Ankara, Turkey - Turkish media and TV stations reported on Thursday that the administration of Fethullah Gulen’s Turkish school in St.Petersburg has been taken over by Russian authorities due to suspicions that this and other Gulen schools in the country were tied to the Nur Islamist religious order. The Nur religious order is a moderate Islamic movement which supports dialogue, goodwill and understanding between religions and opposes all form of violence. Gulen is a member of the Nur order.
A Russian investigation committee claimed that the school’s curriculum was not in line with Russia’s Education Ministry’s guidelines; most of the 24 Turkish teachers did not have appropriate visas and only four of the teachers were certified to teach. So far 10 similar Turkish schools have been closed in Russia and many Turks have been deported, the media reports in Turkey said.
There are Gulen schools in about 50 countries. The group also has schools in Turkey as well the media group which publishes daily Zaman and its English edition Today’s Zaman.