We understand that Arne Duncan prefers privately managed charter schools to public schools, but why is he supporting the Gulen Movement?
Is it because it is the largest charter chain in the US, with nearly 150 charters, all led by Turkish men?
“GULEN INSTITUTE LANDS HIGH-PROFILE SPEAKER: Ken Bedell, a senior advisor in the Education Department, spoke Wednesday at a conference about educating low-income students sponsored by the Gulen Institute. The Institute, based at the University of Houston, is tied to a reclusive Muslim cleric, Fethullah Gulen, who emigrated to rural Pennsylvania in the late 1990s after suspicion arose in Turkey that he was involved in a plot to overthrow the secular Turkish government. Despite his seclusion, Gulen has been very much in the news of late: His followers in Turkey are believed to have instigated a corruption investigation that now threatens to bring down the current Turkish government.
—In the United States: Gulen is believed to have inspired the founding of more than 100 charter schools run by a loose affiliation of Turkish-American educators. They have sparked concern in some communities. In December, the FBI raided one such school in Louisiana. The Education Department declined to comment on the decision to have Bedell address the conference. A senior adviser with the department’s Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Center, Bedell spoke on the role of government agencies and non-governmental groups in the education of disadvantaged youth.”
Many people have wondered why the US looks to another country to run so many schools and why the Gulen movement.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
There are Gulen Schools in Ohio. Some controversy follows them. Here is a link to a charter school watchdog site.
http://www.charterschoolwatchdog.com/the-map-of-gulen.html
http://www.nbc4i.com/story/24778722/nbc4-investigates-taxpayers-left-holding-bill-for-charter-schools
I encourage everyone to watch this!!! Charters are the best con ever invented!!!!
Wow, that was a powerful news report, and it was posted yesterday.
Great questions, Diane.
DC just approved a school associated with Gulen a few months ago. Interesting that Politico is not joining the chorus. Now, where are the Tea Partiers and the extreme right when you need them?
I’m sure Michelle Malkin would be interested.
Actually the Eagle forum and Phyllis Schlafly have had a post about Gulen schools.
Chris, the leading critic of the Gulen movement’s charter schools is Sharon Higgins, a parent activist in Oakland, CA. Read her blog called The Perimeter Primate. She has no connection with Phyllis Schlafly or the Eagle Forum.
Diane,
My post was a response to the post of Mark Collins about conservatives and Gulen charters. It was to point out that at least one conservative website has criticized Gulen charters.
Mark wrote where are the extreme right when you need them?
There was no intention to equate Sharon Higgins with Phyllis Schlafly. I think that the work of Sharon Higgins is fantastic.
Good question.
What if the Gulen movement was similar to the Wahhabi schools throughout the Middle East that are financially supported by rich Saudis—-schools that have been linked to influencing the rise of the Jihadist movement.
Gulen has over 1,000 wahabbi schools worldwide. Please read my post below.
It is absolutely a jihadist movement.
Their infiltrating the United States!!! We could blame Obama but the Congress has Republicans too and then more than half of the governors are from the GOP
Why isn’t either party doing something about this?
They’re instead of Their
:o)
Lloyd…it was the Clinton administration which first let Gulen into the US, then the Bush group which let him prosper with charters, and now Obama’s State Dept. that offers us no info as Americans become more aware of the dangers Gulen poses. We must all keep pummeling our government about this.
Clinton might earn an excuse for ignorance because 9/11 hadn’t happened yet.
Maybe Gulen was set up as a Trojan Horse to pass CIA and FBI security probe and Clinton’s White House was briefed on the results. And then once in, Gulen spreads like a cancer and eventually one day down the line Gulen will reveal its true nature as brainwashed American children grow up to join the jihad but in the US as homegrown Islamic terrorists.
Then every time one of these homegrown jihadists blows themselves up in an American school or shopping center, the FBI will trace them back to Gulen.
Bingo…and he will have thousands of loyal Turks who immigrated to the US and other world areas as cohorts and to come back with him to Turkey to form the second Ottaman Empire. At least this is what I am reading online.
Gulen and HB1 visas in 2010. I bet things have only gotten worse since then.
http://perimeterprimate.blogspot.com/2010/07/gulen-schools-and-their-booming-h1b.html
Yes, Mark. This visa info has been out there in the public for quite a while. I also am sure it has gotten worse. Also, the low pay for teachers allows Gulen charters to send back money to Turkey to fund the Gulenist religio/politico party. It time to stop this but every time the topic comes up publicly it gets no traction whatsoever. I live in Buffalo, NY. We have one here. A science charter. This is what the charter/privatization movement has wrought.
School board in Lancaster PA rejected for the second time the proposed charter for ABEC that has ties to the Gulen movement. The review process cost this financially strapped district $30,000.
