Turkey passes controversial law to shut down Gulen schools

Fethullah Gulen's Schools Shut Down In Turkey

Gulen GERMANY-WDR-Doku über den türkischen Prediger FETHULLAH GÜLEN - Der lange Arm de...

Moscow closes down Gulen Schools

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/private-school-loses-all-foreign-staff/495543.html

 

Private secondary schools in Russia like Atlantic International School are attracting local and foreign students.

With only three months left in the academic school year, dozens of expatriate parents are looking for Moscow schools to accept their children after the prestigious Atlantic International School lost all of its more than 40 foreign teachers.

The Atlantic International School, which describes itself as an independent, non-profit organization with three schools in Moscow, announced in an e-mail to parents on Feb. 26 that its foreign teachers had been declared non grata, barring them from returning for five years.

The problem, the e-mail says, stems from an unknown person who contacted the Education Ministry at the start of the school year to complain about the school's teaching, sparking a series of about 30 government inspections that ultimately resulted in the discovery that the foreign teachers did not have the right visas to work in Russia.

The director of the school, Kaya Farik, said the complaint was filed by "envious people trying to damage a successfully growing business," according to the e-mail, a copy of which was provided to The Moscow Times by parents of students at the school.

With the education of more than 600 children facing serious disruption, parents and school staff have signed a petition addressed to President Vladimir Putin, the prime minister and the Education Ministry, asking for their intervention.

School administrators have offered assurances to parents that they were trying get the old teachers back or, most likely, will be forced to hire a completely new staff with fewer native English speakers. But as a cloud of uncertainty hangs over the school, parents are looking for ways to make sure that their children can successfully finish this school year.

"Parents are, of course, scrambling to find alternative arrangements for their children, which, needless to say, are not easy to come by, and it is unlikely that the other international schools in Moscow will be able to pick up all of the slack," said one expatriate parent whose daughter attends the school.

School officials refused repeated requests for comment over the past week. A top administrator, Galina Kovalenko, agreed to discuss the situation after a staff meeting Monday. But after the meeting, she said that the only comment she would offer was that the school was ready to return to work without any problems.

The school also has a St. Petersburg location, and a representative there said its foreign teachers did not have any problems. One parent said, however, that the St. Petersburg school was the first place affected.

The school, which was fast growing, had planned to open a campus in Minsk and a fourth one in Moscow later this year.

The Atlantic International School opened its doors to children from the ages of 2 to 18 in 2009, with a stated goal of providing a high-value education to the expatriate and local community. On its website, the school extols it use of native English teachers and the fact that it is a registered Cambridge International School and licensed by the Russian Education Ministry. Annual tuition runs from 800,000 rubles ($22,200) for nursery school to 1.1 million rubles ($33,350) for high school.

In recent years, international schools and preschools have become increasingly popular among people living in Moscow. Dozens of international schools, including the Anglo-American School and the British International School, offer education in English, French, Polish and other languages.

The Atlantic International School underwent about 30 inspections by Russian authorities since the start of the school year in September, but it passed all but the last of them with only minor reproaches, said one parent, who like many people interviewed for this report spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they feared drawing negative attention to themselves or their organizations.

The inspections started after a complaint sent by  parent identified only as Ivanov to the Education Ministry at the beginning of this school year, one parent said. School officials have failed to linked the common Russian surname to any of its students, leading parents to see the complaint  as a trumped-up pretext for the inspections.

School administrators told parents earlier this year that their foreign teachers had left the country to process new visas at the request of the Federal Migration Service. But after leaving the country, the teachers were notified that they would not be allowed to return for the next five years for national security reasons, the school board informed parents at a meeting two weeks ago, one of the participants said.

Details about the visa situation are murky. A Federal Migration Service spokesman said he was unaware of any problem involving the school's teachers. A British Embassy spokesman also knew nothing about the matter.

Regardless of the cause, it is clear to parents that the school is unable to fulfill its curriculum with the current teacher shortage, leaving them seeking new schools for their children. Not many schools appear able to help on short notice, but at least one, the British International School, which offers a curriculum similar to Atlantic's, said it was considering opening classes to accommodate some of the children.

International schools said they were not afraid that Atlantic's troubles might be part of a broader trend that could affect their foreign staff.

