"An Environmental Olympiad with an Islamic Twist"
Trouw, Netherlands, June 27, 2011
Annemarie Geleijnse and Rineke van Houten
The original article appeared in Trouw, a high-circulation national newspaper in the Netherlands, and can be viewed here.
Sidebox text: “Those in a position of government should not subsidize this type of sectarian club.”
The Turkish preacher Fethullah Gulen has adherents all over the world and has built a network of schools, starting in the Turkic-language-speaking states of the former Soviet Union, and spreading to other countries - including European ones. A large "volunteer movement" has formed around his ideas, which is still continually growing strong. But Gulen’s ideas are controversial. Followers praise the emphasis the preacher places on tolerance, global citizenship and dialogue between different religions. They speak of a spiritual movement that pursues a modern form of Islam. Critics see Gulen as an orthodox, nationalistic preacher with outdated ideas about homosexuality and relationships outside marriage. In this view his movement harbors, behind a secular facade, a hidden agenda of Islamization of society as the ultimate goal.
There are strong indications that a large fraction of the 65 foreign school teams that meet today in Utrecht come from the network of this movement. Well over a third of the participating schools are on a list of Gulen schools prepared by a foreign website that follows the movement from a critical perspective. The schools are funded by a Turkish company, have a Turkish management team, some Turkish teachers, and the children are taught in Turkish. Information from other (academic) sources indicates that three quarters of the schools have a Gulenist background. It is not just a matter of schools in Turkish-speaking states; other examples include the Zaman International School in Cambodia, the Uralsk Mehmet Akif College in Kosovo, the Horizon College in Mali, the Horizon International Bilingual School in Vietnam, and the School of Wisdom in Great Britain.
One of the winners of the Olympics last year was the Hymkenet [sic – should read Shymkenet] High School from Kazakhstan, another school known as a Gulen school.
Dutch schools also participate, in a separate competition from the foreign participants. The exact number and identity of participants was still not yet made public immediately before the weekend; however, last year approximately half of the students were of Turkish origin.
Is INESPO, subsidized by the Dutch government, a gathering place for the Gulen network? The organizer of the environmental Olympics is the Rotterdam-based Cosmicus foundation. They deny that INESPO has anything to do with the Gulen movement (see box). This is contrary to a study published last year on the Gulen movement in the Netherlands, conducted by Professor Martin van Bruinessen commissioned by Parliament. According to the researcher, the Cosmicus Foundation is itself in any case affiliated with the Gulen movement. "All Gulen institutions, the schools and homework centers also, serve as places where potential followers are recruited," Van Bruinessen stated last year in an interview with the magazine Binnenlands Bestuur.
(Translator's note: Binnenlands Bestuur, i.e. “Internal Affairs,” is a Dutch magazine mainly geared towards government officials.)
The background of the INESPO participants also raises the question of how the event fits in with the Netherlands’ integration policy recently established by Minister Donner. According to Donner, Dutch norms and values must remain central to integration. Immigrants are themselves responsible for their integration; in connection with this, Donner announced the termination of grants for the integration of specific (minority) groups.
"I wonder how he views it when held up against an event like INESPO" said MP Sadet Karabulut (SP). "For me it is clear that INESPO along with Cosmicus as an organization is in the hands of a Gulen-Organization. I find the objectives and the method in which they work objectionable. They stand in the way of integration." In response to this article of Trouw, Karabulut will submit a Parliamentary inquiry to Minister Donner. "As long as they do not violate the law, of course you cannot take action, but those in a position of government should not subsidize this type of sectarian club.”
Minister Donner has promised at the end of last year to inform Parliament about any possible subsidies going to organizations if "we know that they are affiliated with the Gulen movement.” The government could then, for example, pose a requirement of transparency, he added at that time.
Cosmicus is vague regarding lNESPO’s funding. During the course of Trouw’s investigation, the information about the sponsors and partners on the INESPO website changed several times. Outwardly, the foundation initially avoided to be supported by "various ministries." Based on inquiries, this year alone, Agentschap NL has provided subsidizes of 10,000 Euros. This agency is part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The Ministry of VROM (Volkshuisvesting, Ruimtelijke Ordening en Milieubeheer - Housing, Urban Planning and the Environment) provided a contribution of 35,000 Euros last year, but rejected the grant application for 2011 on the grounds that "the applicant did not meet the criteria.” The Platform Bèta Techniek (Science and Technology Platform) of the Ministry of Education gave only a startup grant in 2009. Their "support" since then has been through publicizing INESPO via the channels of their platform. The Gemeentelljk Transport Company of Utrecht (Gemeentelljk Vervoerbedrijf Utrecht - GVU), also mentioned on INESPO’s website, is not a “sponsor,” a spokesman said when asked. There is a small contribution towards the costs of special transport for participants, but the word “sponsorship” is an overstatement. Finally, the City of Utrecht carries a maximum of 5,000 Euros towards the cost of the welcome dinner. For funding this year, Cosmicus is largely dependent on industry.
