Indiana Turkey Hunt, Hoosiers expose politicians for accepting Gulen lavish gifts.

With the FBI and the Departments of Labor and Education investigating them and parents and officials in Ohio, Hawaii, Arizona, Utah, Texas, and elsewhere questioning their financial dealings, it appears that Gülen charter schools—managed by Concept Schools and other companies—have been duping lawmakers, politicians, school boards, and parents for several years now, with accusations flying that the group is using U.S. taxpayer money to help fund the Islamist Hizmet organization in Turkey.
According to Charter School Scandals (one of the top charter school watchdog groups and a close follower of Gülen) there have been 155 Gülen charter schools established or attempted in 28 states in the U.S. and hundreds in other countries.
Gülen charter schools are founded by followers of Fethullah Gülen, a wealthy reformer who lives in exile in Pennsylvania after being kicked out of Turkey for attempting to establish an Islamic state. His group has allegedly infiltrated the Turkish police force, according to cables released by Wikileaks. The goals of the Gülen movement are murky, even to experts and U.S. government officials, who often disagree or change their opinions of the group.
Nonetheless, investigations of the Gülen charter schools are happening. As the Philadelphia Inquirer and other sources note, the FBI investigations are being coordinated by prosecutors in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and involve hundreds of Gülen charter school members nationwide. Suspicions center around the group supposedly using taxpayer money to bring teachers here from Turkey and other countries who are part of this religious group. These teachers then agree to ship back a percentage of their paychecks to the Gülen movement in Turkey.

In Indiana, the Indiana Math and Science Academy’s (IMSA) two Gülen charters ((North and West) have applied for 17 visas for teachers and other individuals to come to Indianapolis and work. With 1,397 students enrolled in these schools since 2007, Indiana taxpayers have paid out millions. Managed by Concept Schools, the Indiana branch has received at least $235,000 from the Walton Family, owners of Wal-Mart and one of the biggest payers in the charter school movement. Gülen charters nationwide are loaded with private, state, and federal funding.
In 2008, Ball State University, which sponsors IMSA, withdrew the group’s request for a school in Gary after finding that the school had not hired teachers, enrolled students, or found an adequate building.
Although not currently operating in the Hoosier state, Vedat Akgun is one of the founders of the Gülen charter movement in Indiana. In 2001, Akgun petitioned for the Indiana Science Academy, and in 2002, along with current IMSA board member Kevin Miller, senior pastor at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, Akgun founded the Indiana Life Sciences Academy.  Although applications were submitted, these schools did not, for some reason, made it to fruition.
Vedat Akgun is a former founder of another branch of Gülen schools, Horizon schools, which is run by Concept Schools in Ohio. Currently, he owns New Plan Learning (formerly known as Breeze, Inc.), a charter school supporting company some say is a for-profit outfit working with Concept Schools. In 2007, auditors found that Horizon was using taxpayer money to pay for visas and state-aid for property taxes, which is illegal in Ohio.
Another IMSA board member and co-founder, Bilal Eksili, directs the Indiana branch of the Niagara Foundation (the group operates in eight states) and Indiana’s Holy Dove Foundation, both peace and interfaith groups associated with the Gülen movement and almost indistinguishable in nature. Oddly, besides giving luncheons and trips to Turkey, sitting on charter school boards, and hiring unpaid interns to do the business work of organizing meetings with Indiana governmental officers, religious leaders, and professors, it doesn’t appear that the Holy Dove/Niagara Foundations do anything to promote diversity, love, peace, and friendship, as their mission statement suggests. Without even an advisory board listed online, it appears the two groups are one-man shows.
Eksili does utilize, however, one of the nationwide Gülen group’s strategies. To win support of governmental officials nationwide, Gülenists invite high-ranking state leaders to dinners to speak and then lavish the officials with awards.  Among those in Indiana who have been given awards by Eksili are Mitch Daniels, Bart Peterson (former Indianapolis mayor and now member of the charter school supporter, the Mind Trust),  Dan Burton, Richard Lugar, and even Michael Welch, Special Agent in Charge of the Indianapolis FBI division. Charter school supporter and Indiana Superintendent of Public Education Tony Bennett (see photos 8 and 9 here), as well as other Republicans, are often in attendance at these events.
With Eksili as tour guide, most of the IMSA board members have traveled to Turkey to give support. Another Turkey tour guide and officer for the Holy Dove Foundation, Kazim Eldes, was also involved in IMSA’s founding and has served as Indiana Regional Vice-President of Concept Schools, IMSA’s management company.
IMSA board members include Tim Nation (leader of The Peace Learning Center in Eagle Creek Park, Indianapolis, which uses Gülen-based curriculum, among other things, in their youth programs) who praises Fethullah Gülen in videos; Janette Moody, founder of Literacy for Life, Inc. and a consultant for the Indiana Department of Education; and Murat Dundar, a former Los Alamos National Labs intern/science researcher and computer/information professor at IUPUI.
The Indianapolis FBI, when contacted by email, said it does not “disclose information on investigations.”  Also, Tony Bennett’s Chief of Staff (and former director of the charter-school group, School Choice Indiana) Heather Neal said she was unaware of any such investigation.
As it now stands, there is no proof that an investigation of Gülen charter schools is happening in Indiana. But if anything becomes of any investigation that may or may not be happening, it’s safe to say that the media will either downplay it or ignore it altogether.  With Daniels, Bennett, Republicans and state corporate leaders working overtime to drain more money from public education and feed it to the charter operators, the last thing they need now is to be associated with more shady dealings.
If anyone has information on the Gülen charter schools in Indiana, please post it at Indiana Government Exposed.

http://my.firedoglake.com/dougmartin/2011/03/30/fbi-investigating-gulen-charter-schools-gulen-leaders-lavish-gifts-and-dinners-on-mitch-daniels-and-other-indiana-officials/

READ HERE ABOUT THE 2008 TRIP TO TURKEY AND HOW THE HOLY DOVE FOUNDATION OPENLY ADMITS IT IS PART OF THE GULEN MOVEMENT.
http://gulenlibrary.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14:turkey-balances-democracy-and-islam&catid=1:news&Itemid=3

Gulen Charter School Investigated by FBI PT 2

Centre County Charter School Linked To Controversial International Allegations

Recent News Reports Question Operations Of Group Connected To State College Charter School

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Posted: 8:12 pm EDT March 21, 2011Updated: 9:15 am EDT March 22, 2011

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Recently released reports have linked a charter school in Centre County to a controversial network with Turkish links that has gained the attention of federal authorities.
A report published by the Philadelphia Inquirer linked the Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania in State College to a network of more than 120 charter schools in the U.S. connected to Turkish preacher and Muslim scholar Fethullah Gulen.
Gulen is living in self-imposed exile in a remote section of the Poconos in Pennsylvania.
Several reports claim that followers of Gulen have opened the network of charter schools across the U.S., and that federal authorities are investigating claims that school workers are donating portions of their salaries to a Muslim movement founded by Gulen.
Former Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania Parent Group President Ruth Hocker told WJAC-TV that she started filing freedom of information requests when local teachers were replaced by Turkish teachers and school administrators wouldn't explain the changes or verify teacher certification.
"We liked that they were multicultural, but any group that is favoring certain people over other people; favoring less-qualified people based on their race, that's when it's of concern," said Hocker.
Hocker said four of her children attended Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania; one graduated elementary school and three were eventually pulled from the classroom.
"We would say, 'Why are you hiring teachers who aren't certified?' and they would respond with, 'We can't find anyone local and certified who is qualified.' We would respond with, 'Penn State is right around the corner,; how can you not find someone certified and qualified in this town.' It doesn't even make sense," said Hocker. "We weren't concerned about their safety, but we certainly are concerned about the secrecy and where the money is being spent."
State College Area School District officials said that the Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania charter was renewed last July.
Calls requesting comment to the FBI, Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania have not yet been returned.

