"Gülen Movement Pacifist and Open to Dialogue"
Ministers speaking before a Dutch parliamentary commission on integration investigating allegations against a movement led by well-respected Turkish intellectual and scholar Fethullah Gülen have stressed that the movement is not an obstacle to integration and that it does not promote radicalization.
The Dutch government had previously started on inquiry on behalf of six ministries in response to a motion filed by four political parties. The inquiry showed that the Gülen movement, which aims to contribute to peace and dialogue in the world, and Turkish institutions having close ties to the movement do not obstruct integration in the Netherlands. The Socialist Party and the Liberal Party, which did not find the government response adequate, called two ministers to the commission for a thorough review.
In response to questions by the commission members, Integration Minister Eberhard Van der Laan said: "An overall analysis of this movement demonstrates that it is pacifist and prone to dialogue. Obviously the movement also believes that Islam and modernism can coexist. It is active in different fields, but lacks a central unit or hierarchical structure. I may even say that we would do better to talk about an alliance of loosely affiliated independent institutions rather than a movement. Of course, there are criticisms directed at this entity, and some even raise concerns about its activities. Opponents and skeptics argue that members of this movement hide their real agenda; however, when we review their activities in Holland, we see that their work facilitates integration. Letters addressed to me by Dutch parents whose children study at Cosmicus College confirm this, stressing that there are no different or unusual practices in this school."
He also said none of the institutions affiliated with the movement should be under suspicion. Stressing that they will address all concerns and suspicions, Van der Laan explained: "Our minister will consider the request of the commission and subsequently review the contribution of the training and education in the schools and other institutions of this movement to integration; we will keep you informed about our conclusions. However, I should note that this promise I hereby give in an effort to address the concerns and doubts of some commission members and opponents should not be misperceived or taken as an opportunity to raise doubts with respect to this movement."
Interior Minister Guus Ter Horst: 'Allegations are groundless'
Interior Minister Guus Ter Horst stressed that the government's reports had concluded that the movement was not involved in any disruptive or illegal activities. Ter Horst further said: "The investigations carried out in the aftermath of the motion filed a few months ago showed that none of the work of the Gülen movement obstructed integration. It is not proper to jump to conclusions relying on presumptions and allegations." Noting that there was no radicalization in the Gülen movement, the interior minister also said, "This movement is not engaged in violent or terrorist activities that will disrupt the environment of peace and trust." He emphasized that, contrary to allegations, this movement did not have any goal of creating parallel societies, isolating some social segments from others or segregating people.
A similar motion was previously filed by the far-right Leefbaar Rotterdam Party at the Rotterdam Municipality. After all such motions, the local administrations and political parties have concluded after lengthy investigations that the Gülen movement and its affiliated institutions had been unjustly blamed. Negative remarks by the Liberal Party and Saadet Karabulut, a deputy from the Socialist Party, about the Gülen movement met with strong criticism in the Dutch community. Some commented that Karabulut's warm relations with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were the primary reason for her remarks.
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