(Translator’s note: Agentschap NL is an agency of the Dutch government’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation. It is concerned with several economic areas including international business and the development of future energy and climate solutions.)
The new sponsor is the travel agency Corendon Airlines, which last spring gave INESPO a grant of 25,000 Euros. The chairman, entrepreneur Ahmet Taskan, is a prominent follower of Gulen who previously held positions at a number of affiliated organizations in the Netherlands.
Some Dutch politicians seem to be incorrectly listed as speakers at the opening and closing ceremony, and the names of others continue to appear in press releases even though they have withdrawn. At the last minute, parliamentary leader of the Green Left Party, Jolande Sap, was “too busy” to make the opening speech. VVD MP (Member of Parliament ) René Leegte decided to withdraw "because there are still too many doubts about the Cosmicus Foundation.” His party member Halbe Zijlstra, State Secretary of Education, who has repeatedly expressed criticism of the Gülen movement, had according to the Cosmicus Foundation verbally pledged to deliver a video message. "Total nonsense,” Zijlstra’s spokesman said. While the request for that was indeed made, it was rejected. Upon questioning, CDA MP Kathleen Ferrier sees no reason to decline the invitation. "The concept of global citizenship and freedom of the Cosmicus Foundation is good. The CDA continues to be in no less way critical of things that do not go well and precisely for that reason I will be there. "
That INESPO is different from other Olympics in the Netherlands was noticed also by Dutch participants last year. Kirsten Stadermann, teacher of three participating students from the Praedinius Gymnasium in Groningen: "There were plenty of ceremonies and many smartly dressed guests. The atmosphere was very different from that at other Olympiads. INESPO does not really fit into the Dutch academic tradition. It was about outward display, not quality. We sat in the wings as decoration."
Her team won the second prize. The third place went to Alfrink College in Zoetermeer, which had the same experience. According to teacher Linda Ballijns, "the Turkish ambassador came by and visited all the Turkish participants, including those who on participated on behalf of Dutch schools. He walked straight past us. The catering was also part Turkish, and there were many Turkish guests at the ceremony, which we found striking."
The first prize in the Dutch league went to the team of the Gerrit van der Veen Lyceum in Amsterdam. Inquiries revealed that the participation of the winning students, two Turkish cousins, took place entirely outside the school. In fact, they were accompanied by a homework coach from the same network as Cosmicus.
Jury Chairman Rob van Hattum, creative director of Nemo, states “with my hand on my heart" that the jury judged impartially, and this is corroborated by another juror. He says how it is also important to find that interest in science among young people is encouraged. In the view of the enthusiastic president of the jury, talented young people do not have enough opportunities to present their ideas. That then, as in the case of INESPO, “there is some debate surrounding the organizing foundation," he takes for granted. "In any organization there are certain to be people who have opinions with which you disagree. But I find the underlying idea extremely interesting.” Jose Carlos Cabaliero of the Cygnus Gymnasium in Amsterdam, which had students who participated in 2009 and 2010, is also in favor. "The students are environmentally aware and talk about it at our school. So there is also a spin-off. They really learn something from it. "
In interviews with accompanying individuals from other countries, it was quite noticeable to him that among them were Turkish teachers from countries such as Vietnam, the Czech Republic and Kazakhstan. "But the Olympiad is supported by Agentschap NL, an organization of the Dutch government. So then I assumed that the Cosmicus Foundation was a recognized entity. "
Box text: Gulen and the Cosmicus Foundation
The controversial movement of the Turkish preacher Fethullah Gulen, according to Prof. Martin van Bruinessen of the University of Utrecht, is one of the fastest growing Islamist movements. Supporters are active in more than one hundred countries, particularly through schools and associations. The Cosmicus Foundation, which organizes the environmental olympiad in Utrecht, derives from the Turkish student association of the same name, which was established in the Netherlands in the 1990s. The association, with branches in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, Leiden, Nijmegen and Enschede, constitutes the core of a rapidly-growing “old boys network.” The Cosmicus College in Rotterdam opened its doors in 2006, followed in 2008 by the Cosmicus Montessori Lyceum in Amsterdam and the Cosmicus elementary school in Rotterdam. At the end of this summer a new elementary school wil open in Arnhem, and there are plans for a school in Suriname.
