My child was a student at the Gulen Harmony Science Academy School in Texas, we served on the Parent Association and were involved with many fundraisers. Gulen Charter School- We were very dedicated to this group until we realized there was more to these schools than just "education". Our posts are from actual news sources and government data such as IRS tax returns, H1-B Visa information and other documentation.
Harmony Science Academy a Gulen Charter School
Harmony Science Academy in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico are under the Cosmos Foundation. The Cosmos Foundation ran by Turkish Nationals who are known members of the Gulen Movement have abused many state and federal laws. Cosmos is the largest abuser of H1-B Visas for foreign teachers than the largest school district in America. Scratch your head and wonder why the Gulen Movement is getting away with reverse discrimination? Texas money crosses over state lines to support the other Gulen Managed charter schools, this is WRONG!! DISCLAIMER: If you find some videos are disabled this is the work of the Gulen censorship which has filed bogus copyright infringement rights to UTUBE
Not only do the Gulen Charter Schools in the USA steal or plagerize information out of student handbooks, mission statements, curriculum, etc., They are now starting to imitate each other.
It seems the Gulen Movement Harmony Science Academies in order to sound more a part of the American mainstream traditional schools are now calling themselves "Harmony Public Schools"
Then their Gulen Charter sister school in California Magnolia Science Academy is now dubbing themselves "Magnolia Public Schools"
Here are more "Monkey See Monkey Do" The Gulen Movement doesn't have a creative brain in their head.
Alas the Harmony Science Academy, Magnolia Science Academy, Horizon Science Academy, Sonoran Science Academy..........ALL sing the same tune of denial. Can you be any more obvious?
1. The discovery that the Gulen movement-operated Horizon Science Academy schools (operated by the 25-school, Ohio-based Concept Schools) had copied KIPP’s famous Five Pillarswas first made by C.A.S.I.L.I.P.S. However, this is not the only case where the showcase elements of KIPP's educational philosophy have been used without attribution. St. HOPE Public Schools, the three-school CMO founded by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson (Michelle Rhee's fiancé) also has Five Pillars which are near-identical to KIPP’s. Click on the images at the very bottom to see for yourself. Q: In this world where business model-like competition is the whole point, don't these people copyright their intellectual material?
2. The Horizon Science Academy – Cleveland High School has been highly acclaimed, even winning a U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon School of Excellence Award in 2009. In addition to containing the KIPP-originated Five Essentials which were noted above, the school’s Annual Report 2008-2009 contains more phrasing which has been copied from other schools, and/or from which other charter schools have copied. For instance,
==> A phrase in Our Guiding Principals (“belief that each child has an inherent curiosity and love of learning; and that each child has a unique intelligence, level of capability, and learning style”) is used by
==> A phrase in Our Mission (“construct a program, which engages and motivates students to invest their talents, energy, and enthusiasm in completing their schoolwork in an exemplary manner”) is also used for at least seven other Gulen charter schools
Comical photo taken by proud Texan of the Harmony School of Political Science construction site..........it appears the Gulenists don't know how to operate Forklifts and this one got stuck in the sand while another Gulenist retrieved him out of the sand with a Petty Bone. Anyone wonder about the building code? Who was the building inspector? Is it up to code?
Gulen Hierarchy chart in Texas linked to Harmony Science Academy a Gulen Charter School. All roads lead back to Fethullah Muhammed Gulen the exiled Islamic Imam from Turkey who currently resides on 25 acres in Saylorsburg, PA hidden like a rat and never leaving his compound.
