New York Times Assesses Activities of Turkish Educators in Turkmenistan

The influential American newspaper the New York Times evaluated recent developments in Turkmenistan with a large article, assessing the educational activities of Turkish group who have been inspired by a well-known Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, who is one of the most prominent advocates of "intercivilizational dialogue" and "tolerance" among different ethnic, linguistic, religious and cultural factions in Turkish society as well as international community.

Stating, "Official corruption, the suppression of moderate forms of Islam and a sense that social problems like drug use are beyond the control of the government have led people in neighboring countries to embrace a hears political Islam," the New York Times continued, "It's hard to say whether Turkmenistan will follow a similar path. The country has a mostly Sunni Muslim population, and the state is avowedly secular."

Stating that the nation's school-age elite is now getting a grounding in political Islam, the New York Times defined, incorrectly, the Turkish educators who are the followers of Gülen as "the main force promoting political Islam" in the country. The newspaper wrote, "A private group led by a Turkish missionary named Fettullah Gülen has opened 14 "Turkmen-Turk" magnet schools in the country. The schools boast computers, teachers trained in Turkey and much better facilities than local schools."

The author of the article continued, "I paid a visit to a Turkmen-Turk school in the northeastern city of Dashhowuz. A third-grade class offered to demonstrate its English, and when I agreed, one light-haired boy stood up and began singing the Beatles' "Yesterday" in a clear, strong voice. After a few minutes of his solo, the rest of the class joined in. It was a strangely affecting performance, punctuated by the way the children concluded the song by turning to each other and applauding." The article continue, "although the schools are financed with Turkish money and students are taught mostly by Turkish teachers, classroom walls are covered with aphorisms taken from "Ruhnama" (albeit in English), and a shrine to the president's book takes center stage in the school's lobby."

"Being religious wasn't compulsory, but it was coerced,' says Vepar, a 20-yearsold university student who graduated from a Turkmen-Turk school and then studied in the United States under a grant offered by the State Department. 'After a couple of months boys stopped looking a girls. I always tried to argue with their views, to not be a zombie about things. But they wanted us to pray five times a day, and they noticed who didn't. People would talk about making the country Islamic,'" the New York Times stated. 2003-07-01 00:00:00