Gulen Schools Worldwide

Gulen Schools Worldwide
Restore the Ottoman Caliphate. Disclaimer: if some videos are down this is the result of Gulen censorship which filed a fake copyright infringement to UTUBE.

Monday, January 31, 2011

Gulen Schools Worldwide- Russia, Netherlands and Central Asia Gulen not wanted

Ex-FBI Turkish Translator has quite a lot to say about the Gulen Movement operation worldwide
Sibel Edmonds' Boiling Frogs
"It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds"
- Samuel Adams

Turkish Intel Chief Exposes CIA Operations via Islamic Group in Central Asia

 ...an incomplete story regarding a recently published memoir by former Turkish Intelligence Chief Osman Nuri Gundes. Here is the title of his post: Islamic group is CIA front, ex-Turkish Intel chief says.
In his memoir Gundes claims that Fethullah Gulen’s worldwide Islamic movement based in Pennsylvania has been providing cover for the CIA since the mid-1990s, and that in the 90s, the movement “sheltered 130 CIA agents” at its schools in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan alone.
. The only background provided on Gulen is the following with only one link which takes you to Gulen’s marketing site:
…an influential former Turkish imam by the name of Fethullah Gulen, has 600 schools and 4 million followers around the world.
There is no mention of Gulen’s decade-long ‘wanted’ status in Turkey (until recently), no mention of the ban on Gulen and his Madrasas in several Central Asian countries, no mention of various investigations of Gulen by other western countries, no mention of the unknown sources of his billions of dollars…As we all know except for a very few, and by that I mean a number in 100s if that, no one in this country has ever heard of this guy with his billions, with his castle in Pennsylvania, his hundreds of Madrasas, now hundreds of US charter schools, his dubious businesses….Yet, for an article as serious as this (Madrasas and mosques as CIA operation centers in Central Asia), the central figure in the story has been given one sentence; no history, no relevant facts…here,  here, here, and here,
In 1999 Gulen defected to the US shortly before his scandalous speech, where he is heard calling on his supporters to “work patiently and to creep silently into the institutions in order to seize power in the state”, became public. Turkish prosecutors demanded a ten-year sentence for Gülen for having “founded an organization that sought to destroy the secular apparatus of state and establish a theocratic state”. Mr. Gulen has not left the United States since. -The Netherlands has taken major steps to cut funding to all Gülen associated organizations and is investigating his operations. The Turkish Fethullah Gülen movement is really an Islamic fundamentalist group, claims Rotterdam council member Anita Fähmel (Leefbaar Rotterdam) on the basis of her own study of the Turkish movement.
-The Russian government has banned all Gülen schools and the activities of the Nur sect in Russia. Over 20 Turkish followers of Gulen were deported from Russia in 2002-2004.-In 1999 Uzbekistan closed all Gulen’s Madrasas and shortly afterward arrested eight journalists who were graduates of Gulen schools, and found them guilty of setting up an illegal religious group and of involvement in an extremist organization.-In Turkmenistan, government authorities have placed Gulen’s schools under close scrutiny and have ordered them to scrap the history of religion from curriculums.
Graham Fuller, a former CIA station chief in Kabul and author of “The Future of Political Islam,” threw cold water on Gundes’s allegations about Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
Jeff Stein very gently confronts Fuller with the fact that according to the memoir and related media coverage Gulen obtained his US residence permit with his (Fuller’s) help, and Fuller denies it and says that’s ‘wrong,’:
“What I did do,” Fuller explained, “was write a letter to the FBI in early 2006 …at a time when Gulen’s enemies were pressing for his extradition to Turkey from the U.S. In the post 9/11 environment, they began spreading the word that he was a dangerous radical. In my statement to the FBI I offered my views…that I did not believe he posed a security threat of any kind to the U.S. I still believe that today, as do a large body of scholars on contemporary Islam.”   Blogger's notes:  The Gulen Institute and Rumi Forum both promote Graham Fuller's books including his new book "A world without Islam"
First of all, there have been tens if not hundreds of articles establishing Graham Fuller as one of Gulen’s official references to the court for his residency, you can view some of these here, here, here. This quote comes from Foreign Policy Journal:
Fethullah Gulen became a green card holder despite serious opposition from FBI and from Homeland Security Department. Former CIA officers (formally and informally) such as Graham Fuller and Morton Abromovitz were some of the prominent references in Gulen’s green card application.
Graham Fuller is my own on-the-record, more accurately, on-the-album, naming of individuals implicated (criminally) in my case, thus protected via invocation of the State Secrets Privilege:
Mike Says:

