Istanbul: Sociologists have revealed how the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) operated for decades under the guise of a religious community and a 'service movement,' while secretly infiltrating Trkiye's institutions. They created a closed social structure based on obedience, secrecy, and loyalty to its leader.
According to Anadolu Agency, experts, speaking ahead of the 10th anniversary of the July 15, 2016 coup attempt, explained that FETO used religious language, schools, dormitories, and private tutoring centers to recruit young people. This strategy helped them gain the trust of conservative families and place loyal members in key positions within the state.
Professor Mahmut Hakki Akin, head of the Department of Sociology at Istanbul Medeniyet University, emphasized that while religious communities have historically educated their members, FETO used religion as a tool for political, bureaucratic, and economic gains. Akin described the organization as a non-transparent, Masonic-style mafia organization.
Members of FETO used code names and often remained unknown to one another, even if they worked in the same institution. The organization targeted educated, intelligent, and ambitious young people to place them in influential positions within the military, police, judiciary, and bureaucracy.
FETO-linked dormitories and tutoring centers played a significant role in the organization's recruitment strategy. Families, believing these institutions to be safe religious environments, sent their children there. However, the organization used them to identify, recruit, and control young people. Akin noted that FETO's ultimate objective was to control the Turkish state, describing the July 15 coup attempt as both a seizure of power and an attempt to bring Trkiye under foreign control.
Professor Ergun Yildirim of Yalova University noted that FETO emerged during a period of rapid modernization and urbanization, which weakened traditional connections. The organization transformed the need for belonging into absolute obedience, creating a parallel society. This closed structure isolated members from wider Turkish society and significantly undermined public trust in religious communities.
Sociologist and historian Ismail Oz explained that FETO differed fundamentally from traditional religious communities. It used religious appearances to conceal a secretive and highly organized structure. Guided by US intelligence organizations, it used an esoteric language and a cellular organizational model to infiltrate state institutions.
The organization's true nature became visible during the July 15 coup attempt. Oz compared FETO to a disease growing inside the state, attempting to steal both the state and its historical legacy. The experts agreed that FETO has been significantly weakened, but emphasized that the danger cannot be addressed only by removing members from state institutions.