Gulen "inspired" Schools are a danger to America

Gulen Turkish School in Egypt raided and closed down

private school affiliated with the Gülen Movement in Egypt has been raided by the command of Egyptian security forces according to Cairo-based sources.
Tens of inspectors reportedly went to the International Salahaldin School and seized the passports of Turkish teachers and staff. It was stated that only four of the Turkish staff had appropriate working and residential permits, and the rest of the staff were dismissed accordingly.
The inspectors also checked the curriculum and banned Turkish classes and ordered the removing of Turkish books and flags in the school building.
It is alleged that the supporters of the Gülen Movement in Egypt will be forced to leave the country soon despite their explicit support for General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who carried out a coup d'etat ousting the democratically elected president Mohammed Morsi in 2013.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation raided 19 charter schools in June affiliated with the Gülen Movement in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois for reasons allegedly related to crimes linked to education tenders while another charter school in the U.S. was shut down in 2011 for bribery charges.
The U.S.-based Jacobin magazine reported recently that roughly $4 million in E-Rate contract disbursements and $1.7 million in Department of Education Race to the Top grantee awards were given to what appear to be 'related parties' by Gülen-affiliated schools in Texas, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and California.
A Turkish criminal court issued an arrest warrant on Friday for Gülen Movement's leader Fethullah Gülen following a request filed earlier by Istanbul's chief public prosecutor. It was reported that sufficient concrete evidence has been found, proving Gülen's crimes in accordance with the criminal penal code.
The Gülen Movement, led by Fethullah Gülen, has over 140 private schools and charity organizations around the world including the U.S., Europe, Asia and Africa. The movement has been accused of infiltrating state institutions to gain control of state mechanisms, illegal wiretapping, forgery of official documents and spying.
http://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2014/12/20/gulenist-charter-schools-in-egypt-raided

Gulen Muslim Movement in Spanish speaking countries

Gulen has a school in Mexico, Argentina, and other latin American Countries.

 

 (Agencia Prensa Armenia).- "Siete millones de seguidores en más de ciento treinta países, mil quinientas escuelas con miles de alumnos diseminadas en todo el mundo, universidades en Turquía, grupos financieros, un banco, miles de millones de dólares disponibles, fundaciones, medios de comunicación y una hermandad secreta en el tejido social y político turco. Esto es parte de lo que representa y constituye la enorme y poderosa red sin parangón en el mundo: el Movimiento Gülen".

Así comienza la investigación de Pablo Kendikian, publicada por Ediciones Ciccus y la Agencia de Noticias Prensa Armenia, que retrata la vida y el accionar de Fethullah Gülen, "un carismático predicador turco y poco conocido en Occidente, que construyó, desde su autoexilio en los Estados Unidos, un movimiento religioso, social y nacionalista con un asombroso poder de movilización" de consecuencias impredecibles.

Desde el prólogo, que lleva la firma del profesor Khatchik DerGhougassian, se advierte que el ideal del Movimiento es "el regreso del otomanismo en la presunta utopía de un imperio de convivencia de religiones" y remarca que dicha organización "se convirtió en uno de los mayores instrumentos del negacionismo turco del Genocidio de los armenios".

Kendikian describe al Movimiento como una red transnacional que sacó provecho del proceso de globalización y que estableció instituciones educativas, de diálogo interreligioso y comerciales en todo el mundo, manipuladas por Fethullah Gülen constituyéndolas "en herramientas que sirven a los objetivos ideológicos y políticos del Movimiento" evidenciados con las diferencias entre la prédica y la práctica de sus acciones.

Sobre su representación en la Argentina, el autor señala a la Fundación de Amistad Argentino Turca y las instituciones creadas en su entorno como el Colegio Hércules, el Centro de Diálogo Intercultural Alba y el Centro de Diálogo Interreligioso de la ciudad de Córdoba, desde donde con una prédica integradora y tolerante, hacen su trabajo de lobby político.

El nombre de Fethullah Gülen salió a la luz con las denuncias de su antiguo aliado y luego máximo enemigo, el actual presidente turco Recep Tayyip Erdogan, quien en diciembre del 2013 lo denunció por haber creado un "estado paralelo" en Turquía. Fethullah Gülen está también directamente relacionado con la oscura trama de Ergenekon, un plan a través del cual se descabezó la cúpula de las Fuerzas Armadas turcas, defensoras del orden laico en ese país, y que sirvió también como instrumento para perseguir a los opositores a la idea de la islamización del Estado turco.

Fethullah Gülen de Ediciones Ciccus se consigue en las librerías desde el mes de noviembre.

Gulen Charter Schools raided by FBI Concept Schools

Gulen Charter Schools are a threat to national security of America

Another Gulen School in Mardin is burned down

This may not be "kurds" it could be the foot solders of Hizmet.

Gulen New World Order Romania-Romanyalı öğrenciler...

Gulen and The NEW WORLD ORDER: Gulen New World Order Romania-Romanyalı öğrenciler...: Romania Turkish Language Festival http://www.isb.ro/governance    INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF BUCHAREST         Senior Manage...

Somalia Port Workers protest Turkish firm taking over port, Gulen TUSKON group strikes again.

MOGADISHU—
Turkey has been a key ally for the federal Somali government, and with major financial assistance from Ankara, development in Mogadishu is taking off at a fast pace. But not all are happy with the Turkish influence in Somalia. Port workers in Mogadishu staged recent protests to keep their jobs as Turkish companies take over. But they lack the education to operate the new technology coming in.
Port workers at the Mogadishu seaport have been staging demonstrations outside parliament since the federal government handed over the port’s management to a Turkish firm.

Under the new ownership, Al Bayrak Company will manage the port for the next 20 years and will give the government 55 percent of all the proceeds from the port.
In a statement, the company says it plans to transform the seaport to international quality - elevating it to a central position in the Somali and African economy.

Modernizing this transit and cargo hub will require technical skills lacking in most of the current Somali work force.
Port workers argue they have no other source of livelihood. Through years of instability, the Port of Mogadishu remained their only employment and source of income.
Through their union, the workers are calling on the government to protect their jobs.
Port Worker Ahmed Ali Hassan said he was speaking on behalf of 5,311 port workers, their families and all that relied on them. "We are telling the government to reverse its decision. We are citizens of this country," he said.

Since 2011, Turkey has been a key ally for the Somali government and has helped in building mosques, hospitals, schools, water wells and orphanages.
Turkish funding is also improving road standards and infrastructure in Mogadishu and is helping to reconstruct the Mogadishu International Airport.
This is providing new opportunities for young educated Somalis. But older workers, said Port Union Worker Muhyadin Adow Jimale, should not have their contributions forgotten.
He said the porters at the Mogadishu Airport carried loads on their backs. "They have no education whatsoever. We thank the Turkish President, Mr. Erdogan, but we are warning him against making these poor people jobless," he said.

Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed is to meet members of parliament in the coming days to brief them about the terms and conditions in the new port deal.
Economic experts say a revitalized port will attract more trade, and help the entire Somali economy.
http://www.voanews.com/content/somali-port-workers-protest-turkish-firm-takeover-of-port/2467382.html

Somalia Turkish School

Somalian Turkish School in Mozambique

 

Erdogan's Hate Speech against The Gulen Movement

Gulen Turkish School in Kurdish area of SE Turkey is set on fire and destroyed

http://www.todayszaman.com/latest-news_pkk-terrorists-set-dorm-on-fire-one-student-injured_356543.html

Terrorists from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) have set fire to a dershane (private tutoring school) and its dorm that belong to the Hizmet movement in the eastern province of Muş, injuring at least one student.

A group of terrorists threw Molotov cocktails into the dorm on Saturday night. Tension has been high in the Southeast after the removal of a statue of Mahsum Korkmaz -- believed to be first PKK member to fire a shot at soldier -- in Diyarbakır's Lice district. A dershane is a private tutoring school that helps to prepare students for examinations by providing extra courses to supplement their ordinary education.

A PKK group entered the five-story dershane building by breaking down the door at around 8 pm after a demonstration in the Bulanık district. They first damaged the ground floor with stones and clubs and later started a fire with Molotov cocktails and fireworks. Three teachers, two students and another member of the staff were inside at the time of the terrorist raid. They were evacuated from the building by the police officers who arrived at the scene after the assault was over and the district's fire brigade brought the fire under control. Teachers speaking to the media after the incident said the police did nothing and watched indifferently while the PKK group was deliberately trying to kill people inside the dershane.

The fire also damaged the dorm, which is on the uppermost story of the building. Badly affected by the smoke, one teacher was hospitalized. The injured teacher was discharged later that night after receiving treatment. He talked to the Cihan news agency and said that the police waited for too long before moving in to disperse the demonstrators. Had the police intervened earlier, none of these things would have happened, he said. The teacher also said they were rescued from suffocating at the last minute.

The same dershane was the target of the PKK the day before this incident, which has been met with a harsh reaction from the district's people. Dershanes are usually regarded as a source of great assistance for students in the east and southeast in order to compete with western Anatolia, which is comparably more affluent and has better education opportunities. The PKK is a notorious enemy of private education institutions, as giving a young person a future makes it harder to recruit them as militants.

The assaulted dershane in Muş sent 150 high school graduates to different universities across Turkey this year and many primary school students in the district won places at science high schools, the most prestigious and highest quality secondary level educational institutions in Turkey.

The PKK demonstrations against the dismantling of a statue in Diyarbakır's Lice district in memory of the prominent terrorist, Mahsum Korkmaz, believed to be the first person in the organization's history to have fired a bullet at a Turkish soldier three decades ago, did not calm down over the weekend.

In the Yüksekova district of Kurdish-populated Hakkari province, a group of around 20 masked men started chanting slogans after blocking a main street in the city center by setting up a road block. The store owners on the street closed their shops as the police intervened with water cannons. A fight soon erupted as the PKK group began hurling stones, fireworks and Molotov cocktails at the police. The barricades were lifted by the police and the fight continued in the alleys.

In Bingöl's Beşyol neighborhood, a group of protesters from the Patriotic Revolutionist Youth Movement (YDG-H) -- which is affiliated with the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), the urban arm of the terrorist PKK, staged an illegal demonstration to protest the removal of the statue by blocking a main road. Riot police asked for peace but the group responded with Molotov cocktails. A fire broke out as one of the petrol bombs hurled by the group hit the rooftop of a nearby house, causing a fire. The fire was brought under control quickly by residents. The police units used tear gas to disperse the protesters, who escaped into side streets. The clashes continued until Sunday morning. An eyewitness told the press that a white truck carrying around a dozen children came to the scene shouting slogans and hissing.

At least one PKK sympathetic demonstrator was killed and two others were injured during the clashes. The Lice Criminal Court of Peace decided on Monday to take down the statue of Korkmaz. The decision to demolish the statue came after a criminal complaint submitted by the Diyarbakır Governor's Office early on Monday.

Gulen and The NEW WORLD ORDER: Gulen New World Order Azeribaijan-Azerbaycanlı öğr...

Gulen and The NEW WORLD ORDER: Gulen New World Order Azeribaijan-Azerbaycanlı öğr...: Azerbaijan Turkish Festival Baku Oil, Turkey is the main partner for pipelines in partnership with Republic of Georgia Turkey&#39...

The Gülen Movement: A New Islamic World Order? - CBN.com

Gulen Schools Worldwide, Why so many Gulen Turkish Schools in Africa? oil, diamonds, textiles, coffee, and more

Africa is a continent RICH in natural resources.  The Gulen Turkish Businessmen TUSKON have reaped many business exports in the billions from Africa.  TUSKON has many offices set up in Africa, plus in the economically hard hit areas Yok Kim Su the Gulen charity group has gained a lot of controls via charity. 

Some assortment of Turkish Gulen Schools in Africa


Somalia Turkish School - Nile Turkish School of Somalia

Ghana Turkish School Universiteti Beder

Madagascar Turkish School (COFFEE)

Malawi Turkish School

Mali Turkish School

Somalia Turkish School- Willow International School
 

Ghana Turkish School








 

Gulen Schools Worldwide, last remaining Gulen Turkish school in Turkmenistan closed on Presidential order

This blog wrote about the article that appeared 3 years ago closing down all the Gulen Turkish schools in Turkmenistan but one.  http://www.eurasianet.org/node/64079

On Monday, August 18 the last remaining Turkish Gulen school in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan has been closed.  http://www.chrono-tm.org/en/2014/08/officials-close-down-turkish-school-in-ashgabat/

The Turkish school which operated pursuant to Turkmen-Turkish agreements has been closed down in Ashgabat. Among its students were children of Turkish diplomats, entrepreneurs and builders as well as local children. It had been announced earlier that, starting from the upcoming academic year, Turkmen children would no longer be admitted into the school.

The parents of the now former students put together an address below and asked us to publish it on our website. They are hoping that the Turkmen authorities will change their minds and allow the children to finish their schooling.

Dear editorial board,

A sad story about the only remaining Turkish school in Turkmenistan has reached its closing stage. A series of events in April and May of 2014 was the logical ending and a bad outlook for over 2000 Turkish and Turkmen children who were following a course of studies in the school, making plans for the future and cherishing hopes. In an instant these dreams were ruined by Turkmen officials. Although there were some warnings and signs of a negative outcome, nobody thought that the situation would be so neglected in our society.

