Fethullah Gulen is a Turkish Islamic religious leader in exile in the Poconos, founder of a movement called Hizmat, an Islamic offshoot, also known as Gulen.

Gulen's followers represent a large portion of Turkey's police and attorneys, at least before the latest moves of President Erdogan.

Current Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan used the Gulen movement as allies to gain power, as they both shared the goal of abolishing the existing secular character of the state.

However, once in power, Erdogan turned on Gulen, attempted to purge his followers from the police and judiciary, then used the movement as a "fifth-column" type scapegoat.

Recently, Erdogan has moved to consolidate power, taking steps that would allow him to cow the legislative and judicial branches. It appears he was trying to install himself as "President for Life."

It's very important to note that secularism in Turkey was born at the point of a bayonet. In contrast to many regional Islamic governments, Turkey's government is both secular and democratic, due to the founding father of Turkey, Kemal Ataturk. While Ataturk was a brutal dictator, he also used that power to rebuild a Turkish national identity, secularize the government, and eventually transition to democracy.

Turkey's secular and Westernized form of government facilitated its membership within NATO. NATO, an organization designed to contain Soviet influence, has been very uneasy with Erdogan heading a state that can invoke Article 5 of the collective defense pact. In particular, his recent moves of downing a Russian fighter, have made tensions rise.

While events are in flux, and precise reasons for the coup are unclear, Erdogan did announce yesterday that he was realigning himself with the government of Assad in Syria, a Russian ally, which could be seen as anti-NATO. However Turkish institutions and governance are so severely degraded that domestic reasons could be purely to blame.