ISTANBUL, July 2 — The leader of an American-based mystic Islamic Sufi sect was arrested on Thursday in Izmir on charges of praying in a group without a permit and wearing banned religious dress in public.
Aydogan Fuat, also known as Sheik Abdul Kerim Fuat, was arrested while holding a prayer meeting for 40 followers. The police videotaped part of the session and questioned the followers before arresting Mr. Fuat. He has been held without bail pending a hearing on Tuesday. A judge is expected to decide whether Mr. Fuat should be turned over for trial in the state security court.
An official from the American consulate in Izmir, in the southwest, was not allowed today to visit Mr. Fuat, a naturalized American citizen, an assistant said.
A spokesman for the American Embassy in Ankara said privacy laws prohibited him from commenting on whether officials had been refused access to Mr. Fuat.
Mr. Fuat, 44, was born in Turkish Cyprus. He is the spiritual leader of a group with several hundred followers, mostly in New York, and he has conducted services here for many years, said Meryem Brawley, his assistant.
Sufism is a mystic tradition in Islam, dating from the eighth century and the Ottoman Empire. The best known Sufi tradition is dervishes' dancing to achieve a higher state of awareness.
Although Sufism is practiced in parts of Turkey, the state exercises strict control over religion and enforces tough laws against organizations and religious leaders considered outside the mainstream. Last week, the highest court closed the main opposition party after having accused it of being a center for Islamic activities opposed to the secular government.
Ms. Brawley said Mr. Fuat had been charged with violating a law against conducting services for a group of people without a permit and for wearing a turban and a flowing religious coat in public.