Education charity flourishes despite Gülenist campaign

The Turkish Youth and Education Service Foundation (TÜRGEV), an education charity that faced a defamation campaign by the Gülen Movement, opened new dormitories for female students in six cities yesterday in a ceremony attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as it expands operations to boost girls' school attendance.

TÜRGEV inaugurated eight girls' dormitories in the cities of Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Konya, Bursa and Antalya yesterday in a ceremony.

The charity, founded in 1996, weathered an offensive by the Gülen Movement that launched a defamation campaign against the foundation over its board member Necmettin Bilal Erdoğan, a son of the president, who faced an attempt to overthrow his government by the "parallel structure" of Gülenists during his tenure as prime minister.

Erdoğan attended the ceremony in the capital, Ankara, while his son attended the ceremony in Istanbul. Speaking at the event, Erdoğan thanked founders and contributors to the charity. He praised TÜRGEV's services to Turkish education with dormitories, nursery schools, a primary school, guesthouses and scholarships. "I wish you success in educating a generation learning about their faith, history and culture and in teaching them. I will always support your activities," Erdoğan told TÜRGEV members.

The president said that the foundation was one of the primary targets of the "Dec. 17 and Dec. 25 coup attempt" against the government. "Why did they target this organization that has engaged in important charity work? Why did they attempt to defame its services and try to shut it down under the deplorable guise of corruption?" Erdoğan asked. "Because they saw it as a threat to their own interests, to their network. Indeed, it was as if TÜRGEV sought to raise youth who are aware of their faith, history and culture, youth who question what they were taught about before and who loves their country and nation," he answered himself. Erdoğan said members of the Gülen Movement wanted to raise "a brainwashed generation loyal to them without questioning their motives."

He said that TÜRGEV and other charities may also play a role in replacing services provided by the Gülen Movement. "We will not allow anyone to be left out of the education system [after the closure of Gülen schools, dormitories and other services]. On the contrary, we will improve [educational] services," he said. Stressing that the Ministry of National Education will set up a foundation to open Turkish schools abroad in response to the Gülen Movement's global network of schools, Erdoğan said nongovernmental organizations could also contribute to these efforts.

"Let them have their own subjects. TÜRGEV and other foundations will counter it by raising generations who debate, question and build," he said.

The Gülen Movement had targeted the foundation during an operation by its infiltrators in the police and judiciary under the guise of a corruption probe in 2013 and in a subsequent campaign in media outlets affiliated with the Gülen Movement that claimed irregularities in the charity's funds.

TÜRGEV officials had denied the allegations and said the transfer of funds was transparent and open to inspection.

Erdoğan has said in an earlier speech that Gülenists targeted the foundation because it offers an alternative to student housing that was mostly under a monopoly of the Gülen Movement.

The charity plans to expand its services further with new projects this year, aiming to build at least one dormitory in every city with a university. Speaking to Anadolu Agency, TÜRGEV President Arzu Akalın said they planned to offer guesthouse services abroad as well in the United States, the U.K. and Germany. Akalın said TÜRGEV's dormitories had a capacity of 4,700 students and that they will increase the capacity this year and in the coming years. "Our foundation's main purpose was helping female students who lacked safe accommodation for university studies," she said, adding that 40 percent of students staying in their dormitories were granted scholarships.