Turkish imams spied on Gülen sympathizers in Romania as well

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (R) and Mehmet Görmez, the head of Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (R) and Mehmet Görmez, the head of Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate


Date posted: April 2, 2017

A report published by The Black Sea news website on Saturday revealed that imams from Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) spied on people sympathetic to Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen and the movement he inspired in Romania as well.

According to the report, following a July 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, a memo from Turkey’s counselor for religious affairs in Bucharest, Osman Kilic, was sent to the Diyanet in Ankara on Sept. 27, 2016.

This document includes a list of 11 schools, kindergartens and one university that are part of the Lumina Educational Institutions, which have been active in Romania since 1994.

“The Turkish Embassy in Bucharest has told us it ‘does not have any information’ about this correspondence. But documents from the same cache, seen by the European Investigative Collaborations Network, have been confirmed by other Turkish diplomatic missions,” said the report.

“There are tough allegations that the Turkish Embassy is blocking the release of vital documents to Turkish citizens and cancelling their passports — forcing them to stay in Romania, and ‘blackmailing’ parents into pulling their children from Gulenist schools,” added the report.

Turkey’s worldwide monitoring

A report published by German Der Spiegel magazine on Friday revealed details of Turkey’s spying activities on people linked with the Gülen movement around the world.

Evaluating diplomatic cables containing information collected by Turkish diplomatic missions in 35 countries, Der Spiegel wrote: “Turkish embassies in Nigeria, Australia, Kenya and Saudi Arabia have all reported on the schools in those countries they believe to be affiliated with the Gülen movement. They document the organizations in which Gülen supporters are active and the media they write for. They also outline the relationships of the alleged supporters to each country’s government.”

Source: Turkish Minute , April 2, 2017


Related News

Ethiopian schools linked to Turkish cleric are sold to German educators

A network of schools in Ethiopia linked to Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen is changing ownership. The sale of the Nejashi Ethio-Turkish International Schools follows pressure from the government of Turkish President Erdogan, who is urging countries that host institutions inspired by Gulen to close or take them over.

Gülen says arms, swords have no place in Hizmet’s philosophy

Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has stressed that the idea of pursuing an armed struggle has never had a place in the philosophy of the Hizmet movement

Turkish Police Wait To Detain Another Women Just Hours After Delivery

Turkish government, which has imprisoned at least 700 babies so far, is now trying to imprison one more mother together with her newly born baby in Kahramanmaraş province on Tuesday.

Islamic lender raises capital after massive gov’t withdrawal

Turkish Islamic lender Bank Asya has made a cash capital increase on the back of claims that state-owned companies and institutional depositors have withdrawn millions of Turkish Liras of the bank’s total deposits. The lender said it had decided to make a cash capital increase of 33 percent to 1.2 billion liras ($515 million) and was selling an 18 percent stake in retailer Yeni Mağazacılık (A101) for 298 million liras.

Pro-Erdogan journalist says killing Gülen followers, even their babies, a religious obligation

Hüseyin Adalan, a journalist working for a number of pro-government media outlets, has said it is a religious obligation to kill all followers of the Gülen movement and even their babies.

Lawyer of arrested officers detained for Gülen movement propaganda

Lawyer Kemal Uçar, known for his critical statements concerning July 15, 2016 coup attempt cases, has been detained as part of an investigation into the Gülen movement, Milliyet daily reported. Uçar used to share messages on social media that the ByLock mobile phone app cannot be used as evidence to arrest people. Uçar said on a TV program that 52 of 58 casings found in Taksim on the coup night were not fired by soldiers according to an official report.

Latest News

Sacramento leaders gather for Iftar dinner in celebration of Ramadan

SEO Skill Suite: Tools for Keyword Research, Technical & Backlink Analysis

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

In Case You Missed It

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

Police raid Gülen-inspired prep schools in Erzurum

After coup, Turkish activist afraid to return home

Kimse Yok Mu’s free eye surgeries project inaugurated in Pakistan

Self-criticism by the Hizmet movement

‘Fethullah Gülen and Today’s World’ to be a reference book in Eurasia

Independent deputy says there may be an attempt to pin political murders on Gülen movement

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News