By this time, a growing number of area residents are aware that Muhammed Fethullah Gulen, 79, a Turkish opposition leader, is living in exile in Ross Township, Monroe County. It is rare for our area to be in the midst of international intrigue.

Gulen, who has been accused by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of being the chief architect of a plot to overthrow his government in 2016, is among hundreds of civilian and military personnel who have been targeted by the Turkish government for their alleged involvement in the attempted coup.

On Nov. 26, a Turkish court sentenced hundreds of civilian and military defendants to life sentences. Turkey wants Gulen extradited to face a separate trial from the others since they view him as the instigator of the coup. Conviction at such a trial could mean a death sentence.

In a 2019 opinion piece, Gulen accused Erdogan of instituting “a vast arrest campaign based on guilt by association.”

Nearly 500 defendants were put on trial during the last three years, accused of having participated in the failed coup, which resulted in 250 deaths and thousands of injuries, according to Turkish reports. Thirty involved in the plot were killed, the reports added.

As a result of the latest actions by the Turkish government and the possibility that President Donald Trump might still be inclined to act on Turkey’s extradition requests during his last weeks in office, it is reported that there has been increased security and movement in and around the 25-acre property, about 10 miles southwest of Stroudsburg.

Erdogan has demanded numerous times that the United States extradite Gulen, who has categorically denied the allegations. “Accusations against me related to the coup attempt are baseless, politically motivated slanders,” he wrote in 2017, about a year after the botched coup attempt.

This is not the first time that Gulen has been in trouble with the Turkish power structure. During the aftermath of a previous failed coup, Gulen was arrested for organizing a clandestine religious group based on his teachings and was imprisoned for seven months.

Gulen immigrated to the United States in 1999 after the Turkish government charged him with attempting to set up an Islamic state in secular Turkey.

Gulen has lived in exile at the Golden Generation Worship and Retreat Center on Mount Eaton Road His followers view Gulen as a spiritual leader, writer and poet. Erdogan, with whom Gulen was once allied, views him as a terrorist intent on overthrowing him and the legitimate Turkish government.

Trump and his administration have insisted that Gulen is living legally in the United States under green card status. As a major ally of the United States, Erdogan’s government is pressuring Washington to return Gulen, branding him as a criminal who must stand trial for alleged war crimes.

The U.S. State Department said the Erdogan government has yet to provide compelling evidence that Gulen had a hand in the failed uprising.

There is uneasiness in Ross Township, a municipality of about 5,800 which is part of the Pleasant Valley School District - not that there have been serious incidents but on the possibility that they could happen with rising tensions.

Those who live near the retreat report that Gulen and his associates have been neighborly. They view the tight security as being logical, especially given the political implications.

According to associates, Gulen spends his time engaging in Islamic scholarship, writing and giving speeches that are broadcast to adherents to his movement. On occasion, he grants interviews to mainstream media, including National Public Radio.

Gulen has significant medical problems, according to associates, who say he is suffering from heart, diabetes and other ailments. He came to the United States for medical reasons, and, on the advice of his physician, Gulen chose this pastoral and largely secluded area of Monroe County so he can continue his teachings and outreach to followers in a mainly stress-free environment.

There have been occasional small groups of supporters or detractors who have demonstrated peacefully, according to state police at Lehighton and Monroe County Sheriff’s Office reports.

There was one incident in October 2018 when a compound security guard fired a warning shot at a fleeing intruder. Although state police responded, the intruder was never found.

The mass Turkish court convictions late last month could intensify the magnifying glass under which the Ross Township compound finds itself. This makes some nearby residents extremely nervous.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com