Box text: Interview with Mehmet Cerit of the Cosmicus Foundation
The chairman of the Cosmicus Foundation, organizer of the environmental and science Olympiad that begins today in Utrecht, received us in the Cosmicus Montessori School in Amsterdam, one of the schools established by the initiative of the foundation.
Mehmet Cerit started the conversation himself. "We have always been very careful with the press, but now we are indifferent. We have nothing to hide. Some journalists are driven by extremely secular Turks. As a devout Muslim, I do secular work. And they find that impossible. They see me as a wolf in sheep's clothing. "
Judging by the names, last year nearly half of the Dutch students were Turkish. How do you explain that?
"We have of course a large network in the Turkish community. Isn’t it good to stimulate immigrant youths to get involved? We are a Dutch organization and a Dutch event. We work together with Agentschap NL of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, because it is also important in education to increase awareness of environmental studies. INESPO is one means of achieving this."
The lion’s share of the foreign schools at INESPO and also two Dutch schools have a link with Gulen. Is INESPO a gathering place for the Gulen network?
"Gulen schools focus on excellence; thus, they are in all likelihood so good that they win national competitions and are admitted to lNESPO.
In principal I would rather not have such participants at all. But then indeed you get debates again. We look at the content, and so everyone is welcome. "
INESPO receives a 25,000 Euro grant from a fund of the airline Corendon Air. The chairman of this fund is Ahmet Taskan, a declared supporter of the Turkish preacher Fethullah Gulen . This reinforces the impression that INESPO is an event of the Gulen movement.
"Corendon is the main sponsor, not Mr. Taskan. I myself am inspired by Gulen, and I read his books. But if you do business with me, you do business with Cosmicus, not with Mr. Cerit or the source of inspiration of Mr. Cerit. "
Gulen is quite an inspiration to you in your work?
"Gulen and the Netherlands have made me who I am. Gulen has taught me how I must “swim” in this society. He taught me how to live together with people of different views and how to bring the best out of everyone. Gulen says: Be open to others. The Cosmicus philosophy has elements of Gulen’s teachings, for example the development of talent. But the Cosmicus Foundation as an organization has neither officially nor unofficially any connection with the Gulen Movement. Of the nearly one hundred staff members, including those working in schools, perhaps 35 people are inspired by Fethullah Gulen.
"I do not know of a single wrong idea that Gulen has. Without him, I might have become fundamentalist."
Note: more background information relating to this article can be found here and here.
Sidebox text: “Those in a position of government should not subsidize this type of sectarian club.”
The Turkish preacher Fethullah Gulen has adherents all over the world and has built a network of schools, starting in the Turkic-language-speaking states of the former Soviet Union, and spreading to other countries - including European ones. A large "volunteer movement" has formed around his ideas, which is still continually growing strong. But Gulen’s ideas are controversial. Followers praise the emphasis the preacher places on tolerance, global citizenship and dialogue between different religions. They speak of a spiritual movement that pursues a modern form of Islam. Critics see Gulen as an orthodox, nationalistic preacher with outdated ideas about homosexuality and relationships outside marriage. In this view his movement harbors, behind a secular facade, a hidden agenda of Islamization of society as the ultimate goal.
There are strong indications that a large fraction of the 65 foreign school teams that meet today in Utrecht come from the network of this movement. Well over a third of the participating schools are on a list of Gulen schools prepared by a foreign website that follows the movement from a critical perspective. The schools are funded by a Turkish company, have a Turkish management team, some Turkish teachers, and the children are taught in Turkish. Information from other (academic) sources indicates that three quarters of the schools have a Gulenist background. It is not just a matter of schools in Turkish-speaking states; other examples include the Zaman International School in Cambodia, the Uralsk Mehmet Akif College in Kosovo, the Horizon College in Mali, the Horizon International Bilingual School in Vietnam, and the School of Wisdom in Great Britain.
One of the winners of the Olympics last year was the Hymkenet [sic – should read Shymkenet] High School from Kazakhstan, another school known as a Gulen school.
Dutch schools also participate, in a separate competition from the foreign participants. The exact number and identity of participants was still not yet made public immediately before the weekend; however, last year approximately half of the students were of Turkish origin.
Is INESPO, subsidized by the Dutch government, a gathering place for the Gulen network? The organizer of the environmental Olympics is the Rotterdam-based Cosmicus foundation. They deny that INESPO has anything to do with the Gulen movement (see box). This is contrary to a study published last year on the Gulen movement in the Netherlands, conducted by Professor Martin van Bruinessen commissioned by Parliament. According to the researcher, the Cosmicus Foundation is itself in any case affiliated with the Gulen movement. "All Gulen institutions, the schools and homework centers also, serve as places where potential followers are recruited," Van Bruinessen stated last year in an interview with the magazine Binnenlands Bestuur.