Copyright 2011 by WJACTV.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Gulen Charter School Investigated by the FBI

Gulen Charter School Federal Investigation 'Bad Boys- what are you going to do?"

U.S. charter-school network with Turkish link draws federal attentionBy Martha Woodall and Claudio Gatti
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER FOR THE INQUIRER
Fethullah Gulen is a major Islamic political figure in Turkey, but he lives in self-imposed exile in a Poconos enclave and gained his green card by convincing a federal judge in Philadelphia that he was an influential educational figure in the United States.
As evidence, his lawyer pointed to the charter schools, now more than 120 in 25 states, that his followers - Turkish scientists, engineers, and businessmen - have opened, including Truebright Science Academy in North Philadelphia and another charter in State College, Pa.
The schools are funded with millions of taxpayer dollars. Truebright alone receives more than $3 million from the Philadelphia School District for its 348 pupils. Tansu Cidav, the acting chief executive officer, described it as a regular public school.
"Charter schools are public schools," he said. "We follow the state curriculum."
But federal agencies - including the FBI and the Departments of Labor and Education - are investigating whether some charter school employees are kicking back part of their salaries to a Muslim movement founded by Gulen known as Hizmet, or Service, according to knowledgeable sources.
Unlike in Turkey, where Gulen's followers have been accused of pushing for an authoritarian Islamic state, there is no indication the American charter network has a religious agenda in the classroom.
Religious scholars consider the Gulen strain of Islam moderate, and the investigation has no link to terrorism. Rather, it is focused on whether hundreds of Turkish teachers, administrators, and other staffers employed under the H1B visa program are misusing taxpayer money.
Federal officials declined to comment on the nationwide inquiry, which is being coordinated by prosecutors in Pennsylvania's Middle District in Scranton. A former leader of the parents' group at the State College school confirmed that federal authorities had interviewed her.
Bekir Aksoy, who acts as Gulen's spokesman, said Friday that he knew nothing about charter schools or an investigation.
Aksoy, president of the Golden Generation Worship & Retreat Center in Saylorsburg, Pa., where Gulen lives, said Gulen, who is in his early 70s, "has no connection with any of the schools," although he might have inspired the people who founded them.
Another aim of the Gulen schools, a federal official said, is fostering goodwill toward Turkey, which is led by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the pro-Islamic prime minister, whose government recently detained journalists after they alleged that Gulen followers were infiltrating security agencies.
Gulen schools are among the nation's largest users of the H1B visas. In 2009, the schools received government approvals for 684 visas - more than Google Inc. (440) but fewer than a technology powerhouse such as Intel Corp. (1,203).
The visas are used to attract foreign workers with math, science, and technology skills to jobs for which there are shortages of qualified American workers. Officials at some of the charter schools, which specialize in math and science, have said they needed to fill teaching spots with Turks, according to parents and former staffers.
Ruth Hocker, former president of the parents' group at the Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania Charter School in State College, began asking questions when popular, certified American teachers were replaced by uncertified Turkish men who often spoke limited English and were paid higher salaries. Most were placed in math and science classes.
"They would tell us they couldn't find qualified American teachers," Hocker said.
That made no sense in Pennsylvania State University's hometown, she said: "They graduate here every year."
Other school parents described how uncertified teachers on H1B visas were moved from one charter school to another when their "emergency" teaching credentials expired and told of a pattern of sudden turnovers of Turkish business managers, administrators, and board members.
The charter school application that Truebright filed with the Philadelphia School District in 2005 mentioned that its founders helped start similar schools in Ohio, California, and Paterson, N.J.
Shana Kemp, a School District spokeswoman, said that the district had just learned Riza Ulker, Truebright's permanent CEO, was on extended sick leave and that it would look into that. She said district officials knew nothing about a federal investigation of these charter schools.
Further evidence of the ties comes from a disaffected former teacher from Turkey who told federal investigators that the Gulen Movement had divided the United States into five regions, according to knowledgeable sources. A general manager in each coordinates the activities of the schools and related foundations and cultural centers, he told authorities.
Ohio, California, and Texas have the largest numbers of Gulen-related schools. Ohio has 19, which are operated by Concept Schools Inc., and most are known as Horizon Science Academies. There are 14 in California operated by the Magnolia Foundation. Texas has 33 known as Harmony schools, run by the Cosmos Foundation.
In their investigation, federal authorities have obtained copies of several e-mails that indicate the charter schools are tied to Hizmet and may be controlled by it:
One activist sent an e-mail Aug. 30, 2007, to administrators at four schools and the president of Concept Schools in which he mentioned "Hizmet business" and several problems that needed to be addressed so that "Hizmet will not suffer."
And the disaffected teacher who described the five regions gave authorities a document called a tuzuk, which resembles a contract and prescribes how much money Turkish teachers are supposed to return to Hizmet.
State auditors in Ohio found that a number of schools had "illegally expended" public funding to pay legal, immigration, and air-travel fees for nonemployees and retained teachers who lacked proper licenses. Audited records from the Horizon Science Academy in Cincinnati in May 2009 also say that "for the period of time under audit, 47 percent (nine of 19) of the school's teachers were not properly licensed."
The same records show that the founder of Horizon Cincinnati was listed as the CEO of the school's management firm and as president of the school's property owner.
The American charter schools were a central part of Gulen's argument that won him a green card after the Department of Homeland Security ruled that he did not meet the qualifications of an "alien of extraordinary ability" to receive a special visa.
In a lawsuit Gulen filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia in 2007 challenging the denial, his attorneys wrote: "In his position as the founder and head of the Gulen Movement, Mr. Gulen has overseen the establishment of a conglomeration of schools throughout the world, in Europe, Central Asia, and the United States."
His attorneys also referred to a letter of support from a theology professor in Illinois who described Gulen as "a leader of award-winning schools for underserved children around the world, including many schools in the major cities in America."
On July 16, 2008, U.S. District Court Judge Stewart Dalzell ruled that Gulen met the requirements for a green card.
Hocker, the State College parent, said the current CEO had assured her the school had no ties to Gulen.
Rather, he told her that Gulen had inspired him to go into education and that Turkey "wanted to be known for teaching, the way you would think of India" for information technology, Hocker said.
But she noted that when the school's founding CEO disappeared, his successor arrived from the Buffalo Academy of Science, another Gulen school. The dean of academics came from a related school in New Jersey. Ulker, Truebright's, CEO, was one of the school's founders and is a board member.
"If you start looking at their names, you can connect them back to all the other charter schools and Gulen groups," Hocker said.
She later withdrew her three children over concerns about secrecy and finances.
A sister school - Young Scholars of Western Pennsylvania - is scheduled to open outside Pittsburgh in the fall.
(Young Scholars in State College and Western Pennsylvania are not connected to the Young Scholars Charter School in North Philadelphia.)
Truebright, at 926 W. Sedgley Ave., opened in 2007, enrolls seventh through 12th graders, and is about to hold its first graduation. Ninety percent of its students are African American. The school has met the academic standards of the federal No Child Left Behind Law the last two years.
Cidav, the acting CEO, came from the Harmony Science Academy in Austin, Texas. He said he could not comment on behalf of the school. He referred all questions to Ulker, who Cidav said had gone back to Turkey for a family emergency after Christmas and was not expected back until July. Board Chairman Baki Acikel did not respond to an e-mail request for comment.
Before Ulker's abrupt departure, he was involved in failed attempts to open charters in Camden and Allentown.
He also applied for Truebright to become one of the charter operators selected to take over failing Philadelphia schools as part of Superintendent Arlene C. Ackerman's Imagine 2014 initiative. In late December, Truebright was one of 10 organizations the district deemed "not qualified" for further consideration.

