The Gulen Movement's Proclivity for Denial:
Observations from Academia
Page created Nov 24, 2013
The Gulen Movement's habit of denying affiliations and connections, even to the point of denying that a "Gulen Movement" exists, is not limited to the sphere of charter schools, or even to the United States. A number of academic researchers have documented such denials. Examples follow.
Berna Turam's PhD dissertation, "Between Islam and the state: politics of engagement. The engagements between Gulen Community and the secular Turkish state." McGill University, 2001.
"Although the organization of the Community was publicly known and legitimately recognized, my interviews revealed that several people working in these organizations refuse to admit their association with the Community. I was introduced to people who have been with Gulen for a long time, who had been working for the Community and/or contributing financially, intellectually, etc. Even in these explicit cases of strong affiliation, I heard initial statements of denial or distanciation. I heard denials from people whose names were publicized in Fethullah Gulen's published biography. Even people who were known to be actively involved during the periods of emergence and flourishing of the Community tended to be reluctant in express their affiliation."
Turam then goes on to give a number of examples of responses from individuals who were clearly Gulenist. They all denied being a follower of Gulen, and spoke of "them" (Gulen's followers) as if they were a third party.
Turam continues: "I also listened to people who even had a public reputation as Fethullahists" and she lists some responses, including:
Further on, Turam writes "...the informants sometimes gave me signs of playfulness. Their answers were contradictory with their practices. I heard denials of the existence of a Community, which were followed by conversations with the wife on the phone, 'If the kid is sick, why do you not take him to a doctor of the Community?'"
It is worth reading Turam's thesis for the full details (in fact both Turam's thesis and her book are excellent sources of general information on the Gulen Movement).
"Although the organization of the Community was publicly known and legitimately recognized, my interviews revealed that several people working in these organizations refuse to admit their association with the Community. I was introduced to people who have been with Gulen for a long time, who had been working for the Community and/or contributing financially, intellectually, etc. Even in these explicit cases of strong affiliation, I heard initial statements of denial or distanciation. I heard denials from people whose names were publicized in Fethullah Gulen's published biography. Even people who were known to be actively involved during the periods of emergence and flourishing of the Community tended to be reluctant in express their affiliation."
Turam then goes on to give a number of examples of responses from individuals who were clearly Gulenist. They all denied being a follower of Gulen, and spoke of "them" (Gulen's followers) as if they were a third party.
Turam continues: "I also listened to people who even had a public reputation as Fethullahists" and she lists some responses, including:
- "There is nothing called the Gulen Community. Which Community are you talking about in the Information Age?" (from an individual she identifies as "Kaya Bey, a Fethullahist businessman")
- "...by calling it a Community, you are not only diminishing its value and underestimating it, but also contributing to the polarizations in the society. Labeling are just conspiracies created by the people who are jealous of our successful accomplishments." (from an individual Turam identifies as "an officer in one of the Community's foundation")
- "I do not know any Community. ...You are looking for something which does not exist." (from an individual Turam identifies as "another prominent figure of the Community")
Further on, Turam writes "...the informants sometimes gave me signs of playfulness. Their answers were contradictory with their practices. I heard denials of the existence of a Community, which were followed by conversations with the wife on the phone, 'If the kid is sick, why do you not take him to a doctor of the Community?'"
It is worth reading Turam's thesis for the full details (in fact both Turam's thesis and her book are excellent sources of general information on the Gulen Movement).
Berna Turam, "National loyalties and international undertakings: the case of the Gulen community in Kazakhstan," in "Turkish Islam and the secular state: The Gulen Movement," M. Hakan Yavuz, John L. Esposito, eds. Syracuse University Press
In a section about KATEV (Kazak-Turk Egitim Vakfi, or Kazakh-Turkish Education Foundation), the Gulen Movement's main organization in Kazakhstan which operates 29 schools, Turam writes:
"The KATEV officers and the teachers often asked me not to mention to the students and their parents that the schools are associated with an Islamic group."
SImilarly, in Turam's book "Between Islam and the State", Stanford University Press, 2007, she writes:
"Some of the Kazak students and parents that I interviewed were not informed about the movement and its Islamic association."
In a section about KATEV (Kazak-Turk Egitim Vakfi, or Kazakh-Turkish Education Foundation), the Gulen Movement's main organization in Kazakhstan which operates 29 schools, Turam writes:
"The KATEV officers and the teachers often asked me not to mention to the students and their parents that the schools are associated with an Islamic group."
SImilarly, in Turam's book "Between Islam and the State", Stanford University Press, 2007, she writes:
"Some of the Kazak students and parents that I interviewed were not informed about the movement and its Islamic association."
