Friday, June 4, 2010

Your creepy weekend reading and viewing

Islamist Gülen Movement Runs U.S. Charter Schools, March 29, 2010, American Thinker (From American Thinker's about page: “There is no limit to the topics appearing on American Thinker. National security in all its dimensions, strategic, economic, diplomatic, and military is emphasized. The right to exist and the survival of the State of Israel are of great importance to us.”)

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Gülen Movement school organizational chart: Unidentified source

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Very fresh news about Fethullah Gülen: Reclusive Turkish Imam Criticizes Gaza Flotilla, June 4, 2010, The Wall Street Journal

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The most recent news about investigations into the recently closed Utah charter school: Islamic links to Utah's Beehive Academy probed, June 1, 2010, The Deseret News

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Recent news about the charter school network in Texas:

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A deeper-than-usual investigation by an Arizona reporter: Sonoran Science Academy cites shortage of adequate teachers in hiring many Turks: Foreigners fill ranks of local charter-school chain, April 25, 2010, Arizona Daily Star

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Explore the most comprehensive Gülen charter school website by starting here:

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Explore the Gülen Movement YouTube channel:

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Watch these western state charter school network students performing at one of the many U.S. regional Turkish Olympiads.

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Texas charter school network students performing at their regional Turkish Olympiad.

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Some Turkish history background from Newsweek.

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The testimony about treasonous crimes and corruption that never made the evening news.

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Messianic believers have been concerned.

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Texas Patriots are very concerned, too.

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Kurdish writers have been observing and have their views: Kurdish Lobbyists versus Turkish Muslim Missionaries Lobbyists in the USA (Gulen’s Missionaries), July 6, 2009, Kurdish Aspect. An excerpt:

Gulen’s followers offer scholarships targeting minorities, especially African – American college students who want to study in Turkey. His supporters use the race card to target African Americans because of the historicity of slavery, and they claim that Islam does not welcome slavery and that there is no racism under the tenets of Islam. Using that rationale to recruit Blacks, Latinos, Native Americans, and other minorities in the USA, Gülen also notices that the African- American community is on the rise in its place in the American society. However, back in early 90s during his first trip to USA, Gülen claimed that America would be destroyed by the African – Americans. Now, however, racial dynamics have changed, particularly solidified by the election of President Obama.

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And in rural Pennsylvania, Gülen’s reporter neighbor decided to write some stories:

"Muslim radical lives in the Poconos -- but it's not what you think," April 18, 2010, Pocono Record (Stroudsburg, PA) and "Fethullah Gülen remains a radical figure for many Muslims," April 27,2010, Pocono Record (Stroudsburg, PA)

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I thought this May 4, 2010 comment by someone called Fahrettin Altay Pasha might be plausible. (I’ve broken it up into shorter paragraphs):

Gulen is a very powerful man, thanks to the aid of the US. They (the US) assisted Gulen with CIA funding build his empire, just as they did with Saddam Husein in the 80’s and Bin Laden.

Gulen is being used by the US to weaken the republic of Turkey just like Bin Laden was used against the Russians and Hussein against Iran…

It’s typical of the US to create a monstor and use them for their own resource which is predominantly built around profit. The CIA were the ones who allowed Gulen to escape from Turkey after the 1980 coup… Also backed by the CIA…

The CIA were the ones who provided letters of endorsement from former CIA Deputy Director Graham Fuller, former Under Secretary of State Marc Grossman, and former Ambassador to Turkey Morton Abramowitz which accompanied Gulens application for residential status. On 5th December 2007, the Turkish Puppet Prime Minister had a meeting with the US President, Bush… one of the results of that meeting lead to 35 high ranking military/Intelligence officers flying to Turkey, and residing in Ankara… where they still reside today.

These group of intelligence officers are solely responsible (using Gulen’s backbone of infrastructure such as Newspapers, TV stations, personel etc) for the destabilisation of democracy. Since the infamous meeting of November 2007, they have been responsible for Ergenekon – including false statements and documents leaked to the press, unearthing of weapons (supposedly buried by the Turkish Military Forces) 5000 pages of an Army Coup Document which was supposedly to be carried out by the Turkish Armed forces..

