Report: Erdoğan’s anti-Turkish school rhetoric damages Turkish-African ties


Date posted: March 22, 2015

FERHAN KÖSEOĞLU / YAOUNDE

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s unrelenting denunciation of schools affiliated with the Gülen community and calls for the closure of the schools over the past two years have been harshly criticized in the central African country of Cameroon.

Numerous foreign countries that host Turkish schools affiliated with the Gülen movement, also known as the Hizmet movement, which is inspired by the teachings of US-based Turkish Islamic scholar Fetullah Gülen, have rejected Erdoğan’s message and affirmed that they benefit from the schools.

Erdoğan has repeatedly accused the Gülen movement of plotting to oust him; the movement denies the claim.

New criticism has arisen in Cameroon, which has been host to Turkish schools for the past 12 years. A story by John Dauda in the country’s esteemed newspaper Le Messager strongly condemned the Turkish president, accusing Erdoğan of intervening in the domestic affairs of African countries, and calling it a move that will damage bilateral ties with Turkey.

“Erdoğan, who has been leading a hegemonic and democratic country, cannot behave the way he is, not recognizing laws of the countries that host these schools. Criticizing these educational institutions and calling for their closure is interfering in the internal affairs of the relevant countries,” wrote Dauda.

Mentioning Erdoğan’s previous statements calling for Turkish businessmen to come to African countries and invest in the region’s energy, construction and defense sectors, Dauda said, “However, Erdoğan is not aware of how these schools spread around the African countries [and] are a bridge between Turkish businessmen and the African countries.”

Labeling the smear campaign embarked on by Erdoğan regarding the Turkish schools in Africa “unacceptable,” Dauda said that the African countries’ silence in response is actually the nations’ “reaction to Erdoğan.”

Dauda later said that Erdoğan’s interference in the internal affairs of other countries comes from his desire to silence dissent. “It is a rare case that a president has blatantly criticized the institutions of his own country,” Dauda said, adding that Erdoğan’s behavior is not only appalling to partner countries in the region but is also an attempt to interfere in the affairs of sovereign countries.

The story also says that African countries have respectfully opened their doors to the Turkish schools because of their contribution to education in these countries and that there is demand for more such schools in the region. “Erdoğan has to show a diplomatic approach to these schools,” Dauda said.

Turkish schools have been operating in Cameroon since 2003. Amity (Dostluk) İnternational College has five campuses, two in the capital city of Yaoundé, another two in Ngaoundéré, and one in Douala, which provide a high school education and have helped young Cameroonians bring in scores of international awards.

Source: Today's Zaman , March 20, 2015


Related News

Islam’s internal enemies

Caliph Omar, who is renowned for his attention to justice, paid a visit to sacred sites after taking over control of Jerusalem from Governor Sophronius. He visited Masjid al Aqsa and later also wanted to see the Church of Resurrection where, according to Christian belief, Jesus was crucified and prepared for burial. Sophronius, who was walking with Omar, recalled that he performed prayers everywhere he visited and asked him to do the same at the church. Omar rejected the request saying, “If I perform prayer here, Muslims will build a mosque on this very spot.” Instead he found an empty area to the south of the church for prayer, upon which Muslims thereafter erected a mosque named after Omar.

Coup in Turkey, Turkish Schools in Nigeria, and Implications for Nigeria’s National Security

President Erdogan has also asked the Government of Nigeria to close down all Turkish schools in Nigeria allegedly because Fetullah Gulen was the main architect of the failed coup in Turkey. Is this request in Nigeria’s national interest? In which way is the Turkish failed coup likely to impact on Nigeria’s national security? How important is Nigeria-Turkish relations in the country’s overall global relations?

Turkey’s president orders closure of 1,000 private schools linked to Gülen

Turkey’s president has signed a decree that allows for the extension of the pre-charge detention period and the closure of institutions linked to Fethullah Gülen, the exiled cleric blamed for masterminding last weekend’s failed military coup.

Egypt’s Turkish schools reject Akşam and A Haber TV reports

The administration of the Turkish Salahaldin International Schools based in Egypt has sent a correction to the Akşam daily and A Haber TV station, stating that two recent reports about Turkish schools in Egypt appearing in the pro-government media outlets were baseless and false.

Neither conservative nor democrat

Media campaigns, accusations and the prime minister’s statements about the leader of the movement are of unprecedented scale in Turkey. Filing records on sympathizers of the Gülen movement, removing them from public offices they happen to occupy, attacking its financial institutions; none of this has ever been seen in the past regarding Islamic movements.

Why Mr. Gülen was targeted

The main difference between Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen and the politician who became Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is that the former is vehemently opposed to the use and abuse of Islam as a political ideology and party philosophy while the latter sees the religion as an instrument to channel votes and to consolidate his ranks among supporters.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Turkish Cultural Center presents ‘Love is a Verb’

The Atlantic Institute announces the Art & Essay Contest winners

Pro-Erdoğan troll calls on gov’t to execute Gülen followers

Another Victim of Erdogan’s Wrath

Teacher tortured to death by Turkish police found innocent, reinstated to job

Ex-AK Party deputy Özdalga: Gov’t wants to make judiciary subordinate to executive power

Symposium concludes: Hizmet movement contributes to world peace

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News