Fethullah Gülen’s Missionaries
We had a chance to get better acquainted with the community during a trip we took to Turkmenistan along with 150 people invited there by the "Başkent Eğitim Şirketi" (Başket Education Company) which is known for its close ties to the Fethullah Gülen community. The guests included journalists, businessmen, academicians, Kirsehir's governor and mayor and the deputy governor of Istanbul. There was even a Christian, a professor at Ankara's Middle East Technical University who has lived in Turkey for 27 years.
The Fethullah Gülen community, which has opened Turkish high schools in all parts of the word from Mongolia to Zanzibar, has a complex structure which is difficult for outsiders to understand. The community has brought together businessmen from different Turkish provinces as sponsors for each of these countries. The community schools in Turkmenistan are being financed by Ankara businessmen and the schools in Kazakhstan by Izmir businessmen.
In Turkmenistan, a country with a population of four million, the community has set up eight Turkish high schools and a university.
During the ceremonies, which were attended by Turkmenistan's dedication minister, striking Turkmen folk dances were performed with the participation of famele students as well. Prominent in these dances were the rituals of "shamanism," the religion Turks practiced before they embraced Islam.
Behind the eagerness that Turkish businessmen display in Turkmenistan to contribute to the financing of these schools lies their desire to take part in the bidding process for various contracts being awarded in that country. It was understood during the trip that Turkmen officials stipulate that businessmen first make a financial contribution to the Turkish high schools in order to be able to win contracts from the Turkmenistan government.
Turkmenistan today
With the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the state of Turkmenistan was set up in 1991, Saparmurat TurkmenbaşI has a definite hold over the country. He is also leader of the Democratic Party, which is the country's sole political party. Everywhere in Ashkabad one sees his slogans and giant pictures of him. In Turkmenistan, where there are five major tribes which are often in disputes with one another, TurkmenbaşI is deemed an "autocratic" leader who ensures a "balance" and prevents turmoil and divisions in the country.
Turkmenistan, which has enormous natural gas and oil deposits, is suppressing form an inability to export these products. Realization of the proposed Baku (Azerbaijan)-Ceyhan (Turkey) oil and natural gas pipeline protest is vitally important for Turkmenistan. A year ago the Turkmenistan government stopped transporting natural gas via an already existing pipeline which extends all the way to Turkey via Ukraine. Turkmen officials say that this was because Ukraine and Russia have failed to transfer to Turkmenistan the money Turkey had paid for the natural gas. Turkmenistan proves unable to export its natural gas because the Russians pay a very low price for Turkmenistan's natural gas and then sell it to third word countries such as Turkey at a price five times higher than the original rate. In addition, the Russians reportedly stipulate that Turkmenistan buy at least one-third of the equipment used in the production and transformation of natural gas.
Turkmenistan, where the arable land seems to be surrounded by the Garagum desert on all sides, produces 1.2 million tons of cotton. Crop production is dependent to a great extent on water supplied by irrigation canals. Due to the canals built to divert water from the Amu Darya (Oxus) river, the Aral Sea has almost dried up.
After it gained independence, Turkmenistan suffered from galloping inflation during the initial years. Until two years ago it had a 3,000 percent annual inflation rate. An incredible improvement has been achieved there. The country now has 3 percent annual inflation. Despite this improvement, the country is impoverished. About 82 percent of the working age population have a job. A civil servant's monthly salary is the equivalent of about $30. Those with a monthly solar of $50 are considered to be well off. Accepting bribes is a widespread phenomenon in all official departments, including the police and the customs offices. Police are equipped with a wide range of powers and are not monitored. For this reason, when traffic police stop a car the driver is not likely to get away without paying an average $5 bribe. This sum is sometimes $10.
Three times a week a "Desert Bazaar" is set up in Ashkabad's marketplace, rapidly acquainting the local people with the ways of capitalism and the free market economy. Turkmen, who produce the word's rarest carpets, put up for sale at the market everything that they have in their hands. But for foreigners, buying these wares can have serious consequences. The carpets and silverware bought there are confiscated at the border by the police, who say, "This is forbidden." It is said that in such cases a sum in the "10-15 range boldly offered to the customs police suffices to solve the problem. For jewelry, a bigger bribe has to be paid.
All the traders at the Desert Bazaar are women. One U.S. dollar equals 5,300 manats, which is the Turkmen unit of currency. One egg costs 500 manats, one kilo of potatoes 1,800 manats and one kilo of cucumbers 1,500 manats. For those living in cities, these are high prices indeed. On the other hand, the state provides each and every citizen with free housing if he applies for it. Households do not pay any money for electricity, natural gas or tap water. For this reason, life is not unendurable for a Turkmen, even though his monthly wage may be as little as little as $30. For foreigners, it is an entirely different story. They have to pay a minimum $300 per moth in rent.
In Ashkabad, one sees girl in miniskirts along with women in long robes with brightly colored flower designs. Among men, alcohol consumption has reached serious dimensions, making it difficult for foreign businessmen to find permanent workers. It is claimed that the arrival of Turkish businessmen brought with it an increase in prostitution. It seems that family ties are not very strong and that women who engage in prostitution do not draw severe condemnations.
Of the 680 companies set up in Turkmenistan since the country gained independence, 186 are Turkish, some 80 are Iranian and 30 are American.
Turkish companies seem to be prevailing in the textile sector. The "GAP Turkmen" complex of Ahmet ÇalIk, a businessman from Turkey's Malaya region, processes cotton into cotton yarn, weaves it into fabric and produces jeans. A similar process takes place at the textile plants established by the Norsel company. The textile plants set up by Turkish companies have a total spindle capacity of 60,000. The Turkmen government has a 50 percent stake in these plants. This is quite significant because, as a rule, the Turkmen do not permit foreign investments unless they get a minimum 51 percent stake. The "GAP Turkmen" textile plant was set up with project financing obtained from the Japanese Eximbank. For this reason, the Japanese have a 20 percent stake in the plant. Though Ahmet ÇalIk owns only 30 percent of the plant, he operates as the overall executive thanks to the great tolerance the Turkmen have shown him. Also, the Turkmen have made one of the plant's executives a deputy minister of economy and another a deputy minister of textiles. 1998-07-06 00:00:00
- Created on .