ISTANBUL — Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, says that a mild-mannered Muslim cleric living in self-imposed exile in rural Pennsylvania was pulling the strings of a coup attempt last week that almost succeeded in taking over the state, and killing Mr. Erdogan himself.

伊斯坦布尔——土耳其总统雷杰普·塔伊普·埃尔多安(Recep Tayyip Erdogan)说，上周未遂政变的幕后操纵者，是一位举止温和的穆斯林神职人员，目前他因自我流放，居住在宾夕法尼亚州农村。政变几乎成功地接管了政府，差点杀死了埃尔多安。

Now, Mr. Erdogan says that many thousands of Turkish citizens — soldiers, policemen, bureaucrats, teachers, judges, lawyers and many more professions — are all part of the cleric’s movement and must be punished. Tens of thousands of people have already been arrested or suspended from their jobs in the four days since the coup failed, after a night of violence that plunged the country into chaos.

埃尔多安现在说，数千名土耳其公民，包括军人、警察、政府官员、教师、法官、律师和许多其他的职业工作者，都是该神职人员运动的一部分，他们必须受到惩罚。政变发生的夜晚，暴力使土耳其陷入混乱，政变失败后的四天里，已有几万人被逮捕、或被暂时停职。

Mr. Erdogan and the cleric, Fethullah Gulen, have been adversaries in recent years, and Turkey has said before that Mr. Gulen must be extradited by the United States. Now, though, Mr. Erdogan appears determined to get him back, a matter that threatens to aggravate relations between the two NATO allies.

埃尔多安与那位名叫费特胡拉·居伦(Fethullah Gulen)的神职人员近年来一直是对手，土耳其以前曾表示，美国必须将居伦引渡回国。而现在，埃尔多安似乎已下决心要他回来，该问题将危及这两个北约盟国之间的关系，走向进一步恶化。

But who is Mr. Gulen? And is it possible he is behind such a vast conspiracy?

居伦是什么人？他有可能是如此巨大阴谋的幕后策划者吗？

James F. Jeffrey, a former American ambassador to Turkey now at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, called the organization a “cultlike” movement, and said no one really had solid information about its size and aims. But many experts on Turkey, Mr. Jeffrey included, say the followers of Mr. Gulen have sought to gain power within Turkey by infiltrating state institutions, most successfully the judiciary and the police.

前美国驻土耳其大使、现在华盛顿近东政策学院工作的詹姆斯·F·杰弗里(James F. Jeffrey)称该神职人员的组织是一个“类似邪教”的运动，并说，关于该组织大小和目的，目前尚没有人真正有可靠信息。但是，包括杰弗里在内，许多研究土耳其问题的专家说，居伦的追随者一直在寻求通过渗入国家机构，在土耳其国内获得权力，他们在司法和警察部门最为成功。

“They are a state within a state,” he said. “They have infiltrated many places.”

“他们是一个国中之国，”杰弗里说。“他们已经渗透到很多地方。”

In the past, Mr. Gulen has been embraced by American officials as a moderate Islamic leader: someone who promotes interfaith dialogue, leads a worldwide network of charities and secular schools, favors good relations with Israel and opposes harder-line Islamist movements like the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.

过去，作为一名温和派的伊斯兰领袖，居伦曾受到美国官员的欢迎：他推动不同信仰间的对话，领导着一个由慈善机构和世俗学校构成的全球网络，支持与以色列建立良好关系，反对诸如穆斯林兄弟会和哈马斯等强硬派的伊斯兰运动。

In Turkey, his supporters have long filled the ranks of the police, judiciary and, to a lesser extent, the military, something Mr. Gulen has encouraged in speeches. Having fled the country in 1999 as Turkey’s old secular elite charged him with trying to overthrow the state, he landed in the United States, where a former C.I.A. official helped him get a green card.

在土耳其国内，他的支持者进入警察和司法部门工作已有很长时间，也有人在军队工作，但人数不是那么多，居伦在演讲中鼓励支持者们这种做法。1999年，由于当时统治土耳其的世俗精英指控他试图推翻政府，他逃离了土耳其，来到美国，一名中央情报局前官员帮助他拿到了绿卡。

The darker suspicions of his movement have emerged as a central plotline in the aftermath of the failed military coup in Turkey, with Mr. Erdogan accusing him of being the mastermind of the conspiracy.

土耳其发生未遂军事政变之后，他的运动中更阴暗的可疑点已作为事件的中心情节浮出水面，埃尔多安指责他是阴谋的主谋。

Turkish officials on Tuesday, including Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, raised the pressure on the United States to hand over Mr. Gulen, promising to send dossiers of evidence of his role in the plot.

包括总理比纳利·耶伊尔德勒姆(Binali Yildirim)在内的土耳其官员周二向美国施加压力，要求把居伦送回国，并答应将其在阴谋中所起作用的证据提交给美国。

The White House said on Tuesday that it received an electronic file from Turkey on the matter, though it was unclear that it was a formal extradition request.

