Every continent but Antarctica: the numbers
How many Gulen schools are there? In how many countries?
Page created October 2, 2011 Last updated Dec 24, 2012
by C.A.S.I.L.I.P.S. - Citizens Against Special Interest Lobbying in Public Schools CASILIPS on Twitter, slideshare
Many news and academic sources have given estimates of the number of Gulen schools worldwide. None of these sources explains how the estimate was arrived at, or gives a list of the schools. The one exception is the book by Bayram Balci, "Missionnaires de l'Islam en Asie centrale : Les écoles turques de Fethullah Gulen" (Missionaries of Islam in Central Asia: The Turkish schools of Fethullah Gulen), which lists the names of the schools, but only in Central Asian countries.
It is noteworthy that researchers cannot seem to agree on the estimates of how many Gulen schools there are, in how many countries, etc. Yet it is clear from articles published by Gulenist news sources such as Zaman or Cihan News, as well as from statements on some school websites, that the Gulenists themselves are keeping count. Thus, the fact that the general public does not have access to the precise numbers is not because "nobody knows;" rather it is due entirely to the secrecy of the Gulen Movement.
More material will be added to this page in the near future.
Number of countries with Gulen schools
To date, this website itself has identified 101 countries with Gulen schools.
Date | Number | Source |
Sep 2012 | >110 | “There are currently more than 1000 Gulen-inspired schools in more than 110 countries around the world. In the European countries, there are at least a dozen Gulen-inspired schools, and more than 150 smaller educational and cultural centers.” ”Himzet Movement” website (link) |
Sep 2011 | 115 | “Almost 115 countries around the world we have more than one thousand five hundred affiliated schools, which fallow [sic] the same ideas.” Website of ICAD Foundation, running Fountain International School in Philippines http://www.icad.org.ph/ |
June 2011 | 130 | Türkçe Olimpiyatları Antakya´da yapıldı “Bugün onurla söylüyoruz ki 130 ülkede Türk okulları ile Türkçe konuşuyor ve Türk kültürünü dünyaya tanıtıyoruz” (Today we are honored to say that there are Turkish schools in 130 countries where we introduce the Turkish language and culture to the world.) |
Jan 2011 | 120 | Helen Rose Ebaugh interviewed on camera by Turkish Journalist Cuneyt Ozdemir "Cemaatin kaç okula sahip olduğu konusunda tahmini bir sayı verilebileceğini söyleyen ABD'li sosyolog Türkiye'de 1000 (bin) Türkiye dışında da 1000 (bin) tane olmak üzere 2000 (iki bin)'in üstünde okul olduğunu belirtti." Ebaugh’s voice is dubbed in Turkish, but she can be heard saying that the best estimates are that the Gulen Movement has 2000 schools in 120 countries, including 1000 schools in Turkey. |
April 2010 | 120 | UMT News, University of Management and Technology, Pakistan http://www.umt.edu.pk/events_gallery/events10/Seminar-Civic-Mov/index.html “More than 1000 schools and 20 universities in over 120 countries of the world in five continents offer education inspired by the teachings of Gulen.” |
2010 | 100 | Book: The Gulen Movement: A Sociological Analysis of a Civic Movement Rooted in Moderate Islam by Helen Rose Ebaugh “Today, the Gulen-inspired movement has over 1,000 schools in 100 countries on 5 continents.” |
Feb 2010 | 140 | Фетхуллах Гюлен: Ислам и демократия. Все права одинаково важны, и право одного человека... 03.02.2010 “По его инициативе в 140 страах [sic] мира действуют лицеи, школы и университеты, деятельность которых направлена на реализацию идей мыслителя.” (Through his initiative, high schools, schools and universities, the operation of which is guided by the thinker’s ideas, are active in 140 countries of the world.” |
Nov 2005 | 52 | Başkan, Filiz “The Fethullah Gülen community: Contribution or barrier to the consolidation of democracy in Turkey?” Middle Eastern Studies, 41: 6, 849 - 861 “Moreover, his supporters established more than 200 schools in 52 countries in five continents with his encouragement.” |
Oct 2001 | 52 | Hurriyet Daily News, "Six of the 400 schools opened by the followers of Turkish Schoolar [sic] Fethullah Gulen in 52 countries were in Afghanistan" http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=why-did-the-taliban-who-call-themselves-seekers-of-knowledge-close-down-the-modern-education-turkish-schools-2001-10-01 |
Number of Gulen schools in the world
It is sometimes unclear whether these estimates are supposed to include the Gulen schools inside Turkey. Another point of ambiguity is whether only K-12 schools are counted, or whether supplementary education institutions (study halls, homework centers, etc) are included.