The Corporate Owned Department of Education will promote anything that undermines public education in the United States. —, the end is all they care about, the means are not a consideration. So let’s not get distracted by that.
But what is the end they really imagine? I think most will regret the actions taken against public school in a decade or so.
Some are only out for money and like the criminals behind the 2007-08 financial crises don’t care about the suffering they cause to millions of people around the world because they kept hundreds of millions of dollars and are still rich. These guys are sociopaths and narcisists who only love themselves. They are incapalbe of loving other people.
Then there are those who are doing it for poltical or religious reasons.
The Koch brothers are libertarians and want to take most of the power away from the federal government and turn most services provided by the state or feds over to the private sector—and that includes the military and prisons. They also want to gut enviornmental laws and do away with all the clean air standards. Imagine what would happen to food safety if the FDA’s job were turned over to the industries that produced the food we eat.
Rupert Murdock is a neoconservative and these people think it’s okay to lie to manipulate the people if the lie helps the neocons achieve their poltiical agendas. Neoconservatives believe in nation building by using the US military to shove a gun barrel aginst the heads of the people of other countries until they accept the neocon way of governance, whatever that might turn out to be.
Because Bill Gates is linked to Murdock through InBloom, he might also be a neoconservative.
Evangelical fundamentalist Christians want to do away with abortion rights, reverse gay rights, and throw the study of science out of the schools and repleace science with creatonism—a fancy word for Bible study and religious indoctrination.
These people all have the same goal—to get rid of the public schools—and seem to have formed an unholy alliance that’s pretty much the same as the one Germany, Italy and Japan had durign World War II—-to destroy Western democracy.
What do they think they want in place of western democracy? Because it sounds like anarchy to me.
For the Koch brothers and other libertarians, it does mean anarchy. And once the libertarians have achieved their political goals, the Koch brothers will be well protected by their private army inside heavily secured estates only billionaires can afford.
And there will be no federal or state oversight of the Koch brothers business practices. To have a better understanding of how the Koch brothers think, you may want to read this list from Greenpeace of Koch Industries Environmental Record:
http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/polluterwatch/koch-industries/koch-industries-environmental/
“They” want and are implementing fascism, not anarchism, just as Lloyd pointed out about the Axis in WWII.
And the “they” are who most think they are. This is a long standing process going back at least to the early 1900’s.
I read the website quoted in this article, it says:
“Readers of Milliyet were informed in 2010 that the Walton Family Foundation had given $1 million to Gulen’s charter schools in California.
What Walton Family Foundation had to do with them?
Any ideas?
http://gundem.milliyet.com.tr/walmart-tan-gulen-okullarina-bagis/guncel/gundemdetay/27.08.2010/1281603/default.htm
In 2010, Milliyet (a Turkish daily) reported that the Gulen charter school chain in California (Magnolia Public Schools) had received a donation from the Walton Family. Gates has donated to the Gulen charter chain in Texas (Harmony Public Schools).
Also in the Billionaire Boys club there are no “girls”. Do they believe ladies are inferior to men? I read that some deformers believe that female teachers are inferior to male teachers… Do these billionaires share some beliefs with radical Muslims which makes them good friends?
I just can’t believe the leaders of this country are selling the ideas of American Dream in such a grotesque manner like this bogus scheme. Government selling out public education to multi-ethnic/cultural citizens and people of other country? This is the other side of the extreme I see regarding the role of national government. Just as ugly as over-regulation/public insulation/deliberate exclusion of non-citizens/ethnic minorities from public education–which I see in Japan’s Ministry of Education.
More troubling is the fact that all Federal employees take an oath of office when they are hired.
“I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.” 5 U.S.C. §3331
Seems that some of these folks forget or don’t understand.
“Constitution of the United States”. What a quaint concept!
Gulen schools get good scores by “darkening” answers nobody cares about that in Dept of Education?
From this blog:
“When it came time for OATs, as they were called then, testing was a disaster. Several Turkish men arrived and pulled “at risk” students from their classrooms, taking them to the moldy rooms in small groups, despite the lack of written documentation allowing accommodations. The week after testing, I went to school on a Saturday morning in order to keep ahead of my planning, and I saw a dozen Turkish men sitting in a classroom with stacks of OATs on their desks. The current principal brought a cup of tea and a plate of cookies to me while I worked alone in my classroom. He said that the men were simply darkening in the answers for students who wrote too lightly.”
Reblogged this on 21st Century Theater.
I can send you an email from one principal. His English was awful. Also, check out their restrictions and special attention to female dress.
Someone needs to package this story and send it to Fox News. Just make sure it’s the Fox News friendly.
I’d honestly like to know why Gulen isn’t a major right-wing talking point.