According to the source below, included in these Bosnian and Central Asian Islamic fighters were eleven or more of the alleged 9/11 hijackers. And if “elements in the US Government” supported these fighters for some agenda, this seems a lot closer to 9/11 than the 80s in Afghanistan. With regard to what the agenda might have been for these “elements” for the NATO Bosnian war, where these fighters fought the same enemies of NATO, was an interview with Prof. Chomsky who says that the justification for this war to “stop a genocide” was wrong, the genocides pointed to by his reading of the media at the time started after the NATO bombing. The real reason for this war in his opinion is that Serbia “was the last corner of Europe which has not subordinated itself to the US-run neoliberal programs, so it had to be eliminated.” A definite alternate agenda seems likely if he is right about the genocide starting after the bombings even if his opinion on the reasoning for the war is wrong.
http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=a96hijackerschechnya#a96hijackerschechnya
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEhgwdJldeU

Gulen Schools WorldwideAnti-riot police clash with students in Ankara euronews, no comment.flv


Far from perfect educational system in Turkey.
This video is from a demonstration of "Kolektifler", which means "collectives" in Turkish. They were exposed to police violence on the same day in İstanbul and Ankara. This is their webpage; unfortunately just in Turkish.
Let me provide some brief information about this group. Kolektifler is the most active student group in Turkey nowadays. It is a type of framework organisation. Students from different parties/organs (or just independent students) are getting organised under this group. Their agenda generally focuses on university problems; but they are also reacting to topics related to general politics. The issues in the videos, for example, are directly related to the Turkish president and his party's policies.
You may heard of the "egg-act" happened few weeks ago. They threw eggs at some parliamentarians and ministers. Those actions made them more visible. In this context, Kolektifler is doing an important job. They are provoking the debate on university problems. The students' problems and their reactions had not been present on the public agenda for a long time. Now, especially after the egg-acts, problems and demonstrations are more visible.
Though the positive comments above, it is hard to say that the student movement in Turkey is up-rising. As I said, their representation steps up, but quantitative participation is not enough yet. In other words, not the movements or actions but public opinion against the government may be up-rising. So, we don't know what's going to happen then. Neo-liberal governmental policies are being applied to all areas including the education system. Meanwhile, reactions are emerging slowly. To sum up, it deserves to be follow.
Lastly, I don't think the student movements in Turkey can be compared with the rebellions in the middle-east (e.g. Tunisia and Egypt). We are so far from this point.

P.S.  By the way, I should highlight that Kolektifler is not the only group in action, of course. Just in this case here it is related to them.

Gulen Schools Worldwide-Is an evening of Noah's Pudding or Ashure in your future?


"if you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding"  from another brick in the wall-Pink Floyd

As previously reported here and in the Turkish Newspaper Hurriyet (a non-Gulen controlled media)  members of Hizmet (Gulen Movement) frequently make Noah's Pudding and deliver to local FBI offices or the local Gulen Foundation's Ashure Evening.  There are even cooking classes to teach you how to make this dessert.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=a-global-community-2010-12-07

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Gulen Discussed at German Symposium.flv