________________________________________
Claudio Gatti is the New York-based correspondent of Il Sole 24 Ore, the leading daily financial newspaper in Italy.
Contact staff writer Martha Woodall at 215-854-2789 or martha.woodall@phillynews.com.


Find this article at:
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20110320_U_S__charter-school_network_with_Turkish_link_draws_federal_attention.html?viewAll=y&c=y

Truebright Science Academy- Gulen "inspired" school

Gulen- Turkey's Invisable Man Casts Long Shadow WikiLeaks Cable

09ANKARA1722: GULEN - TURKEY'S INVISIBLE MAN CASTS LONG SHADOW

http://cablesearch.org/?id=09ANKARA1722&v

This is not the original Wikileaks document! It's a cache, made on 2011-03-18 03:24:40. For the original document check the original source: http://213.251.145.96/cable/2009/12/09ANKARA1722.html

ID	09ANKARA1722
SUBJECT	GULEN - TURKEY'S INVISIBLE MAN CASTS LONG SHADOW
DATE	2009-12-04 11:11:00
CLASSIFICATION	CONFIDENTIAL
ORIGIN	Embassy Ankara
TEXT	C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001722 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE AND NEA/I E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/03/2019 TAGS: PREL PTER PGOV PHUM TU SUBJECT: GULEN - TURKEY'S INVISIBLE MAN CASTS LONG SHADOW REF: A. ANKARA 1029 ¶B. ANKARA 834 Classified By: Ambassador James Jeffrey, for reasons 1.4(b),(d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Fethullah Gulen remains a political phenomenon in Turkey. Although "exiled" in Pennsylvania for the past decade, Gulen's impact continues to expand, aided by legions of loyalist supporters and a network of elite schools. The Gulen Movement's purported goals focus on interfaith dialogue and tolerance, but in the current AKP-secularists schism, many Turks believe Gulen has a deeper and possibly insidious political agenda, and even some Islamist groups criticize Gulen's lack of transparency, which they say creates doubts about his motives. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) Gulen was born between 1938-1942 (varying dates have been given), and initially served as an imam and as an employee of Turkey's Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet). He established his own movement in the 1970s based on the teachings of Said Nursi, an Islamic thinker of Kurdish origin, whose followers are called Nurcus. Gulen then broke away from the Nursi framework. Gulen's own philosophy emphasizes the role of science in Islam. He supports interfaith dialogue and condemns terrorism. In the past two decades, Gulen has focused primarily on education, not only in Turkey but around the world. His schools have earned a reputation particularly in Central and South Asia for academic excellence and the advocacy of moderate Islamic views. Indicted, Then Acquitted ------------------------ ¶3. (SBU) Gulen has been living in the U.S. since 1999 when he went there ostensibly for health treatments (a heart condition and diabetes). At the same time, however, he faced charges in Turkey of plotting to overthrow the state. The charges were based on a 1986 sermon where Gulen is heard declaring that "our friends, who have positions in legislative and administrative bodies, should learn its details and be vigilant all the time so they can transform it and be more fruitful on behalf of Islam in order to carry out a nationwide restoration." This indictment gave his travel to the U.S. the appearance of his being a fugitive from the Turkish judicial system. A Turkish Court acquitted him of all charges in 2006. That acquittal was appealed but the acquittal was upheld in 2008. ¶4. (SBU) In the meantime, Gulen had applied for Permanent Residence status in the U.S. Immigration officials initially rejected Gulen's application to be classified as "an alien of extraordinary ability," but a Federal Court ruled in late 2008 that this rejection had been improper. Gulen now holds a Green Card, and lives in a secluded compound in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains. ¶5. (SBU) The core of the Fethullah Gulen Movement is his network of schools, which extend from South Africa to the United States. The schools emphasize high academic achievement, and they openly recruit and provide scholarships to the brightest students from poor and working class families. Gulenist schools in Turkey routinely produce graduates who score in the upper one percent of the annual university entrance exam. These top graduates often become teachers themselves. The Gulenist doctrine, with its conservative and religiously observant undercurrent, has met fierce hostility in regimes such as Russia, which expelled the Gulenists en masse in the 1990s. ¶6. (C) But it is within Turkey that the movement has its roots, its largest following, and its greatest controversies. The Gulen Movement includes not only educational institutions, including the famous Samanyolu ("Milky Way") school in Ankara and Fatih University, but also the ANKARA 00001722 002 OF 003 Journalists and Writers Foundation, various businesses, and media outlets such as "Zaman," "Today's Zaman" (English language), "Samanyolu TV," and "Aksiyon Weekly." Gulenists also reportedly dominate the Turkish National Police, where they serve as the vangard for the Ergenekon investigation -- an extensive probe into an alleged vast underground network that is accused of attempting to encourage a military coup in ¶2004. The investigation has swept up many secular opponents of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), including Turkish military figures, which has prompted accusations that the Gulenists have as their ultimate goal the undermining of all institutions which disapprove of Turkey becoming more visibly Islamist. (COMMENT: The assertion that the TNP is controlled by Gulenists is impossible to confirm but we have found no one who disputes it, and we have heard accounts that TNP applicants who stay at Gulenist pensions are provided the answers in advance to the TNP entrance exam. END COMMENT) Championing the Ergenekon Probe ------------------------------- ¶7. (C) Gulenist newspapers such as "Zaman" relentlessly question the validity of the Ataturk legacy and argue that as an EU aspirant country, Turkey must ensure the diminished voice of the Turkish military in political issues. These papers champion the Ergenekon investigation and continually stress that the traditional dominance of the Turkish military has been a negative factor in Turkey's history. Not surprisingly, contacts close to the the Turkish General Staff openly loathe Gulen, and contend that he and his legions of supporters are embarked on a ruthless quest not only to undermine the Turkish military but to transform Turkey into an Islamic republic similar to Iran. ¶8. (C) Even among some Islamist organizations, the Fethullah Gulen Movement seems to have a murky reputation. The former head of the City Women's Platform, Hidayet Tuksal, told us that her group regards Gulen positively, because he disapproves of the use of violence, but that Gulen's lack of transparency creates doubt about his motives and leads to suspicions about what lies ahead -- even within the communities where Gulen is most active. Gulen's purported main goal is to bolster interfaith dialogue and tolerance, but the notion is widespread among many circles in Turkey that his agenda is deeper and more insidious. ¶9. (C) The Gulen movement has been described as a modernized version of Sunni Hanafi Islam. It shares this orientation with "Milli Gorus," the grouping associated with former PM Necmettin Erbakan, but the two movements are otherwise distinct: "Milli Gorus" is Turkey-centric; the Gulen Movement has a broader scope and is more comfortable with the concept of justifying the means for the end, such as discarding the headscarf when necessary. Still, there is some convergence: many of the founders of AKP came from "Milli Gorus," but many officials within AKP are known to be close to the Gulen movement. ¶10. (C) Most discussions in Turkey which touch on Gulen tend to be somewhat delicate and deliberately artful. Our interlocutors often seem reluctant to express their views, seemingly uncertain if it will rebound on them to their detriment. In addition, the political context for conversations about Gulen is complicated because President Gul is himself seen by almost all of our contacts as a Gulenist, while Prime Minister Erdogan is not. Indeed, some of our contacts have argued that Erdogan is so firmly outside the Gulen camp that Gulen loyalists view him as a liability. At the same time, the Republican People's Party and other AKP opponents of the ruling Justice and Development Party are quick to accuse the U.S. of working covertly to prop up Gulen, allegedly to weaken Turkey's secular foundation to produce a "model" moderate Islamic nation. This accusation relies on the premise that Gulen was given refuge in the U.S., and ultimately permanent resident status, despite ANKARA 00001722 003 OF 003 facing indictment in Turkey for illegal anti-secularist activities. ¶11. (C) Gulen has his share of non-Islamic supporters, which includes the Eucumenical Patriarch in Istanbul. In a recent conversation with the Ambassador, the Patriarch reported that he had visited Gulen during his last trip to the United States and had spent more than an hour together in a one-on-one discussion. He planned to see Gulen again on his recent visit to New York. The Patriarch told the Ambassador he had been "very impressed" with Gulen and commented on the quality of Gulen schools, including a Gulenist University in Kazakhstan named for Suleyman Demirel. Comment ------- ¶12. (C) Given the current AKP-secularist schism in Turkey today, it should not be surprising that any Islamist movement in Turkey would choose to be circumspect about its intentions. Unfortunately, this simply feeds the reflexive tendency in Turkish society for conspiracy theories, and magnifies suspicions about the Gulen movement itself. While the purported Gulen goals of interfaith dialogue and tolerance are beyond reproach, we see aspects of concern in the allegations that the USG is somehow behind the Gulen movement. Accordingly, we would recommend the following standard press guidance: Q: Why is the U.S. sheltering Fethullah Gulen and doesn't this mean that the US is promoting a non-secular Turkey? A: -- The U.S. is not "sheltering" Mr. Gulen and his presence in the U.S. is not based on any political decision. -- Mr. Gulen applied for, and received, permanent residence in the U.S. after a lengthy process which ended in 2008 when a Federal Court ruled that he deserved to be viewed as an "alien of extraordinary ability" based on his extensive writings and his leadership of a worldwide religious organization. -- As a Green Card holder, Mr. Gulen is entitled to all the privileges which that status entails. His presence in the U.S. should not be viewed as a reflection of US policy toward Turkey. JEFFREY
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Gulen Movement latest subject of WikiLeaks