Let’s do away with lyricism and move to some facts.

On 13 August the school students holding Turkmen citizenship were informed that their documents, pursuant to instructions (which nobody had seen in written form), were handed over from the municipal education authority to the local school №57 on which premises the Turkish school operated. In other words, from the very opening of the Turkish school in Turkmenistan half of the classrooms and facilities of the local school №57 were handed over to the Turkish school. During their presence of about 20 years and with the help of sponsors, primarily Turkish construction companies, the Turks have introduced high standards in the school: they renovated the interior of the school, installed sunshades, built children’s playgrounds, basketball and volleyball fields, a football stadium, a canteen and other facilities. Classes were supplied with state-of-the-art equipment and furniture, heating and air conditioning systems etc.

According to the Turkish administration, the school was closed down unilaterally by the Turkmen side, without any explanation, which is quite common in Turkmenistan. Officials from the Ministry of Education provide no comment and refer to the Presidential order, which none of the officials have seen. However, it is reiterated that locals should study in local schools. Yet, when responding to comments that this regulation is not envisaged in the law on education, the officials simply nod their heads and shrug their shoulders. There should be some legal justification of these actions. If it is not available, it can be treated as lawlessness and arbitrariness, right!?

The school was opened pursuant to intergovernmental agreements and functioned for about 20 years. The situation reminds us of Turkmenistan’s unilateral withdrawal from similar treaties on dual citizenship with the Russian Federation in 1993. As a result, tens of thousands of ordinary people were negatively affected. It seems that we are trying to isolate ourselves from the entire civilized world and at the same time rescinding agreements which had been initially signed by us at the highest level. This is very weird conduct despite our efforts to position our country in the world arena as a reliable partner which keeps promises and complies with agreements. However, as practice shows, the situation is quite the opposite.

Let’s go back to our topic.

Over 1000 Turkmen children of all age groups, now the former students of the Turkish school, may continue their education in school 57 (it is solely a Turkmen school which has no Russian classes) or transfer to other Ashgabat schools where they will be admitted. However, they cannot be admitted to all schools as classes are fully booked. The female principal of school 57 is shocked as she has no idea how to accommodate over 1000 children since there are already 45 to 50 in each class. All the same, many parents are transferring their children to other schools – either to the one which is closest in the neighborhood or the one which they consider more or less suitable.

The curriculum in the Turkish school varies significantly from the local curriculum. It should be noted that it is not easy to arrange a transfer as some dishonest and unscrupulous principals of other schools are taking advantage of the difficult situation which the “evicted” students are confronted with, and quote their fees to parents. They charge 500 dollars and more based on principals’ yearnings. The officials from the municipal education board and the ministry of Education have literally washed their hands and offer no assistance in accommodating the “evicted” children. Because the documents were handed over to school 57, they believe that all the children have been placed. However all of them without exception are rubbing their hands in expectation of the school principals bringing them their share in cash.

There is an impression that everything is done deliberately to yield as much cash as possible from this absurd situation. Generally speaking, everything is logical and sadly predictable in the society where “the epoch of power and happiness” reigns.

If Turkish children and their parents are still hoping that a positive decision to reopen the school will be made under the pressure of their government (the Turkish authorities are aware of the situation), local children have nothing and nobody to rely on except themselves and their parents. Their own state has ousted them from the school in which they were officially enrolled and hoped to further their education in Turkey. Now their home country has given up on them and their children’s dreams. What can one think of the authorities in this situation?

The parents were informed that “locals should study in local schools”. Then a reasonable question arises of why the Russian school with a similar status is not closed down. Why do officials stay away from the international American school which is a private, not public, educational institution? Perhaps Russia might stop buying our gas, for instance? And America can simply threaten us and show its “iron” fist?

It appears that, in the case of the Turkish school shutdown, local officials decided to take advantage of the fact that everybody is busy with the Presidential election in Turkey and strike a wicked blow on the most holy thing – children. God will never forgive them for what they have done.

If they decided to remove local children from the school, which is a gross violation of article 38 of Turkmenistan’s Constitution and the law on education, why close the entire school, even for Turkish children? Why put ourselves in another embarrassing situation in front of the international community?!

Now everybody is relying on Erdogan who will officially assume office as the President on 28 August and will definitely make an effort to resolve the issue.

Needless to say, as a result of this outrageous situation everybody, especially children, are completely hopeless and bewildered. We would like to ask the officials from the Ministry of Education and others what local students, who studied in this school for 6 to 10 years, should now do. How will they start a course of studies in local schools based on local curriculum and standards? The question itself sounds mockingly absurd.

After this incident how can we discuss positive moves, reforms and democratization of the Turkmen society, even of the rights of the child provided for in the Constitution, which were grossly violated and trampled by their own authorities? And what about the non-existent rights of the adult population? We only have our duties to perform, whereas “selected” individuals have rights in our country.

 

 

Gulen Schools what future in Central Asia and Caucasus area countries

http://carnegieendowment.org/2014/07/02/what-future-for-fethullah-g%C3%BClen-movement-in-central-asia-and-Caucasus

Following the end of the Soviet Union, the Gülen movement developed a dynamic educational network in Central Asia and the Caucasus, with that region offering Turkey its strongest base of soft power. The AKP government’s support for these schools, and the informal alliance between Gülen and the AKP since 2002, was beneficial to both parties. The collapse of this mutual cooperation last December and the war Erdoğan has declared on what he calls the “parallel structure” raise the question of the movement’s future in Turkey and abroad, but most importantly in Central Asia and the Caucasus, which have played a crucial role in the Gülen movement’s international strategy.
BACKGROUND: When the Soviet bloc collapsed in 1990 and Turkey wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to create strong relations with the new republics of the former Soviet Union as well as with the Balkan countries, the Gülen movement was the first organization to adapt itself to this new situation. In the Caucasus (especially in Azerbaijan and Georgia) and in all Central Asian republics, the Gülen movement, supported by various Turkish business associations, opened dozens of schools. The priority of these schools has been to provide a modern and secular education in accordance with local norms, while also providing religious education as extracurricular activities. Nevertheless, having noted the hostility of local authorities to any kind of Islamic proselytism, the Gülen movement followers ended any kind of religious activism and adhered to the official curricula in every country.

Bayram Balci

Nonresident Scholar
Russia and Eurasia Program

More from this author...

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• Race for the Turkish Presidency

Except in Uzbekistan, where all schools were closed in 2000 – more because of the general deterioration of Turkish-Uzbek relations than because of the schools’ activities, and in Turkmenistan – where in 2011 the majority of schools were seized by Turkmen state – there are currently many educational and business establishments across the Caucasus and Central Asia managed by people known for their adhesion to or sympathies with Fethullah Gülen. In Georgia, there are five schools and one university, in Azerbaijan one university and several schools, in Kazakhstan one university and thirty schools, in Kyrgyzstan one university and ten schools and in Tajikistan around five schools.