"I am afraid to even guess what the incidents with Atlantic were caused by," said an employee at an international school. "But as we are kind of colleagues, we feel strong indignation about what happened."

 

 

Azerbaijan President purges his cabinit of Gulen insider Aslanov

http://contact.az/docs/2014/Politics/031700072837en.htm#.Uye7XWbn9jq

 

In accordance with the decree of the President, a  37-year-old Elnur  Aslanov  was dismissed as head of the department for political analysis and information support of the presidential administration Nothing is reported about the causes of  his dismissal.

Recently in the media actively exaggerated the topic of relations  of the  Elnur Aslanov with Turkish Nursists, and even Aslanov’s letter addressed to  Fatullah Gulen  was published.

Several media reported some fight  between Aslanov and Ali Hasanov, other  head of the department in the Presidential Administration, for influence and control over the media youth organizations.

Aslan  controlled the work of  the Center for Strategic Studies under the President and pro-government youth organization "Ireli" . In addition,  Aslanov  controlled other  pro-government  leading websites.
Aslanov’s dismissal  will be regarded as a victory or Ali Hasanov’s team. —06D-
 

 

Erdogan on Gülenists: They are Worse than Shiites

What happen to the love, peace and dialogue of Gulencis like Erdogan with all

of the faiths of the world?  This is a direct attack on Iranians and Syrians (Alawites)

Turkish Olympiad-A Gulen "show": Turkish Olympiads a danger to attendees, students ...

Turkish Olympiad-A Gulen "show": Turkish Olympiads a danger to attendees, students ...: Foreign Minister Davutoğlu is seen with government officials and foreign children during the closing ceremony of the Eighth Turkish Oly...

Azerbaijan government complains about Gulen infiltrating top level of oil SOCOR

In response to a Azerbaijan news about government concerns of Gulen infiltrating top levels of SOCOR oil.  Here is the Today's Zaman response, remember they are the official sounding board for the Gulen Movement.  As usual, the Today's Zaman has to declare that the letter from an Azerbaijan official is a fake. 

http://www.todayszaman.com/news-341510-turkish-schools-in-azerbaijan-join-socar-financed-intl-education-complex.html

Çağ Educational Institution chief Enver Özeren speaks at a press conference on Friday. (Photo: Cihan, Osman Uçak)

 

7 March 2014 / TODAYSZAMAN.COM, İSTANBUL

Turkish schools are among leading educational institutions that have joined an international educational complex financed by State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR), a statement from the Azerbaijani oil giant said on Wednesday.

The education complex is a non-state company that is financed by SOCAR and the membership of Turkish schools, prep schools and a university in the complex is part of a deal signed between the Çağ Education Company and the oil company a year ago.
Khaliq Memmedov, SOCAR's vice president, told the ANS TV network on Wednesday that with the latest expansion, 11 Turkish high schools, 13 Araz prep schools and Qafqaz University joined the educational complex. He said the primary aim of the expansion is to bring Azerbaijani education up to international standards.
With the accession of the Turkish schools into the SOCAR-sponsored educational institution, tuition fees at the schools and the university are expected to significantly decrease and become affordable for middle-income families.
Turkey's pro-government media falsely portrayed the cooperation deal signed a year ago as though the Azerbaijani state had nationalized the schools, which is far from the reality.
During a signing ceremony held last year, attended by Çağ Educational Institution chief Enver Özeren and SOCAR President Rovnaq Abdullayev, the two companies decided to continue their educational services with equal involvement in a non-governmental organization called the Azerbaijan International Education Center (AUTM) .
Speaking to the press following the ceremony, Abdullayev stated that his company has been working together with the Çağ Education Company on numerous projects for a long time. He added that the cooperation agreement will allow both companies to undertake educational projects to international standards, which the country needs. Recalling that those who graduated from Çağ Educational Company schools are highly qualified, Abdullayev said they are planning to transfer this experience in education to the AUTM.
Memmedov, who also attended the signing ceremony last March, said their main goal is to enhance the financial strength of schools linked to the Çağ Education Company and benefit from their experience to provide better quality education for future generations.
In his speech, Özeren welcomed the opportunity to jointly work with SOCAR, and said educational success will be acquired under the umbrella of AUTM. Saying that they are closely following developments in education around the world, Özeren said the cooperation agreement will allow them to focus on new projects.

