--- description: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to extradite a Muslim cleric accused of attempting to topple his government from the United States title: Turkey Wants To Extradite Muslim Cleric From U.S. image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f2b2fe27858265e/69868cf1169ab0554b2790b9/459767591.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Turkish PM Wants To Extradite Muslim Cleric From The U.S. by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 29, 2014 11:55 AM CUT  A Turkish protester (L) holds up a banner with pictures of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) and the United States-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen (R) during a demonstration against goverment on December 30, 2013 in Istanbul. A Turkish protester (L) holds up a banner with pictures of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) and the United States-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen (R) during a demonstration against goverment on December 30, 2013 in Istanbul.Ozan Kose—AFP/Getty Images by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 29, 2014 11:55 AM CUT Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants the United States to[ deport ](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/29/us-turkey-erdogan-idUSBREA3S0A120140429 "undefined")an influential, Turkish cleric for allegedly attempting to topple his government. Islamic cleric[ Fethullah Gulen](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27203125 "undefined"), 74, was once Erdogan’s ally, but went into self-imposed exile in 1997 after rising accusations from the secular government of creating dissent in the state. Ergodan accused Gulen of trying to build a [“parallel state”](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-29/erdogan-calls-on-u-s-to-deport-cleric-behind-coup-bid.html "undefined") in Turkey from America. Ergodan has been battling a[ bribery and corruption scandal](http://www.newrepublic.com/article/116044/fethullah-gulen-turkish-prime-minister-erdogans-biggest-rival "undefined") in Turkey since December, for which he has blamed the cleric and his Hizmet, or “Service” movement. Gulen has denied claims he wire-tapped Turkish officials and engineered the graft probe that has ensnared the Prime Minister’s government. “These elements which threaten the national security of Turkey cannot be allowed to exist in other countries because what they do to us here, they might do against their host,” Erdogan[ told](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/29/us-turkey-erdogan-idUSBREA3S0A120140429 "undefined") PBS talk show host Charlie Rose in a Monday night broadcast. He told Turkish reporters that the extradition process will begin soon. \[[Bloomberg](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-29/erdogan-calls-on-u-s-to-deport-cleric-behind-coup-bid.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/80712/turkey-extradite-cleric-fethullah-gulen/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/80712/turkey-extradite-cleric-fethullah-gulen/"},"headline":"Turkish PM Wants To Extradite Muslim Cleric From The U.S.","datePublished":"2014-04-29T11:55:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:33:02.030Z","description":"Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan claims Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen is attempting to topple his government from within the United States","url":"https://time.com/80712/turkey-extradite-cleric-fethullah-gulen/","keywords":["Pennsylvania","Turkey","World","Extradition"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f2b2fe27858265e/69868cf1169ab0554b2790b9/459767591.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laura Stampler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f2b2fe27858265e/69868cf1169ab0554b2790b9/459767591.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TURKEY-POLITICS-CORRUPTION-DEMONSTRATION","caption":"TURKEY-POLITICS-CORRUPTION-DEMONSTRATION","creditText":"Ozan Kose—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/80712/turkey-extradite-cleric-fethullah-gulen/","name":"Turkish PM Wants To Extradite Muslim Cleric From The U.S."}}]}] ```