Between 1991 and 2002, the attitude of Turkish diplomacy toward theses schools was ambiguous. Some ardent Kemalist Turkish ambassadors were embarrassed by the activism of the Gülen movement in the post-Soviet area where Turkey sought to establish a strong influence. But despite this sentiment, the general Turkish line was pragmatic. Indeed, encouraged by Turgut Özal’s liberal views, Turkish diplomacy offered symbolic support for the activities of the schools, by attending the schools' social events or graduation ceremonies. When the AKP came to power, support from the Turkish state became more visible, for both ideological and strategic reasons. At the same time, the AKP’s ascent to power in Turkey and its alliance with Gülen initially gave rise to concerns among the secular former Soviet elites, who worried about the possible emergence in their countries of a similar conservative power for which the Gülen schools could be the catalyst. However, the quality education offered by these schools convinced local authorities to allow the Gülen schools, with the exception of Turkmenistan where the government has gradually limited the number of schools.

IMPLICATIONS: The AKP and the Gülen movement have promoted the same ideas and objectives in Turkey for many years. They had the same social base and used to defend the same values. Yet the minor differences that existed gradually became more important and provoked a split between them. The real reasons for the split are still unclear, but it seems that the Gülen movement increased its distance to the Turkish Prime Minister in order not to be compromised by his increasing authoritarianism, and even went on to criticize him. In turn, Erdogan has accused the Gülen movement of posing an obstacle to his “reign” as its members became a political force in the country. This divorce looks like a natural and inevitable separation between two groups that were unified through their opposition to a common enemy: the Kemalist establishment and its supporters in the Turkish military. Indeed, the Turkish Army’s gradual retreat from politics thanks to the efforts of the Gülen-Erdoğan alliance has removed the raison d’être of the alliance. Whatever the reasons for the split, the ruling elites in Central Asia and the Caucasus have noted the political fight between these two major forces in Turkey, and the Turkish Prime Minister’s determination to eradicate this “parallel structure” entrenched in the state.
Turning talk into action, the Prime Minister paid a visit to Azerbaijan less than one week after the Turkish local elections won by his party and started his attack on the Gülen movement. Thanks not only to his pressure but also because Azerbaijani authorities had their own interest in doing so, the schools were placed under the control of SOCAR, the Azerbaijani State Oil Company. At the same time, some important movement figures were deported from Azerbaijan to Turkey.
In Central Asia, the campaign against the Gülen movement has not yet begun. It will be interesting to see if the Turkish government will seek to export the witch-hunt used against the movement in Turkey to Central Asia. It is still too early to assess the precise impact of the war between Gülen and Erdoğan in Central Asia. However, what happened in Turkey will constitute a turning point for the movement abroad as well.
Undoubtedly, Erdogan’s authoritarian ways since the beginning of his third term are evident to observers in Central Asia and all these regimes know that what happened in Turkey is most of all a Turkish domestic issue. Hence, few Central Asian regimes have commented on the struggle between the government and its former ally. However, a new period of fear and anxiety likely awaits the Gülen movement in the entire region. First of all, the Gülen movement is losing one of its key allies. The cooperation between the schools and Turkish diplomacy contributed to the movement’s positive image. In these countries, it is always reassuring to have a state guarantee behind every civil society movement. In other words, the good relations between the government and the Gülen movement in Turkey had provided the movement with a respectable image in Central Asia.
Secondly, and most worrisome for the future of Gülen schools worldwide, the events in Turkey revealed some hidden aspects of the hizmet movement. For years, the movement’s promoters have portrayed themselves as a non-political organization, working for better education and for peace and dialogue among cultures and faiths around the world. After what happened in Turkey, it will be difficult for them to continue claiming apolitical intentions.
Last but not least, although vehemently denied by its representatives, the political crisis in Turkey showed that the Gülen movement has resorted to infiltration of the state structures, the justice system and police, in order to defend itself. In Central Asia and the Caucasus, local authorities will inevitably ask if the Gülen movement will not resort to similar infiltration to reinforce its power in their countries. Yet it is unlikely that the movement will be capable of attaining the same power and influence in those countries for at least one reason. In Turkey, representatives of the Gülen movement managed to infiltrate the police and judiciary because they obtained help and encouragement to do so from the AKP government. In Central Asia and the Caucasus, no regime is likely to allow them a similar influence in the structure of the state. Moreover, whereas in Turkey the movement is rooted in society, in the former Soviet Union it still is to a large extent a Turkish diaspora phenomenon, though it has over time recruited many locals.
CONCLUSIONS: The end of the coalition between Erdoğan and Gülen is a turning point in Turkish politics and Turkish soft power in post-Soviet Central Asia and the Caucasus. Whether the movement should be conceived as an opponent to corruption and authoritarianism in Turkey, as it members profess, or a parallel organization infiltrating state structures and working according to its own agenda, as the Turkish Prime Minister claims, Erdogan’s declaration of war on the Gülen movement will have a serious impact on the image and credibility of both parties in Central Asia and the Caucasus. However, although weakened in this region, the Gülen movement has until now limited the damage. The quality of its educational institutions and the fact that many local elites have their children in these schools helps the Gülen movement maintain its position in Central Asia and the Caucasus. Moreover, until now, some of the current regimes have worried about the alliance between these two Turkish Islamic forces, fearing that the Gülen movement could in the long term encourage the development of conservative governments similar to the AKP in the region. Although the split between Erdoğan and Gülen will reconcile these concerns, they will at the same time strengthen their control of the movement in Central Asia to prevent state infiltration.
This article was originally published by the Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst.

End of document

About the Middle East Program

The Carnegie Middle East Program combines in-depth local knowledge with incisive comparative analysis to examine economic, sociopolitical, and strategic interests in the Arab world. Through detailed country studies and the exploration of key crosscutting themes, the Carnegie Middle East Program, in coordination with the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, provides analysis and recommendations in both English and Arabic that are deeply informed by knowledge and views from the region. The program has special expertise in political reform and Islamist participation in pluralistic politics.

 

Gulen Worldwide Schools- FILIPINO TURKISH TOLERANCE SCHOOL

Gulen Schools Iraq Irak Türk Okulları (HD) sing Yeni Bia Dunya

Gulen Schools evacuated 3 days before ISIS broke out.  2:39 shows Ishik University

Gulen charter School in Ukraine (Ukraynyl) öğrencilerden sings Yeni Bir Dünya Dinle

Merdian International School in Ukraine the Gulen Turkish school sings Yeni Bir Dunya

turkish olympiads culture festival 2014 had to move to ethiopia

BECAUSE OF ERDOGAN'S BAN ON THE GULEN MOVEMENT THEY HAD TO MOVE

THEIR PERFORMANCE TO ETHIOPIA. 

