The modernization process which transformed the Ottoman Empire laid the foundations of a modern educational system by deactivating the institution of "ilmiye," which together with those of the "kalemiye" and "seyfiye," constituted the three backbones of the state.In the course of the transition from empire to republic, not only the institution of ilmiye and the madrasahs, but the entirety of religion was excluded from the system. Thanks to the influence of Ziya Gökalp's political thought, the founders of the young Republic strictly adhered to Enlightenment philosophy and put their faith in the maxim, "İslam terakkiye manidir" (Islam hinders progress). This was an idea which had been particularly propagated by the French philosopher Ernest Renan, who consigned Islam as the cause of all backwardness in the late Ottoman Empire.Madrasahs were abolished, sufi tekkes and zawiyas were shut down, religious education was completely forbidden, and those continuing to organize or participate in religious education were arrested. The sacred call to prayer in Islam had begun to be recited in Turkish. In such a period that excluded religion as a whole from the public sphere, the notion cemaat (congregation) took the place of the long-standing madrasah and tekke tradition. Struggling for their existence against the state, devout people took shelter in the newly established miscellaneous congregations that all served as secret refuges for the continuation of religious life underground.As the projection of the political atmosphere of the 19th century into the 20th century, these congregational structures were reorganized under the influence of three approaches in the same way that "Üç tarz-ı siyaset" (Three policies) predominated late Ottoman politics.1. Sufi orders, and particularly the Naqshbandi, whose most advanced political organization was the Welfare Party (RP), have pursued their struggle for existence against the state in the political sphere.2. The Süleymani designated its method of struggle to make the Quran to be read and put into practice widely.3. The Gülen Movement, as the most advanced branch of the Nur movement, which began by raising "the golden generation" during the period of Said Nursi, adopted the policy of infiltration into the state structure as its main political strategy. The main target points of that infiltration were especially the institutions of the army and police, intelligence units, finance corporations and data processing and personal management units.As the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) came to power in 2002, the power of the Gülen Movement was equal to the sum of those remaining religious orders. While the government was making use of qualified cadres of that congregation for Turkey's democratic transformation, the congregation had begun, in turn, to implement a secret design of becoming a parallel state within the state structure.Ten years ago, the congregation which had relied on donations and alms collected through religious prayers for the continuation of its system, acquired the government's support. It did not only appropriate various items of the state treasury by abusing its bureaucratic cadres within the state structure, but it also created new financial sources by threatening many through its cadres in the institutions of the judiciary, law enforcement and civil administration.At its peak, Fethullah Gülen, the leader of the movement, appeared almost capable of administering the country single-handedly from where he lives in Pennsylvania. The prosecutors of the Ergenekon trial turned into Gestapo chiefs. Whoever dared to criticize the congregation or stand against congregational interests soon found themselves in jail with the accusation of being a member of a terrorist organization. The intelligence units in the law enforcement institution turned into those of the congregation, which thus acquired the ability to threaten politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen through abusing the system of national intelligence. According to a survey by the GENAR research institute, 40 percent of the participants answered "yes" to the question, "Do you think that your phones are tapped?" This result refers to Turkish society's present feeling of insecurity in the face of such a congregation.The Gülen Movement's transformation from a religious organization into an underground intelligence organization, the change in its religious understanding, its global relations and connections and its reasons for attacking the government on Dec. 17 will all be discussed in our next article.