Schools linked to Turkish cleric shut

DAKAR, Senegal — Senegal’s government closed more than a dozen schools linked to a man the Turkish government considers a terrorist, underlining Turkey’s growing influence in predominantly Muslim West Africa.

About 3,000 children in Senegal have been affected as Turkey reduces the influence of Fethullah Gulen, who is labeled a terrorist by Turkey’s government.

The schools closed last year were linked to Hizmet, a moderate Islamic movement developed from the teachings of Gulen, a Turkish cleric living in exile in the U.S.

The issue has taken center stage in West Africa with the recent visit by Turkey’s president. About 30 countries have been affected in Africa.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Algeria, Mauritania, Senegal and Mali recently, meeting with heads of state and bringing along Turkish business leaders to increase investments in Africa. Erdogan pointedly thanked the countries for closing the Gulenaffiliated schools.

“Most of the countries that were exploited by the [Gulen] terror organization were in Africa,” Erdogan said at the beginning of the trip.

Schools in Gambia, Guinea, Somalia, Chad, Mauritania, Niger, Gabon, Senegal and now Mali have been transferred to his government’s Maarif Foundation, he said.

In Senegal, the Maarif Foundation opened three new schools.

Gulen had a large footprint abroad: A report says the Gulen network had about 2,800 schools, education institutions, foundations, NGOs and hospitals in about 170 countries.

The school closures in Africa will be seen in Turkey as a positive step in the fight against Gulen, said Emre Caliskan, a researcher at Oxford University specializing in Turkey and Africa relations.

But schools are only a part of Turkey’s efforts to strengthen its footprint in Africa. Turkey has increased its embassies in Africa from 12 in 2003 to 41 today.

“Turkey needs the support of African countries and other nations in the United Nations,” said Caliskan.

Murat Kadir, a coordinator for the Maarif Foundation in Senegal, said only some of the students from the former Gulen schools have transferred to the three schools the foundation opened in November 2017 with about 120 students in Senegal. They plan to add two more, he said.

The remainder of the 3,000 students whose schools were closed in Senegal have had to find other institutions.