Pakistan Gulen Turkish School in court for Tuition discrimination

ISLAMABAD: A court has sought explanation from private educational institutes’ watchdog and a private school for adopting discriminatory fee structure and directed the school administration to allow the student to attend classes till further orders. The Islamabad High Court on a petition on Thursday summoned officials of the Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA) and the management of Pak-Turk International School on October 10 for adopting a discriminatory fee structure. The petition has been filed by Dr Kamranullah Khan against the school’s Chak Shahzad campus management for refusing to implement PEIRA’s directive to adopt a uniform fee structure which according to him is discriminatory. According to the complainant, the school charged Rs11,760 as monthly fee from his son, a third grader, compared to Rs6,500 some of his class fellows are asked to pay. He stated that he asked the school management to rationalize the fee structure which they refused. Dr Khan complained to PEIRA who ruled in his favour and directed the school management to implement a uniform fee structure. The directives of the regulatory authority were not only defied by the school management, his son was barred from entering the school premises. Despite receiving PEIRA’s directives, the school administration harassed my son when he went to school on September 5 after summer vacation. Without intimating the parents, they forced the boy to wait at the gate for seven hours in scorching heat without providing water or food, the applicants stated. “The school threatened me of dire consequences if I made further demands to curtail the fee,” alleged Khan who approached the Chak Shahzad Police Station to lodge a complaint against the school management and subsequently moved the court. The applicant has contended that many of his son’s class fellows pay Rs5,000 to Rs6,500 per month but he pays a higher fee for his son, which is unjust and discriminatory. He said when his son was admitted to the school last year in grade two, he was charged Rs10,500. After one year, the fee was increased to Rs11,760, an increment of 12 per cent. When the school management was contacted to get their version, they rejected the allegations, claiming that the complainant had tried to pressurise them to reduce his son’s fee. They contended that the petitioner had signed a form agreeing to all the terms and conditions. He applied for a fee concession and he was given Rs3,500 reduction. But he tried to have the fee waived off and used abusive language when he met the school principal along with his wife. On the charge of disallowing the student to enter the school premises, they said the boy was allowed to enter the school premises after the parents dropped him off and sat in a classroom. An official said that the school management gives scholarships to over 200 deserving students. Published in The Express Tribune, September 14th, 2012.

Turkish investor linked to Gulen Schools in Zimbawae swindled out of $100K

https://www.newsday.co.zw/2014/07/22/turkish-investor-swindled-100k/ This Gulen Educational fund in Zimbawae Africa uses SAME name as the Horizon Schools in Ohio, Illinois Turkish Schools in Zimbawae A TURKISH investor, Yuksel Bayrak, was allegedly swindled of over $100 000 in a fraudulent land deal by local prominent business people in a matter that has sucked in the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) and stirred a nasty diplomatic tiff between Harare and Istanbul. CHARLES LAITON Bayrak, who is Horizon Educational Trust director, was allegedly duped into buying a non-existent piece of land for the construction of a primary and secondary school by businessman Louis Chidzambwa and chairman of the Harare West Development Trust Michael Mujeyi. Bayrak is regional representative of the Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkiye, Tuskon and also a representative of Turkey’s biggest non-governmental organisation, KimseYok Mu, accredited by the Economical and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC). Chidzambwa and Mujeyilast week appeared before Harare magistrate Donald Ndirowei charged with fraud and were remanded out of custody to August 26 on $500 bail each. Allegations against the two men are that in early 2012, Bayrak met Mujeyi after he was introduced to him by one Marah Hativagone, former president of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industry (CZI). The State alleges Hativagone told Bayrak that Mujeyi could assist him in obtaining a piece of land to build primary and secondary schools in the Westgate area. Chidzambwa and Mujeyi, it is alleged, took the Turkish investor to Stamford and Goodhope Farms owned by Duncan Lawrence Annott along Lomagundi Road in Harare where they asked him to choose from two pieces of land measuring 20 hectares each and he chose one at Goodhope Farm. The two men then asked Bayrak to pay $50 000 for the land and $10 000 to Mujeyi for facilitating the deal. Mujeyi, it is alleged, then produced a document he titled “Proposed Funds Disbursement Plan” and promised that the agreement and title deeds for the land would be ready in two months. Bayrak, it is alleged made the payment through the two men’s personal accounts between September 12 and October 19, 2012. The State alleges, early March last year, Chidzambwa and Mujeyi again approached Bayrak and told him the land needed to be surveyed first before any development took place. They asked him to pay $40 000 into the UZ’s Department of Geo-informatics and Surveying to facilitate the land survey to which he allegedly complied on March 5 last year. The alleged offence came to light on May 24 this year when Bayrak made follow-ups and Arnott informed him that the land in question had never been put up for sale.

FBI investigation prompts Gulen Cult to run to Canada

Gulen Schools Evacuate Mosul Three Days Before Invasion

Gülen Gang Schools Evacuate Mosul Three Days Before Invasion

Gülen Gang Schools have reportedly abandoned Mosul three days before the ISIS invasion.

Turkish Kanal TV Executive Editor Süleyman Sarılar tweeted that the schools belonging to Gülen Gang in Mosul, Iraq were evacuated 3 days before the attacks by the ISIS.

Here are his tweets regarding the issue:

“We should have known that Mosul’s invasion was coming. Fethullah Gülen’s schools were evacuated 3 days before. But, it is like Turkish Embassy was waiting for the invasion.”

“Even Gülen Gang foresees what will happen. The embassy cannot. Is there no intelligence at all?”

 AKP’s Ally al-Hashimi Called Mosul’s Invasion a Revolution

The al-Nujayfi family, reportedly linked to the AKP government, has justified the invasion of Mosul by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Iraqi politicians Usama al-Nujayfi and Tariq al-Hashimi, also known for being close to the USA and AKP government, have allegedly opened the Mosul border gate to the militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

The governor of Ninewa state where Mosul province located, Atheel al-Nujayfi, is the brother of Usama al-Nujayfi who had a meeting with the Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu.

The al-Nujayfi family, being close to the AKP government, has condoned the invasion of Mosul by ISIS, while Tariq al-Hashami, Iraq’s fugitive vice-president currently living in a villa provided by the AKP in Turkey, commented on the Mosul invasion by Islamist fundamentalists as a revolution.

Governor Atheel al-Nujayfi sent a memorandum to all state departments on the 6 June ordering the destruction of all the documents bearing his signature, telling them to also not resist ISIS militants, and prohibiting mobile phones in offices.