Gulen Schools Turkish Olympiads Kambocya (Cambodia) - Zaman International School



This young girl from Gulen's school in Cambodia (Kambocya) is shown participating in Gulen's worldwide Turkish Olympiad singing in Turkish. The School is called Zaman International School (same name as Gulen's Today's Zaman Media)  and is state of the art equipment and building.  The paper below was written about the Gulen Movement in Cambodia by a Gulen member from the UK.  This is another private school started by Turkish Businessmen, never saw so many Turkish Businessmen opening schools OUTSIDE of Turkey.
Gulen keeps up the Dog and Pony Show as the world educates themselves on the agenda of the Gulen Movement.
Excerpt:
The only Cambodian non-religious and non-discriminatory educational facility operated
from a Muslim country is Phnom Penh’s Zaman International School. It was founded in 1997
and is associated with the Fethullah Gülen movement. Classes are taught in both Khmer
and English. Its kindergarten, primary and high schools are attended by Khmers, resident
foreigners and a few Chams. For them, apart from the high standard provided by the school,
its explicit agenda of instruction on an inter-racial and inter-religious basis, coupled with its
prestige as an institution operated from Muslim lands, serves to make the school a valuable
alternative to both secular private schools and Islamic schools.
This paper raises and discusses the interesting question of the applicability of Gülen’s thought
on education and inter-faith relations to the periphery of Southeast Asian Islam.
Introduction
Fethullah Gülen is a former Turkish state imam, who has risen to become Turkey’s most
famous Islamic intellectual. He is by now widely known as a elaborate supporter of inter-religious
dialogue, pluralism, tolerance and democracy1. Most important for the present study,
the probably most striking aspect of his thought is the conviction, that acquiring and transmitting
secular knowledge, as well as supplying people with the means to do so, is in perfect
accordance with and in fact demanded by Islamic ideals2. Gülen’s thought has attracted a
considerable following, which has grown into a whole Gülen-inspired movement with an
education network as its basis (Yavuz & Esposito 2003; Agai 2004). Starting out by establishing
schools and student hostels in Turkey, the movement has since the early 1990s founded
Turkish secular schools in many countries in Europe, Asia, America, Africa and Australia3.
While taking into account, that Phnom Penh is not a potential inter-religious powder keg as
is Zamboanga on Mindanao, which houses the Gülen network’s “Turkish-Philippine School
of Tolerance” (Michel 2003, 70), it is important to view the movement’s agenda of education
and ethics across religious and ethnic boundaries in the contemporary Cambodian context, to
assess its possible contribution to both the Khmers’ and the Chams’ plight in a country which
still has to recover from the repercussions of Khmer Rouges rule from 1975-1979. This is
even more so, if one considers, that a prime field of the movement’s activities are countries
under former communist rule like the Central Asian republics and Albania (Agai 2004, 272-
280; Turam 2003, 184-207, Agai 2003, 66-68). Although, as far as Central Asia is concerned,
common Turkic-ness plays a major role in describing the motivations of both Gülen himself
and of his movement’s activists there (Agai 2004, 224-229; Turam 2003, 188-202), it is
nevertheless often stated, that “the moral vacuum left by communism” (Again 2004, 344) is
something to be confronted by the movement’s efforts in the field of education. Moreover,
Gülen’s thought on living in non-Muslim lands (Yılmaz 2003, 234-237) should, in the face
of worldwide Islamic resurgence, be valuable for all Muslim minorities and immigrant communities
around the globe.
In this paper, I am arguing, that the thought of Fethullah Gülen is valuable for the Cambodian
Chams in several aspects, including their coexistence with the Buddhist Khmer majority,
intra-community harmony, and their quests for both empowerment and identity preservation
through education. The latter factor is practically and exemplarily related to the Zaman
International School in Phnom Penh.
The Zaman International School of Phnom Penh and the Gülen
Network
The private Zaman International School was founded in 1997 by the Turkish journalist Attila
Yusuf Guleker. With over 700 hundred students enrolled, it is educating more boys and girls
than similar Phnom Penh private schools like the International School of Phnom Penh or
Northbridge International School.
It has already been stressed that, due to the instrumental role played by followers of Fethullah Gülen in the recent spread of Turkish private schools around the globe19, such institutions are, albeit officially classified merely as “private institutions”, automatically associated with
the Gülen network by the Turkish state and public, and especially by the network’s activists
(Agai 2004, 13 n.8)
State of the art Zaman International School in Cambodia
If this is not a Turkish Islamic School why is the Turkish Flag
on the building next to the Cambodian Flag?\

Gulen Movement if you are reading what gives you the right to put the Turkish flag in other countries?  You embarass and shame us all by this act of aggression.  

Gulen Schools Worldwide- Philippines 3 Gulen Turkish Schools



The Gulen Movement began to surface in the Philippines in 1997, today it is reported that there are 3 Turkish Gulen Schools by Ambassador Chan who as you can see from the November 2010 article wants more Filipino Consulates in Turkey.   One school is called Turkish Tolerance School, the school featured in the above video is called Fountain International School, ironically named after Gulen's Publishing Company - Fountain Publishing.
It is the same story, country after country.  "Turkish businessmen see a need for a Science, Math and Technology school and open it"  "surrounding the school with Turkish culture clubs, interfaith dialog and a host of local dinners and awards to bribe local politicians, academia and media.
This first article is from Fethullah Gulen's web site boasting how the children sing and dance in Turkish.  Same song different country. 
From Fethullah Gulen’s own Web Site
Sept. 2006
A new Turkish school in the Philippine capital of Manila officially began classes yesterday.
The first Turkish school in the Philippines opened in 1997, and such schools continue to flourish, as demonstrated by the opening of the Fountain International School's Santolan branch yesterday.
Several local and foreign statesmen, journalists, writers, businessmen and teachers joined the school's inauguration ceremony, where Turkish Deputy Speaker Ismail Alptekin expressed his pride in international Turkish schools. He said graduates of these schools would always be a part of Turkey. (Gee what about part of the Philippines?)
Speaking of the need for peace in the world, Alptekin said that Turkey would do its best in to help end the clashes in the Middle East.
Philippines Minister of Education Jesli A. Lapus, speaking at the ceremony, said they were overjoyed with the level of education provided by these institutions and the opportunities for growth they provided for the countries' youth.
As part of the opening celebrations, students gave a performance of Turkish songs and folk dances that were warmly appreciated by audience, in particular by the Turkish delegation. The guests were most moved by the student's perfect rendition of Turkish singer Kirac's song, "Karahisar Castle."
Turkish guests and Philippine authorities took a tour of the school following the performance.
Philippine Minister Lapus compared the 60-student classrooms of local schools to the 16-person classroom system at the Turkish school, underscoring the importance of smaller classes for a higher quality of education. (By Abdullah Marasli, Manila)

PHILIPPINES WANTS TO OPEN HONORARY CONSULATES IN TURKEY – NOVEMBER 2010 - AT LEAST 3 TURKISH SCHOOLS IN PHILIPPINES
Philippines' Ambassador to Turkey Pedro Chan visited Samsun's Governor Huseyin Aksoy on Friday.
Philippines' Ambassador to Turkey Pedro Chan said that his country wanted to open honorary consulates in Turkey's northern province of Samsun and northwestern province of Bursa.
Chan visited Samsun's Governor Huseyin Aksoy on Friday.
Noting that they wanted to further develop the trade between Philippines and Turkey, Chan said that his country already had honorary consulates in Istanbul, western province of Izmir and southern province of Mersin, and they would open another one in southeastern province of Gaziantep next month.
Chan also recalled that Turkish Airlines (THY) and Philippines Airlines signed an agreement, adding that there would be more flights between the two countries.
Chan added that there were three Turkish schools in Philippines.


