Thursday, November 17, 2011

Arne Duncan issues a public statement about the Gulen movement's charter schools! Not.

I fully expect that my comment left at Town Hall: 140 Characters at a Time, a Twitter town hall with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, will not be published, and will be quite surprised if it is. In either case, I've decided to make it into a blog post here.

Sharon says:

Your comment is awaiting moderation.


I would like Secretary Duncan to issue a public statement explaining his views on the 131 charter schools being operated by the Gulen movement. Each year, since 1999, members of this extremely controversial, cult-like religious group out of Turkey have opened several new charter schools. The enrollment of these schools currently exceeds 35,000 students.

Why does the U.S. Department of Education continuously permit these schools to conceal their religious affiliation from parents, school board members, and authorizing agencies?

Despite overwhelming silence from our public officials about this phenomenon (occasionally punctuated by denials uttered by the operators of the schools), it is indisputable that these American taxpayer-supported schools are the U.S. portion of schools started around the world by this religious group with questionable ulterior motives. Satisfaction will not be found by interviewing the school operators because they have vowed to abide by Gulenist principles of obedience and secrecy, and are not at liberty to discuss such matters with outsiders in a frank and open way.

A mountain of evidence has been uncovered by concerned members of the public:

Such evidence will be continuously compiled and broadcast to Americans via online vehicles while we wait for our leaders to insist on public transparency in this regard.
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As Ilhan Tanir, a former member of hizmet, now Hurriyet Daily News journalist, wrote in 2009 (boldface added)*:
"Let's not kid ourselves: [any representative] from the movement, in essence, cannot respond to some of the tough questions that come from outsiders."
"...the movement sees itself many times as self-righteous and blessed in every occasion, and surrounded with miracles...Most of the time, the state of self-righteousness in the movement is so apparent that one can witness it in any discussion one engages with its members. Apart from the details, it is almost impossible to convince or make sense to the members on many issues, especially those that relate to the movement. Though this shouldn’t come as a surprise, because as we all know that as long as one believes that one is following the quasi-sacred decrees, the work one does must be also sacred and cannot be understood by outsiders. And amid this detachment, the movement justifies any conduct to achieve its ends at any cost. For instance, if passing school entry test questions to the movement’s pupils is a justifiable way to ride into any kind of school that is important to attend even it can be done for years, even if it means usurping the rights of other pupils. But again, others are just others."

* Hizmet is the term Gulen movement members use to refer to themselves.

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To acquire a basic understanding of the Gulen movement is time-demanding and mentally challenging. One reason for this is because the phenomenon is unfamiliar, unprecedented, and complex -- not to mention the language barriers which prevent Americans from accessing a great deal of available written information. In addition, the movement intentionally employs secrecy and other strategies to keep things murky and below the radar of the general public (= outsiders).