Gulen fled Turkey and on a Tourist Visa which he later applied for a Permanent Visa
that was DENIED.  Gulen vs. Homeland Security appeal, Gulen had special help and was
granted his permanent visa in 2008.

Turkey’s religious Gülen community subject of latest WikiLeaks

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Thursday, March 17, 2011

The perspective of the United States on religious leader Fethullah Gülen and his international community has evolved over the years amid lobbying efforts by the group to change its image, the latest leaked diplomatic cables have suggested.

Though U.S. officials perceived the community as adhering to a “moderate Islam” model, they expressed concerns in the cables, the first documents released by WikiLeaks’ new Turkish partner, about its perceived infiltration into the Turkish police and accusations of  “brainwashing of students” at the community’s schools around the world.

The confidential cables released by daily Taraf focus on U.S. diplomats investigating and analyzing the religious community and its actions, Gülen’s meeting with the pope in 1998 and his stay in the United States, according to reports in the Turkish media Thursday.

The newspaper was set to release the original cables on its website late Thursday as the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review went to press.

Gülen went to the United States on a tourist visa and applied in 1999 for a permanent resident card, or “green card,” which was denied. His lawyers took the matter to court and won the case, granting Gülen his card in 2008. A 2009 cable by former U.S. Ankara Ambassador James Jeffrey mentions that although Gülen’s status in the United States is provided by a court decision, some circles that dislike him incorrectly believe it to be the result of the U.S. government’s politics regarding Turkey.

A secret cable by Stuart Smith, U.S. deputy chief consul for Istanbul, mentions he was told by Chief Rabbi Ishak Haleva that a recommendation letter was demanded from the rabbi for Gülen by some people. Haleva told him the letter was to change the image “among some units of the U.S. government” that Gülen is “a radical Islamist who hides a secret and sinister agenda with his moderate message.” These people were mentioned by daily Taraf as members of the Turkey Journalists and Writers Association.

Haleva was hesitant to write such a letter, or even a more limited one just to describe Gülen’s relations with the Jewish community. It is also mentioned that the Armenian patriarch received a similar demand and was likewise hesitant. However, the Vatican representative in Istanbul fully supported Gülen, according to the same cable.

The FBI was also asked for a document of “clear status” for Gülen but did not give it because it might be used for a public-relations campaign, according to a cable featured by Taraf. One 2005 cable said the Gülen community seems to be a “moderate Islam” model that keeps its distance from violence and terrorism and is not anti-Semitic. However, it is also mentioned that since the Gülen community is running a global mission of Islamism, it remains to be seen whether it will remain positive or not. The “brainwashing of students” was mentioned during an evaluation of the community’s schools around the world.

The perception of Gülen changed, however, after U.S. diplomats looked further into the community and spoke to more people about its organization in Turkey, according to Taraf’s coverage. Later reports said Gülen is not a Khomeini who wants to transform Turkey into another Iran. The problem of the Gülen community is not with secularism itself but Turkey’s version of it, which wants to “control everything,” the cables state. “The Gülen community members do not want to bring down the secular order in Turkey dramatically, they are after a change from within,” one said.

The 2009 cable by Jeffery describes Gülen as a “political phenomena” in Turkey even he is “in exile” in Pennsylvania. It was also said the Gülen community is strong within the police force and in conflict with the military, which sees the group as an enemy.

“It is not possible to confirm the Turkish police are under the control of the Gülen community members, but we have not met anybody who denies it,” one cable said. The Gülen-controlled media is supporting the investigation into the alleged Ergenekon coup plot and has resulted in many opponents of the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, ending up behind bars, the cable stated.

Gülen met John Paul II in the Vatican in February 1998 upon an invitation from the pope. Taraf’s story said the two people who helped arrange the meeting were Üzeyir Garih, a Turkish businessman of Jewish origin, and Georges Marovitch, spokesman for the Clerics Board of Turkey Catholic Communities, both known as close friends of Gülen. Garih was stabbed to death in Istanbul’s Eyüp Cemetery in 2001 while Marovitch survived a murder attempt in Rome in 2007, when an unidentified assailant pushed him onto a train track. Both incidents left many questions unanswered, the Taraf story said.

Cable says Turkish PM perceived as ‘liability’ by Gülen movement.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is a “liability,” members of the Fethullah Gülen community have said, according to a U.S. embassy cable recently released by WikiLeaks’ Turkish partner, daily Taraf.

According to the cable, President Abdullah Gül is perceived to be a member of the religious community “by almost everybody,” but Erdoğan is not. Many told U.S. diplomatic officials that Erdoğan had placed himself outside of the “Gülen front” in such a way that he is perceived as a “liability.”