Harmony Science class researching a hovercraft: Note, many high schools do this in America
ACTION STEP: All patriotic American taxpayers should be alarmed over the spread of the Islamist Gulen charter schools. Texans in particular need to contact all their Legislators and alert them to the safeguards (listed below) that must be placed in the charter school bills now making their way through the legislative process. The free trips to Turkey and the campaign contributions given to our Texas Legislators by the Gulenists are highly troubling and leave taxpayers wondering how objective can our Legislators actually be about their votes on these charter school bills that financially enable the spread of Gulen charter schools. Is this yet another example of “pay for votes”? -- Donna Garner 6.7.11 -- BREAKING NEWS: MAJOR INVESTIGATION OF GULEN CHARTER SCHOOLS BY NEW YORK TIMES When the New York Times decides to do investigative journalism, they have the resources and staff to find things out that few others can discover. I am sure you will want to go to this NYT link to view the photos and other graphics which will give you more of an understanding about the Gulen charter schools: The NYT, however, also has shortcomings because of its left-leaning political bias that has kept their reporters from including very important aspects of the dangers of Fethullah Gulen and his Gulen charter schools. Below the NYT article, I have posted links to other articles that explain the many dangers of Fethullah Gulen and his indoctrination of our nation’s youth into Islam, Sharia law, and anti-Americanism. Fethullah Gulen is an Islamist imam who has been behind the successful efforts in Turkey to turn that country into an armed camp that is now anti-American. Its security police force has been almost totally infiltrated by Gulenists, and Turkey is on the verge of joining up with the rest of the Muslim world against the United States and Israel. As we speak, our Texas Legislature is in Special Session and is moving toward providing even more funding for Gulen charter schools. A faithful few, such as Peyton Wolcott, are trying to convince Legislators to look more deeply into the financial “payoffs” that Gulen has given to elected officials. Please go to this link to see who has taken free trips to Turkey and/or reaped huge campaign contributions from Gulen-controlled entities. Is it any wonder that these Texas Legislators are promoting the establishment of more Gulen schools in our state? http://www.peytonwolcott.com/TX_TCSA_Delisi_Cash_2011Lege.html Peyton Wolcott is presently leading an effort to force the Texas Legislature to include in its pro-charter-school bills three safeguards to protect the Permanent School Fund which by law in Texas is supposed to be used for students’ textbooks. The Legislature is trying to take some of the PSF funds and make those dollars available for charter school bonds, including more Gulen charter schools. Wolcott has made the case that all charter schools should (1) have to show proof of U. S. citizenship for board members (e.g., ISD trustees) and top administrators; (2) post online the names, titles, and bios of board and top administrators, and (3) post their checkbook registers online so that taxpayers will know how their tax dollars are being spent.
ACTION STEP: If you are a fellow Texan, you must contact your legislators and alert them to the alarming content of this NYT article, to the links posted under the article, and to the safeguards that Wolcott and others are trying to get the Legislators to include in the charter school bills. Donna Garner Wgarner1@hot.rr.com Please go to this link to read the entire article in the New York Times: 6.6.11 - “Charter Schools Tied to Turkey Grow in Texas” by Stephanie Saul -- http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/07/education/07charter.html?_r=1&emc=eta1&pagewanted=all
Here are important excerpts from the article. I have placed my own comments within the article in brackets: The secret lay in the meteoric rise and financial clout of the Cosmos Foundation, a charter school operator founded a decade ago by a group of professors and businessmen from Turkey. Operating under the name Harmony Schools, Cosmos has moved quickly to become the largest charter school operator in Texas, with 33 schools receiving more than $100 million a year in taxpayer funds…
[Fethullah Gulen is actually an Islam imam who believes in Sharia law and wants to establish a universal caliphate. -- Donna Garner]
…But an examination by The New York Times of the Harmony Schools in Texas casts light on a different area: the way they spend public money. And it raises questions about whether, ultimately, the schools are using taxpayer dollars to benefit the Gulen movement — by giving business to Gulen followers, or through financial arrangements with local foundations that promote Gulen teachings and Turkish culture… “It’s basically a mission of our organization,” said Soner Tarim, the superintendent of the 33 Texas schools. …Even so, records show that virtually all recent construction and renovation work has been done by Turkish-owned contractors. Several established local companies said they had lost out even after bidding several hundred thousand dollars lower. …Harmony’s history underscores the vast latitude that many charter school systems have been granted to spend public funds. …Last year, the inspector general’s office in the federal Education Department cited these complaints in a memo alerting the agency of “our concern about vulnerabilities in the oversight of charter schools.”
