WikiLeaks files detail U.S. unease over Turks and charter schools
Classified documents recently released by WikiLeaks recount U.S. officials' growing concern over large numbers of Turkish men seeking visas to work at American charter schools founded by followers of Fethullah Gulen, a powerful Turkish Muslim political figure who lives in the Poconos.
An analysis of H1-B visas conducted for The [Philadelphia] Inquirer showed that the number granted for Gulen charter schools has grown substantially since that 2006 report. More than 2,500 have been issued since 2007.
Prior to the ascension of Reccip Erdogan to the top of Turkish politics, Gulen was charged by the government of plotting to overthrow secularism in favour of a fundamentalist Islamic state. He is known for advising his followers to work and wait patiently for the right time to act, rather than choosing violence. For this he is praised as a moderate Muslim.
It is difficult to discover the number of Gulen-affiliated schools that exist around the world, although "over 1,000 including a few private universities" is tossed around, but beyond Turkey and the U.S. there are schools as far away as Afghanistan and Georgia, teaching Turkish and providing free study trips for the students to Turkey. |
Last month, the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan - the pro-Islamic prime minister - detained Turkish journalists who had alleged that Gulen followers were infiltrating security agencies.
There have long been accusations that Muslim businesses are pressured to donate to the cause, that teachers must kick back part of their salary, that students are proselytized in Gulen charter schools in America and indoctrinated in Gulen boarding schools in Turkey, that teachers and administrators brought in from Turkey are unqualified by American professional standards.
The article details all these concerns, and more, with reference to Wikileaks documents on the subject. Do not go to the link if that will cause you security clearance problems. |
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