Fabricated letter

Last week, an Azerbaijani website published a letter allegedly written to Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen by Özeren that included claims about shady activities of the company in Azerbaijan. In a press conference, Özeren rejected the letter, saying that the letter was fabricated. The letter was widely cited by pro-government media in Turkey.
Özeren stated at the news conference that media outlets should not believe such campaigns that spread “lies and slander.” Özeren said the company has already filed a complaint regarding the fabricated letter and launched a legal battle against the defamation campaign.
The name of Gülen in the letter was misspelled, indicating that the letter was fake. The text, written in Turkish, also included many errors that characterize a text written by a native Azerbaijani speaker. 

Gulen Movement in France how powerful are they?

The confrontation between Islamists, led by the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan against the Gülen movement has repercussions in France where this little known organisation counts several thousands of followers.

On this day of April 2007, on the banks of the Bosphorus, a small group of French people are engaged in a heated debate. Some of France’s well-known intellectuals are present: the historians, Jean-Pierre Azéma, Philippe Roger and Olivier Wieviorka, Olivier Roy a specialist on Islam, the former superintendent of the Catholic Institute of Paris Joseph Maïla, the philosophers Dominique Bourel, Michel Marian, and Joël Roman, the geographer Michel Foucher, the editor Jean-Louis Schlegel, Frank Debié a specialist in Political Sciences…

They were invited to Istanbul to debate with Turkish academics and intellectuals in a luxury hotel [1]. The topic ? ‘The Republic, cultural diversity and Europe’.

This is what is troubling the small group: were they right to accept this invitation? At the origin of this question : the dinner on the first night at the Dolmabaçe Palace, where alcohol  was forbidden, and more importantly, the contents of the presentation brochure placed on the nightstands in the hotel rooms. ‘Did you read the demonization of blasphemy it contains? cried out Phillippe Roger, particularly vigilant and watchful. We have accepted the invitation of a society which criminalizes blasphemy…’

Indeed, as the French intellectuals just discovered, behind the ‘Abant platform’  which gave out the invitations, there is the large Gülen Neo-Brotherhood which ‘often does not present itself as such, and puts forward key figures who are not always members of the society’ explains Olivier Roy to his peers.

A two level movement

In the last couple of years, this neo-brotherhood has appeared as a two level  movement.

On the one side, a vast network of pious and very active Turkish Muslims, involved and devoted ‘to serve’ (Hizmet in Turkish) civil society. Inspired by the thought of the imam Fethullah Gülen who is living in exile in the United States since 1999, they condemn violence and terror; promote entrepreneurship, education and interreligious dialogue.

On the other, a strong presence, a ‘core group’ according to some observers, at the heart for the police and the justice system, which allied to the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in power since 2002, helped the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to get rid of de political wardship of the army through hundreds of arrests and sensational trials.

The movement is established in 150 countries, including France since the 80s – incidentally, Fethullah Gülen visited Paris and Strasbourg in 1990. Europe in contrast to Africa and Asia has so far not constituted a priority for the movement. However, in the last ten years the latter has quickly grown.

Since 2007, other guests have followed the steps of our Parisian intellectuals: academics, councillors, journalists, activists…Many French people discovered Turkey thanks to this peculiar ‘sponsor’. How many exactly? ‘We do not keep such records’ answers Nihat Sarier, the president of the Parisian Platform, who defines his society as ‘a centre for reflexion, debate and social action inspired by the ideas of Gülen’, before admitting  ‘it is true that it organised several thematic trips to Turkey, focused on secularism, minorities’ rights, women’s rights, in partnership with French institutions’.

Just recently, in December 2013, during a dinner at the National Assembly, a French MP praised the appeal of the town of Konya which he had just discovered thanks to the society.

To this day, only one academic has published a study which begins to seriously consider the Gülen movement in France: Erkan Toguslu, researcher in anthropology, who holds the Gülen Chair for intercultural studies at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium and who dedicated a chapter of the book he coordinated Société civile, démocratie et islam (L’Harmattan, 2012) to movement’s educational experience in Paris.

Not easy to define

One has to admit the movement is not easy to define. With its determination to get involved in the public sphere with secular motivations, it has something of the Freemasons and the Jesuits. Yet, the diversity of the activities it proposes makes one think more of the Rotary. From all of these it takes a taste for secrecy – or prudence – which provokes suspicion and brings to mind the Opus Dei.

