Life in a Gulen dormitory in Turkey
The Turkish website of the Pir Sultan Abdal Cultural Association, an organization devoted to promoting Alevi culture, has posted a call to action arising from a complaint by a student who formerly lived in a Gulen dormitory (also called a "light house") in Turkey. Since the page is in Turkish, a translation is given below; the original can be viewed by clicking here.
Some background: Alevis are a sizable religious minority in Turkey, and in common with other religious or ethnic minorities such as the Kurds, have faced severe discrimination and attempts at forced assimiliation. While the Wikipedia page on the Gulen Movement states that an Alevi leader credited Gulen for his progressive attitudes towards tolerating Alevi beliefs, there are reasons for skepticism. It is clear that Gulenists are vying to control the content of several Wikipedia pages concerning Gulen, with one of their goals being to depict him as a spokeman for tolerance. However, an article in the Belgian newspaper Mondiaal Nieuws quotes another Alevi leader as saying that he found a Gulenist interfaith forum to not be sincere and that he has major concerns about Gulen.
(Aside: for anyone wondering about the logo of the Pir Sultan Abdal Cultural Association, which appears in the upper left of their webpage: this is a silhouette of Pir Sultan Abdal, a famous Alevi poet. He is shown holding a traditional instrument called the baglama.)
We believe that understanding how the Gulen Movement operates in Turkey is essential for understanding its activities here in the United States. Many Gulenists who come to the United States, including the ones operating charter schools and interacting with students, lived in dormitories such as the one described below.
Translation of Pir Sultan Abdal Cultural Association webpage follows:
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F. GULEN SCHOOLS SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED THOROUGHLY!
TO MEDIA AND GENERAL PUBLIC
* The Gulen Schools continue their efforts to do away with secular education.
* The Gulen Schools should be thoroughly and strictly investigated by the Ministry of National Education.
Yagmur SERIATAS, a student at Maltepe Private Preparatory High School, contacted us last week and said that she came from Tunceli as a scholarship student; that she was not allowed to stay anywhere except for the dormitories of the Maltepe School as she was a scholarship student; that she was placed at Hafsa Sultan Girls' Dormitory at Ankara Esentepe Mahallesi, Sehit Veli Kara Sokak No:35 Etlik; that they were all given religious tutoring every night from 20:50 to 21:30 at the gatherings called "tea time/tea talks"; that she submitted a letter stating that she did not want to attend such gatherings, but she did not receive any written reply; instead, she was told that she would be expelled if she did not attend the gatherings; that she was expelled as a result of her absence at those gatherings and was forced to submit an affidavit stating that she voluntarily left the dormitory; that their mobile phones were always retained at the dormitory; that they were only allowed to go out of the teaching institution and the dormitory for 4 hours, despite being of adult age; that they could not follow any press media other than the Zaman Newspaper, Genc Beyin and Sizinti Magazines; that they had no private life, as the dormitory administrators had keys to their private lockers.
The findings of our investigation:
It has been known that there are several private teaching institutions under the auspices of the Nur Community controlled by Fethullah Gülen, in several cities in Turkey and especially in larger districts under various names including the Maltepe Private Preparatory High School. However, they could not be organized in Tunceli, since people refused to lease or sell any real estate to the Community for this purpose. Recently, they opened a school named Munzur Preparatory College.
It has been known that they have been attracting students from Tunceli since 1998 as "scholarship students”, that they have been forming groups of 15 students that are sent to cities such as Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir, Kayseri, etc., that they further separated the students in the group by sending each one or two of them to different teaching institutions and dormitories, that they have been placing the students in different rooms in the dormitory with the aim of alienating them from each other so that the students become more dependent on the institution.
When our student was expelled, they clearly stated their objectives by explaining the reason as such: "We are a conservative institution; tea talks are a custom that is indispensible for us."
We will continue our democratic struggle against these institutions which work against the secular democratic system with their schools, dormitories, commercial institutions and bodies all over the country.
We would like to address all families: do not surrender our future -- your children to these institutions and people who are engaged in covert shariah propaganda (which is pretty clear now). It is not only your children; it is the future of our country that you surrender.
We need to take all the necessary actions to address the issue of students who were expelled from private teaching institutions and dormitories for similar reasons.
Raised with shariah mentality, your children will become a tool used for turning the system in this country into shariah in the future.
We invite all the people and particularly parents to act sensibly about this issue, and we assure you that we will follow up on the situation.
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TO THE MINISTRY OF NATIONAL EDUCATION
(To the Inspection Board)
ANKARA
I used to be a student with ID # 320741, enrolled in Maltepe Private Preparatory High School, Kizilay Branch, staying at Hafsa Sultan Girls' Dormitory, at Esentepe Mahallesi, Sehit Veli Kara Sokak No 35 Etlik, which is also associated with Maltepe Private Preparatory High School.
I was one of the 15 students brought from Tunceli under a scholarship program by Maltepe Private Preparatory High School. During the stage when the new students were settled, a friend of mine and I were placed at Hafsa Sultan Girls' Dormitory associated with Maltepe Private Preparatory High School, Kızılay Branch.
Every day except for Saturday, there were gatherings called "tea talks" held between 20:50 and 21:30 with compulsory participation of the dormitory residents. What was going on at those gatherings was religious tutoring and shariah propaganda by sect members who did not hold any teaching job at the school.
About two months ago, we filed petitions with the dormitory administration stating that we did not want to attend those gatherings. Fifteen days later, we asked about the response to our petitions, but they said nobody reviewed our petitions. We did not participate in those gatherings after that. Then the dormitory director Sedef BASOGLU and the manager Saadet called and threatened us that we would be expelled if we refused to participate in the gatherings. My friend decided to resume attending the gatherings. But I refused to participate because I believed this practice was against the secular educational system. Consequently, I was expelled from the dormitory.
The dormitory administration is now forcing me to sign an affidavit stating that I willingly left the dormitory. I refuse to sign such an affidavit, and despite my requests, I have not received any written explanation as to why I was expelled.
Even though I am an adult, they did not let me out of the dormitory or the teaching institution, and they completely limited my contacts with the outside world by taking away my cell phone. Trying to limit our exposure to the outside world, they provided service vehicles to move us from and to the dormitory.
I do request to initiate an investigation as appropriate of these people who brainwash the poor kids and raise them against the secular and democratic system, and to take the necessary administrative and judicial actions.
Yagmur SARIATAS
ADDRESS : Ziya Gokalp Cad. No:16/15 Kizilay /Ankara
Tel : 0 312 430 84 10