Suggested reading materials for newcomers seeking to increase their Gulen movement-awareness:
  1. 11/1999: “Islamic Scientific Creationism: A New Challenge in Turkey.” National Center for Science Education report, http://ncse.com/rncse/19/6/islamic-scientific-creationism
  2. 5/2006: “Keeping Secrets.” by Fethullah Gulen (from Gulen’s Pearls of Wisdom), http://en.fgulen.com/pearls-of-wisdom/639-keeping-secrets
  3. 6/2006: “What is the Reason for the Persistence of Darwinism in the General Culture of the Masses Though Many of Darwin’s Hypotheses Have Been Challenged and Even Disproved?” by Fethullah Gulen (one of Gulen's teachings against the Theory of Evolution), http://www.fethullahgulen.org/questions-and-answers/2129-what-is-the-reason-for-the-persistence-of-darwinism-in-the-general-culture-of-the-masses-though-many-of-darwins-hypotheses-have-been-challenged-and-even-disproved.html
  4. 2008: “The Rise of Political Islam in Turkey.” RAND Corporation (pg. 53 lists the movement's four 'legs' of organized activities: education, media, interfaith dialog [and Turkish cultural] activities, and business organizations), http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG726.html
  5. 3/2008: “Turkey's survival of the fittest; the Islamic anti-Darwinism movement in Turkey is being helped by an unlikely source.” International Relations and Security Network (Zurich), http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Current-Affairs/Security-Watch/Detail/?id=54183&lng=en
  6. 12/2008: “The Fethullah Gulen Movement.” Global Politician, http://www.globalpolitician.com/25355-fethullah-gulen-turkey (excerpt: “Fethullahci are often loath to declare themselves openly as such.”)
  7. 2/2009: “Gulen Movement: Turkey’s Third Power.” Jane's Islamic Affairs Analyst, http://tool.donation-net.net/Images/Email/1097/Gulen_movement.pdf
  8. 4/2009: “Turkish schools coming under increasing scrutiny in Central Asia.” Radio Free Europe/Radio, http://www.rferl.org/content/Turkish_Schools_Coming_Under_Increasing_Scrutiny_In_Central_Asia/1616111.html?page=2&x=1
  9. 5/2009: “Behind Turkey’s Witch Hunt.” Newsweek, http://www.newsweek.com/2009/05/15/behind-turkey-s-witch-hunt.html
  10. 6/2009: “The Gulen Movement.” Center for Strategic & International Studies event (audio and transcripts), http://csis.org/event/gulen-movement
  11. 7/2009: “What do the Gulenists want to accomplish?” (Part 1) Hurriyet Daily News (this publication is a major English-language Turkish newspaper not operated by the Gulen movement; Today's Zaman, another major Turkish newspaper, is operated by the Gulen movement), http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=what-do-the-gulenists-want-to-accomplish--i--2009-07-06
  12. 7/2009: “How do the Gulenists change the rules?” (Part 2), Hurriyet Daily News, http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/opinion/12047857.asp
  13. 10/2009: “Rising Islamist movements challenge secularism in Turkey.” video report by Worldfocus (produced by WNET New York, distributed by American Public Television), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjjY750wTs0
  14. 8/2010: “Islam, Secularism and the Battle for Turkey's Future.” STRATFOR Global Intelligence, http://www.brighteningglance.org/islam-secularism-and-the-battle-for-turkeyrsquos-future.html
  15. 8/2010: “Objectives of charter schools with Turkish connections questioned.” USA Today, http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-08-17-turkishfinal17_CV_N.htm
  16. 8/2010: “Turkey: Politics of Identity and Power.” Congressional Research Service report, http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/R41368.pdf
  17. 10/2010: “Turkey: Gulen Movement Taking PR Beating in Arrest Row.” Eurasianet, http://www.eurasianet.org/node/62090
  18. 11/2010: “The 'Global Imam' through American eyes." Milliyet (a major Turkish newspaper), English translation @ http://watchingamerica.com/News/77701/the-%E2%80%9Cglobal-imam%E2%80%9D-through-american-eyes/
  19. 11/2010: “How Turkey is Changing.” Hurriyet Daily News, http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?msg=commentsaved&n=how-turkey-is-changing-2010-11-08
  20. 12/2010: “Transnational Religious Nationalism in the New Turkey: The Case of Fethullah Gulen.” Baker Institute event at Rice University (webcast), http://edtech.rice.edu/www/?option=com_iwebcast&task=webcast&action=details&event=2363
  21. 3/2011 “7 More Journalists Detained in Turkey.” New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/04/world/europe/04turkey.html?_r=1
  22. 3/2011: "U.S. charter-school network with Turkish link draws federal attention." Philadelphia Inquirer, http://articles.philly.com/2011-03-20/news/29148147_1_gulen-schools-gulen-followers-charter-schools
  23. 4/2011: "The fading masquerade: Ergenekon and the politics of justice in Turkey." The Turkey Analyst (Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Center joint program at Johns Hopkins University), http://www.silkroadstudies.org/new/inside/turkey/2011/110404B.html
  24. 4/2011: “WikiLeaks files detail U.S. unease over Turks and charter schools.” Philadelphia Inquirer, http://articles.philly.com/2011-04-04/news/29380536_1_charter-schools-fethullah-gulen-truebright-science-academy
  25. 5/2011: “What is Islam’s Gulen movement?” BBC, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-13503361
  26. 6/2011: "Charter Schools Tied to Turkey Grow in Texas." New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/07/education/07charter.html?_r=1
  27. 6/2011: "Texas Legislature To Launch Investigation of Charter Schools." CBS Dallas-Fort Worth, http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2011/06/29/texas-legislature-to-launch-investigation-of-charter-schools/
  28. 6/2011: “Some lawmakers have second thoughts about Turkey trips.” Austin merican-Statesman (TX), http://www.statesman.com/news/texas-politics/some-lawmakers-have-second-thoughts-about-turkey-trips-1548440.html
  29. 7/2011: "Records show glaring faults at school with ties to Turkish charter school network." The Times-Picayune (LA), http://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2011/07/state_shuts_down_abramson_char.html
  30. 9/2011: "Turkey's Elephant in the Room: Religious Freedom." New York Times (does not mention Gulen, but describes policies being conducted by Turkey's current Gulen movement-backed government), http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/29/world/europe/turkeys-elephant-in-the-room-religious-freedom.html?_r=3
  31. 10/2011: "The Trouble with Turkey." National Review (does not mention Gulen, but offers an overview of the concerning political shifts occurring under the current Gulen movement-backed government), http://www.michaelrubin.org/10440/turkey-trouble