The Texas Education Agency has a total of nine people overseeing more than 500 charter school campuses. “They don’t have the capacity at the state level to do the job,” said Greg Richmond, president of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers. Even so, the state’s education commissioner, Robert Scott, last year took the unusual step of granting Harmony permission to open new schools outside the normal approval process. Officials at the education agency said staffing was sufficient to oversee charter schools. They would not discuss Harmony’s contracts, but a check of the agency’s past audits — largely desk reviews of financial statements submitted by the schools — did not find any alarms raised about Harmony contracting. In April, however, the agency notified Harmony of an unreleased preliminary audit questioning more than $540,000 in inadequately documented expenses, the vast majority involving federal grant money. Neither the agency nor Harmony would disclose details of the findings.
…David Bradley, a member of the Texas Board of Education, served on the panel that reviewed the early charter proposals. “The only requirement was that you expressed an interest,” he said, adding, “The first time Harmony came forth, they had a great application, and they were great people.”
One of those people was Yetkin Yildirim, who had arrived from Turkey in 1996 to attend the University of Texas in Austin. He also worked as a volunteer tutor in local high schools. The idea for the Harmony schools was born, he said, when he and friends — including Dr. Tarim — saw how much less rigorous the American high schools were in teaching science and math.
…The schools represented the expansion of a mission that had already created hundreds of schools — and a number of universities — in Turkey and around the world. According to social scientists who have studied them, these schools have been the primary vehicle for the aspirations of the Gulen movement, a loose network of several million followers of Mr. Gulen, who preaches the need to embrace modernity in a peace-loving, ecumenical version of Islam. At the center of his philosophy is the concept of “hizmet” — public service.
…Mr. Gulen, 70, considers his teachings a bulwark against Islamic extremism. Yet he and the movement that bears his name have been surrounded by controversy in Turkey. He came to this country in 1999 while under pressure from secular Turkish authorities who accused him of promoting an Islamic state. He was charged, though the case was thrown out. More recently, the arrests of Turkish journalists critical of the Gulen movement have led to accusations of retaliation by followers in the current government, which has a more religious leaning.
Mr. Gulen now lives in a Pennsylvania retreat owned by a foundation.
…The creation story has been enacted across the country — Turkish immigrants, often scientists or professors, founding charter schools run by boards of mostly Turkish-born men. Today the United States has more Gulen-inspired schools than any country but Turkey, according to a presentation by Joshua Hendrick, a professor at Loyola University Maryland whose 2009 dissertation explored the movement.
In Texas, Harmony now educates more than 16,000 children. Eight schools have opened in the last year alone.
…At first, Harmony Schools used a mix of local American and Turkish immigrant contractors. But as it has grown, especially in the rush of new schools, Harmony has increasingly relied on its Turkish network. …But a review of contracts since January 2009 — 35 contracts and $82 million worth of work — found that all but 3 jobs totaling about $1.5 million went to Turkish-owned businesses.
…Since Texas charter schools do not get separate public money for facilities, Harmony’s construction program is financed by bonds that will be paid off over time using regular public payments to the schools, bond documents show. The group has issued more than $200 million in bonds since 2007, making it the state’s largest charter school bond issuer.
[The Texas Legislature is presently considering charter school legislation that would allow the Permanent School Funds to be used to pay for charter school bonds, including Gulen charter schools. -- Donna Garner]
…The job went to Atlas Texas Construction and Trading, even though its bid was several hundred thousand dollars higher. Atlas, with offices in Texas and Turkey, shows up on a list of Gulen-affiliated companies in a 2006 cable from the American Consul General in Istanbul, Deborah K. Jones, that was released by WikiLeaks.
…Harmony Schools asked two architects to analyze the disputed Austin jobs. Both architects had previously worked for Harmony Schools; both concluded that the jobs should have been awarded to Atlas.
Atlas has an eclectic business portfolio: for several years, it has also supplied breakfast and lunch at many Harmony schools. The contract is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
…And while the schools’ combined math and English SAT scores — an average of 1026 — were 37 points above the statewide average last year, they fell short of the 1100 on those two parts that the state regards as predicting “college readiness.”