白宫周二表示，已经收到土耳其发来有关此事的电子文件，但目前还不清楚，那是否是正式的引渡请求。

“The Department of Justice and the Department of State will review those materials consistent with the requirements of the extradition treaty between the United States and Turkey that’s been on the books for more than 30 years now,” Josh Earnest, the White House spokesman, said.

“司法部和国务院将审查这些材料是否符合美国与土耳其之间的引渡条约要求，有关法律已经建立了30多年了，”白宫发言人乔希·欧内斯特(Josh Earnest)说。

On Tuesday, Mr. Erdogan and Mr. Obama spoke by telephone, with Mr. Obama offering help to investigate the coup, but giving no indication in a statement by the White House of a willingness to promptly send Mr. Gulen back.

周二，埃尔多安和奥巴马总统通了电话，奥巴马表示愿意为调查政变提供帮助，但在白宫发布的声明中，奥巴马没有给出愿意很快把居伦送回土耳其的任何迹象。

Mr. Yildirim said Turkey was intent on destroying the Gulen movement “by its roots.” And the government has moved quickly, raising concerns it is more interested in silencing all opposition than rooting out those behind the coup.

耶尔德勒姆说，土耳其决意“从根子上”挫败居伦的运动。政府已迅速采取行动，这让人担忧它更感兴趣的是噤声所有反对派，而不是铲除政变背后的推手。

Nearly 35,000 members of the military, police and judiciary have either been arrested or dismissed. On Tuesday, the government suspended more than 15,000 members of the Education Ministry, forced more than 1,500 university deans to resign and revoked the licenses of 21,000 private schoolteachers.

有近3.5万名军队、警察和司法部门人员已被逮捕或被开除。周二，土耳其政府暂停了教育部超过1.5万职工的工作，迫使1500多位大学的院长辞职，撤销了2.1万名私立教师的许可证。

All of them, officials said, are suspected of having some link to Mr. Gulen.

官员说，所有这些人都被怀疑与居伦有瓜葛。

The Turkish military, in a statement, blamed the “Fethullah Terrorist Organization” for the coup plot, and said the plotters had held at gunpoint the military’s chief of staff, demanding that he sign a document supporting the coup, which he refused to do.

土耳其军方在一份声明中指责“费特胡拉恐怖组织”策划了政变阴谋，并说策划者曾持枪扣押了军队的总参谋长，要求他签署一份支持政变的文件，被他拒绝了。

Mr. Gulen, a mystic preacher of the Sufi branch of Islam who lives in a secluded compound in the Poconos, in Pennsylvania, has become a central point of tension between the United States and Turkey. One Turkish official said he believed the United States played a role in the coup, an accusation Secretary of State John Kerry dismissed on Sunday as “irresponsible.” Still, in a front-page column on Tuesday, the editor in chief of a pro-government newspaper wrote, “The U.S. Tried to Assassinate Erdogan!”

居伦是伊斯兰教苏菲派分支的一名神秘的神职人员，住在宾夕法尼亚州波科诺斯一个僻静的院子里，他已经成为美国与土耳其关系紧张问题的一个焦点。一位土耳其官员说，他认为美国在政变中起了作用，国务卿约翰·克里周日驳回了这种指责，称其“不负责任”。不过，一家亲政府报纸的主编周二在头版发表的评论文章中写道，“美国试图暗杀埃尔多安！”

At the very least, the prospect of a contentious extradition process is likely to complicate relations between the allies at a time when the United States is relying on Turkey as a crucial partner in the fight against the Islamic State.

在美国打击伊斯兰国的斗争中，土耳其是其重要的伙伴，在此之际，有争议的引渡程序的前景最起码有可能让这两个盟国之间的关系复杂化。

Referring to the United States, Mr. Yildirim said, “we would be disappointed if our friends told us to present proof even though members of the assassin organization are trying to destroy an elected government under the directions of that person.” He added, “At this stage there could even be a questioning of our friendship.”

耶尔德勒姆在提到美国时说，“在那个人的指导之下，该刺客组织的成员在试图摧毁一个民选政府，如果我们的朋友还要我们拿出证明，那我们会很失望。”他补充说，“这种情况甚至让人有可能对我们的友谊产生怀疑。”

Mr. Kerry has said Turkey, as part of the extradition process, must provide evidence that withstands scrutiny in an American court — something analysts say Turkey does not have.

克里曾表示，作为引渡程序的一部分，土耳其必须提供能禁得住美国法院审查的证据，分析人士说，土耳其没有这样的证据。

On Tuesday, Mr. Gulen again denied any involvement. “Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today once again demonstrated he will go to any length necessary to solidify his power and persecute his critics,” Mr. Gulen said in a statement. “It is ridiculous, irresponsible and false to suggest I had anything to do with the horrific failed coup. I urge the U.S. government to reject any effort to abuse the extradition process to carry out political vendettas.”