The editor-in-chief of the Turkish branch of the Moroccan Biladi TV, Cevat Gök, claimed that ISIS was not alone in the gradual invasion of Iraq.

“Major Sunni tribes, in particular Naksibendi, support ISIS. They paved the way for ISIS so that they can invade Mosul easily. ISIS is just the tip of the iceberg.” stated Gök.

Gök also pointed out the claim that the main goal of the ISIS is to conquer Baghdad as the army withdraws.

Governor Atheel al-Nujayfi sent a memorandum to all state departments on the 6 June ordering the destruction of all the documents bearing his signature, telling them to also not resist ISIS militants, and prohibiting mobile phones in offices.

The editor-in-chief of the Turkish branch of the Moroccan Biladi TV, Cevat Gök, claimed that ISIS was not alone in the gradual invasion of Iraq.

“Major Sunni tribes, in particular Naksibendi, support ISIS. They paved the way for ISIS so that they can invade Mosul easily. ISIS is just the tip of the iceberg.” stated Gök.

Gök also pointed out the claim that the main goal of the ISIS is to conquer Baghdad as the army withdraws.

He went on to say: “ISIS is the new neighbour now that it seized a big portion of oil fields, including the ones from which Turkey imports oil.”

https://syrianfreepress.wordpress.com/2014/06/14/madness-and-masochism-of-the-turkish-regime-gulen-gang-schools-in-mosul-evacuated-3-days-before-isil-invasion-while-iraqi-politicians-usama-al-nujayfi-and-tariq-al-hashimi-usa-and-akp-government-al/
 

Gulen Schools in Azerbaijan CLOSED - All that Azerbaijan lobbying a waste of money

Gulen started his schools in the oil rich country of Azerbaijan some 20 years ago.  More correctly we should say the CIA Gladio B operation used the Gulen schools to infiltrate the politics, oil, education of Azerbaijan.  This was to gain a strong foothold in the Central Asia and Caucaus countries to destabilize the interests of Russia and China.  President Aliyev isn't so much about being anti-Gulen as he is CIA and their terrorism sponsored thirst for oil.  3 days before ISIS invaded Iraq, the Gulen Turkish schools were vacated.  More on that later. 

 

Azerbaijan's government-run energy company has announced that private schools formerly run by a movement led by U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen have been closed down.

From February to April, the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) took over dozens of private high schools, university exam preparation centers and universities run by a Turkish education company called Çağ Ögretim which is allegedly linked with the Gülen movement.
     
SOCAR announced June 18 that it decided to close these schools, which had been operated by the company now known as Azerbaijan International Education Center, due to high maintenance costs and difficulties in project management.

Turkish government accuses Gülen-led 'Hizmet' (Service) movement of forming a shadow structure within the Turkish state and of plotting to topple the government.

In March, Azeri media reported that Azerbaijan sacked Elnur Aslanov, head of President İlham Aliyev's Political Analysis and Information Department, accusing him of having links with the movement.

Newspapers had said Gülen's network had also infiltrated state institutions in Azerbaijan and found cohorts among some politicians.

June/19/2014

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/azerbaijan-shuts-down-gulen-linked-schools.aspx?pageID=238&nID=67988&NewsCatID=356

 

From Turkish Press

http://www.turkishpress.com/news/411828/

 

From Haberler news

http://en.haberler.com/azerbaijan-shuts-down-gulen-linked-schools-472091/

 

From Daily Sabah (Erdogan AKP leaning news) http://www.dailysabah.com/education/2014/06/19/gulenaaffiliated-schools-in-azerbaijan-face-closure

 

BREAKING

GÜLEN-AFFILIATED SCHOOLS IN AZERBAIJAN FACE CLOSURE

·         Daily Sabah

·         Updated : 19.06.2014 14:55:07

 

Schools and educational institutions affiliated with the Gülen Movement in Azerbaijan have been closed due to numerous reasons including additional costs, financial problems and management issues.

The closure was announced by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) which has in the past year acquired schools owned by the Gülen Movement called Çağ Öğretim İşletme (Çağ Educational Enterprise). The Azerbaijani International Education Center (UEM) had a meeting and decided that the operation of schools would be a financial burden for them.

Thirteen branches of prep schools, 10 high schools, one gymnasium and Kafkas University used to be a part of the Çağ Educational Enterprise. SOCAR has said that the institutions will continue their operations until the exams for higher education institutions are finalized. Moreover, it was stated that the students and staff at these institutions would be transferred to other schools and institutions until the upcoming school year.

A letter leaked online earlier this month revealed Gülenists' financial power and influence in Azerbaijan. In the letter, a follower presented a "financial report" of the movement's activities in Azerbaijan for 2013 to the movement's U.S.-based leader Fethullah Gülen.

The report shows that the movement controls assets of over $2 million (TL 4.28 million) in the country and "presented gifts to influential people in Azerbaijan" worth $732,000, implying bribery, as well as expenses for "friends in state agencies." The letter states that the movement has trouble transferring finances to Turkey "for obvious reasons," possibly referring to the fallout between the government and the movement, and asks for Gülen's advice on the matter.

The Gülen Movement is an influential group that evolved from a religious congregation to a network of followers united by anti-government ambitions. It operates schools in numerous countries around the world, including Azerbaijan. Following the Dec. 17 operation, during which Gülenists launched a campaign against the government under the guise of a graft probe, the government moved to purge members of the organization in state and government agencies.

According to unconfirmed media reports, the administration in Azerbaijan, which maintains close ties with Turkey, allegedly sacked a senior presidential adviser to President Ilham Aliyev over his ties to Gülenists and launched a probe into the activities of Gülenists in Azerbaijan. Currently there is a case investigating the Gülen Movement's involvement in the infiltration of state institutions and media sources claim witnesses pour in to the courts to give testimony about their experience.

It is expressed that a number of witnesses, some of whom are senior police chiefs and military officers of the Turkish Armed Forces request to remain anonymous and they give crucial information about the movement's connections with public services and institutions. Three prosecutors in the Counter terrorism Department collect and record the information and files given by witnesses while some claim Fethullah Gülen who is the leader of the movement could be facing extradition charges in the case that he is convicted

Gulen Charter Schools in America subject of FBI investigation Search Warrant for 19 Schools in 3 states under Concept Schools

Turkish news having field day with FBI raid on Gulen operated American Schools.
Hocaefendi Fetos in front of ill-fated and FBI raided Indiana Math and Science Academy

The FBI and two other federal agencies conducted raids in Illinois and two other states at charter schools run by Des Plaines-based Concept Schools, FBI officials said Tuesday.

