The Turkish government blames Friday's attempted coup on an exiled cleric in Pennsylvania

The government of Turkish President Recip Tayyip Erdogan has pointed the finger for Friday night's failed coup attempt at Fethullah Gülen, an elderly Muslim cleric living in exile in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania.

Erdogan has long said Gülen, who leads a movement called Hizmet supported by about 10 percent of Turkey, is plotting to overthrow his country's officially secular government. Erdogan's historically Islamist AKP party has in the past provoked coups of its own.

The U.S. branch of Hizmet, the Alliance for Shared Values, issued a statement categorically denying all involvement, saying, "We have consistently denounced military interventions in domestic politics. These are core values of Hizmet participants. We condemn any military intervention in domestic politics of Turkey." Gülen himself did not comment.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up