The aim is to weaken the stance of the Turkish Armed Forces who see itself as the sole protector of the Modern Republic of Turkey. F. Gulen has rid the country of any other administration which stands in his way. He controls the Universities, the government, the Police force, the Supreme Courts… Everyday Turkey is being driven into a Moderate Islamic State. This is clearly visible…

The aim is to destabilise Turkey and enable the creation of a Kurdish State in Northern Iraq, which will eventually take up part of Iran and Turkey.. Hence why the US wants to bomb Iran this year. This will allow a puppet regime like Kurdistan to protect America’s Interests in the region. The US hopes to have control of Northern Iraq via Kurdistan and open a corridor all the way to Afghanistan and south to the ports, and into the untapped regions of Northern China. It’s all about future US Energy interests. Refer to CIA operative Charles Sam Faddis author of “Operation Hotel California”.

This proves beyond doubt the CIA/US funded and assisted in the creation of the PKK terrorists who were trained, dressed and fed with CIA funding in the 1980’s. It proved to be successful as now the PKK are a tool used by CIA to achieve its objectives.

Gulen is one of these tools… If Gulen succeeds, it will be the end of democracy in Turkey… but the US will come one step closer to annihilation also.

The onus is on you, the people of the US, you need to inform one another of what is happening without your consent. You did not elect a government to topple other governments and destabilise entire regions. You need to take control of your government and put pressure on them to assist in spreading peace. You should start by campaigning the closure of all Gulens schools. Don’t believe the hype you read about this man. He is truly a very dangerous man. Why is he not allowed to go back to his homeland? Why is he living under the protection of the CIA? If Gulen was such a peaceful Islamist, why does he not go the any of the Arab countries? – They too will hang him on the spot!

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In this piece, the word "charter school" is never used but the description definitely fits. Excerpts:

- Then I looked at the teaching methods or the curriculum at these schools in order to come up with a set of principles that constitute the design of Gulen Inspired Schools.

-...he (Gulen)is not directly involved with any of these schools except one or two he visited in Turkey

- Gulen disapproves naming the institutions established for education, charity or dialogue as Gulen Institutions or Gulen Movement in its entirety.

- The common language used in all schools is English, that is, almost all subject areas are taught in English. The educators do not only teach basic math, science and technology, but go the extra mile, and help students to attend international math-science fairs and competitions. Most students at Gulen Inspired Schools are decorated with medals from International Science and Technology Olympiads [visit the websites of the schools and look at the home pages, where such participation is posted].

- these schools do integrate the modern sciences and technology with the traditional wisdom. Educators at these schools utilize both the modern concepts and traditional methods together in order to educate the whole-child. The curriculum is designed around the state-of-the-art technology and sciences whereas the extracurricular activities expose the children to global ethical and moral values.

- motivation of the entrepreneurs establishing these schools can best be articulated by the concept of sincerity, as they are not pursuing any missionary goals or any hidden agenda, but only actualizing the basic principles of charity and reaching out to others.

- Most of the Gulen Inspired Schools are run by non-profit organizations supported by donations from decent, honest, hard working businessmen. [for example, read the articles about Beehive school in Utah to learn about the private contributions that it received]

- Most teachers travel to far distant countries and cities, some to places that they have never even heard of. Some work in very poor conditions on minimal wage. Some do have the appropriate facilities but not all. But they all do volunteer in after hours and help with extracurricular activities, and none give up due to any of the obstacles that come with this territory. Some have switched careers to education from engineering or social sciences, so they continue on learning new methods and ways to improve their teaching. [the primary career theme in the bios of board members is engineering]

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GÜLEN-INSPIRED SCHOOLS AND SMOS [Social Management Organizations], December 9, 2009, from the official Web site. Excerpts:

- The adversarial coverage has brought the schools, their financial accountability and leadership to the fore, displaying them in a negative light.

- Probably because of its transnational growth since the 1990s, the financing of the Gülen movement is occasionally queried in newspaper and journal articles. There has been little detailed study of the finance issue, but all academic research on this issue so far has made clear that each institution and project network in the movement is legitimate and transparent in book-keeping and accounting and that all financial management is done at the local level and subject to local regulatory inspection.