Have they accepted campaign contributions? Are they so committed to “school choice” and dismantling public schools and unions that they’re willing to accept a shadowy Islamist network taking over American schools and funneling American tax dollars to an Islamist cause?
Think back to controversies like the ground zero mosque and NYPD Muslim surveillance. Gulen should be like catnip for all those right wingers who were talking about a clash of civilizations after 9/11, but for some reason they seem to be silent on Gulen.
Maybe Gulenists already got to Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes.
This is much bigger than our educators hue and cry over charters. This is ALEC, the weapons industry, war mongers who profit on an unstable world….read Mercedes Deutsch on how ALEC figures into the charter movement.
This is frightening on many levels. Ohio has Gulen school that underperform. It doesn’t seem to “matter”. Onward we march.
Our government is giving millions of dollars to a cleric who aims to overthrow the democratic, secular government in Turkey and replace it with a Muslim regime, which is sure to destabilize an already precarious region, while NSA spies on US. How sick is that?
Hey, the NSA is spying on us to catch those like the Gulenistas. It’s for our own benefit and safety, don’cha know?
This is even more dangerous and egregious a situation than other charter operations. The LA Times, even though it did a front page story about 3 Sundays ago, refused to print a single letter to the editor surrounding issues of this Radical Islamist Imam, Gulen, who was let into the US two years before 9/11 and given asylem. Why? Why did the 3 adminstrations allow him the freedmon not only to locate in the Poconos in a locked/guarded compound, and then devise and implement a business plan for American charter schools, last count 143, financed by US taxpayers? Many local LA teachers wrote the times, but the did not print a single letter.
Yesterday I heard a lecture by a Rand scholar on the Middle East. She focused mainly on Iran and Syria. I asked her the question about Gulen and the Gulen Movement, with American taxpayers now funding the insurrection in Turkey through Gulen who reportedly, widely, wants Turkey to be under Sharia Law and who wants to go back and be their supreme leader. She seemed nonplussed at the question, and avoided saying anything about Gulen, but did laud Erdogan and the Turks as good allies of Amercian.
There is so much undercurrent with Gulen, and he is so protected by our State Department, that the only assessment I personally can make for their protecting him, is that if he stays in the US they can watch him, or, they are in political cahoots with him.
Sharon Higgins has an excellent site where she gives detailed information about him and his goals. Suggest everyone do homework in depth on this.
Sorry for all the typos…hurrying. Also, suggest you read the many many comments online by Erdogan supporters living in Turkey on this whole Gulen Movement goal worldwide, and why he limits adminstration to Middle Eastern men on green cards, his focus on teaching mainly Turkish language and Turkish history, the ‘retreats’ offered students where they are indoctrinated in Sharia Law, and the over 1,000 madrassas he runs worldwide with even more emphasis on students religious training.
What is our State Dept., NSA, Homeland Security, thinking to allow this man to use billions of our tax dollars to do all this?
Google query reveals this article:
Paul L. Williams — June 15, 2010
http://www.aim.org/guest-column/white-house-muslim-advisor-supports-islamist-gulen-movement/
“The first woman to wear a veil in the White House has endorsed the Gülen movement which seeks to restore the Ottoman Empire and to establish a universal caliphate.
Dalia Mogahed, President Barack Obama’s Muslim advisor, said:
“I think the Gülen movement offers people a model of what is possible if a dedicated group of people work together for the good of the society. I also think that it is an inspiration for other people and Muslims for what they can accomplish.”
Asked about the movement’s hidden agenda, Mogahed told Sunday’s Zaman that she usually does not attach any importance to such allegations.”
“It (the Gülen movement) has moved beyond Turkey in its very benevolent projects and it serves people from all around the world of all backgrounds, but it is still made up mostly of Turks. That is what I feel is in need of expanding,” she said.
Arizona is the charter capital of the US. We have three Sonoran Science Academies run by Gulen.
Sorry Pat…statistically California has more charter schools than any other state. And LA more than any other city.
List of active Gulen charter schools @ http://charterschoolscandals.blogspot.com/p/list-of-us-gulen-schools.html
More information about recently approved/proposed Gulen charter schools @ http://gulencharterschools.weebly.com/proposed-gulen-charter-schools.html.