[In other words, Harmony students do well at mastering how to “play the game” on the state-mandated TAKS tests but fall short on actual college readiness. Other troubling aspects to consider regarding Harmony students’ supposed academic “success” is (1) nobody monitors these Harmony Schools during the administration of tests. What is to prevent these H-1 visa teachers who are from Turkey and who have no commitment to the American value system to give their students the answers? (2) The Wikileaks cable from the U. S. Ambassador several years ago revealed that the Gulenists are taking over the Turkish Security Forces by giving applicants the answers to the tests. If this is their mode of operation in Turkey, it very well could be the way they operate here. (3) Dr. Ed Fuller’s research showed that over half of the students who start at Harmony leave. This would certainly be a major factor in raising their TAKS scores -- weed out the weak students. -- Donna Garner]
…but most of its foreign teachers are Turkish men, and all but a handful of the 33 principals are men from Turkey. In addition to the standard foreign languages, the schools offer instruction in Turkish. They encourage students and teachers, even parents, to join subsidized trips to Turkey.
… “I’m not a follower of anybody,” Dr. Tarim said in an interview. Records show, however, that when applying to the State of Texas to form Harmony schools, he was a consultant to Virginia International University in Fairfax, one of the private universities that lawyers for Mr. Gulen say were originally inspired by his teachings.
…“The main purpose right now is to show the positive side of Islam and to make Americans sympathize with Islam,” Dr. Yavuz said.
Teachers and Visas Around the country, the most persistent controversy involving the schools — and the one most covered in the news — centers on the hundreds of Turkish teachers and administrators working on special visas. The schools say they bring in foreign teachers because of a shortage of Americans qualified to teach math and science. Of the 1,500 employees at the Texas Harmony schools this year, Dr. Tarim said, 292 were on the special “H-1B” visas, meant for highly skilled foreign workers who fill a need unmet by the American workforce.
…The American jobs, often offered to educators at Gulen schools around the world or graduates of Gulen universities, also provide a way for the movement to expand its ranks in this country, Dr. Yavuz said. American consular employees reviewing visas have questioned the credentials of some teachers as they sought to enter the country. “Most applicants had no prior teaching experience, and the schools were listed as related to” Mr. Gulen, a consular employee wrote in a 2009 cable. It did not say which schools had hired the teachers. Some with dubious credentials were denied visas.
…The heart of the movement’s Texas operations is the Turquoise Center, a Houston complex that houses several foundations established by Gulen followers. Their activities show how the movement has integrated itself into life in Texas, often by dint of the foundations’ connections to the Harmony Schools.
The Turquoise Center opened in 2008, financed partly through donations from Gulen followers, who on average tithe 10 percent of their income, experts say. The money, Dr. Hendrick wrote in his dissertation, goes “to pay for a student’s scholarship, to provide start-up capital for a new school, to send a group of influential Americans on a two-week trip to Turkey or to sponsor an academic conference devoted to Fethullah Gulen.”
Dozens of Texans — from state lawmakers to congressional staff members to university professors — have taken trips to Turkey partly financed by the foundations.
One group, the Raindrop Foundation, helped pay for State Senator Leticia Van de Putte’s travel to Istanbul last year, according to a recent campaign report. In January, she co-sponsored a Senate resolution commending Mr. Gulen for “his ongoing and inspirational contributions to promoting global peace and understanding.”
…Another group at the Turquoise Center, the Institute of Interfaith Dialog, sponsors lectures on interfaith relations and finances the Gulen Institute at the University of Houston, which sponsors graduate scholarships in social work and pays for graduate students to study in Turkey.
The Institute of Interfaith Dialog — founded by Mr. Gulen himself, according to court documents — does not appear to have business dealings with Harmony. But its president, Yuksel Alp Aslandogan, does. Indeed, in 2002, he purchased the former Austin church that became Harmony’s second school.
=========================== 3.24.11 -- “Re: FBI Investigation of Gulen Schools (a.k.a., Harmony Science Academies in Texas) by Donna Garner, EducationNews.org --
Here is a YouTube (Parts 1 and 2) by a TV news station in Pennsylvania that tells of the FBI investigation of the Gulen schools in Pennsylvania and across the country:
====================== 2.10.11 -- “Texas Senate Honors Islamist Imam, Fethullah Gulen” by Donna Garner --
The Texas Senate passed SR 85 on Jan. 25, 2011. Guess who was honored: Fethullah Gulen. “WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas is pleased to recognize Fethullah G?len for his ongoing and inspirational contributions to the promotion of global peace and Understanding...”
