In Turkey, Gulen’s death marks opportunity to move on from coup attempt
Al Jazeera
Fethullah Gulen, who has died aged 83, was blamed by Turkey for being behind a 2016 coup attempt.
Istanbul, Turkey – The news that Fethullah Gulen, widely believed in Turkey to be the mastermind behind the country’s 2016 coup attempt, had died had not yet reached Omer, a taxi driver heading towards Istanbul’s Fatih district.
When he heard, Omer was shocked. “It finally happened,” he exclaimed, turning up the radio.
As word of Gulen’s death in the United States spread on a crisp autumn day, bystanders began gathering outside the Istanbul municipality building in Fatih – one of the epicentres of the violence during the coup attempt, a night widely regarded as a turning point in modern Turkish history.
They gathered near the Sarachane memorial, which honours the anti-coup protesters of July 15, 2016.
The memorial includes a depiction of protesters performing ablution – a ritual purification for Muslims – at a nearby fountain before confronting soldiers and tanks in response to a call by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