Bill Park, "The Fethullah Gulen movement (and Turkish Al Qaeda) as transnational phenomena," Chapter 12 of Modern Turkey, Routledge, 2010.
(Note: To avoid any possible confusion, it is clarified here that Park is not saying that Turkish Al Qaeda is associated with Gulen. He just happens to discuss the two organizations in the same article, because he considers them both transnational.)
"Nor does the movement have a membership as such, and Fethullahci are often loath to openly declare themselves."
"Cooperation between, and overlapping membership of, these various institutions is extensive, and confusing – largely because Gulen-inspired institutions rarely own up to that fact. The websites of its schools, universities, media outlets, charities and dialogue groups almost never directly refer to Gulen’s inspiration. To offer just a few examples, one searches in vain for any sign either of Gulen’s inspiration or of any notable religious focus on the website of the Dialogue Society that hosted this author in Istanbul, or of Zaman newspaper, or of Fatih University in Istanbul,10 or of the Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists in Turkey (Turkiye Isadamlari ve Sanayiciler Konferasyonu – TUSKON), or of charities such as Is Anybody There? (Kimse Yok Mu). Yet all are part of the Gulen network."
(Note: To avoid any possible confusion, it is clarified here that Park is not saying that Turkish Al Qaeda is associated with Gulen. He just happens to discuss the two organizations in the same article, because he considers them both transnational.)
"Nor does the movement have a membership as such, and Fethullahci are often loath to openly declare themselves."
"Cooperation between, and overlapping membership of, these various institutions is extensive, and confusing – largely because Gulen-inspired institutions rarely own up to that fact. The websites of its schools, universities, media outlets, charities and dialogue groups almost never directly refer to Gulen’s inspiration. To offer just a few examples, one searches in vain for any sign either of Gulen’s inspiration or of any notable religious focus on the website of the Dialogue Society that hosted this author in Istanbul, or of Zaman newspaper, or of Fatih University in Istanbul,10 or of the Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists in Turkey (Turkiye Isadamlari ve Sanayiciler Konferasyonu – TUSKON), or of charities such as Is Anybody There? (Kimse Yok Mu). Yet all are part of the Gulen network."
Michael Kemper, Raul Motika and Stefan Reichmuth, Islamic education in the Soviet Union and its successor states (book) Routledge, 2010.
"Faculty of Theology at the Qafqaz University. The faculty was established in 1996. According to unofficial information, the Qafqaz University is under the influence of the Turkish-Islamic current of Fethullah Gulen, although the university president, a Turk, categorically denies this link."
"Faculty of Theology at the Qafqaz University. The faculty was established in 1996. According to unofficial information, the Qafqaz University is under the influence of the Turkish-Islamic current of Fethullah Gulen, although the university president, a Turk, categorically denies this link."
Ozge Girit Heck, PhD dissertation, "Representing Turkish national culture and Turkish-American identity in Chicago's Turkish festivals." 2011, University of Iowa.
"Chicago Festival in 2006 was sponsored by Gulen’s Niagara Foundation, which was than in charge of organizing and sponsoring cultural events. I was able to interview the foundations’ executive manager Kemal Oksuz in 2006 before TASC was established in 2007…. Being aware that Gulen was an honorary member of Niagara, I asked Kemal Bey if the organization considered itself as ‘Fethullahci’ (followers of Gulen’s religion). He seemed to be puzzled and somewhat annoyed at my question. He responded by stating that Turks always put the suffix ‘ci’ after certain groups. He said it was wrong to mark people like that even if they did follow a certain ideology or religion. He told me that he came to the U.S. in 2002 and started to work in Niagara as an event organizer. Kemal was a recent recruit to the U.S. from the Gulen network in Turkey."
"Chicago Festival in 2006 was sponsored by Gulen’s Niagara Foundation, which was than in charge of organizing and sponsoring cultural events. I was able to interview the foundations’ executive manager Kemal Oksuz in 2006 before TASC was established in 2007…. Being aware that Gulen was an honorary member of Niagara, I asked Kemal Bey if the organization considered itself as ‘Fethullahci’ (followers of Gulen’s religion). He seemed to be puzzled and somewhat annoyed at my question. He responded by stating that Turks always put the suffix ‘ci’ after certain groups. He said it was wrong to mark people like that even if they did follow a certain ideology or religion. He told me that he came to the U.S. in 2002 and started to work in Niagara as an event organizer. Kemal was a recent recruit to the U.S. from the Gulen network in Turkey."