Until you can stand proud and admit you are obvious followers of Fethullah Gulen and are in the Gulen Movement and have been for years--We will continue to refer to you as a Gulen Charter School with STRONG ties to the movement.
IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, WE SUGGEST YOU TRY AND SUE US. GO AHEAD SEE WHAT HAPPENS IN THE DISCOVERY PHASE. ALL YOUR DOCUMENTS WOULD BE UNDER SUBPEONA. WE WELCOME THE OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO SHOW YOUR TRUE FACE.
Picture of Soner Tarim as he shows the reporter and NY Times staff around the expensive Harmony Science facilities.
We thought Soner was going to have a moment of honesty and finally admit his lifelong connections to the Gulen Movement from the time he was a young boy studying at one of Gulen's "lighthouses". Soner has disappointed us all and continues down the wrong path of lying about the OBVIOUS strong ties to the Gulen Movement and the numerous Gulen NGOs in Texas. They are ALL interrelated, but what do you expect from a man that continues to lie about the so-called waiting list, it increases 9,000-40,000. Poor Soner, the schools will continue to downslide if he doesn't "come clean" with American Tax payers, wait till Soner et al request more bond financing. My sources tell us that they have already spent the last $90 million like irresponsible drunk Turkish sailors. PLEASE ENJOY BLOGGER'S NOTES IN RED
A disappointing article on charter schools in this week’s New York Times attempts to put Harmony Public Schools in Texas in a context that is not accurate, necessitating this brief response. Many of us at Harmony Schools cooperated extensively with the Times on this story over the last several months, providing documents, interviews, tours and dozens of detailed responses to specific questions in good faith. But, as sometimes happens, the end result was not entirely what we had hoped. If this is not the truth that was printed why doesn't Soner sue the NY Times? After all suing the media or jailing them is a favorite past time of the Gulen Movement. Read your WORDS Soner, you provided documents, interviews, tours and responses.
Specifically:
Repeating an old accurate story, the article alleges connections where there are none many. As we told the Times reporter repeatedly, Harmony Schools do not teach religion and have no affiliation with Fetullah Gulen or the so-called Gulen movement yet the article repeatedly states and implies that such an affiliation exists, based on a composite of innuendo, circumstantial evidence and rumors.Admission in the PBS Article, Harmony participates in the SAME brand of Turkish Olympiads that over 500 Gulen Schools participate in. This approach is disappointing, but perhaps not surprising, since the absence of a connection is not “news.” The facts are clear: We do not teach religion at all and we are not affiliated with any movement. Soner, your connections to the Gulen Movement are obvious even Ray Charles could see it. Soner Tarim is even on the board of the Gulen Insitute, Soner has made countless references to Fethullah Gulen being influential on his decision to open the schools. Check out on this blog the Texas Monthly article. Ms. Saul put together an extensive hierarchy list of Gulen NGOs and how they are all tied back to Gulen. Let us refresh your memory here is the posting and original articles cited for PBS and your layers of local Gulen front groups:
The article also questions whether “the schools are using taxpayer money to benefit the Gulen movement.” Since we have no affiliation with the Gulen movement, it is absurd and inaccurate for the Times to suggest that taxpayer funds are benefitting them. At Harmony Public Schools of Texas, taxpayer funds are used solely to support operations and educate students, and we do so at a superior level and a lower cost per student than non-charter public schools. Harmony is not superior just because Soner says so. They are below standard as the schools in Turkey are, they do nothing well except promote the schools via Marketing, Public Relations and advertising.Harmony (Cosmos) spends a huge amount on promoting the schools, they even have TV commercials. Why would you need to advertise so much if you have a "so-called" waiting list? Karen Hughes is very expensive but not even she can save you from your lies.
