Turkey Links Texas Charter Schools to Dissident - WSJ

Turkey Links Texas Charter Schools to Dissident - WSJ:

Turkey Links Texas Charter Schools to Dissident

Complaint says charter chain has ties to imam wanted in Turkey; schools deny the allegation

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 Lawyers for the government of Turkey filed a complaint with Texas officials that accuses a Houston-based charter school system of discriminatory hiring practices and of having ties to an influential Turkish dissident.

The complaint claims that Harmony Public Schools, a network of 46 Texas campuses started by Turkish graduate students, illegally hired Turkish teachers and favored Turkish contractors. It also alleges the schools are an arm of Fethullah Gulen, an Islamic preacher who lives in the U.S. and is wanted in Turkey for allegedly trying to overthrow the government there.

The complaint, filed with the Texas Education Agency, is the latest legal effort by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey to combat an opposition movement led by Mr. Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania.

The international political drama is playing out against the unusual backdrop of U.S. charter schools, which lawyers for the Erdogan government says Mr. Gulen’s followers use to amass money and influence.

Allegations against Mr. Gulen and schools allegedly affiliated with his movement have been gathering momentum since Turkey retained Amsterdam & Partners, a Washington, D.C., law firm, in December, expanding its quest to prosecute and destroy the imam’s network.

The influential cleric was once a supporter of Mr. Erdogan, but the two had a falling out in 2013 after Gulen backers accused Erdogan allies of corruption. Mr. Erdogan charged Mr. Gulen with leading a terrorist organization; Mr. Gulen denies the charge.

Mr. Gulen couldn’t be reached comment on Tuesday. Last year, he wrote an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal that urged Muslims to combat terrorism.

Alp Aslandogan, a spokesman for Mr. Gulen’s movement in the U.S., accused Mr. Erdogan of using the Texas complaint to send a message to Turkish-Americans, many of whom Turkey Links Texas Charter Schools to Dissident - WSJ:

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