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Paper about U.S. educational reform delivered by Sheryl Santos on Saturday, November 4, 2006 at the Second International Conference on Islam in the Contemporary World: The Fethulla Gulen movement in Thought and Practice. Santos was the dean of the College of Education at Texas Tech at the time (held position from 2003 to 2009). She is clearly one of his followers. Excerpts:

- So, it is very difficult to imagine that a nation such as the United States, with a decentralized education system in which each state operates its schools independently, will ever achieve consensus about what and how children are to learn. However, based upon the writings and teachings of the imminent Turkish Islamic scholar and philosopher, M. Fethullah Gülen, I feel compelled to make the case for a higher order of thinking to pervade all educational institutions in United States.

- It is believed that there are about 700 Gülen inspired schools throughout the world.

- Nevertheless, I believe that all public schools, including public charter schools serving a diversity of students, can benefit from the prototype and the philosophical underpinnings of Gülen inspired schools.

- Another important feature of Gülen educational philosophy is that science and technology do not have to be divorced from one's spirituality or faith. Hence, there is a heavy emphasis on technology and science in these schools around the world. Gülen inspired schools participate in science fairs and competitions throughout the world, oftentimes with great success. A case in point is the Willow International School (aka Turkish College) in Mozambique. [The name "Willow" is also used for the EMO in California. Note the board members.]

- Gülen's ideas about the role of science and its connection to the Divine laws of the Creator are completely consonant with the totality of his views about education.

- I am not certain how, or if, one's attitudes about science is limiting the choice of academic majors in the U.S., but it is observable that many professors of engineering and the hard sciences in American universities were international students prior to employment. Also, there is a severe shortage of science and math teachers in the United States as well, and tests reveal that students are not excelling in the public schools in these subject matter disciplines.

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The Gülen Institute at the University of Houston

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Enroll your child in a Gülen charter school so they can learn a special variation of world history, learn to speak Turkish, get taken under the wing by specially selected Turkish teachers, become totally familiar with Turkish culture, and get free trips to Turkey.


Charter schools: your unmonitored public tax dollars at work!

3 comments:

The Perimeter Primate said...

http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1053209.html



Turkey: Fethullahci Schools -- A Greenhouse For Central Asian Elites?
June 08, 2004
By Jean-Christophe Peuch for RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, "Our Mission: RFE/RL journalists report the news in 21 countries where a free press is banned by the government or not fully established. We provide what many people cannot get locally: uncensored news, responsible discussion, and open debate (mission statement)."


Intro:
The Nur ("light" in Turkish) movement is generally considered one of the most important Islamic reformist currents to have appeared in Turkey in the past century. One of this movement's subcommunities, founded by religious thinker Fethullah Gulen, seeks to breed a "new generation" of socially integrated Muslim believers who will eventually achieve high government positions. The collapse of the Soviet Union offered the Gulen community -- which is one of Turkey's most powerful socio-religious movements -- a unique opportunity to expand abroad, notably in Central Asia. RFE/RL correspondent Jean-Christophe Peuch reports in this second of a two-part series.

Prague, 8 June 2004 (RFE/RL) -- The full-scale expansion of the Fethullah Gulen community beyond Turkey's boundaries coincided roughly with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The emergence of five new independent Turkic states in Central Asia and the Caucasus region gave Gulen's educational projects a formidable impetus and the religious thinker a unique opportunity to expand his activities abroad.

Over the six years that followed the Soviet collapse, the group succeeded in opening more than 100 schools and universities in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as in Russia's Turkic republics of Daghestan, Karachai-Cherkessiya, Tatarstan, and Bashkotorstan.

Gulen's Nurcu schools also appeared in Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and Tajikistan -- all countries with sizeable Turkic minorities.

The Gulen community also expanded in former Communist Eastern Europe --- Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Romania -- and Asia.

Today, the group supervises an estimated 150 educational institutions abroad, approximately the same number as in Turkey.

The community is also present in many Western countries where Turkish immigrants live, including Germany, France, the United States, Canada, and Australia...

