Saudi journalist with links to king visits Erdogan rival Gulen


Date posted: August 1, 2017

A renowned Saudi journalist visited US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen at his home in Pennsylvania last week, in a show of solidarity with the man accused by Turkey of instigating the failed 15 July coup.

In a post on Instagram, publisher of the London-based Elaph news site Othman al-Omeir, who is known for having strong relations with Saudi King Salman, told his followers that he was excited to be meeting such “an influential person in the Middle East” in reference to Gulen.

Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan accuses Gulen of orchestrating 2016 July’s attempted coup, in which rogue soldiers commandeered tanks and fighter jets, bombing parliament and trying to abduct or kill Erdogan. More than 240 people were killed in the violence.

The reclusive preacher, who lives in a tiny town in the Pocono mountains of the US state of Pennsylvania, denies having any role in the putsch and said at the time that he condemned the coup “in the strongest terms”.

Following the visit, Omeir said in tweet: “I spent four hours in the home of the Turkish Islamic leader Fethullah Gulen in Pennsylvania.

“We had a very interesting discussion, here in his simple bedroom where we can see placed around him books and a copy of Quran.”

Omeir published a short video of himself and Gulen standing with the Turkish flag in the background.

Commenting on the video, Omeir said he preferred to stand next to the Turkish flag because “Gulen is not a religious leader, but an influential nationalist in Turkey.”

No details of the interview were published afterwards, however.

Social media users wondered whether Saudi Arabia was sending an implicit message to Turkey through Omeir’s visit.

Translation: Does this visit have anything to do with the weakening of ties between Turkey and Saudi Arabia?

Translation: Othman al-Omeir (known for being close to the palace) visits Gulen, the man behind the failed coup. A clear message from Salman to Turkey.

Translation: Othman al-Omeir’s visit to Gulen, a man close to the UAE, bolsters accusations that the UAE was behind the coup in Turkey.

A Turkish journalist known for his close ties to the government accused the UAE in June of channelling around $3bn to coup plotters. Mehmet Acet, the Ankara bureau chief of pro-government broadcaster Kanal 7, based his claims on remarks attributed to the Turkish foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, about six months ago at an invitation-only panel in Istanbul.

Ankara has stood in support of Qatar during the escalating Gulf crisis, rejecting Saudi demands to close a Turkish military base in the emirate.

On 5 June, Saudi Arabia and the UAE led a severing of all links with Qatar for allegedly supporting groups, including some backed by Iran, “that aim to destabilise the region”. Egypt, Bahrain and other allies followed.

Source: Middle East Eye , July 31, 2017

Tags: | | |


Related News

A women – Author, Reporter And Lawyer – Faces 15 Years In Jail For Her Tweets

An author, lawyer and journalist who made a career and a name for herself from years of working as a court reporter who chased high-profile legal cases has become a victim of Turkish government’s massive crackdown on freedom of press in Turkey.

Body of Turkish woman fleeing to Greece found weeks after boat capsized

Turkish authorities have found the body of Aslı Doğan, a Turkish woman who went missing after a refugee boat carrying eight people capsized in the river that marks the border of Turkey and Greece on Feb. 13, 2018.

Gov’t cancels Kimse Yok Mu’s previously obtained permissions

Following an abrupt Cabinet decision to remove the status of public interest of Kimse Yok Mu, the largest volunteer and global aid organization based in Turkey, the government has also cancelled the charity’s previously obtained permissions to collect donation until the end of this year.

Pathology of ‘Islamicist’ Erdogan Regime

In his hatred to the Gulen movement and to wipe out this movement, one of the most progressive educational Islamic movements that Muslim world has witnessed, the Erdogan regime has reached out to all kinds of political Islamicists throughout the Muslim world.

Turkey’s recent view from the US

The way the AK Party has proposed new laws to increase government control over judges and prosecutors and how many investigations have slowed down have raised suspicions that the government might be trying to hide corruption. The censorship of Turkish media and the recent attempts to change laws about the Internet to easily increase censorship are raising concern.

UN representative found evidence of torture in Turkish prisons

The majority of the abuse occurred during the times of arrest and interrogation, his report noted, adding that most of those who have been subjected to torture have not filed complaints “for fear of retaliation against them and their families and because of their distrust in the independence of the prosecution and the judiciary.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

U.S. schools are indirectly linked to preacher, often well-regarded

Gülen worries fake news could associate new terror attacks, assassinations in Turkey with him

Turkey’s Fading Democracy

Erdogan’s corruption defense falls flat

Ergenekon’s coup-lovers owe an apology to the Hizmet movement

Turkish schools bridge between Vietnam and Turkey

Opposition CHP to take Gül-approved dershane law to Constitutional Court

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News