With regard to contracts and purchasing, we use a bidding or procurement process set out by the state of Texas, and Harmony Public Schools do not discriminate on the basis of gender, national origin, ethnicity, religion, or disability in its programs, employment, admissions or selection of vendors. A range of factors, including price, product availability, and demonstrated ability to deliver are evaluated in selecting vendors, and all the criteria for “best value” have to be met, not just low price. The NY Times Article forgot to mention the Turkish operated painting company you paid $3 million to. Rainbow Painting, interestingly their address is a house in a residential neighborhood--nice keeping it all in the family.
Finally, the article contains a clear anti-immigrant bias, and suggests that Harmony, one of the most successful charter school programs in the country, is somehow suspect because our founders immigrated to America from Turkey. As you all know, Harmony was founded by Turkish-Americans who saw a need and an opportunity to help Texas schoolchildren in the fields of math, science and technology, and we are proud of our heritage and of what we have accomplished. Importantly, our schools have become more diverse every year, and we will continue to diversify as we continue to grow.It was not anti-immigrant or anti-Moslem, this is your ONLY defense? To gloss over your BEHAVIORS and ACTIONS by crying "victim" Soner you don't win because many of us are Islam and we are watching your behaviors. You on the other hand are discriminating against Americans, women and American culture every day. Care to discuss Crouch vs. Harmony Science Academy? Talk about your behaviors and be accountable show some of that Turkish Character you teach American students.
The bottom line is that Harmony Public School operations and business practices in Texas are overseen and audited by the Texas Education Agency and, like every other state charter school in Texas, Harmony follows and complies with all applicable state laws and regulations. As we told the Times, at no time during our 10-year history has the Texas Education Agency found Harmony Schools to be out of compliance with state regulations. Correct and TEA has been asleep at the wheel with little resources to oversee your group of bandits. 9 auditors for 500 schools we are underfunded and your group is taking advantage of this oversight. (for now)
Sadly, the impressive achievements of Harmony students - the real measure of success for any school – were barely mentioned in the article, despite being provided to the Times. You mean like glossing over the arrest of the pervert you hired at the Waco campus that was arrested for diddling an underage student? Or perhaps successfully paying off the rape victim at your Tulsa Dove Science Academy campus. Shame on your Soner. Tell the truth.
We have sent a brief Letter to the Editor to the Times, and we encourage you to post your comments on the article on the Times website at: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/07/education/07charter.html Here is a few more postings with their original articles cited to refresh your memory about your constant reference to Gulen and Harmony Science Schools. Maybe you should go back to working at the Fish Hatchery after all fish swim in "schools" perhaps you were confused about having experience with "schools"
Finally, if you have any questions or concerns about Harmony Schools or issues raised in the Times article, please contact me directly at 713-343-3333, ext. 205. Recorded message for the Cosmos Foundation a Gulenist ran front group that manages the schools as Concept Schools, Daisy Education and Willow Education do. You fool no one. America wins, Gulen Movement loses. Yes, Soner there will be MANY more questions and it won't stop until you are proud to admit your affiliation with Gulen and not ashamed of this. Stand tall brother, stand tall and be proud!!! We still stand by our offer to pay for that deposition and you will swear that there is no connections to the obvious. Till then we remain watchful.
SAYLORSBURG, Pa. -- Fetullah Gülen has been called the world's top public intellectual and the face of moderate Islam. He has held court with Pope John Paul II and received praise from former President Bill Clinton.
"You're contributing to the promotion of the ideals of tolerance and interfaith dialogue inspired by Fetullah Gülen and his transnational social movement," Clinton told audience members during a video address at the World Rumi Forum in 2010.
Yet others have branded Gülen a wolf in sheep's clothing and a modern day Ayatollah Khomeini. CBN News recently took a closer look at the the life of the reclusive imam who directs a global Islamic movement from the Pennsylvania mountains.
Master Teacher or Deceiver?
Gülen's story takes him from a small town in Turkey to founder of a multi-billion dollar Islamic movement bearing his name.
Despite a grade school-level education, the Turkish imam leads a worldwide following of some 5 million devotees. They refer to him as "Hoca Efendi," or master teacher.