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love this compilation. There are many more articles and reports from a totally different angle but not mentioned here. The basic logic behind this collection, as is with almost all anti-Gulen elements in Turkey, whoever says something negative about the Gulen movement is dependable and credible while any positive or even slightly objective explanation or reporting is trashed as propaganda by the Gulen movement. Even the articles criticizing the AKP government are mentioned because Gulen movement is supposedly behind it despite the fact that Gulen openly criticized the AKP in many occasions including after the Turkish flotilla case. The perimeter primate believes everybody is honest and trustworthy except the Gulen movement and Fethullah Gulen even though s/he fails to show one case of criminal activity recorded in the courts of law, whether Turkey or the US, attributed to the Gulen movement people. To learn more about the ideology and background of some anti-Gulen elements, go to goosenetwork.tumblr.com We know from the Center for American Progress report that the Gulen movement is the new target of the Islamophobic groups in the US. This article is clearly in the side of these groups.

The Perimeter Primate said...

To Anonymous,

Great. Let's bring it ALL out before the American public. Let's have the issues widely presented on every news show and in every newspaper for an extended period of time. Let's have the Gulen movement become as familiar and publicly discussed in the U.S. as Scientology and the Moonies. Let's have the FGM become so well known to Americans that South Park produces a show about it. Let's have everyone who's been on one of your free trips to Turkey become aware that you had selected them to be your propaganda targets. Let's let them know that the families whom they visited were performing a duty to advance your religious group's cause (Aslandogan tipped off everyone about that at the CSIS event). Let's acquaint everyone on how Gulen advises his followers to use a discreet form of proselytizing called temsil. Yes, let's have it all out.

A turn in that direction would be wonderful and much more acceptable than the current mode of silence, secrecy and lies. My goodness, even Mormon missionaries wear name tags when they ring on doorbells. They're not doing their religious work undercover, why are you?

Let the American public become informed enough about all the facets of the Gulen movement so they can decide if they think it's been right that, for years and unbeknownst to them, your group has been using their tax dollars to operate its U.S. schools.

Let's let this process play through. Let's find out if you've built up a large enough body of both witting and unwitting sympathizers by now.

Dr. McClay said...

I am a WITNESS 1
I am a WITNESS 2
I am a WITNESS 3

The Perimeter Primate said...

Dear Readers,

Normally I don't publish comments which link to the Gulen movement's propaganda machine, but I made an exception for the the one above (by "Dr. McClay") so you can see what the movement's framing is.

Anonymous said...

Well thought out compilation, thanks. Awareness is rising in S.E.A.

Gulen is a Fraud said...

Professor McClay is a typical brainwashed Gulenics working overtime to stop all the truth about their cult that is out in the news everyday.

More feeble attempts from the underbelly of the Gulen Machine. Not well-oiled and certainly very very predictable.