Date | Number | Source |
Sep 2011 | >1500 | “Almost 115 countries around the world we have more than one thousand five hundred affiliated schools, which fallow [sic] the same ideas.” Website of ICAD Foundation, running Fountain International School in Philippines http://www.icad.org.ph/ |
July 2011 | 300 | http://www.derwesten.de/nrz/niederrhein/Duisburger-Bildungsverein-soll-der-Guelen-Bewegung-nahestehen-id4871554.html "Weltweit betreibt das Bildungsnetzwerk um Fethullah Gülen rund 300 Schulen, mindestens 12 davon in Deutschland, unter anderem in Berlin, Köln und Wuppertal." Translation: "Worldwide the educational network of Fethullah Gulen runs around 300 schools, at least 12 of which are in Germany including Berlin, Koln and Wuppertal." |
Jan 2011 | 2000 | Helen Rose Ebaugh interviewed on camera by Turkish Journalist Cuneyt Ozdemir "Cemaatin kaç okula sahip olduğu konusunda tahmini bir sayı verilebileceğini söyleyen ABD'li sosyolog Türkiye'de 1000 (bin) Türkiye dışında da 1000 (bin) tane olmak üzere 2000 (iki bin)'in üstünde okul olduğunu belirtti." Ebaugh’s voice is dubbed in Turkish, but she can be heard saying that the best estimates are that the Gulen Movement has 2000 schools in 120 countries, including 1000 schools in Turkey. |
2010 | 1000 | Book: The Gulen Movement: A Sociological Analysis of a Civic Movement Rooted in Moderate Islam by Helen Rose Ebaugh “Today, the Gulen-inspired movement has over 1,000 schools in 100 countries on 5 continents.” | June 2010 | >800 | “Mișcarea Gülen deține peste 800 de școli…” [Romanian] Translation: “The Gulen Movement has over 800 schools…” From June 4, 2010 article “Umbra lui Gülen” [The Shadow of Gulen] by Laura Sitaru in Foreign Policy’s Romanian edition http://www.adevarul.ro/international/foreign_policy/Umbra_lui_Gulen_0_274173103.html | Nov 2005 | >200 | Başkan, Filiz “The Fethullah Gülen community: Contribution or barrier to the consolidation of democracy in Turkey?” Middle Eastern Studies, 41: 6, 849 - 861 “Moreover, his supporters established more than 200 schools in 52 countries in five continents with his encouragement.” | Oct 2001 | 400 | Hurriyet Daily News, "Six of the 400 schools opened by the followers of Turkish Schoolar [sic] Fethullah Gulen in 52 countries were in Afghanistan" http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=why-did-the-taliban-who-call-themselves-seekers-of-knowledge-close-down-the-modern-education-turkish-schools-2001-10-01 | 1997 | 149 | Yurtdışında Açılan Özel Eğitim Kurumları Temsilcileri : Ikinci Toplantısı, Ankara, Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı Turtdışı Genel Müdürlügü, 1997. Cited by Balci, Bayram in “Les écoles néo-nurcu de Fethullah Gülen en Asie centrale: implantation, fonctionnement et nature du message véhiculé par le biais de la coopération éducative” Revue du monde musulman et de la Méditerranée no 101-02 pp 305-332 July 2003 http://remmm.revues.org/54 |
Total number of students worldwide in Gulen schools
Date | Number | Source |
May 2009 | 2,000,000 | Newsweek Magazine: “Behind Turkey’s Witch Hunt: The Ergenekon case exposes the power of a shadowy Islamic brotherhood that controls the Turkish police.”