Saturday, January 29, 2011

Gulen School in Switzerland. Brewing up some Hot Chocolate.

Studying for Integration: Gülen School in Switzerland
See full-text article(s):NZZ (German)
The Fethullah Gülen movement has been growing in influence across the world, and that
includes Switzerland. The Sera School, opened in August 2009, was portrayed only a
few months later by the magazine Beobachter as a questionable organization linked to
Gülen’s network, which was promoting the creation of a parallel society in Switzerland.
The Sera School does not deny that they are inspired by the Gülen movement, but say that
Gülen stands for a tolerant, cosmopolitan form of Islam, where the emphasis is put on education.
Integration is an important goal of the school, which prohibits the use of Turkish on school
grounds, despite the fact that most teachers and students are of Turkish background. The school
principal, Suat Özdemir, states that the aim of the Sera School is not to replace the public
school system, but rather to help address the particular problems that children from migratory
backgrounds might face. At the same time, the school maintains close contact with the parents,

UPDATE ANOTHER ARTICLE IN SWITZERLAND REGARDING THE GULEN MOVEMENT

Gulen Movement: A network of conservatives
Beobachter ("The Observer"), weekly Swiss magazine, Issue of Oct 22-29, 2009
by Peter John Meier and Gian Signorell           Click here to view original article.


They propagate a conservative Islam under the catchword "dialog”: The Gulen movement has arrived in Switzerland.

Dialog is their key word; their hub in Switzerland is the Dialog-Institut in Zurich. Here a group of Muslim politicians, media professionals, academics and representatives of other religious communities meet. For lectures and so-called interfaith exchanges of ideas. Emphasizing connections instead of looking for divisiveness: the golden way in a multi-religious society? The media reports favorably on this institute. Individual speakers even leave it in a euphoric state: for example, after a presentation, the head of the Zurich police, Esther Maurer, encouraged her policemen to celebrate Ramadan once. The call will be heeded to some extent. The Zurich Director of Justice, Markus Notter, is scheduled for November 5.

Research of observers shows that behind the Institute and other facilities is a controversial Islamic movement: the network of Fethullah Gulen, which spans from Turkey across the world.  The charismatic preacher, who lives in the U.S. wants, with the help of the Turkish middle class, to lead Muslims into the present. Gulen preaches a conservative Islam, which should penetrate society independent of the state. He calls on Muslims not to isolate themselves from Western societies, but rather to move in them successfully. The Gulen Movement works towards this with an estimated five million followers in a loose, global network of foundations, schools, newspapers and TV stations.

"We do not want any frustrated Muslims"

"With a good education, young Muslims can better integrate into our society," says the 34-year-old Cebrail Terlemez, Director of the Dialog Institute. The parents' generation, mostly unskilled workers, is often not able to support their children adequately. "This is where our educational institutions come in. We do not want frustrated Muslims operating in a parallel society" says Terlemez. The Swiss Gulen network includes study halls for students next to the Dialog Institute, operated by the Sera Foundation. In August they opened their first secondary school, in Zurich. Terlemez stressed that the standard school subjects of Swiss schools are taught. "These are not religious schools. Religion is not a school subject."  According to Terlemez, these institutions are to a large extent funded by Turkish entrepreneurs in Switzerland.

For the Berlin Gulen expert Claudia Dantschke, there is no doubt that such schools will be used to gain new adherents. "They are run on an informal level.  Students are motivated, for example, to move into a Muslim apartment-sharing community. There, they are then encouraged to live in a strictly Islamic way.”  Bekim Agai of the University of Halle, who has written his thesis on the Gulen movement, emphasizes the importance of this informal domain for recruiting leaders.

In the various enterprises, Gulen himself is hardly ever mentioned as a spiritual father.  Islamic scholars criticize the movement for its opaque structure and finances. "Young people in particular, that are not finding Islam through mosque visits, are approached through educational activities. What is taught in classes, and even more importantly outside them, is opaque," says the Bernese Islamic scholar Reinhard Schulze. His colleague Ralph Ghadban of the Berlin Evangelical Institute goes so far as to ascribe to Gulen an Islamist outlook, which is masked under a "pseudo-modern veneer.”  In Germany, the movement is active in almost every city.