GULEN CHARTER SCHOOLS ALREADY APPROVED FOR 2014-2015 OPENING
1. District of Columbia: Harmony School of Excellence DC was approved by the DC Public Charter School Board on 11/18/2013
2. Florida (likely Kissimmee area): Osceola Science Charter School was approved by the board of the School District of Osceola County on 10/15/2013
3. Florida (Seminole County): Seminole Science Charter School was approved by the board of Seminole County Public Schools on 11/19/2013
4. Illinois (Chicago): Horizon Science Academy – Chatham was approved by the board of Chicago Public Schools on 1/22/2014
5. Illinois (Chicago): Horizon Science Academy – South Chicago was approved by the board of Chicago Public Schools on 1/22/2014
6. Maryland (Hyattsville): Chesapeake Math & IT Academy South was approved by Prince George’s County Public Schools on 8/22/2013
7. Maryland (Laurel): Chesapeake Math & IT Academy Elementary was approved by the board of Prince George’s County Public Schools on 8/22/2013
DENIALS THIS YEAR
1. California (San Diego): Magnolia Science Academy – Next Generation was denied by the board of San Diego Unified School District on 2/4/2014
2. Pennsylvania (City of Lancaster): Academy of Business & Entrepreneurship Charter School was denied by the board of School District of Lancaster on 2/18/2014
3. Washington (Seattle-Tacoma area): Coral Academy of Science (applicant: Quantum Leap Educational Foundation) was denied by the Washington State Charter School Commission on 1/30/2014
IN THE PIPELINE
1. California, for Santa Ana/Costa Mesa area: Pacific Technology School – Santa Ana: To date, two renewal attempts for this school renamed Magnolia Science Academy – Orange County have been denied; state-level appeal is possible
2, Florida, for Leon County: Capital City Charter Science Academy: Status unknown
3. Maine, for Lewiston-Auburn area: Lewiston-Auburn Academy Charter School: Maine Charter School Commission will vote on 3/3/2014
4. North Carolina:
– Buncombe County: Asheville Math and Science Academy: Submitted Letter of Intent for 2015 opening (1st attempt)
– Durham County: Durham STEM Academy: Submitted Letter of Intent for 2015 opening (2nd attempt)
– Mecklenberg County: Cabarrus STEM Academy: Submitted Letter of Intent for 2015 opening (2nd attempt)
– Mecklenberg County): Queen City STEM Academy: Submitted Letter of Intent for 2015 opening (2nd attempt)
5. Pennsylvania
– City of Allentown: Allentown Engineering Academy Charter School: Status unknown; possibly appealing to state
– City of Erie area: Erie Biosciences Academy: Status unknown; possibly appealing to state
– McKeesport area: Young Scholars of McKeesport: Status unknown; possibly appealing to state
At the risk of being naive, WHY IS THIS ALLOWED TO CONTINUE? It is not a benevolent project serving the greater good. This is a business supplemented by public funding emphasizing sharia law and sanctioned by the United States Department of Education, headed by no other than Obama front man Arne Duncan.
Claudia…no good to ask WHY of us.
Please write and call your legislators and demand these answers. Mine have totally ignored me…and this is telling since my senior Senator in California is THE expert on international relations. As with the Rand Middle East expert I mentioned above, legislators claim not to know much about Gulen, but repeat the party line that Turkey is a wonderful ally. There is something major that is cooking within our government in terms of allowing this man to use American taxpayer funds to forment Turkish Revolution.
As a public policy educator, I have never seen anything like this situation. It reminds me of Cuba in the 1930s allowing Myer Lansky to run Murder Incorporated in the US from his asylum on their island.
We must all keep informing our communities about this since there is hardly anything in the controlled media about the Gulen Movement. We must wake up the world to the goals of this Imam and encourage all our contacts to ask of all legislators, WHY?
Maybe they buy into the story that he is a moderate Sharia believer who is only looking to have worldwide peace…but of course students of history know this means, under their oft stated goal, of Islamic domination.
Thanks to Sharon Higgins for all your investigation (you were my first teacher), and to Diane Ravitch for positing all of this.
http://www.aim.org/guest-column/white-house-muslim-advisor-supports-islamist-gulen-movement/
Oh we did not know, but Gulen is our friend and ally. So why are we even questioning the issue? Yes, he is being supported.
I am interested in hearing Chuck Schummer’s take on this. I will let you know if I get a response from my Senator.
Claudia…if and when you get a reply from Schummer, please send me a copy at
joiningforces4ed@aol.com
I am starting to collect responses from our legislators and intend to write about their responses.
Thanks…Ellen
The Gulenists have pursued many, many elected and appointed public officials, academics, journalists, etc. You’ll find evidence of their pursuit of Chuck Schumer if you place this whole string in the google search bar: Schumer + “turkish cultural center”
Also this: Schumer + “peace islands institute”
Read some of Tim Furman’s posts about the Gulenists’ efforts to groom Illinois policymakers. The same grooming techniques are used everywhere.
http://rpnps.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-grooming-of-illinois-policymakers.html
Actually, as I point out in my book Hoosier School Heist (out next month), the Gulenists gave Duncan an Education Award in 2007.
Hi Ellen Lubic,
Please contact me about Gulen Movement. i have a lot to talk about this group..