SAYLORSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA — Here in northeastern Pennsylvania, where fertile farmlands yield suddenly to the hauntingly beautiful foothills of the Pocono Mountains, quietly resides one of the most influential men in Turkey.

And one of the most controversial.

Admirers describe Fethullah Gulen, 69, a soft-spoken Muslim preacher, author and teacher with a huge following, in reverential tones.

John L. Esposito, a Georgetown University professor who has studied Mr. Gulen, said that if he were to compare Mr. Gulen to another public figure it would be the Dalai Lama.

Mr. Gulen’s talk is of peace and tolerance, the strength of U.S.-Turkish relations and the importance of a free-market economy. When he says things like “There is no place for terror in true Islam,” as he did in a rare and recent interview, Western officials take heart.

more