AUGUSTA, N.J. (AP) 鈥 A crowd surged forward to Fethullah G眉len鈥檚 grave on Thursday, straining to get one more chance to pay their respects to the influential Turkish spiritual leader and Islamic scholar who died this week in self-exile in the United States.
After an outdoor service in New Jersey that drew thousands of people, G眉len was buried on the grounds of the Chestnut Retreat Center, a sprawling, gated compound in Pennsylvania鈥檚 Pocono Mountains where he lived and worked for a quarter-century.
G眉len, who inspired a global social movement while facing unproven allegations that he orchestrated a against Turkey's president, died Sunday at a Pennsylvania hospital. He was in his 80s.
He was remembered Thursday as a religious leader who encouraged his followers to devote themselves to God and to charitable good works.
鈥淲e all feel like we鈥檝e lost a father,鈥 Usame Tunagar, a longtime associate, told mourners. 鈥淲e all feel like as if we are orphaned. There is right now a huge void in our lives.鈥
But Tunagar said G眉len will live on through his books and sermons, and through the thousands of schools and other institutions worldwide started by his followers.
鈥淲hat is alive is his legacy,鈥 he said.
Under a heavy police presence, family, friends and followers filled a small stadium in northern New Jersey for a prayer service, which was conducted largely in Turkish, with Islamic prayers and readings in Arabic from the Quran.
Followers who served as pallbearers either studied under G眉len directly or attended a school inspired by his movement. They walked into the stadium carrying his the casket, which was draped in a green-and-gold covering inscribed with verses from the Muslim holy book.
Organizers said a brother and a sister were in attendance. Another brother is imprisoned in Turkey.
No memorial services are expected to take place in Turkey, as publicly mourning, glorifying or otherwise sympathizing with G眉len there may lead to imprisonment on charges of promoting and supporting terrorism.
After the service in New Jersey, hundreds gathered at G眉len's burial in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, on the grounds of the Islamic retreat center. The crowd squeezed into a tight perimeter around the burial site, with mourners pressing in to grab a handful of dirt to throw into the grave.
Mina Turkyolu, a 22-year-old grand-niece of G眉len whose father was a close associate of the religious leader for 50 years, said she remembers G眉len as having a 鈥渨arm and big heart." She said she remembers sitting on his lap as a small child and G眉len giving her chocolate. But she said she was always mindful of his position.
鈥淓ven though we are family, anyone you would ask, he's never really been considered as family. He鈥檚 always been more of a holy and noble person that you've always looked up to. So he's always been an inspiration for all of us, for millions of people,鈥 she said.
G眉len had long been one of Turkey鈥檚 most important scholars, with legions of followers in his native country and around the world. He had lived in the United States since 1999, when he came to seek medical treatment.
His philosophy blended Sufism 鈥 a mystical form of Islam 鈥 with staunch advocacy of democracy, education, science and interfaith dialogue. His acolytes built a loosely affiliated global network of charitable foundations, professional associations, businesses and schools in more than 100 countries, including 150 taxpayer-funded charter schools throughout the United States.
The religious leader began as an ally of but became a foe. He called Erdogan an authoritarian bent on accumulating power and crushing dissent. Erdogan cast G眉len as a terrorist, accusing him of masterminding the attempted coup on July 15, 2016, when factions within the military used tanks, warplanes and helicopters to try to overthrow the government.
A total of 251 people were killed and around 2,200 others were wounded. Around 35 alleged coup plotters were killed.
Shortly after the coup attempt, the normally reclusive cleric summoned reporters to his living quarters at the Pennsylvania compound to in its planning. He said he wouldn鈥檛 have returned to Turkey even if the coup had succeeded, fearing he would be 鈥減ersecuted and harassed.鈥
鈥淭his is a tranquil and clean place and I enjoy and I live my freedom here,鈥 G眉len said of the secluded Islamic retreat, founded by Turkish Americans, that he adopted as his home and where he would be buried eight years later. 鈥淟onging for my homeland burns in my heart, but freedom is also equally important.鈥
In Turkey, G眉len鈥檚 movement 鈥 sometimes known as Hizmet, Turkish for 鈥渟ervice鈥 鈥 has been . The government arrested tens of thousands of people for their alleged link to the coup plot, sacked more than 130,000 suspected supporters from civil service jobs and more than 23,000 from the military, and closed hundreds of businesses, schools and media organizations tied to G眉len.
The Turkish government reacted to his death this week by on the G眉lenist movement. Erdogan said G眉len had suffered a 鈥渄ishonorable death鈥 and likened him to a 鈥渄emon in human form.鈥 He pledged the movement would be 鈥渃ompletely eliminated.鈥
G眉len was never charged with a crime in the U.S., and the U.S. government had rejected Turkey鈥檚 demands to extradite him. The cleric consistently denounced terrorism as well as the coup plotters.
Mustafa Yilmaz, 46, taught chemistry at G眉len-affiliated schools abroad and in Turkey until 2016, when he fled his home country amid Erdogan鈥檚 crackdown and was granted asylum in Canada.
Yilmaz, who lives in Toronto, traveled to New Jersey for G眉len's funeral. He called it an 鈥渋mportant task for me to be here.鈥
鈥淲e're always going to follow what he left us,鈥 Yilmaz said.