The Perimeter Primate said...

http://www.fgulen.org/press-room/review/1204-central-asia-fethullah-gulens-missionary-schools.html

From the official FG website:

Central Asia: Fethullah Gulen's Missionary Schools, June 15, 2006

Excerpts:

"No one knows exactly the size of Gulen's enormous community of followers and sympathizers, but most agree on an average estimate of 3 million members. The movement obtains much of its support from young urban men, especially doctors, academics and other professionals. The movement has grown in part by sponsoring student dormitories, summer camps, colleges, universities, classrooms and communication organizations."

"These schools can be said to focus on modem and scientific education. Religious matters are completely absent from their curricula. In all these countries, as a consequence of the Soviet legacy and of the local leaders' suspicion, religion has no place in the educational system. The movement's schools are managed by Turkish and national administrators and teachers. Usually scientific matters (e.g. biology, physics, and computer science) are the main courses and are taught in English and Turkish languages."

"Because it is too dangerous for the existence of the community itself In Central Asia, Nurcu missionaries never openly or directly proselytize.

Their hocaefendi, or "respected lord", Gulen advocates two main ways of spreading Islam, tebligh and temsil. The first, and very classical, tebligh is to profess and teach openly the "good" mission. But since nowadays tebligh activities are developing everywhere, the temsil method seems to be preferred. With temsil, Gulen expects his followers to represent in their daily activities the proper and exemplary way of life. Through temsil the Nurcu will never profess openly the philosophy of Islam, rather they live it. For example, teachers of the movement's schools have to be polite, immaculate, and respectful. These ethics of life demand from the missionaries both hard work and the acceptance of hizmet insani ("in service"), or helping others. They must respect the country, its flag, its history, and must prove to be good examples, in particular for the young generation. They are not allowed to pronounce the name of Gulen or Nursi, nor are they permitted to spread Nurcu literature, at least not openly. While in some cases a minority of pupils in some small cities (not very well controlled by the central educational authorities) are subjected to more direct proselytism (tebligh), the most important aim of the cemaat is to spread the message without expressing it directly."

"Moreover, Islamic movements are not welcome in Central Asia by the governments, and that explains why the cemaat never officially or openly shows its authentic religious identity and why usually the local communities have no clue as to the schools' real nature. Most people will know that in town there is a "Turkish school" but will never mention any "Fethullahci" school, as this term has no signification for them."

The Perimeter Primate said...

http://www.fethullahgulen.org/conference-papers/contributions-of-the-gulen-movement/2443-the-fethullah-gulen-movement-as-a-transnational-phenomenon.html

Paper presented at the Gulen conference: "The Fethullah Gülen Movement as a Transnational Phenomenon (10/25/2007)"

Excerpts:

"In this context, it is worth noting that the movement has a presence in the form of a variety of educational institutions in around fifty countries, and now supervises as many or more schools abroad as it does in Turkey - in excess of 150, although the unstructured nature of the movement means no precise figure can be given. Gülen schools and other educational establishments are globally far-flung, and can be found in such places as the Balkans, Russia, Armenia, the US, Australia, China, Cambodia, sub-Saharan Africa, India, and in western countries where Turkish minorities are located, such as Germany and France."

The Turkishness of Gülen schools is certainly more evident than their Islamism. This emphasis on Turkish language and culture has even won over some of the usually suspicious representatives of Turkey's secularist political class.[9] It should also be noted that, wherever they are found, Gülen educational establishments abide by local curricula requirements. They do not directly propagate Islam, but rather emphasise virtues such as respect for elders, politeness, modesty, and hard work. In other words, they teach by example. As elsewhere, this approach accounts for the popularity of Gülen schools in Africa, where there are over fifty Turkish schools in thirty countries, many of them in largely Christian sub-Saharan Africa.[10] It is difficult to assess, however, what the ultimate impact might be of a globally-scattered body of well-behaved, hard-working, well-educated individuals with a knowledge of and sympathy with Turkish culture. It is hardly likely to do harm to Turkey's image and interests abroad, or to the more general cause of global understanding and tolerance. On the other hand, the relative scale of the Gülen movement's presence is so small, and Turkey's footprint in such regions otherwise so light, that it is hard to see what measurable good it might do either."