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2009/05/15/behind-turkey-s-witch-hunt.html
“It has business lobbying groups and think tanks in Washington and Brussels, owns universities, banks, TV networks and newspapers around the world, and operates schools in which more than 2 million students receive education, many with full scholarships.” |
1997 | 26,500 | “by 1997, over 250 Gulen-inspired educational institutions in nearly all parts of the world enrolled more than 26,500 students” Fethullah Gulen and his Movement’s Islamic Ethic of Education, Bekim Agai, Critique: Critical Middle Eastern Studies (Spring 2002), 11(1), 27–47 Footnote: The Turkish media give very exaggerated numbers with regard to these educational institutions and even the National Education Ministry does not list all of them; |
Number of Gulen universities
Date | Number | Source | |
April 2010 | 20 | UMT News, University of Management and Technology, Pakistan: http://www.umt.edu.pk/events_gallery/events10/Seminar-Civic-Mov/index.html “More than 1000 schools and 20 universities in over 120 countries of the world in five continents offer education inspired by the teachings of Gulen.” | |
Jan 2004 | 7 | Source: Cosmopolitan Islamists in Turkey: Rethinking the Local in a Global Era. Yildiz Atasoy. CGPE Working Paper 04-03 Jan 2004. Centre for Global Political Economy, Simon Fraser University. http://www.sfu.ca/cgpe/pubs/Cosmopolitan%20Islamists%20in%20Turkey-WP.pdf "The Gulen group has established more than 250 middle and lycee level schools in different areas of the Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union and the Balkans. The number of schools it has founded in Turkey exceeds 20,000. It also has 7 universities, 5 of which are abroad and 2 of which are in Turkey." |
Number of Gulen schools in Turkey
Date | Number | Source |
2011 | 300 | The Muslim 500, 2011 Edition, by The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre, Amman, Jordan. (link) |
Jan 2011 | 1000 | Helen Rose Ebaugh interviewed on camera by Turkish Journalist Cuneyt Ozdemir "Cemaatin kaç okula sahip olduğu konusunda tahmini bir sayı verilebileceğini söyleyen ABD'li sosyolog Türkiye'de 1000 (bin) Türkiye dışında da 1000 (bin) tane olmak üzere 2000 (iki bin)'in üstünde okul olduğunu belirtti." Ebaugh’s voice is dubbed in Turkish, but she can be heard saying that the best estimates are that the Gulen Movement has 2000 schools in 120 countries, including 1000 schools in Turkey. |
2004 | 125 | "Moreover, his followers established more than 2,000 schools in 52 countries in 5 continents with his encouragement, including 125 in Turkey.” Source: Filiz Baskan “The political economy of Islamic finance in Turkey: the role of Fethullah Gulen and Asya Finans.” In: The Politics of Islamic Finance by Clement M. Henry and Rodney Wilson, Edinburgh University Press, 2004. Baskan cites Hulusi Turgut, “Fethullah Gulen ve Okullari,” Yeni Yuzyil, Oct 15/18/25, 1998 as his source. |
Jan 2004 | >20000 (??) | Source: Cosmopolitan Islamists in Turkey: Rethinking the Local in a Global Era. Yildiz Atasoy. CGPE Working Paper 04-03 Jan 2004. Centre for Global Political Economy, Simon Fraser University. (link) "The Gulen group has established more than 250 middle and lycee level schools in different areas of the Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union and the Balkans. The number of schools it has founded in Turkey exceeds 20,000. It also has 7 universities, 5 of which are abroad and 2 of which are in Turkey." Note: An OECD report from 2005 gives 67179 as the number of schools in the Turkish Republic. If the estimate of Yildiz Atasoy were reliable (and that is very questionable), about 30% of schools in Turkey would be Gulen schools. |
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This website has two companion websites: Gulen Charter Schools and Gulen in the International Press
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