(Translator's note: Binnenlands Bestuur, i.e. “Internal Affairs,” is a Dutch magazine mainly geared towards government officials.)
The background of the INESPO participants also raises the question of how the event fits in with the Netherlands’ integration policy recently established by Minister Donner. According to Donner, Dutch norms and values must remain central to integration. Immigrants are themselves responsible for their integration; in connection with this, Donner announced the termination of grants for the integration of specific (minority) groups.
"I wonder how he views it when held up against an event like INESPO" said MP Sadet Karabulut (SP). "For me it is clear that INESPO along with Cosmicus as an organization is in the hands of a Gulen-Organization. I find the objectives and the method in which they work objectionable. They stand in the way of integration." In response to this article of Trouw, Karabulut will submit a Parliamentary inquiry to Minister Donner. "As long as they do not violate the law, of course you cannot take action, but those in a position of government should not subsidize this type of sectarian club.”
Minister Donner has promised at the end of last year to inform Parliament about any possible subsidies going to organizations if "we know that they are affiliated with the Gulen movement.” The government could then, for example, pose a requirement of transparency, he added at that time.
Cosmicus is vague regarding lNESPO’s funding. During the course of Trouw’s investigation, the information about the sponsors and partners on the INESPO website changed several times. Outwardly, the foundation initially avoided to be supported by "various ministries." Based on inquiries, this year alone, Agentschap NL has provided subsidizes of 10,000 Euros. This agency is part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The Ministry of VROM (Volkshuisvesting, Ruimtelijke Ordening en Milieubeheer - Housing, Urban Planning and the Environment) provided a contribution of 35,000 Euros last year, but rejected the grant application for 2011 on the grounds that "the applicant did not meet the criteria.” The Platform Bèta Techniek (Science and Technology Platform) of the Ministry of Education gave only a startup grant in 2009. Their "support" since then has been through publicizing INESPO via the channels of their platform. The Gemeentelljk Transport Company of Utrecht (Gemeentelljk Vervoerbedrijf Utrecht - GVU), also mentioned on INESPO’s website, is not a “sponsor,” a spokesman said when asked. There is a small contribution towards the costs of special transport for participants, but the word “sponsorship” is an overstatement. Finally, the City of Utrecht carries a maximum of 5,000 Euros towards the cost of the welcome dinner. For funding this year, Cosmicus is largely dependent on industry.
(Translator’s note: Agentschap NL is an agency of the Dutch government’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation. It is concerned with several economic areas including international business and the development of future energy and climate solutions.)
The new sponsor is the travel agency Corendon Airlines, which last spring gave INESPO a grant of 25,000 Euros. The chairman, entrepreneur Ahmet Taskan, is a prominent follower of Gulen who previously held positions at a number of affiliated organizations in the Netherlands.
Some Dutch politicians seem to be incorrectly listed as speakers at the opening and closing ceremony, and the names of others continue to appear in press releases even though they have withdrawn. At the last minute, parliamentary leader of the Green Left Party, Jolande Sap, was “too busy” to make the opening speech. VVD MP (Member of Parliament ) René Leegte decided to withdraw "because there are still too many doubts about the Cosmicus Foundation.” His party member Halbe Zijlstra, State Secretary of Education, who has repeatedly expressed criticism of the Gülen movement, had according to the Cosmicus Foundation verbally pledged to deliver a video message. "Total nonsense,” Zijlstra’s spokesman said. While the request for that was indeed made, it was rejected. Upon questioning, CDA MP Kathleen Ferrier sees no reason to decline the invitation. "The concept of global citizenship and freedom of the Cosmicus Foundation is good. The CDA continues to be in no less way critical of things that do not go well and precisely for that reason I will be there. "
That INESPO is different from other Olympics in the Netherlands was noticed also by Dutch participants last year. Kirsten Stadermann, teacher of three participating students from the Praedinius Gymnasium in Groningen: "There were plenty of ceremonies and many smartly dressed guests. The atmosphere was very different from that at other Olympiads. INESPO does not really fit into the Dutch academic tradition. It was about outward display, not quality. We sat in the wings as decoration."
Her team won the second prize. The third place went to Alfrink College in Zoetermeer, which had the same experience. According to teacher Linda Ballijns, "the Turkish ambassador came by and visited all the Turkish participants, including those who on participated on behalf of Dutch schools. He walked straight past us. The catering was also part Turkish, and there were many Turkish guests at the ceremony, which we found striking."
