Bill Phillis of the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy writes:
Fethullah Gulen, the leader of 150 charter schools in the U.S.: His words
Turkish Iman Fethullah Gulen leads an international Islamic movement that has a presence in at least 120 nations. His followers operate 150 tax-supported charter schools in the U.S. A significant portion of the tax funds sent to their charters are plowed into the Gulen movement. So why do Gulenists operate charter schools in America? Pure and simple, they are doing so to promote a political/religious philosophy in the U.S. And the U.S. Government is complicit with Gulen in this endeavor. Federal and state officials help advance the Gulen charter school industry. Most federal and state officials, however, are likely clueless as to the philosophical, religious and political views of Gulen.
Gulen’s website is useful in learning about his political/religious philosophy. Part of Gulen’s book Prophet Mohammad as Commander is posted on his website. In one section, The Holy Struggle in the Way of God, Gulen discusses jihad as a Holy struggle. (Note that Gulen references the Islamic Allah as God. Also note that this is not what someone says Gulen wrote…but actually what he wrote.)
Please explore Gulen’s website.* A couple excerpts from The Holy Struggle in the Way of God:
“There are two aspects of jihad. One is fighting against superstitions and wrong convictions and also against carnal desires and evil inclinations, and therefore enlightenment both intellectually and spiritually, which is called the greater jihad; the other is encouraging others to achieve the same objective and is called the lesser jihad.
“The lesser jihad, which has usually been taken to mean fighting for God’s cause, does not refer only to the form of striving done on battlefields. The term is comprehensive. It includes every action from speaking out to presenting oneself on the battlefield – provided the action is done for God’s sake. Whether speaking or keeping silent, smiling or making a sour face, joining a meeting or leaving it, every action taken to ameliorate the lot of humanity, whether by individuals or communities, is included in the meaning of the lesser jihad.
“If unbelievers or polytheists or those who make mischief and corruption on the earth resist the preaching of Islam and try to block its way of conquering the minds and hearts of people. Being a God-revealed religion of truth, Islam aims to secure the well-being and happiness of mankind in both worlds and therefore has the right to enjoy the freedom of presenting itself to people. In case it is resisted or prevented, it offers its enemies three alternatives: either they will accept Islam, or allow its preaching or admit its rule. If they reject all three alternatives, Islam allows the use of force.”
These excerpts should prompt readers to visit the Gulen website. Hundreds of millions of tax dollars are being used to support Gulen charters that enroll 60,000 American students.
Would the U.S. and various state governments allow a foreign communist regime to operate tax-supported charters in the U.S.?
The issue in this post is that money is being diverted from school districts to help advance an international political/religious movement.
*fgulen.com
William L. Phillis | Ohio Coalition for Equity & Adequacy of School Funding | 614.228.6540 | ohioeanda@sbcglobal.net| http://www.ohiocoalition.org
Diane Ravitch's blog 
It’s totally CREEPY that Gulen makes money off of our tax dollars. The charter industry is corrupt and sick.
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It’s creepy that any American would actually choose to send their kids to one of these schools after all that is known about them — and still not known about them.
Who in their right mind would send their kids to schools that are clearly part of a cult?
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The Gulenists have strategically targeted mostly low income, underserved areas. These families have much more to think about then a bunch of liars claiming to be “Turkish scholars” like Poverty, unemployment, heroin addiction and more. Gulenists are not into parent participation unless they are controlling their participation again its all a dog and pony show even their Science and STEM festivals are for show. The more sick element to this is the school districts that rubber stamped these schools through without vetting them from 1999 – 2016 under the old standards many were not even background checked. It’s like giving a blank check to steal and the rights to our children. The Public Schools are partly to blame for this for allowing it. and having poor controls in place. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=32YOa7I67-Q
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Gulen has been allowed to create a large network of charter schools. Gulen is also one of the largest recipients of H1-B visas in the country, and he has even opened charter schools on military bases. Even after the attempted coup in Turkey, when Erdoğan demanded that Gulen be extradited to Turkey, Gulen still sat in the Poconos collecting his public money. There is no doubt that Gulen is protected by some powerful people in the US.
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Gulen is indeed protected by some powerful people in this country. He is their “man” re: charters.
I suspect: There’s more to this story beyond just Gulen’s charter schools.
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I thought there would be backlash after the attempted coup, but nothing happened. Gulen operates his empire with US tax dollars. He exploits and extorts his workers, and the government stands by and does nothing.
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Diane,
I thought he was a secularist. This Fetullah website is a horse of a different color. Please be careful dealing with people who publish virtues of jihad. And the multiple references to himself in the third person… This guy’s got problems.
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Yes, I have noticed the same thing.
You gotta watch out for every third person.
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Yes, the third person doesn’t seem to think he is his brother’s keeper. Okay, I’m a’gonna stop now before I offend someone.
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I thought he was a suckularist — sucking in other people’s money.
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I don’t claim to know much about Gulen, his faith, or Turkish politics.
My beef with Gulen is that I object to outsourcing public schools to foreign nationals. Are we not capable of managing democratically controlled public schools? Why spend millions to import Turkish teachers on visas instead of hiring American teachers? Why hire only Turkish contractors instead of the low bidder? Why woo legislators with “free” trips to Turkey (that perk may have dried up now that Erdogan wants to arrest a Gulen)? It all stinks.
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Agree! An eighth Gulen School is poised to open in NJ, which seriously calls into question the approval process for charters in the Garden State. The new Administration needs to take a hard and long look at what kind of schools we allow our taxpayer dollars to support. Reform is needed NOW.
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Separation of church & state was a foundational concept for a reason. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised, since monopoly is okay, privatization of prisons, parks & public education are all accepted as business as usual (no pun intended).
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What’s not addressed is the actual curriculum being taugh in the schools. If math and science, arts and literature, business management and physical education are being taught in a manner that promotes a worldview based in a religion then I can see the problem. But in the absence of any information to that effect, the post is largely polemical. Raising the specter of communist ideology from bygone years corrupting the
minds of young students is strident at best.
I grew up in a Muslim society and had the good fortune of having parents that made sacrifices to ensure I attended schools run by Catholic missionaries instead of poorly run public schools. I was enriched by that education, I remain a Muslim and most importantly free of irrational fears of the “other”.
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Hadi,
The concern about Gulen is not a fear of Islam or the “other.” No one understands why a Turkish imam runs a chain of charter schools that are neither accountable or transparent. I would be upset if a for-profit or nonprofit chain of Norwegian or Mexican or Malaysian or French schools began taking the place of public schools. The concern is not Islam, but the takeover of local democratic public schools, a process accelerated in the case of Gulen by political gifts.
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Something smells, and it’s not Turkish coffee. Why does the right wing not jump all over this? Something is rotten in the state of Turkeymark.
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Students attend universities which promote Jihad, and Islamic extremism, using tax dollars (BEOGs, etc. ) Why are people surprised, when the exact same thing occurs at the K-12 level?
see
https://www.investigativeproject.org/5288/islamic-university-of-minnesota-a-hotbed
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Great idea, Charles. Why not use public money to promote hatred and violence?
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I do not get your comment. Public money is being used to subsidize students at Islamic universities. Public money is being used to subsidize students at other Islamic schools, at the K-12 level.
Where is the outrage? And why are people surprised, that tax money is being used to promote jihad (holy war, against infidels)?
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