Gulenists Donate Heavily to Members of Congress from Both Sides of the Political Aisle
Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has proclaimed that Fethullah Gülen is a U.S. agent.
There is no formal organization of followers of Fethullah Gülen, a prominemt Muslim preacher living in the the United States. What does exist, however, is an education system, from kindergarten to university in Turkey, the country's largest newspaper "Zaman", TV channel and radio station "Samanyolu", a network of business enterprises, who support the concept of "Hizmet" (mutual aid). It is believed that in the past 20 years, followers of the teachings of peace, tolerance and dialogue among civilizations significantly strengthened their positions in the Turkish state power structures (especially in the police and
gendarmerie), economic ministries, and show business. Gülen supporters around the world number between five and seven million people. However,
Cemaat does not have a formal structure or membership. The movement is a truly international network structure formed around the spiritual leader, but devoid of the hierarchy of leaders. In Turkey, the popularity of the movement is quite high (previously estimated by experts at 15-20% of the population); however, is not sufficient to fully conquer the minds of the religious voters. Primarily, this is due to the fact that the Islamic electorate has been captured by supporters of Erdogan, who, in turn, is one of the political heirs of the Milli Görüş National Outlook movement. The Cemaat education network “seeks to breed a ‘new generation’ of socially integrated Muslim believers who will eventually achieve high government positions.” The Cemaat movement’s general approach to education is reminiscent of missionary activity practiced by the Roman Catholic Church's “Society of Jesus”, commonly known as the
Jesuits. [
Source]
October 29, 2015
USA TODAY — Fethullah Gülen’s movement has secretly funded as many
as 200 trips to Turkey for members of Congress and staff since 2008,
apparently repeatedly violating House rules and possibly federal law, a
USA TODAY investigation has found.
The group has been accused by the Turkish government of attempting a
coup in that country. Turkish leaders have asked the United States to
extradite Gülen from the remote compound in rural Pennsylvania where he
has lived for 20 years.
A dozen different Gülen groups have sponsored congressional travel
since 2008 and have filed forms with the House certifying that they were
paying for the trips. But a USA TODAY investigation found many of those
disclosures were apparently false. Some of the Gülenist groups claimed
to be certified nonprofits, but they do not appear in state or IRS
databases of approved charities. Groups that did register with the IRS
filed tax forms indicating that they did not pay for congressional
travel. And five of the groups admitted to congressional investigators
earlier this year that a Gülenist group in Turkey was secretly covering
the costs of travel inside Turkey for lawmakers and staff.
Congressional disclosures show the Gülen-backed trips totaled more than $800,000 in free travel for lawmakers and staff.
In July 2015
Buzzfeed website
revealed that the supporters of the ideology of the Gülen movement in
Turkey and the U.S.A. in the last 8 years have spent 1.5 million dollars
for lobbying against the Armenian Genocide recognition. The following is excerpted from the Buzzfeed article:
Liberal Democrats like Yvette Clarke, Sheila Jackson Lee, and Al Green,
and conservative Republicans like Ted Poe and Pete Olson have all
benefited from donors affiliated with Gülen in one way or another. Gülen himself reportedly told followers in 2010 that they could only
visit him in the Poconos if they donated to their local congressman, according to the Wall Street Journal, though Gülen has denied the comment. Many of New York’s Gülenist donors are based in Sheepshead Bay, a
working-class neighborhood on the southern edge of Brooklyn that is home
to a tight-knit Turkish community. Several local Gülen sympathizers told BuzzFeed that they feel attracted
to the movement because of its tolerant religious ideas and its
center-right, pro-business politics. Many of them have donated sums to
the same U.S. politicians — including Rep. Yvette Clarke and Rep. Ed
Towns, both New York Democrats, and Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat from
Texas. Several members of the community
said the Gülen movement operates out of the local branch of the Turkish
Cultural Center, and that it counts many prosperous business owners as
sympathizers. Suleyman Aydogan, the vice president of the Brooklyn branch of the center, said he supports the movement and has personally met
Gülen, also said that he has done fundraising for New Hampshire Sen.
Kelly Ayotte and for Sheepshead Bay Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz.
November 22, 2015
The Daily Caller - Members of a secretive Turkish Islamic movement that is at the center
of a congressional ethics committee investigation have donated hundreds
of thousands of dollars to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and
to her family’s charity, a Daily Caller investigation has found.