Dialog Leader Terlemez confirmed that Gulen’s supporters should not be viewed as reformer Muslims.  "We want to show, rather, that a traditional Muslim can be integrated in Switzerland’s society and can have a successful professional life."

First the Koran, then science

Umran Bektas is a member of the force at the Dialog-Institut.  A psychology student with Turkish parents, she grew up in Switzerland. “A year before I graduated from high school, I decided to also outwardly live according to my religion.”  From that time on, she has worn a headscarf; she has since gotten married. "There have already been strange reactions. A friend let me know that I had only to tell her that I was being forced.  But it was my free decision."  Gulen does not require women to wear a headscarf. Nevertheless, most adherents do.

Institute Director Terlemez grew up in the Thurgau, and visited the Milli-Gorus Mosque in Burglen.  As a student he lived in an apartment with Turkish men. "I experienced a mixed apartment before that.  Although I liked the roommates, conflicts were continual.  The issues ranged from taking shoes off - we Muslims pray on the rug – to food, to roommates running around wild."

Gulen's followers always stress their interest in scientific knowledge.  Reconciling this with a conservative Islamic faith appears to be no problem for them: in common with evangelical movements, they explain evolution with a creationist theory.  Gulen himself writes: "The Quran and the Hadith [the traditions of Muhammad] are true and absolute.  Scientific facts are true, as long as they are in accordance with Quran and Hadith.  As soon as they depart from the Koran and Hadith, they are incorrect. "


Gulen Schools Worldwide- Gulen meets former pontiff - Pope John Paul II and Vatican

Much publicity has been made by the Gulen Movement about this
1 time meeting with the late Pope John Paul II, this was over 13 years ago.  Not the only Turkish man who has met with the late Pontiff.

The Gulen Movement, likes to blast photos of Fetullah Gulen with credible religious leaders: Pope John Paul II, Rabbi Doren, and Greek Patrarch Barthomeos.   We are told there is a Gulen School in Italy, but the information is sketchy as to who is funding this Gulen School.  Gulen has a famous speech partly translated below that does not speak fondly of the Vatican.  This photo above was taken some 14 years after the Pope was shot by a Turkish National.  In 1982, the Pope met with the Turkish man that tried to kill him and offered his forgiveness on him.  See photo below.    

Pope John Paul II’s would be assasin to be freed on Monday

January 17, 2010
Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turk who tried
 to kill, now Venerable Pope John Paul II, is to be freed on Monday after 3 decades of being held in jail. It would be remembered that the failed assassination to the late Pontiff took place at St. Peter’s Square itself in Vatican, as the late Pope greet and meet the people that gathered outside for the feast of Our Lady of Fatima.
According to Agca, he plans on visiting the grave of Pope John Paul II to pay respect and hopefully to pay a visit to the new Pope, Benedict XVI, as soon as he is freed from jail. The Turk would be ex-convict tells of a plan on getting married and settling for a quieter life.
Despite the terrible incident, Pope John Paul II visited his would be assassin in jail, after suffering from a serious wound in the abdomen, only to grant full pardon then refused to detail anything that they’ve talk about in prison.
Although charges that the attack was fueled by the Soviet Union and then communist Bulgaria, it was never been named who really was behind the failed assassination.

NOW HERE IS GULEN'S SPEECH ABOUT THE VATICAN:

 Gulen‘s view on the Vatican acuses the Vatican of being the mother of all evil and scum responsible for bloodshed around the world?

Here is a photo from the current Pope Benedict's controversial visit to Turkey.  On Wikileaks there is documents of Pope Benedicts conversations with many European leaders about not allowing Turkey into the European Union.

Protests of Pope Benedict's arrival in Turkey.

Gulen Schools Worldwide, Turkocentric Gulen brand of Islam- not right for all Muslims

Gulen's brand of Turkish Sufi Islam, is it FOR YOUR COUNTRY?