People are hesitant to reveal their actual opinions because they are afraid what they say could hurt them later, according to the cable.

The cable also said the main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, and other parties that oppose the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, were quick to accuse the United States of secretly supporting the Gülen movement so as to “weaken the secular foundations of Turkey in order to create a moderate Islamic State ‘model.’”

© 2009 Hurriyet Daily News
URL: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=turkish-daily-starts-wikileaks-coverage-with-gulen-community-2011-03-

 

Magnolia Science Academy - A Gulen Charter School: The Incredible Shrinking Yildiz of the Pacifica In...

Magnolia Science Academy - A Gulen Charter School: The Incredible Shrinking Yildiz of the Pacifica In...: "http://www.hawaiifreepress.com/main/ArticlesMain/tabid/56/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/3925/Did-Sen-Mike-Gabbard-get-hoaxed-by-fake-Tur..."

Lotus School for Excellence is DENIED EXPANSION

IF MATT WOULD TALK HE WOULD SAY THIS!!!!!
Lotus School of Excellence in Aurora, CO a Gulen "inspired" managed school was denied their expansion.  Umit "Matt" Yapanel the board president, unsucessfully hired an attorney who had nothing legal to say except that the school board didn't have the right to deny the expansion and that improvement in test scores should not be the only reason to be denied.
Matt in his typical Gulen thirst for expansion moved like a drug addict looking for his next fix, tried to garner community support (no parents showed up)
The school had personal loans from their "brothers" as well as low performing scores and no improvement.  There is also an issue of tax funds being co-mingled with LifeBridge Church's development.
Charter schools should be open longer than 5 years before they are allowed to expand. There is also a question of the number of students actually attending, Lotus School for Excellence in Aurora (paperwork says 250 yet Umit states it is 607) 

State Appeal Denied
By Victoria A.F. Camron
Longmont Times-Call
DENVER - The Colorado Board of Education upheld today the St. Vrain Valley School District's denial of a charter for Lotus School of Excellence.
Organizers of the Lotus School, which has a kindergarten-through-11th grade school in Aurora, wanted to open a kindergarten-through-fifth grade school in Longmont. Citing an unrealistic budget and a lack of community support, the St. Vrain board of education unanimously denied the request on Dec. 8.
After a hearing that lasted just over an hour, the state board of education members voted 6-1 to uphold the school district's denial. Chairman Bob Schaffer, R-Fort Collins, was the only state board member who voted against the motion.
Angelika Schroeder, D-Boulder, said Lotus' lack of transparency, such as refusing to share with the St. Vrain school board its intent to enroll forms, raised questions.
Marcia Neal, R-Grand Junction, said it's against her nature to vote against a charter school. However, questions about Lotus School's finances and governance were not answered, so she could not support the school, she said.
Another state board member, Paul Lundeen, R-Colo. Springs, echoed Neal's statements. He was concerned about the school's governance, finances and community support, he said.
No Longmont parents attended the hearing. When Imagine Charter School at Firestone appealed St. Vrain's denial in 2007, the same board room was overflowing with parents and children.
After the hearing, Lotus board president Matt Yapanel said, "I feel very sorry for Longmont students."
The school will not take its appeal to court, Yapanel said. March 9, 2011

Front row, from left: St. Vrain Valley School District president John Creighton, superintendent Don Haddad, and SVVSD lawyer Richard Lyons listen as Lotus School of Excellence school board president Matt Yapanel, standing left, and Lotus attorney Jeffrey DiTolla speak during a hearing before the State Board of Education on an appeal from Lotus School of Excellence on the St. Vrain Valley School District's denial of a charter Wednesday. The board upheld the decision

Gulen Movement Slave Trade aka Tuzuk Contract abuse of human rights

As revealed by the Hawaii Free Press Article “Gulen Cult: Legislators to welcome ugly union busting to Hawaii: http://www.hawaiifreepress.com/main/ArticlesMain/tabid/56/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/3871/Gulen-Cult-Legislators-to-welcome-ldquoUgly-Unionbustingrdquo-to-Hawaii-schools.aspx
The Gulen Movement Tuzuk contract amounts to nothing more than exploitation of fellow naive members of Hizmet (Gulen Movement) This Tuzuk (donation) contract is comparable to the Indentured Servants of early America and it is shameless to think that the Gulen Movement who supposedly teaches “respect” and “Turkish Character” would prey on their fellow brothers and sisters.  The Tuzuk Contract: http://www.hawaiifreepress.com/main/Portals/0/Article%20Attachments/Gulen%20Tuzuk%20Contract.pdf
The Gulen Movement’s Tuzuk  human slavery contract  a modern version of the past indentured servant.  An indentured servant was typically a young, unskilled laborer contracted to work for an employer for a fixed period of time, typically three to seven years, in exchange for transportation, food, clothing, lodging and other necessities during the term of their indenture
Here is a copy of the Gulen Movement Tuzuk Contract, which is used in conjunction with their abuse of H1-B visas.  As you can see the Gulen Movement keeps the employee’s American retirement which must go back to the Gulen Foundation or NGO (Non Governmental Organization)  and if the unsuspecting Gulen victim stays, they get a whopping $10.00 raise a year and no medical insurance.  However, they can get extra money if the Gulen victim gets a fancy title.  The board members determine whether the Gulen victim (aka Gulen Slave) can continue education in an American University for an advance degree.  This is extortion and robbing of American tax dollars to perform a modern day indentured servant.  The question is does the foundation hold their visa as collateral until they work off their expense of immigration fees.  The Gulen slave Tuzuk contract is an abuse of human rights


As we have discussed before, there is NO shortage of math and science teachers and other qualifed teachers. America has suffered an unprecedented amount of traditional public schools that have closed, the unemployed number of American teachers is staggering.   Meanwhile the Gulen Movement continues to abuse their own brothers and sisters. 
Consider these pathetic Gulen statistics:

Consider the following (based on the list Top 100 H1b Visa Sponsors In Secondary School Education Since 2008 appearing on 7/23/2010):

• The Gulen schools and their related organizations account for 31.5% of all H1B visa applications requested by the top 100 secondary school education H1B visa sponsors. (Table 1)
• Of the top 100 secondary school education H1B visa sponsors, 34 of the 100 sponsors were Gulen schools or their related organizations.
• A total of 4277 visas were requested by the top 100 sponsors.
• 1349 of the 4277 applications were submitted by Gulen schools or their related organizations.
• There were fewer than 100 U.S. schools in this subterranean network of schools operated by Gulen movement missionaries in this same year. Read about the characteristics of these schools here.
• The Cosmos Foundation, which operates approximately 27 Gulen schools in Texas, ranked #1 with 521 visa applications. These schools are heavily, but not exclusively, staffed with Turkish and Turkic teachers. The administrators and founders are nearly exclusively Turkish males.
• To contrast, Global Teachers Research Resources (a teacher headhunting organization) ranked #2 with 325 visa applications. GTRR’s newsletters reveal a wide range of teacher nationalities.
• Further investigation is likely to reveal that close to 100% of the visa applications of the Gulen schools and their related organizations will be for individuals from Turkey.
• Public school districts also applied for visas. In fact, seven of the top-20 largest school districts in the country were also top-100 sponsors for visa applications. These seven districts represent nearly 2,900,000 students attending approximately 3,831 schools. (Table 2)
• When averaged, seven of the top-20 largest school districts in the country submitted one H1B visa application for every 6.2 schools.
• The average number of visa applications for the Gulen schools was 13.5 H1B visa applications per school!

