even suggested Gülenist involvement in international incidents, such as a helicopter crash that killed the Iranian president or an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, who won the 2024 US presidential race, during his campaign.
Critics argue this pervasive blame culture has stifled dissent and created a climate of fear.