Gulen’s teachings have not taken root outside Turkey, despite being translated into Urdu, Indonesian, Arabic, etc, and thus being entirely accessible to the majority of the world’s Muslims. The Gulen Movement is not inclusive, and will always have limited appeal for this reason. It promotes a Turkocentric brand of Islam that Muslims of most other cultures are understandably not prepared to accept. Even among the Turkic peoples of Central Asia, who would seem to have the most natural affinity for the Gulenists, there has been resentment of Turkey’s “Big Brother” attitude.
Most significantly, Gulenists assiduously avoid acknowledging the contributions of anyone outside their movement, and in fact seek to undermine any rivals. This can be seen even here in the US, in their refusal to recognize any excelling schools other than their own, and in their constant trashing of US schools and society in their attempt to offer themselves as a unique solution. No group that operates this way can ever have broad appeal.
Listening to the Gulenists and their sympathizers, you easily get the impression that there are no other Muslim leaders or groups speaking for non-violence and education. This is simply false. Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, Shaykh Nazim (Nazim Al-Haqqani) and others have been quite vocal in publicly denouncing terrorism. Yet instead of engaging and partnering with these other leaders, Gulen’s followers seek to make it appear that they don’t exist. They don’t want any competition for market share in the highly lucrative “moderate Muslim” industry.
Thus we are offered a false dichotomy: Gulen or radical Islam, as if the entire Muslim world of over one billion people could be reduced to just these two categories. Gulenist media outlets and press releases relentlessly push the idea that every day, all over Asia, young men and women who were on the verge of becoming violent radicals are now pursuing the rigorous study of math, physics and chemistry at their local Gulen school. The reality is that the Gulen schools in Asia and Africa are elitist. They charge steep tuition (they are run for profit, not “for humanity”) and cater to the upper echelons of society: ambitious families that will pay dearly to prepare their children for entrance into universities, hardly the demographic expected to breed terrorism. Gulenists themselves admit that they have to select for elite students to make their schools successful (see “The Educational Theory of Fethullah Gulen and its Practice in South Africa,” by Yasien Mohamed, available on Gulen’s own website.)
Consider the following statement that someone posted above: “Gulen has all the tools for the peace and understanding that our world needs.” So let’s start with the number one problem the U.S. faces in the Muslim world – the Middle East conflict. What is Gulen’s “tool” for Mideast peace? Does he have any clout or influence on either side? Is he making any attempt to broker a peace by participating in negotiations? The answer is no. It is easy to sit at home in Pennsylvania and write about “peace” and “interfaith dialog” but it is all theoretical and accomplishes nothing.
Indeed, Fethullah Gulen’s words about peace, dialog and tolerance were never aimed at anyone in the Middle East, or in any other conflict zone. They were written to win us over, and they have succeeded by opening the door into our public education system, where Gulen and his followers are now raking in American money.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Gulen Schools Worldwide- First Class Revolution A GLOBAL TURKISH ISLAM?


Is a Turkish Astronaut in the future?  If it is up to Gulen it will happen

First Class Revolution: From Medina to Mecca

Kurdishaspect.com - By Dr. Aland Mizell
A Global Turkish Islam

How can Gülen and his movement become a universal religion and how can they replace capitalism and become a global power? Gulen is using the same method that Muhammad used to conquer the Arabian Peninsula. From three people to more than a billion Muslims, his movement advances Gulen’s doctrine that the only way they can become powerful is to stand on their own feet, which means by gaining economic independence from the West and from non-Muslims. How can they become economically independent from the non-Muslims or West? He encourages his followers to get the positive things from the West, America, and other developed countries, such as technology and education and to leave the negative things, such as religion and social norms. For example, as they are now doing in America, they have placed so many of their followers in large engineering firms, for example, Raytheon, Boeing, and Aerospace; in universities; NASA, Hollywood, and even the White House. They made a decision to replace laid-off American workers with Turks and to negotiate contracts with factories in Turkey. They are also trying to negotiate with President Obama’s administration to use one of the Turkish Astronauts in NASA’s next mission into space.  In return the Turkish government will buy more Boeing airplanes.  Further, he is negotiating with U.S. companies and foundations to give money to Gulenist charter schools. They teach children to be Turkish: to think Turkish, to see history through the Turkish perspective, and to learn their way of life and version of Islam. This is happening around the globe. His movement has infiltrated all state institutions, mastering all politics behind the scene, with the support of the European Union, the United States, and some other global powers.  In Turkey Gülen has taken control of seats of power by securing the supremacy of their version of religion over politics, government, education, media, business, and public and personal life.  Education for Gulenists is a means to more political, social and economical power, not an end. Some academics, like Helen Rose Ebough, professor of sociology at the University of Houston and author of a book on his movement, have become the propaganda tools of Gulenists, since their recruitment and courtship by the organization. Recently Dr. Ebough wrote a book entitled Gülen Movement: a Sociological Analysis of a Civic Movement Rooted in Moderate Islam, praising the Gülen movement for its tolerance and service to humanity. One has to wonder at how much research besides their script she read.

Chief among its goals is shaping the world’s image of the movement. The
Gulenists’ political, social, and religious movement is now very controversial
all of over the world with so many questions being raised but few being
answered. To those who think Turkey is becoming a more liberal democracy, they should consider the truth that Turkey has replaced one of its untouchable organizations for another: the military for the Gülen’s community and the AKP party.  Rather than being tolerate, they are dangerous. Those who criticize Mr. Gülen’s movement get burned.  For example, the new Constitution—highly advocated in his media-- significantly reduces the power of the military after its charge against Gülen. A more recent and highly illustrative example is Hanefi Avci, the former Turkish police chief who was arrested and charged with being affiliated with an illegal organization “The Revolutionary Headquarters,” a charge he denies. Avci published a book in 2010 alleging that Gülen’s community had covertly taken control of the state and that the government had illegally used wiretaps. Avci was taken into custody but gave a statement to the media that he would not succumb to any of the tactics of the Gülen community. Another example of retaliation for speaking out against the organization is Nurettin Veren, formerly Gülen’s close ally. Mr. Veren disagreed with Gülen, resulting in the destruction of his career and his family.  In a fourth example, the head of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Devlet Bahceli, responded to Mr. Gülen’s remark regarding the vote for a constitutional amendment, “I wish we had a
chance to raise the dead from their graves and urge them to cast 'yes' votes at the referendum.” Bahceli retorted to Gülen that he needed to come back to Turkey to vote himself first rather than calling on dead people to vote.  Consequently, Gülen’s newspaper Zaman and others attacked Mr. Bahceli, who had also criticized the ruling party’s role in terrorism in the Kurdish region, and claimed that the AKP “is a political subcontractor at the global level.” The Fethullah Gülen website now leads the opposition to Bahceli.