Previous articles on the Gulen H1-B Visa scam:
http://gulencharterschoolsusa.blogspot.com/2010/12/gulen-charter-schools-booming-h1-b-visa.html
http://perimeterprimate.blogspot.com/2010/07/gulen-schools-and-their-booming-h1b.html
http://gulencharterschools.weebly.com/importing-english-teachers-from-turkey.html
An indenture was a legal contract enforced by the courts. One indenture reads as follows:
This INDENTURE Witnesseth that James Best a Laborer doth Voluntarily put himself Servant to Captain Stephen Jones Master of the Snow Sally to serve the said Stephen Jones and his Assigns, for and during the full Space, Time and Term of three Years from the first Day of the said James’ arrival in Philadelphia in AMERICA, during which Time or Term the said Master or his Assigns shall and will find and supply the said James with sufficient Meat, Drink, Apparel, Lodging and all other necessaries befitting such a Servant, and at the end and expiration of said Term, the said James to be made Free, and receive according to the Custom of the Country. Provided nevertheless, and these Presents are on this Condition, that if the said James shall pay the said Stephen Jones or his Assigns 15 Pounds British in twenty one Days after his arrival he shall be Free, and the above Indenture and every Clause therein, absolutely Void and of no Effect. In Witness whereof the said Parties have hereunto interchangeably put their Hands and Seals the 6th Day of July in the Year of our Lord, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy Three in the Presence of the Right Worshipful Mayor of the City of London. (signatures)
Like slaves, servants could not marry without the permission of their owner, were subject to physical punishment (like many young ordinary servants), and saw their obligation to labor enforced by the courts. To ensure uninterrupted work by the female servants, the law lengthened the term of their indenture if they became pregnant. But unlike slaves, servants could look forward to a release from bondage. If they survived their period of labor, servants would receive a payment known as "freedom dues" and become free members of society. One could buy and sell indentured servants' contracts, and the right to their labor would change hands, but not the person as a piece of property.
On the other hand, this ideal was not always a reality for indentured servants. Both male and female laborers could be subject to violence, occasionally even resulting in death.
Learn more about Indentured Servants here:   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indentured_servant
GULEN ON SLAVERY   http://saif_w.tripod.com/questions/slavery/islam_slavery_gulen.htm

Gulen Schools Shakedown, Hawaii and Pacifica Institute - when denied a school back door it in!!!!

Below is a story written by Andrew Walden of the Hawaii Free Press. Walden has been following the Gulenites since early January when they unsuccessfullly tried to open one of their charter schools in Hawaii.
http://gulencharterschoolsusa.blogspot.com/2010/12/gulen-charter-school-in-hawaii-hula.html
by the way -- our bets are on the Gulenites prevailing and their schools opening in the so distant future -- because we know how much our American politicians like campaign contributions. trips to Turkey, and  baklava.... strongly urge you all to look at the original article the link is below as it has extensive links to photos of the Gulen ran Pacifica Institute having dinner with Hawaii Senator Gaffney back in November 2010 as well as links to view what the Gulen's Tuzuk contract looks like.  This site previously reported on the Mokapu STEM school DENIAL but it looks like Hizmet has found another way in to Hawaii through the back door of the Senate.  Nothing new they have the same type of resolution on the floor of the Oregon Legislature and Utah.    Gulen Pacficia Institute and Accord Institute share the same address in Southern California what is so unique about Accord?  Accord is what the Gulen Movement uses to manage their charter schools.....coming soon a Gulen Charter School for Hawaii. 

Gulen Cult: Legislators to welcome “Ugly Unionbusting” to Hawaii schools?by Andrew Walden

Hawai’i Free Press readers first learned about the Turkish Gulen Cult January 13 when this news site exposed the Gulenists' involvement in a so-far unsuccessful effort to surreptitiously convert Kaneohe's on-base Mokapu Elementary into a Gulen-controlled charter school. 

On February 20, Il Sole 24 Ore--Italy’s Wall Street Journal--reported that the Gulen movement’s 120 charter schools and education consulting companies are now under investigation by the FBI and the US Department of Education for “illegal use of these education funds, a criminal conspiracy, extortion, and violation of immigration laws.”

Naturally this leads to the Hawaii State Legislature.

The Gulen scheme is designed to launder money back to the Gulen movement in Turkey through fat juicy “consulting” contracts with Gulen front companies and salary kickbacks paid back to the Gulen movement by Gulen teachers brought in on H1-B visas from Turkey. 

In the Mokapu STEM School proposal, the Gulen “consultant” is “Daisy Education Corporation dba ‘Sonoran Science Academy’”. 

Just three weeks after Hawai’i Free Press exposed the Mokapu scam, the Gulenists switched front groups.  They convinced twelve Hawaii State Representatives to introduce HR30 and the nearly identical HCR37 purportedly “Recognizing and Improving relations with the Republic of Turkey.”  The actual purpose of HR30—modeled after a nearly identical resolution pending in the Oregon Legislature--is to give credibility to two California-based Gulen front groups, the “Pacifica Institute” and the “West America Turkic Council” both of which are mentioned in the Resolution.  There may be as few as three Gulenists in all of Hawaii, but they leverage the cult’s mainland resources to appear more substantial than they are.

Taking a page from the Rod Tam playbook, Pacifica on January 20th hosted what the Resolution describes as “The First Annual Dialogue and Friendship Dinner to promote peace and a better understanding of the Hawaii Turkish-American community.”  According to a flyer for the event, Sen. J Kalani English was there “to assess the potential of the Institute’s further involvement in Hawaii.”  The featured speaker was Father Alexi Smith, an interfaith leader from the Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy who is now affiliated with the Los Angeles Catholic Archdiocese. 

Gulenists have been working the Legislature at least since November.  Altunkaya and California-based Pacifica Institute boss Tezcan Inanlar were photographed meeting with Senator Mike Gabbard last November 8.  Gabbard again posed for pictures with Pacifica Institute leaders Ibrahim Barlas and Tezcan Inanlar and Dr. Ozkur Yildiz, President of the West America Turkic Council as they made the rounds on Opening Day.

In addition to being President of the Turkic Council, Yildiz is listed in Arizona State documents as a “grant contact” for “Daisy Education Corporation dba Sonoran Science Academy”—the very same Gulen “consultants” to which Mokapu funds would be funneled if the Gulenists are successful in converting Mokapu into a Charter School.  In a Sonoran Science Academy newsletter, Yildiz is described as “District Superintendent.” 

Although the schools deny Gulen ties, the Arizona Daily Star, April 25, 2010 reports: “(Turkish Islamic leader Fethullah) Gülen himself, a powerful political force in Turkey, claimed responsibility for U.S. schools in a 2007 lawsuit against the Homeland Security Department as part of his effort to gain permanent residence.  His argument in that lawsuit was that he was a person of exceptional ability in the field of education. Among Gülen's accomplishments, his attorneys argued, were that he ‘has overseen the establishment of a conglomeration of schools throughout the world, in Europe, Central Asia, and the United States.’"

The Arizona Daily Star, also reports that Sonoran has brought in 120 H1B Visa teachers from Turkey.

Il Sole 24 Ore reports:

An analysis of work permits for teachers reveals that between just 2007 and 2009,  the "Gulen" schools requested and were granted 1,851 visas in three years, more than some major American corporations such as Motorola and Google….each teacher "imported" from Turkey would be required to return a percentage of their salary to the movement.