With its religious basis, its prayer circles, it places itself in a Turkish (and Muslim) tradition, that of the tarikat (brotherhoods), while at the same distinguishing itself by its openness to the world and its involvement in civil society.

The structure of the movement, floating and lose, is based on strong personal relations, sometimes volunteers, and very decentralised more than pyramidal.  The funding of its activities is based on the anonymity and discretion of himmet (monetary donations in particular during the month of Ramadan) which does not make it very transparent. In France, ‘Muslims are perceived either as terrorists or unemployed. Fethullah Gülen’s message allows us to live our faith while getting involved in society and gives us back a certain pride’, explains one of its members.

In 2009, the most active members had nonetheless made efforts to gain exposure. ‘However, they remain relatively mysterious’,  according to the political scientist Louis-Marie Bureau who studied the ideas of the one who inspired them and who has been  criticised by some of its followers who did not appreciate one of his articles. ‘As a general rule, they are completely sincere in relation to the laws of the Republic even though their speech in France has nothing to do with the one they put forward in Central Asia or in Azerbaijan – where they easily invoke ‘Pan-Turk’ links whereas in France, they place the emphasis on citizen responsibility and secularism. Yet, they think that presenting the movement as monolithic could create difficulties for them. That is why they remain vague about their links to Fethullah Gülen.’

‘I have nothing to hide. I accept completely that I be presented as a follower of Gülen and his ideas, but my life does not limited itself to that. I retain my critical thinking which is why I cannot stand it when people call us ‘Gulenists’, clarifies Emre Demir, head of Zaman in Paris, the movement’s Franco-Turkish newspaper which is printed every week.

‘House of light’

There would be among the members of the Gülen movement in France tens of students, including a little less than ten Turkish or Franco-Turkish doctoral students – among which a few girls. To obtain a scholarship, sponsored by Turkish entrepreneurs living on French territory, one must agree to have the family’s budget examined in minute detail. Expenditures deemed excessive, a car, holidays can quickly get the candidate eliminated.

In France like in Turkey, the students who are sympathizers of the Cemaat (an other name for the movement, means communauty)  often form a group to share an apartment, also known as a ‘house of light’. A spiritual community which satisfies some while others denounce the risks of indoctrination.

In private, several French academics praise the ‘diligence, proactivity, conscientiousness and thoughtfulness’ which characterise these young people. In the last couple of years, numerous students have started working on the Gülen movement, but a great many of them share its ideas which could in the long term distort the studies on the subject. ‘Research on the movement is dominated by students who are close to it and the latter sponsors their fellowships. Not to mention that a researcher who has not received the movement’s approval will find it very difficult to have access to the schools, the activists, etc’, notes a French researcher in Political Sciences Elie Massicard, linked to the Ceri (Centre for the study of international relations).

The two schools, in Villeneuve-Saint-Georges and Strasbourg, founded by families who are supporters of Fethullah Gülen count less than 300 students in total. They are for the moment private schools independent from the state, funded by donations and the school fee (5.000 euro per student per year), each of which represent half of the school’s total funds.

In addition to these institutions, there are around twenty societies which provide ‘support in the social and educational field’. Finally, the movement organises ‘dinners to live well together’, sometimes in partnership with French associations such as the Red Cross or the Restos du Coeur as it was the case on January 11 of this year at Clichy-sous-Bois.

The choice of integration

Since 2010, another big event of the ‘living together’ initiatives, organised and sponsored to a great extent by societies of the Gülen movement is the Festival of Franco-Turkish Culture. Its objective explains one of the organisers is ‘to help young Franco-Turks who are interested in French regional culture to gain active citizenship.’ This year a regional final took place on 22 February in Strasbourg in the presence of the mayor of the city, Roland Ries (Socialist Party), and several officials.

Furthermore, Platform Paris offers many conferences and debates on questions crucial for French society, often little discussed in other circles. This meeting, for example, at Pantin on 18 October 2013 between Tareq Oubrou, chancellor of the Great Mosque of Bordeaux , and the priest Christophe Roucou, head of the National Service for the Relations with Islam in the Catholic Church; or the one on 31 January of this year, with Kamel Meziti, author of the Dictionnaire de l’islamophobie.