Avoiding confrontation until the right time has been seminal in the movement.
Since his coming to America, Gülen has avoided confrontation with the US. 
because Muslims are not yet strong enough militarily nor economically to stand
against American interests. Rather than opposition, Gulenists used the status of
American power to achieve his goals in Turkey, and in the near future he will do
so globally. But this tactic of relying on American strength could change once
Gulenists accrue enough power globally, and Turkey could become the biggest
threat for American interests in the region. An important characteristic of the
movement is its surface adherence to policies while covertly using whatever means is necessary to advance its cause.  One of Gulenists’ schools in Uzbekistan was closed because it did not have a permit, custom clearance, or renewal of its staff’s work permits and visas, etc.  But unveiling the guise of legality of the school in Uzbekistan is not the only reason why schools are being closed. Public pressure in a few places in America has drawn attention to
the façade. The Turkish Olympiad is teaching the Turkish language, dancing, and singing in charter schools, and then providing the better students with a trip
to Turkey for a grand finale to show internationally how Turkish is the language
of love and peace. Some parents and teachers are looking deeper into the
curriculum to see the true agenda behind the schools. In the interim, however,
the Gülen movement continues to advance rapidly. If it continues on its present
course as first in Turkey and then in America, the wave of Gulen’s Islamic
revolution will soon reach the entire world. Gulenists easily manipulate the
public by propagating rumors and conspiracy theories, by establishing Islamic
centers, charter schools, and non governmental organizations ( such as
Interfaith Dialogue), by sending graduate students from Turkey to teach in
universities, and by establishing a strong lobby in the U.S.

Tactics Then and Now

In his first conquest of Arabia, Muhammad was able to send missionaries among
different clans for the propagation of Islam, some of whom accepted and some of whom did not with the consequence of facing heavy sanctions and taxes. Is Gülen not using the same method today? Particularly in US- Turkish relations and in other countries, not many people have focused on the work of the Gülen movement or the political impact of the movement. The adherents will tell you that they are non-partisan and do not affiliate with any party, but, nonetheless, when you talk about the newspapers, media, NGO, TV stations and his followers, it seems that in Turkey they are owned by the AKP party. If, however,  you go back and look at the archives of the Zaman newspaper or any other of the Gülen movement’s media, you will not see much open support of any particular politics, and especially you will never ever see any open criticism of the army , but instead Gülen praises the army as almost holy. Why did Gulenist at the one time praise the army, when they also argued that the army and its leader were engaging in secret affairs? Then the Gulenists demanded that the Kurdish people should apologize to the Military, because the one time Kurdish leader Leyla Zana said the military was responsible for all the illegal activities and kidnapping of people in southeastern Turkey.  However, if you look at the same newspaper, the same spokesperson, and the same leaders of movement, you will discover that they seem to target the military and declare the identical military a public enemy. 

I am not defending the military but showing the Gulen group’s public support the
army and its praise of the military’s past clandestine operations, but its
underlying opposition to the power formerly wielded by the military. 

Another example of Gülen and his followers’ denying that they are supporting one particular party but actively working in politics is their involvement in the
campaign to change the Turkish Constitution.  Gulen’s media announced that “The 58 percent ‘yes’ outcome in the referendum pleased Gülen very much.” Gulen commented on the result, “If they asked me to name one positive thing our nation has done in the last two centuries for the future of the country, it is to change the constitution,” resulting in the end of the military era through a peaceful revolution. Gülen even admitted, as mentioned above, if he had power to bring dead people to vote yes for to change constitution, he would. Instead, he ordered many of his followers who are involved in mission work abroad to return to Turkey to vote yes.  Innumerable examples of the movements’ methods and tactics to gain the power are available but only after searching and analyzing the clandestine activities and statements. For example, they are not telling the truth to the American public, declaring that the network of more than 135 publically-funded charter schools that they control have no connection to Gülen and his followers when it is irrefutable that they do. They are manipulating the press, buying politicians, and courting academics. Even a casual perusal of the Niagara Foundation, the Raindrop Turkish Houses, or the Rumi Foundation will show accurate information. Most Americans, Asians, and Westerners think these Turks are just nice people from a foreign country, never pausing to consider their ulterior motive. Many people do not have any idea that the Gülen movement exists and know nothing about Gülen and his global mission, so that thousands of Americans,  Asians, and Westerners have been manipulated into taking Gulenists-led trips to Turkey, attending Gulenists’ dinners and events, writing books, becoming propaganda tools, and accepting awards and Noah udding from them. Many academics, diplomats, and students do not seem to have any awareness of the propagandist nature of the trips that are very carefully and skillfully choreographed by the members of the Gulenist organization. They are taking people to only select places, where people stay strictly on script.