The region including Ohio was to be entrusted to a Turkish imam named Veli Aslan, better known as ‘brother Veli.’  An email sent in June 2008 with regard to teachers who were late in making the paybacks reads: "Brother Veli wants to have all the “salary returns."  And he says to withhold future salaries from those who have not made them."

More incriminating still is an email dated June 13, 2007 and sent to the principal of a school in Ohio and copied to the CEO of Concept Schools, a board member of Breeze, and the Executive Director of the Niagara Foundation, a foundation personally headed by Fethullah Gulen. The email recommends "increasing the number of teachers from Turkey ... to acquire more money."

Federal investigators believe that proves the involvement of all the various branches of Hizmet - schools, service organizations, and the most important Gulenist foundation in the U.S. - in what they call "the Tuzuk conspiracy", namely the illegal financing of the movement at the expense of taxpayers.

A two page Tuzuk contract spells out precisely how much is to be kicked back to “The Movement.”  For instance an unmarried teacher living in Hawaii--"Region E"--is allowed to keep only $1900 per month in salary.

What could the Hawaii State Teachers Association (HSTA) have to look forward to if Gulen gets a foothold in Hawaii? 

Chicago Math and Science Academy teachers, upset by high staff turnover driven by the drive to import more Gulenist teachers from Turkey, signed cards calling for union recognition.  The Gulenists fired the leading organizer, stonewalled the union, and and hired expensive union busting law firm Sayfarth Shaw to beat  it back.  Of course having a union might prevent the pushing out of non-Gulen teachers every time replacements arrive from Turkey with freshly signed Tuzuk contracts. 

The Democratic Socialists of America-allied newspaper, In These Times, August  9, 2010 calls it “Ugly Unionbusting”. 

And how do the Gulenists justify it?  Here’s a line from the Chicago Tribune February 22, 2011 which should strike fear into the hearts of even the most steel-nerved HSTA honchos: 

A Chicago charter school that has received more than $23 million in public money since opening in 2004 is arguing that it is a private institution, a move teachers say is designed to block them from forming a union.
In papers filed with the National Labor Relations Board, attorneys for the Chicago Math and Science Academy on the city's North Side say the school should be exempt from an Illinois law that grants employees of all public schools the right to form unions for contract negotiations.

The CPUSA’s People’s World February 14, 2011 describes the union’s reaction:

If Sulejman Dizdarevic were peeking out the window of his swanky law offices on Feb. 11, he surely would have been startled. There staring at him from the opposite side of the street, with bulging eyes, long nose and whiskers, chomping on a cigar and holding sacks of cash, was a giant, ugly rat.

The inflatable rat was erected by supporters of teachers at Chicago Mathematics and Science Academy in front of Dizdarevic's office, because he sits on the board of directors of the charter school that they accuse of subverting teacher's rights to form a union and violating Illinois labor law by refusing to negotiate a contract. Dizdarevic is an attorney at Belongia, Shapiro and Franklin.

CMSA is part of Concept Schools, a charter chain with schools across the Midwest.

Concept Schools is one of the two Gulen front companies identified by Il Sole 24 Ore in connection with efforts to "increas(e) the number of teachers from Turkey ... to acquire more money." 

The writer for In These Times points out that “Concept Schools bring in teachers from Turkey, Russia and other European countries…. Currently about 25% of the faculty are international teachers….  When I went to the school’s Board meeting July 8, I was taken aback to see a board of directors comprised entirely of men.  They all appeared to be of Turkish, Bosnian, or Croatian descent.” 

Do Hawaii Legislators really want to have to explain to the HSTA why they invited “ugly union busters” into Hawaii?  Don’t they know who they work for? 

Interim DBEDT Director Richard Lim sent testimony in favor of HR30/HCR37. 

How will Governor Abercrombie explain this to his comrades at the next DSA caucus meeting that he happens to pop into even though he swears he is not a member?   What will Nancie Caraway say to her old comrades on the DSA National Feminist Commission?   

In addition to financial goals, the charter schools are used to spread Gulenist ideology.   Tucson Weekly, December 31, 2009 explains:

…several Sonoran Academy parents believe the school has a hidden agenda to promote Gülen's brand of Turkish nationalism, advance sympathy for that country's political goals such as winning acceptance into the European Union, and discourage official acknowledgement of Turkey's genocide against the Armenians during World War I.

"We found one document, in Turkish, that talks about the purpose of these charter schools," says the parent. "They refer to them very explicitly as schools (belonging) to their movement. They're calculating, and they say if they can have something like 600 schools, then every year, they can produce 120,000 sympathizers for Turkey.

"I sent my kids to this school because I wanted them to meet regular Muslims and to see them as ordinary people," she says. "But when I find that my kids are to be turned into genocide-deniers, that's very disturbing to me."

And, just as predicted, testifying in support of HR30 Pacifica Institute’s Tezcan Inanlar slyly denies the 1915-23 Armenian genocide, writing:  “Turkey is a … country in which Turks, Kurds, Bosnians, Circassians, Armenians, Araps, (sic) Alevis, and Sunnis live (sic) together in peace for centuries.”  This is similar to writing: “Germany is a country in which Jews have lived in peace for centuries.” 

HR30 purports that Turkey “cherish(es) the universal values of freedom, democracy, and human rights…as well as a tolerance of others regarding secular and religious issues….”

The New York Times March 3 article, "7 More Journalists Detained in Turkey", gives a different view of life in Turkey under the Gulen-allied AK Party government: 

The police raided the homes and offices of 11 people in Ankara and Istanbul. Among those detained were Nedim Sener, an investigative journalist for the newspaper Milliyet; Yalcin Kucuk, a writer who is a prominent critic of the governing Justice and Development Party (AK Party); and Ahmet Sik, a journalist and academic who alleges that an Islamic movement associated with Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish-born cleric living in the United States, has infiltrated the country’s security forces.

Mr. Sener and Mr. Sik were defiant as police officers took them into custody at their homes before television cameras. “Whoever touches it gets burned!” Mr. Sik shouted, referring to the Gulen movement. Mr. Sener’s neighbors decorated his Istanbul building with Turkish flags to protest his detention.

Four journalists with an anti-government Web site, OdaTV, were also detained. A few weeks ago, the authorities raided the Web site’s offices and arrested the site’s owner, its news editor and a writer.

After government forces rounded up opponents in mid-2009, Soner Çağaptay in Foreign Policy magazine wrote:

Although some of the people interrogated and arrested might have been involved in criminal wrongdoing, most appear to be innocent. Take, for instance, Turkan Saylan, a 73-year-old grandmother who was undergoing chemotherapy. Saylan ran an NGO providing liberal arts education scholarships to poor girls in eastern Turkey, an area where Gülen's network runs many competing organizations. She was interrogated by the Turkish police for allegedly plotting a coup from her death bed, and passed away only four weeks later.

Many others have languished in jail, or even died, without seeing an indictment. The Gülen-controlled parts of the judiciary and police have also wielded illegal wiretaps against those entangled in the Ergenekon case, leaking intimate details of their private lives, such as marital infidelity, to pro-AKP and pro-Gülen media in order to damage their reputations.

The chilling reply comes right from Fethulla Gulen’s own website:

Çağaptay portrays Türkan Saylan as just a grandmother; he never mentions that she could not explain a document discovered on her computer mentioning encouraging girls to make every sacrifice needed to become close to young officers. Several other original documents that were filed by the prosecutors also show similar activities.

