Turkey targets Gulen schools in Africa

The Yavuz Selim school in Dakar is one of eleven Gulen educational establishments in Senegal
The Yavuz Selim school in Dakar is one of eleven Gulen educational establishments in Senegal


Date posted: August 5, 2016

Turkish government anger with the Gulen movement, over its alleged involvement in the failed July 15 coup, has spread to Africa. Governments are being pressured into closing down Gulen schools.

Children are romping around the school grounds apparently without a care in the world. A few of them are standing together and reciting in unison “I for ice cream, J for job.” The atmosphere is bright and cheerful and the school has a clear vision of its future and that of its students. Such is the impression which the Nigeria Turkish International School in Abuja, capital of Nigeria, seeks to convey to visitors.

The school belongs to the Hizmet movement run by US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen. It is one of a chain of 17 educational establishments operating in various parts of Nigeria since 1998. Their goal is not merely to pass down knowledge from teacher to student, Hizmet representative, Cemal Yigit told DW. “As educators, we can help build a more peaceful society in countries troubled by conflict,” he said.

Hizmet runs schools and universities in more than 160 countries. But the network has its critics and some analysts suspect it of wanting to create a conservative Muslim educational elite.

In Nigeria the schools have a good reputation. The contribution the movement makes to Nigerian education is enormous, said Mainasara Umar from the National Commission for Colleges of Education. “The movement is a pillar of support for the education system, which in Nigeria is in a very dilapidated state,” he said. The more establishments there are like this in Nigeria, the less inclined Nigerians will be to seek an education abroad.

Hizmet also has educational establishments in Senegal; there are 11 schools in five of the country’s 14 regions. Some 2,600 students are enrolled there.

School closures

The crisis in Turkey is exposing Fethullah Gulen to international pressure. The Turkish government believes he was behind the attempted coup on July 15, a charge which he denies.

Turkey targets Gulen schools in Africa

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan (center) opened a new embassy in Somalia in June 2016

So how will that impact Gulen’s educational establishments in Africa? Mesut Gokcan Ates, spokesman for Gulen schools in Senegal remains optimistic. Disputes between Hizmet and the Turkish government have flared up repeatedly over the last three years, but Turkey has never asked the Senegalese government to close them down.

In other countries, however, Turkey has already made such requests. Last week, Turkey’s ambassador to Nigeria approached the government and said the Gulen schools should be closed down. The reason he gave was the schools’ links to the Hizmet movement, which Turkey regards as a terrorist organization. The ambassador’s appeal was met by a storm of protest from the Nigerian side and it is as yet unclear how President Buhari will handle the request.

Somalia reacted rather differently and very quickly. According to the New York Times, Somalia shut down premises belonging to the movement within hours of the attempted coup in Turkey. Somalia has benefited greatly from Turkish development aid in the past.

In Tanzania, school operators now fear Turkish intervention in their affairs. The Feza schools on Zanzibar, the nation’s semi-autonomous archipelago, have sought to distance themselves from the attempted coup in Turkey. “Our agenda is education. We have nothing to do with politics,” Abdulrahman Saloum, a deputy school director, told DW. Zanzibar, which has a Muslim majority, has maintained close ties with Turkey, but Ankara still halted aid payments to it following the abortive July 15 coup.

Redundant bursaries

Turkey is apparently exerting all this pressure because it suspects the Hizmet movement of wanting to build a political network. Schools in Nigeria and Senegal have indeed given students bursaries so they can go and study in Turkey. But school directors dismiss any suggestion of political motives or entanglements.

The bursaries are also of little use to those students in Turkey at the present time. Senegalese student Yacine Ndiaye says she doesn’t know what will become of her studies in Turkey because her university has been closed down as a result of the crackdown on academic establishments. “We don’t know which other institution they will send us to, or whether our residence permits will be extended. We still have all our belongings in Turkey,” she said.

Source: DW , August 4, 2016


Related News

Erdoğan government opposes democratic values: detained Turkish journalist

The government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is falsely accusing anybody that opposes it of treason, a prominent Turkish journalist currently detained in an Istanbul prison

Turkish students win most awards at int’l math contest

Students from Turkish schools who competed at the American Mathematics Contest-8 (AMC-8) won the most awards this year, the 26th year of the competition. Turkey’s private school Coşkun Kolej won 18 gold medals — awarded to those with a perfect score. Burç School’s Florya Branch won 13 gold medals, while Bilecik Özel Sevgi Çiçeği Elementary […]

Kimse Yok Mu President: We are not leaving Somalia

Kimse Yok Mu Foundation President Ismail Cingoz announced: “We are not leaving Somalia because of the terrorist attacks targeting Turkey.” Cingoz had talked to the volunteers in Somalia once again before the announcement. He reported they were grieved at the terrorists attacks but felt no concerns or fears as they knew the condition the country was in when they first arrived. He further stated that they will carry on with their services against all the odds.

Gülen says he could be blamed for assassination of an MHP, CHP politician

US-based Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen said on Monday that the possible assassination of an important politician from either the Republican People’s Party (CHP) or the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) in the coming days might be blamed on him by pro-government circles.

Mali education minister lauds teachers in nation’s Turkish schools

Mali’s Minister of Higher Education and Research Messaoud Ould Mohamed Lahbib: The Hizmet movement, which drives the philosophy behind Turkish schools in the country, does not work like a corporate organization. “This is why I am sure that God will give, and is giving, rewards to Turks,” he said. “The sacrifice being made by teachers who work at Turkish schools in his country is worthy of high praise, adding that he believes no other nation would be willing to make such a great contribution to Mali,” he said.

Gülen asked government to be more careful on the language they use: Deputy PM Arınç

Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen asked the Turkish government to be more careful in regional and international issues during his visit, Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç said May 22 in an interview with public broadcaster TRT. Arınç had meeting with Gülen, who lives in a self-imposed exiled in Pennsylvania, on the sidelines of Prime Minister Recep […]

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

Fethullah Gulen and Gulen Movement Discussed at German Symposium

Call for Papers – International Gandhi Jayanti Conference 2015

HIzmet centre takes on Erdogan regime

Erdogan’s Private Youth Army

Turks Seen as Sympathetic to US-Based Muslim Cleric Say They Face Threats

Why is the Turkish PM Erdoğan having difficulty?

Nigeria: Our students in Turkey

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News