The first prize in the Dutch league went to the team of the Gerrit van der Veen Lyceum in Amsterdam. Inquiries revealed that the participation of the winning students, two Turkish cousins, took place entirely outside the school. In fact, they were accompanied by a homework coach from the same network as Cosmicus.
Jury Chairman Rob van Hattum, creative director of Nemo, states “with my hand on my heart" that the jury judged impartially, and this is corroborated by another juror. He says how it is also important to find that interest in science among young people is encouraged. In the view of the enthusiastic president of the jury, talented young people do not have enough opportunities to present their ideas. That then, as in the case of INESPO, “there is some debate surrounding the organizing foundation," he takes for granted. "In any organization there are certain to be people who have opinions with which you disagree. But I find the underlying idea extremely interesting.” Jose Carlos Cabaliero of the Cygnus Gymnasium in Amsterdam, which had students who participated in 2009 and 2010, is also in favor. "The students are environmentally aware and talk about it at our school. So there is also a spin-off. They really learn something from it. "
In interviews with accompanying individuals from other countries, it was quite noticeable to him that among them were Turkish teachers from countries such as Vietnam, the Czech Republic and Kazakhstan. "But the Olympiad is supported by Agentschap NL, an organization of the Dutch government. So then I assumed that the Cosmicus Foundation was a recognized entity. "
Box text: Gulen and the Cosmicus Foundation
The controversial movement of the Turkish preacher Fethullah Gulen, according to Prof. Martin van Bruinessen of the University of Utrecht, is one of the fastest growing Islamist movements. Supporters are active in more than one hundred countries, particularly through schools and associations. The Cosmicus Foundation, which organizes the environmental olympiad in Utrecht, derives from the Turkish student association of the same name, which was established in the Netherlands in the 1990s. The association, with branches in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, Leiden, Nijmegen and Enschede, constitutes the core of a rapidly-growing “old boys network.” The Cosmicus College in Rotterdam opened its doors in 2006, followed in 2008 by the Cosmicus Montessori Lyceum in Amsterdam and the Cosmicus elementary school in Rotterdam. At the end of this summer a new elementary school wil open in Arnhem, and there are plans for a school in Suriname.
Box text: Interview with Mehmet Cerit of the Cosmicus Foundation
The chairman of the Cosmicus Foundation, organizer of the environmental and science Olympiad that begins today in Utrecht, received us in the Cosmicus Montessori School in Amsterdam, one of the schools established by the initiative of the foundation.
Mehmet Cerit started the conversation himself. "We have always been very careful with the press, but now we are indifferent. We have nothing to hide. Some journalists are driven by extremely secular Turks. As a devout Muslim, I do secular work. And they find that impossible. They see me as a wolf in sheep's clothing. "
Judging by the names, last year nearly half of the Dutch students were Turkish. How do you explain that?
"We have of course a large network in the Turkish community. Isn’t it good to stimulate immigrant youths to get involved? We are a Dutch organization and a Dutch event. We work together with Agentschap NL of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, because it is also important in education to increase awareness of environmental studies. INESPO is one means of achieving this."
The lion’s share of the foreign schools at INESPO and also two Dutch schools have a link with Gulen. Is INESPO a gathering place for the Gulen network?
"Gulen schools focus on excellence; thus, they are in all likelihood so good that they win national competitions and are admitted to lNESPO.
In principal I would rather not have such participants at all. But then indeed you get debates again. We look at the content, and so everyone is welcome. "
INESPO receives a 25,000 Euro grant from a fund of the airline Corendon Air. The chairman of this fund is Ahmet Taskan, a declared supporter of the Turkish preacher Fethullah Gulen . This reinforces the impression that INESPO is an event of the Gulen movement.
"Corendon is the main sponsor, not Mr. Taskan. I myself am inspired by Gulen, and I read his books. But if you do business with me, you do business with Cosmicus, not with Mr. Cerit or the source of inspiration of Mr. Cerit. "
Gulen is quite an inspiration to you in your work?
"Gulen and the Netherlands have made me who I am. Gulen has taught me how I must “swim” in this society. He taught me how to live together with people of different views and how to bring the best out of everyone. Gulen says: Be open to others. The Cosmicus philosophy has elements of Gulen’s teachings, for example the development of talent. But the Cosmicus Foundation as an organization has neither officially nor unofficially any connection with the Gulen Movement. Of the nearly one hundred staff members, including those working in schools, perhaps 35 people are inspired by Fethullah Gulen.
"I do not know of a single wrong idea that Gulen has. Without him, I might have become fundamentalist."
Note: more background information relating to this article can be found here and here.