READ MORE about links to Turkish Gulen Movement:

http://politics.suntimes.com/article/chicago/fbi-raids-concept-schools-illinois-2-other-states/tue-06102014-557pm

and here is the article on FBI raid at Quest Charter Academy in Peoria, IL

 PEORIA — Quest Charter Academy was the subject of a multi-state raid last week in an investigation of charter schools run by Des Plaines-based Concept Schools, according to the FBI.

Read more: http://www.pjstar.com/article/20140610/News/140619838#ixzz34RvaComB

 

Gulen Turkish Schools teaching as CIA Cover, Dan Burton and State Secrets

http://my.firedoglake.com/dougmartin/2012/05/05/teaching-as-cia-cover%E2%80%93gulen-charter-schools-dan-burton-and-state-secrets-2/#


The following continues Doug Martin’s look into the Gülen charter school movement, which began with Islam and the Free Market of Privatized Education: “Friending” the Gülen Charter Schools. It first appeared at Common Errant.

Besides noting U.S. charter school connections to the Fethullah Gülen Movement during her testimony in the Schmidt v. Krikorian case in Ohio on August 8, 2009,* former FBI language specialist-turned whistleblower Sibel Edmonds—an Iranian raised in Turkey before becoming a U.S. citizen—alleges a 1990s U.S./ Gülen al-Qaeda operation in Central Asian and a bribery scheme involving Indiana’s own U.S. House member Dan Burton.

Edmonds testified in candidate David Krikorian’s defense case before the Ohio Election Commission when Rep. Jean Schmidt, an Ohio Republican, filed charges against him for claiming, during a 2008 campaign bid, that she accepted money illegally from people with Turkey interests.

Edmonds’ deposition held many bombshells, since she had been translating wiretap conversations between those associated with the Turkish lobby.

It seems Gülen and the U.S. State Department, from 1997 to 2001, had been training al-Qaeda in Central Asian, with the help of the Turkish military, Pakistani ISI, and Azerbaijan officials (96), Edmonds says in response to questions from Krikorian’s attorney, Dan Marino. In a subsequent interview with retired CIA-counter-terrorism specialist Phil Giraldi (who believes her story),  Edmonds details Gülen /U.S training missions and Turkish drug-smuggling into Chicago and Paterson, New Jersey, two hot-beds of the Gülen Movement, each containing Fethullah’s followers’ charter schools:

GIRALDI: You also have information on al-Qaeda, specifically al-Qaeda in Central Asia and Bosnia. You were privy to conversations that suggested the CIA was supporting al-Qaeda in central Asia and the Balkans, training people to get money, get weapons, and this contact continued until 9/11…

EDMONDS: I don’t know if it was CIA. There were certain forces in the U.S. government who worked with the Turkish paramilitary groups, including Abdullah Çatli’s group, Fethullah Gülen.

GIRALDI: Well, that could be either Joint Special Operations Command or CIA.

EDMONDS: Maybe in a lot of cases when they said State Department, they meant CIA?

GIRALDI: When they said State Department, they probably meant CIA.

EDMONDS: Okay. So these conversations, between 1997 and 2001, had to do with a Central Asia operation that involved bin Laden. Not once did anybody use the word “al-Qaeda.” It was always “mujahideen,” always “bin Laden” and, in fact, not “bin Laden” but “bin Ladens” plural. There were several bin Ladens who were going on private jets to Azerbaijan and Tajikistan. The Turkish ambassador in Azerbaijan worked with them.

There were bin Ladens, with the help of Pakistanis or Saudis, under our management. Marc Grossman [Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs at the time and former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey] was leading it, 100 percent, bringing people from East Turkestan into Kyrgyzstan, from Kyrgyzstan to Azerbaijan, from Azerbaijan some of them were being channeled to Chechnya, some of them were being channeled to Bosnia. From Turkey, they were putting all these bin Ladens on NATO planes. People and weapons went one way, drugs came back.

GIRALDI: Was the U.S. government aware of this circular deal?

EDMONDS: 100 percent. A lot of the drugs were going to Belgium on NATO planes. After that, they went to the UK, and a lot came to the U.S. via military planes to distribution centers in Chicago and Paterson, New Jersey. Turkish diplomats who would never be searched were coming with suitcases of heroin.

Edmonds, before this interview took place, had been fired from the FBI in 2002 for revealing to higher ups security breaches and Turkish espionage at the bureau’s language division. This Turkish-American conspiracy included, as well, paying off U.S. officials to leak secrets and allow nuclear weapons technology to be sold on the Pakistani, Iranian, and North Korean black markets. Besides Dan Burton, others she implements include Illinois Republican Dennis Hastert, Douglas Feith, Paul Wolfowitz, and Marc Grossman, Bush’s Deputy Undersecretary of State.

Edmonds has been gagged under a “state secrets privilege” order by the Bush Administration’s attorney general, John Ashcroft, from disclosing detailed information to the public, but her finger-pointing has been backed up or deemed credible by many, including the government’s own Department of Justice’s Inspector General and Senators Patrick Leahy and Chuck Grassley.  In fact, former Turkish Intelligence Chief  Osman Nuri Gundes, in a recent memoir, writes that Gülen, in his Central Asia charter schools in the mid-1990s, gave cover to over 130 CIA agents posing as teachers, an irony given that today Turkish men on H-1B visas pose as educators in the US charter schools run by Gülen followers.

Why was the CIA interested in Central Asia?  Oil and gas, according to Edmonds.

It turns out, one of the Turkish groups being wiretapped was the American Turkish Council (ATC). When Edmonds told higher-ups that an ATC spy was working as a translator in the FBI and attempting to conceal ATC’s illegal activity, Edmonds was fired. The spy, Jan Dickerson, Edmonds told officials, had tried to buy her out. Dickerson’s husband was an Air Force official.

As part of the Turkish lobby, the ATC is a big-player in D.C. Its board is made up of and funded by U.S. weapons contractors and energy companies (including Imagine Schools’ Dennis Bakke’s former company AES Energy, Eli Lilly, and Lockheed Martin). It is believed that Valerie Plame Wilson’s outing, among other things, was a result of her investigation into the ATC. At the time of the conspiracy, Brent Scowcroft, a former national security adviser, was ATC’s chair. Lincoln McCurdy, who we will soon meet, was ATC’s CEO.

In an interview with Electric Politics, Edmonds also discusses the Association of Turkish Americans and its nationwide interfaith and business chapters, which have ties to the Gülen charter schools.  Citizens Against Special Interest Lobbying in Public Schools (C.A.S.I.L.I.P.S) has traced Gülen-affiliated Magnolia Science Academy’s Dean Sumer, in California, to the Association of Turkish Americans.

BURTON AND THE TURKISH LOBBY

Dan Burton (R, IN): “If I lived in Turkey and if I were a Turk, I would want to get those terrorists who cross the border to blow up my family, kill my kids.”