周二，居伦再次否认与政变有任何牵连。“土耳其总统雷杰普·塔伊普·埃尔多安今天再次证明，他在巩固自己的权力、打压他的批评者上愿意拿出任何可能的手段，”居伦在一份声明中说。“暗示我与可怕的未遂政变有任何关系是可笑、不负责任和毫无根据的。我敦促美国政府拒绝任何滥用引渡程序进行政治报复的努力。”

Turkish officials may be certain about Mr. Gulen’s actions and motives, but the nature of his movement has long confounded analysts and diplomats in Turkey, partly because the organization is opaque and individuals do not openly declare allegiance to it.

虽然土耳其官员也许对居伦的行为和动机深信不疑，但其运动的性质一直让土耳其的分析人士和外交官员困惑，部分原因是因为这个组织不透明，其成员不公开宣布效忠该组织。

Mr. Jeffrey said it would have been hard for Gulen followers, as Islamists, to infiltrate the armed forces, which have been a stronghold of secularism in Turkey.

杰弗里表示，作为伊斯兰教徒，居伦的追随者很难渗透到武装部队中，后者是土耳其世俗主义的坚实阵地。

In diplomatic cable written in 2009, and made public by WikiLeaks, Mr. Jeffrey detailed how Mr. Gulen came to exile in the United States. He left Turkey in 1999 after being charged with plotting to overthrow the state. The charges, Mr. Jeffrey wrote, were based on a sermon Mr. Gulen had given in which he said, “our friends, who have positions in legislative and administrative bodies, should learn its details and be vigilant all the time so they can transform it and be more fruitful on behalf of Islam in order to create a nationwide restoration.”

维基解密(WikiLeaks)公开的一些2009年的外交电文详细记述了居伦流亡至美国的经过。1999年被控图谋推翻政府后，他离开土耳其。杰弗里写道，那些指控的依据是居伦举行的一场布道。他在布道时说，“我们那些在立法和行政机构中任职的朋友，应该去了解细节，并时刻保持警惕，这样才能改变它，才能代表伊斯兰教取得更多成果，以便创造一场全国范围内的复辟。”

Mr. Gulen was later acquitted, in absentia, on all charges.

后来，居伦被缺席裁决所有罪名不成立。

Mr. Erdogan and Mr. Gulen were once Islamist allies, at war with Turkey’s old secular elite. After Mr. Erdogan’s Islamist Justice and Development Party came to power more than a decade ago, they teamed up to tame the military, which overthrew four elected governments last century. A series of sensational trials, which were overseen by Gulen-affiliated judges and prosecutors and were later determined to have relied, in part, on fabricated evidence, sent hundreds of officers to prison and seemed to have secured civilian control over the military.

埃尔多安和居伦一度是伊斯兰盟友，共同对付老一辈的土耳其世俗权贵。在埃尔多安领导的正义与发展党(Justice and Development Party)十多年前掌权后，他们联袂合作，控制了军队。在上个世纪，军队推翻了四届民选政府。在居伦的嫡系法官和检察官主持下，一系列引起轰动的审判把成百上千名军人送进了监狱，似乎确保了文官对军队的控制。后来这些审判被认定在一定程度上是基于捏造的证据。

But three years ago, the two men had a bitter falling out as Mr. Gulen opposed the leader’s increasingly autocratic tendencies. Mr. Erdogan accused Mr. Gulen of orchestrating a corruption inquiry of top officials close to Mr. Erdogan, using the same prosecutors who had targeted the military.

但三年前，因为居伦反对埃尔多安越来越独裁的趋势，两人发生了激烈的争吵。埃尔多安指责居伦利用之前攻击军方的那些法官，对他手下倚重的高官展开腐败调查。

Ever since, they have been enemies, and this week the government accelerated its efforts to purge the state of anyone it believes is affiliated with Mr. Gulen, or directly involved in the coup.

自那以后，两人彼此为敌。本周，政府加紧行动，要将被认定属于居伦嫡系或直接参与了政变的官员清洗出政府。

Ibrahim Kalin, Mr. Erdogan’s spokesman, said on Tuesday that the United States should turn him over to Turkey.

埃尔多安的发言人易卜拉欣·卡林(Ibrahim Kalin)周二表示，美国应该将居伦移交给土耳其。

“Why hold him?” he said. “Send him to Turkey to let him go through the judicial process here and if he can prove that he is not guilty, then he can go back.”

“为什么留着他？”他说。“把他送回土耳其，让他走完这里的司法程序，如果能证明自己无罪，那么他可以回去。”

Turks have long suspected that Mr. Gulen was an American agent, and inflaming the conspiracy theories is the fact that Graham E. Fuller, a former C.I.A. official who was once stationed in Istanbul, wrote a letter to support Mr. Gulen’s application for a green card.

土耳其长期怀疑居伦是美国特工。曾派驻伊斯坦布尔的前中央情报局(CIA)官员格雷厄姆·E·富勒(Graham E. Fuller)写信支持居伦申请绿卡这件事，让阴谋论愈演愈烈。

Mr. Fuller, in an interview with The New York Times in 2014, said he did so on his own, not on behalf of the American government.

2014年接受《纽约时报》的采访时，富勒称那是个人行为，不代表美国政府。