"What is the endgame of this movement, which constitutes a multi-billion dollar budget, which constitutes thousands of high schools all around the world, to universities, NGOs, markets, banks?" Turkish journalist Tulin Daloglu asked, voicing a question many have raised.
Gülen claims to represent a moderate brand of Islam compatible with the modern world. He emphasizes interfaith dialogue and the pursuit of science.
Yet one expert told CBN News there's much more to the story.
"It's not just a religious movement; it's the Fetullah Gülen movement. They call themselves that. So it is, you can say, a cult. It is a highly personalized movement," Ariel Cohen, a Middle East analyst with the Heritage Foundation, said. Cohen has been tracking the Gülen movement closely.
"This is clearly the world according to the Koran, the world according to Islam, the world according to Fetullah Gülen," he told CBN News. "But what he's talking about is not the caliphate, is not the sharia state--he calls it the New World Islamic Order."
Far from Mainstream?
Cohen said some in the U.S. government and academia support reaching out to Gülen's followers as a way to counter al Qaeda and other jihadist groups.
"The idea being, just like people who say that we should have a good relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood, that these are 'mainstream Islamists,'" he explained.
But according to leading French-Turkish scholar Bayram Balci, Gülen's ideas are anything but "mainstream" for a Western society.
Balci writes that the movement "serve(s) to accomplish three intellectual goals: the Islamization of the Turkish nationalist ideology; the Turkification of Islam; and the Islamization of modernity."
"And therefore, (Gülen) wishes to revive the link between the state, religion, and society," he writes.
Critics claim Gülen wants Islam to play a more active role in societies, breaking down barries between mosque and state while also promoting Turkish nationalism and identity.
Country Club for Islam
The Golden Generation Worship and Retreat Center, the worldwide headquarters of the Gülen movement, is located not in Ankara or Istanbul, but on 25 scenic acres of the Pocono Mountains in rural Pennsylvania.
CBN News toured the compound with a staffer but were not permitted to film or to meet Gülen. The 70-year-old leader is in poor health and rarely gives interviews.
Gülen came to America in 1998, reportedly to seek medical treatment. Since then, he's directed his global empire from Pennsylvania. A federal judge granted him a green card in 2008.
Shortly after he left for America, a series of secretly recorded sermons featuring Gülen aired on Turkish television. In one of them, he told his followers:
"You must move in the arteries of the system without anyone noticing your existence until you reach all the power centers...You must wait for the time when you are complete and conditions are ripe, until we can shoulder the entire world and carry it..."
"You must wait until such time as you have gotten all the state power, until you have brought to your side all the power of the constitutional institutions in Turkey … Now, I have expressed my feelings and thoughts to you all in confidence. Know that when you leave here -- as you discard your empty juice boxes, you must discard the thoughts and the feelings that I expressed here."
After the tapes aired, Turkish authorities indicted Gülen on charges that he was plotting to overthrow the secular government of Turkey. The charges were eventually dropped.
Targeting America's Youth
Meanwhile, the Gülen movement continues to expand its influence through the construction of schools worldwide, including in America.
Currently, there are about 125 Gülen schools spread out over 25 states. One school in Philadelphia receives some $3 million annually in taxpayer money.
"They work through the education system. Their main tool is educating kids," Cohen told CBN News.
Gülen charter schools have nondescript names, like "Truebright Science Academy," and focus heavily on math and science.
Many of the teachers hail from Turkey. Federal authorities are reportedly investigating whether some employees kick back a portion of their salaries to the Gülen movement.
Classified documents released by WikiLeaks show that U.S. officials have concerns about the Gülen schools.
"We have multiple reliable reports that the Gülenists use their school network (including dozens of schools in the U.S.) to cherry pick students they think are susceptible to being molded as proselytizers," U.S. Embassy officials in Ankara said in a 2005 report.
"And we have steadily heard reports about how the schools indoctrinate boarding students," they said.
Meanwhile, in its birthplace of Turkey, the movement continues to grow. Gülen followers are said to make up at least 70 percent of Turkey's federal police force, ostensibly devoted to their master teacher half a world away in the Pocono Mountains.