Due to the Ashcroft “gag-order,” Edmonds has not been able to say exactly what illegal activity Burton was enmeshed in with the Turkish lobby.  Supposedly, the crimes occurred from 1997 to 2002 (page 159 PDF), the same time-span in which the CIA was allegedly helping Gülen train al-Qaeda. Referring to a picture gallery she set up online exposing those entangled in the scandal, Edmonds, in her Ohio deposition, says this concerning Burton:

A. I can’t discuss the details of those individuals not legal activities in the United States, but those pictures, his and others, are there because State Secrets Privilege was mainly involved to cover up those individuals illegal, extremely illegal activities against the United States citizens who were involved in operations that were, again, against order foreign government and foreign entities against the United States’interests.

Q. And Dan Burton is a representative, member of Congress from Indiana; is that correct? Is that the right place?

A. I believe he is. (46-47)

Gülen’s name does not surface alongside Burton’s during the testimony, but as I noted in a previous article, Burton has accepted campaign donations from many individuals tied to Gülen charter schools in Indiana. Lyndsey Eksili, wife of main Indiana Gülen leader Bilal, has given Burton $1000, and Hasan Yerdelen, treasurer for the American Turkish Association of Indiana, donated $1,000 in 2010, as well.  A former Holy Dove official, Yerdelen’s new group belongs to the Assembly of Turkish-American Associations (ATAA), also mentioned by Edmonds.

Burton has been getting money from the Turkish PAC, too, which has ties to the American Turkish Council implemented in the Edmonds case. In an article about a recent D.C. gala party, the Gülen-influenced Today’s Zaman details the plans of the TC-USA PAC. The TC-USA PAC goes by many names. Incorporated out of Houston, Texas, it sometimes is called the Turkish Coalition PAC, the Turkish American Political Action Committee, and the Turkish Coalition USA PAC.  Until May 2008, its name was the Turkish PAC – Turkish American Heritage Political Action Committee.  Federal Election Commission records show Burton has recently gotten $11,000 from this group.

The Turkish Coalition USA PAC is managed by the Turkish Coalition of America’s Lincoln McCurdy, a Hanover College, Indiana, graduate and former U.S. diplomat in Istanbul, who was ATC’s CEO from 1998 to 2004, during the alleged Burton bribery scandal. McCurdy’s name appears as the treasurer of the PAC in FEC documents. The Turkish Coalition of America was founded with money from Hittite Microwave head Yalcin Ayasli, which since 2004, according to the Sunlight Foundation, has received $30 million in contracts from the U.S. government. McCurdy is no stranger to Dan Burton. Burton visited Turkey with McCurdy and the Turkish Coalition of America. Plus, in a 2009 talk at the Gülen Institute Congressional Dinner, Burton praised how Dick Lugar was to be a future keynote speaker at the Holy Dove Foundation, and how he himself is treated like a “king” when he visits Turkey.

In the summer of 2010, Burton even hired Baran Cansever to go on fact-finding missions at congressional hearings.  Cansever was a former American Turkish Council intern in 2009, where he helped plan ATC-funded trips for congressional staffers and worked with the ATC “Chairman during Energy and Defense sessions at the Annual Conference on U.S./Turkish Relations.” As I and many others have noted, those associated with the Gülen-led charter schools use trips to Turkey to dupe legislators across the country into buying into the Gülen story of peace and love.

In November of last year, Burton and Dick Lugar were hosts at a Turkish American Federation of the Midwest-sponsored event which also included the American Turkish Council’s James Holmes as speaker, British Petroleum’s Greg Saunders, and Fatih Baltaci, CEO of Enerco Energy, along with many government officials. The Turkish American Federation of the Midwest is a local branch of the Gülen-led Assembly of Turkic American Federations (ATAF); the Niagara Foundation, with ties to leaders of the Indiana Gülen charter school movement, is an arm of the Turkish American Federation of the Midwest.

Although Edmonds does not mention Lugar in the bribery scandal, his appearance at the ATAF’s gala party held at the Willard InterContinental Washington in May 2010 did not go unnoticed to Today’s Zaman, which noted: “It was no coincidence that Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) talked about the Holy Dove Foundation’s impressive interfaith and ethnic outreach efforts in Indianapolis.” Holy Dove, to refresh your memory, is one of the main Gülen groups behind the Indiana charter schools. Last month, Lugar, in fact, received over $9,200 in campaign donations from Indiana Gülenists Mehmet Dundar, Oznur Dundar, Ali Kemal Durhan, and Zehra Durhan at the Indiana Math and Science Academy.

CONCLUSION

Last year, the FBI began investigating the Gülen charter schools for visa fraud, so it will be interesting to see what, if anything, is done about Gülen’s U.S. campaign to profit his movement with U.S. taxpayers’ dollars. In Indiana, D.C. and across America, don’t expect legislators to have the interest/and or safety of the public or public schools in mind anytime soon, though. Despite Barton retiring (becoming a Turkish lobbyist?) and Lugar fighting re-election with another tea-party Republican, the Gülen empire in Indiana and around the world will continue. According to a 2010 piece in the Hurriyet Daily News, Gülen himself has called on all 180 of his organizations to be put under the Assembly of Turkic American Federations (ATAF) umbrella. Gülen is everywhere. When asked if Fethullah Gülen was a threat to United States interests, Edmonds, in her Ohio testimony said, “One hundred percent, absolutely.” Discussing the Gülen charter schools, Sibel had this back-and-forth with Krikorian’s attorney, Dan Marino:

Q. Did you say that Gulan had set up schools in the United States as well?

A. Yes.

Q. Are some of those in Cincinnati, if you know?

A. I’m not sure. I know of some in Texas. I know one in Virginia, but I don’t know. They are multiplying, and they’re spreading rapidly. (97-99)

They are multiplying, indeed, and more of them are being proposed in Burton’s own backyard.

Notes

* Edmonds’ Gülen testimony segment has been posted on YouTube. Video tapes of Edmonds’ whole deposition are available on Brad’s Blog. Edmonds’ own Boiling Frogs blog is well-worth a close read.

** Edmonds’ story has been mentioned on 60 Minutes and made into a documentary entitled Kill the Messenger. In January, a 60 Minutes episode on the U.S. Gülen charter schools was also filmed. No word yet on when or if it will air.

For Further Reading on the banal corruption of Dan Burton, see:

“The Hypocrisy of Dan Burton.”

“Two Year Sentence for Man Accused in Pakistan Spy Plot”

For more on Gülen charter schools, see Charter School Scandals, Charter School Watchdog, and Citizens Against Special Interest Lobbying in Public Schools (C.A.S.I.L.I.P.S).

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Tags: Gulen Charter Schools, Sibel Edmonds, FBI, Dan Burton, al-Qaeda, CIA, 911