People think that everything seems so natural, so convincing, and so kind, that
they believe it is all sincere. The people who organize the trips are the charter schools, NGOs or Interfaith Dialogue, and they have the plan down to a routine because they have orchestrated these efforts on numerous occasions and for many years. This kind of trip is often paid for by the BAKIAD, Bosporus- Atlantic Association of Cultural Cooperation and Friendship, which is also linked to the Gulenist organization. Many people think they received a free trip to Turkey, but they do not realize that they just paid their benefactor back by publicizing exactly what they wanted them to say for them. Many people discuss the Gulenist education model, understanding only the barest of its goals, but not the education model of chosing super intelligent youth, students from rich families, or intelligent but poor kids. For a long time they used the same recruitment among the Turkish people. Gulenists’ history is repeating itself.

Conclusion: Toehold to Stranglehold

The Gulenists are conducting a first class revolution, one that emulates
Muhammad’s movement from Medina to Mecca in every detail. All the while they
claim they are apolitical. In the case against the army in Turkey, they vehemently argued that they were not involved in politics and did not have any secret agenda-- until they got power, and now many of the military are in jail.
Currently, they are doing the same thing in Western and American cities, claiming all the while that they are outside the political arena and do not have any secret agenda.  Just as in Turkey when Ekrem Dumanli, editor of the Zaman newspaper, writes an article in Gulen’s newspaper that influences the political process, are they not using the very weapon they disclaim?  When Husyin Gulerce writes in the Zaman newspaper, against the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and for the referendum on a new constitution, is he not impacting the political process? Because they believe followers do not have to tell the truth every time or in every situation, they are fooling the Turkish military and secularists alike, and now they are fooling the West and America as well.

In his home country Gülen and his followers had very different experiences than
in America. There the people initially reacted very harshly to his followers and his teaching. Gülen’s conversions were slow and limited to certain people, and even then the movement were under scrutiny. Before the 1997’s alleged coup plot, the military made a series of attempts to close Gülen‘s schools and topple other Islamic activities. The military also kicked out more than 250 of Gulen’s followers who had infiltrated the high ranks of the military. In 1999, after an incident involving the confiscation of his sermon tapes in which Gülen spoke of
changing the secular government, Gülen left Turkey and emigrated for alleged health reason to the US to continue his mission activities there and to increase his power base. Now having opened schools in each of the fifty states, business companies, cadres of followers in universities, the Ebru TV station, the Zaman Today newspaper, the Turkish Coalition of America (TCA-a USA political action committee established to shape the American view of Turkey through public education), the Turkish PAC, the Turkish Coalition New Jersey Political Action Committee (TC- NJ PAC), and the Turkish Coalition California Pac(TC- CAL PAC), he has moved from having a toehold to a stranglehold in America. Even a preliminary glimpse at the TCA website would confirm the agenda of this concerted Turkish Islamic movement to assert control over the American political process. Gülen brings thousands of his students from Central Asia and the Balkans to the US to set up sister coalitions.  He and his followers are challenging even the Jewish and Armenian lobbyist in the US. They have opened charter schools with the audacity of purchasing churches to convert them to Islamic charter schools, like the conversion of the Hagias Sophia Church in Istanbul to a mosque. These schools and teachers promote one thing-- Turkish nationalism--and indoctrinate students in the Turkish brand of Islam. They boast about winning awards, but the only ones they win are in contests that the Gulen movement and their own foundations sponsor, for example, the Turkish Olympiad, the Science Olympiad, and Math challenges. The educational initiative of charter schools is a platform and business for them because they can manage it very cheaply and make the numbers look good. Many naïve people who do not take the time to investigate the under workings think the schools are all about cultural understanding, sharing, and acceptance, but they actually advocate the opposite values. I am asking those Western professors who have become Gulen’s and his movement’s outspoken representatives in the US and around the world, did you ever do research on was Gulen‘s view on the Vatican? Did they ever let you listen to one of his speech accusing the Vatican of being the mother of all evil and scum responsible for bloodshed around the world? Gulenist are only wearing the clothes of democracy, tolerance, justice, and equality for the sake of getting total power around the world. In Turkey they have already toppled the secular government in the media and the military in the judiciary, and now their dream is global power. Those who do not see this are living in a fantasy.