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More on the Islamic schools infiltrating America and plundering taxpayers. via Turkish Charter Schools: Still Secretive, Still Thriving – Eagle Forum. h/t Lisa

In June and July of 2014, FBI agents raided the Illinois headquarters of Concept Schools and 19 of their charter school locations in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Concept Schools are operated by individuals of Turkish heritage and are “inspired” by the Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen.

The FBI sought to obtain “all bank records,” “all general ledgers,” “all calendars,” “all documents related to employee travel,” and “all telephone records, telephone lists, and contact lists.” (Chicago Sun-Times, 7-2-14)

There are currently 146 charter schools in 26 states and Washington, DC with links to Imam Fethullah Gülen, a Muslim cleric living in a remote enclave in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. All these Turkish charter schools are funded by American tax dollars and are run by independent boards, often made up solely of Turkish expatriate males who are followers of Gülen

In 2008, the Turkish government acquitted Gülen of charges that included promoting a Muslim state there. But the current Turkish prime minister has recently asked that Gülen be extradited to Turkey and has accused him of trying to overthrow the government. (BBC, 4-29-14)

The Turkish charter schools in America prefer to say they are “inspired” by Fethullah Gülen and claim he has no direct involvement with their operation. Critics of the Turkish schools dispute that claim. They say that Gülen’s followers are singularly devoted to him; that Gülen has a strong hold over them; and that Gülen exerts a great deal of influence over the schools.

Ilhan Tanir, a Turkish journalist who left the Gülen movement, says that the organization seems to “justify any conduct to achieve its ends at any cost.” The president of Gülen’s Golden Generation Worship and Retreat Center in Pennsylvania told a reporter that members of the movement “obey commands completely.” (City Journal, Autumn 2012)

Turkish Schools in Ohio

In Ohio, Gülen-inspired charter schools are run by Concept Schools. Between 2005 and 2013, Concept hired 474 foreign teachers, mostly from Turkey, using H-1B visas. The H-1B visa program was developed so employers could bring highly skilled foreign workers to the U.S. when there are no Americans qualified to fill jobs. Critics of the importation of foreigners as instructors point out the absurdity of hiring Turkish K-12 teachers, some of whom barely speak English.

About 12% of Concept’s teachers are in the U.S. courtesy of H-1B visas. Concept Schools vice president Salim Ucan says the reason they bring teachers from Turkey is that the school’s founders and administrators are from Turkey, “and that is where we have comfort.”

According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Ohio’s “Concept schools are collecting about $45 million in state funds annually to educate 6,600 children in kindergarten through high school.”

More than half of the 18 Concept schools in Ohio “received Ds on the state’s most recent performance index, a measure of how many students passed key achievement tests.” Concept runs a total of 32 Turkish charter schools in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois. The organization is based in Des Plaines, Illinois. (Cincinnati Enquirer, 10-5-14)

Breaking Laws

A former employee at an Ohio Concept school named Mustafa Emanet says he was forced to give back part of his salary in cash kickbacks to school administrators during his employment from 2006-09. He claims he was also required to visit Gülen at his residence in Pennsylvania. (Cincinnati Enquirer, 10-5-14)

Four former Concept Schools teachers testified at an Ohio Board of Education meeting held in July that other teachers had cheated on standardized tests by filling in tests for students. (The Plain Dealer, 7-15-14) Continue reading →