That’s “freedom, democracy, and human rights” Gulen-style.  Now coming to Hawaii.

http://www.hawaiifreepress.com/main/ArticlesMain/tabid/56/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/3871/Gulen-Cult-Legislators-to-welcome-ldquoUgly-Unionbustingrdquo-to-Hawaii-schools.aspx

Gulen Charter School- Quest Academy Illinois Caterpillar and Gulen's Concept Schools

Caterpillar has a significant amount of business in Central Asia mining where Gulen Schools are located.

The larva caterpillar - a symbol of the Gulen Charter Schools
Or are they just a group of worms?

Quest Academy – Caterpillar and Gulen

This author shouldn’t surpise anyone he is an ex-legislature from Illinois turned academia 2 of the things the Gulen Movement target in their “Quest” (no pun intended) for worldwide domination.  Knock yourself out Hizmet, it is all catching up with you.

First, about this line:
"he points to the success of Concept Schools in Ohio, where he says all show either "continuous improvement" or that they are "effective and excellent.""

That is inaccurate.  The last batch of school report cards available from Ohio, for 2009-2010, showed 5  Horizon schools (Concept) on Academic Watch and one on Academic Emergency.  (cf. http://www.slideshare.net/CASILIPS/concept-schools-success-in-education-or-success-in-marketing)

Note this line from the article:
http://mywebtimes.com/archives/ottawa/display.php?id=425750
"To get the school up and running, however, the school district required the charter organizers to come up with $1 million from the community, which it did, half of it from major employer Caterpillar."

Gulen's Niagara Foundation' Director Hakan Berberoglu's wife Ozgur Aytekin Berberoglu works for Caterpillar.  That is why you'll see Caterpillar supporting the Midwest Gulen schools.  Also, I remember seeing a document, perhaps a charter application or board minutes, in which Caterpillar made a statement that they needed better science and math education in their area.  They made it look as though it came from an independent local employer rather than it being an inside job.

http://magazine.mccormick.northwestern.edu/fall2004/class.html
"Ozgur Aytekin Berberoglu (mechanical engineering '00) received her master's degree in nanotechnology from University of Illinois at Chicago and works at Caterpillar, in Aurora, Illinois, as a vehicle engineer in the wheel loader department. She was married to Hakan Berberoglu in July 2003 in Istanbul, Turkey."

STATE AFFAIRS: Can charter schools save public education?

http://mywebtimes.com/archives/ottawa/display.php?id=425750

03/04/2011, 1:22 am

Jim Nowlan, State Affairs

Charter public schools are all the rage among education reformers and business leaders. We don't have any charter schools in our readership communities, so I took a drive to Peoria to visit the Quest Charter Academy in that city. The techniques employed there are not magic — longer school days and school year; twice as much time devoted to math and English as in regular schools; strong parental involvement; and high expectations. Charter schools in Illinois are authorized by local public school districts under a "charter" of, say, five years to provide education often somewhat specialized for typical public school students. The Quest Academy focuses, for example, on math, science and technology. The Quest Academy operates from a previously shuttered public elementary school. About 700 students applied for the 225 slots in a fifth- to seventh-grade school that will grow each year until it provides education through the senior year in high school. Students were selected by lottery and reflect the demographics of the Peoria school district: 63 percent African-American, 23 percent Caucasian, 11 percent multiracial and 2 percent Hispanic. As a charter, Quest can operate independently of most school district rules. Teachers are, for example, on yearly contracts rather than protected from firing by tenure. Nevertheless, Quest received 400 resumes for it 20 teaching positions. As Quest Principal Engin Blackstone notes: "We can change things overnight if they aren't working to our satisfaction." Quest receives about the same amount of funding per pupil as the regular public schools in Peoria. To get the school up and running, however, the school district required the charter organizers to come up with $1 million from the community, which it did, half of it from major employer Caterpillar. The school is operated by Concept Schools, a nonprofit group that runs 25 schools in Midwestern states, primarily in Ohio. Eleven years old, Concept is headed by two Turkish-American entrepreneurs who often bring math and science teachers from abroad into their classrooms, because of the difficulty of finding highly-qualified math and science teachers in the U.S. Peoria's Quest relies, however, solely on American teachers. As I see it, the key differences with the regular schools are these: Each Quest school day is 62 minutes longer, and after school activities in chess club, MathCounts, science fair and other competitive pursuits are encouraged; after school tutoring also is available. Math and English lasts 90 minutes a day for each, rather than 45 minutes. School meets Saturdays for both students who are struggling and for advanced students. The school year is eight days longer, and classes run with volunteers from nearby colleges when teachers are occupied by required professional development (normally, students are let off during what we used to call "Institute" days). Parental involvement is emphasized; there are four rather than two parent conferences, conducted Saturdays, and home visits by teacher-advisers are required. Blackstone is discouraged that only 80 percent of the parents participated in the first round of parent-teacher-student conferences, and he will focus on the 20 percent who didn't show, he says. Nor does Blackstone — a native of Turkey who is on the path to U.S. citizenship — give up on his students. When a parent with a child who has behavior problems suggested he move the child of out Quest, Blackstone said, "No, we will have a consultant or other specialists work with the child." The big question is whether charter schools make a difference in outcomes, now that there are 5,000 charter schools nationwide educating 1.5 million students (115 in Illinois, with 42,000 students). A recent major evaluation by the U.S. Department of Education found that, "On average, charter middle schools that hold lotteries are neither more nor less successful than traditional schools in improving student achievement, behavior and school progress." Blackstone believes his school will indeed fulfill the "Quest to be the best," and he points to the success of Concept Schools in Ohio, where he says all show either "continuous improvement" or that they are "effective and excellent." Charter schools are found primarily in large urban school districts that exhibit poor performance overall. Whether they will be all the rage in the future depends upon whether they make a positive difference. I came away from Quest Charter Academy with the sense the principal and his team are trying mightily to do just that. JIM NOWLAN is a senior fellow at the University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs. A former Illinois legislator and aide to three unindicted governors, he is the lead author of "Illinois Politics: A Citizen's Guide" (University of Illinois Press, 2010). He can be reached via e-mail at nowlan@illinois.edu.  ANOTHER GULEN TOOL FOOTNOTES:

Caterpillar was featured quite prominently in "Shadow of the Holy Book," about the Turkmenistan dictator, Niyazov. Even more prominently featured was Ahmet Calik of Calik Holding who is also a close associate of Erdogan. Also, Ergogan's son-in-law has been working for Calik.

Caterpillar is likely to be intertwined with Calik's business ventures, esp. those having to do with mining the untapped deposits in Central Asian regions.

• http://www.miningtopnews.com/anatolia-announces-strategic-relationship-with-calik-mining.html
• http://www.miningtopnews.com/caterpillar-moves-forward-with-new-large-mining-trucks.html
• http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/world/asia/14minerals.html
• http://www.meforum.org/2045/fethullah-gulens-grand-ambition
• http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=33579

Calik, a multi-billionaire, is described this way: "a happily married father of four remains a humble, decent, nice and quietly confident man-kind of like a Turkish version of Warren Buffet."
http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page72068?oid=87989&sn=Detail

Somehow this is connected to why the CIA is involved and, I believe, why all these Gulen schools have been tolerated, and even promoted by members of our own government.
More on Calik, Cetin and leader of all Turkomans Niyazov
http://turkishinvitations.weebly.com/gulen-and-saparmurat-niyazov.html