Gulen movement Charter schools

In the last decade, supporters of the mysterious Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen have actually opened scores of charter schools inside U.S., empowered by a person who is as powerful as he is reclusive.

• 2012 May 13
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(CBS News) Fethullah Gulen could be the Turkish Islamic cleric on center of a popular and growing movement, with countless disciples whom follow his teachings of threshold, interfaith dialogue, and knowledge. Some have actually also started a chain of effective charter schools in the U.S., with an emphasis on mathematics and technology. Yet Gulen himself remains shrouded in secret. Lesley Stahl moves from Turkey to Tx to report as to how the activity is distributing, and on the person behind it all.

The next script is from "The Gulen Movement" which aired on 13, 2012. Lesley Stahl may be the correspondent. Shachar Bar-On, producer.

In the last decade ratings of charter schools have actually sprang up all around the U.S., all sharing some typically common features. Many are high-achieving academically, they stress math and technology, and one even more thing: they truly are started and mainly operate by immigrants from Turkey who're performing the teachings of a Turkish Islamic cleric: Fethullah Gulen.

He is the spiritual frontrunner of an ever growing and more and more influential force in Muslim world - called "The Gulen motion" - with millions upon scores of disciples whom contrast him to Ghandi and Martin Luther King. Gulen promotes threshold, interfaith dialog, and above-all: he promotes education. And yet he is a mystery guy - he is never ever seen or heard in public areas - plus the even more power he gains, the greater concerns are raised about his motives therefore the schools.

[Lesley Stahl: Hi everybody else.

Pupils: Hi.]

This is actually the Harmony School in Houston, part of a quickly expanding chain of 36 charter schools in Tx. They provide mostly underprivileged pupils plus they all emphasize math and research.

[Student: Inside there's an elastic collision involving the gasoline particles.

Beginner: exactly what that is is a static electricity generator?]

Course work stresses hands-on experiments and competition. Pupils made this hovercraft off leaf-blowers for a science contest.