Transnational, the Cemaat has chosen to promote integration in the host country of which it adopts the norms and rules. With its strong Turkish roots, it needs, in order to expand itself in France, to attract immigrants, or French citizens of North African origins with whom Turks must not be confused specifies Abdurrahman Demir, the head of the school in Villeneuve-Saint-Georges:
‘What makes us different from North Africans is the fact they are turned away from their culture because the message of their imams and their parents does not correspond to the realities of contemporary life. As a result they become frustrated and violent.  Whereas us Turks, move forward with our culture, our history, and thanks to the Gülen movement we do not retreat into solitude.’

Links with the American religious right

If the ‘Gülen transplant’ has trouble taking roots in France, it is maybe because there is something very American about this movement where the cultural merges with the religious.  ‘There are ideological links between Fethullah and the American religious right’, describes the academic Jean-François Bayart who went to present his book on republican Islam at Platform Paris and who evoked in an article the links the Gülen movement supposedly maintains with the CIA.

 

READ Entire story here http://arianebonzon.fr/turkish-gulen-movement-france/

 

Gulen Schools in Turkey closed as ordered by the Turkish Parliament

ANKARA // Turkey’s parliament has passed a bill to close down thousands of private schools, many of which are run by an influential Muslim cleric embroiled in a bitter feud with the government.

The move is the latest blow struck in a rivalry between prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his former ally Fethullah Gulen which has seen the Turkish government entangled in a graft scandal.

On Friday, lawmakers in the 550-seat house voted 226 for and 22 against the bill which sets September 1, 2015 as the deadline to shut down the network of schools.

Around 4,000 private schools in Turkey are run by Mr Gulen, and provide a major source of income for his Hizmet (Service) movement, which describes itself as a global, social and cultural movement inspired by Islamic ideals.

Tensions have long simmered between Mr Erdogan and Mr Gulen, who once worked hand-in-hand as the conservative pro-business middle class rose at the expense of the military and former secular elite.

But they reached a breaking point in November when the government first floated the idea of shutting down the schools, which aims to help students prepare for high school and university.

Mr Erdogan said at the time he wanted to abolish an “illegal” and unfair education system which he charged turned children into “competition horses”.

“Those who benefit from these courses are the kids of rich families in big cities,” said the Turkish premier, who has tried to burnish an image as a man of the people during his term in office.

In mid-December dozens of Mr Erdogan’s allies were detained in police raids on allegations of bribery in construction projects, gold smuggling and illicit dealings with Iran.

Mr Erdogan accused so-called Gulenists implanted in Turkey’s police and judiciary of instigating the corruption probe in a bid to undermine his government ahead of local elections in March and presidential elections in August.

He retaliated by sacking hundreds of police and prosecutors believed to be linked to the movement run by Mr Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in the United States.

A Turkish court on Friday released the last five suspects detained in the corruption probe, including the sons of two former ministers.

However the corruption crisis, which dragged down four ministers and prompted a cabinet shake-up, has posed the most serious challenge to Mr Erdogan’s Islamic-rooted government since it came to power in 2002.

The controversy has widened to implicate Mr Erdogan himself, after recordings were leaked online last week in which the premier can allegedly be heard discussing hiding large sums of cash and conspiring to extort a bribe from a business associate.

The government has said the phone recordings are “fabricated”.

Government has also accused Gulenists of wiretapping thousands of influential people -- including the prime minister, the spy chief and journalists.

At an election rally on Saturday, Mr Erdogan blamed Mr Gulen loyalists for “espionage” and “blackmail” and threatened that they would pay a “heavy price”.

“Confidential and strategic conversations are being wiretapped,” he said.

Observers say the schools law is the latest move by the government to strike back at Gulen’s Hizmet network.

Hizmet risks losing millions of dollars in revenue once the Turkish establishments, which offer education to supplement normal schooling, are closed down.

Erdogan’s government has also recently pushed through legislation tightening state control over the Internet and the judiciary, generating criticism at home and abroad and raising questions about the state of democracy in Turkey.

Gulen, who has been living in the United States since 1999 to escape charges of plotting against the secular state by the then-government, has denied any involvement in the corruption probe.

The Hizmet movement also runs some 500 private schools around the world.

Read more: http://www.thenational.ae/world/turkey/turkish-parliament-votes-to-close-gulen-schools#ixzz2vESnaQAT
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More coverage here

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/03/01/352802/turkey-passes-law-to-close-gulen-school