Another website that investigates the “Gulen-inspired,” charter schools and their activities in the United States, published a rather telling article about Texas politicians and political contributions given to their campaigns, courtesy of the "Gulenites"

And some of those same Texas politicians must have an affinity for tea and baklava, because they certainly have taken advantage of the Turkish travel industry --  also known as --The Institute of Interfaith Dialog (I.I.D.), Turquoise Council of Americans and Eurasians (TCAE), and the Raindrop Turkish House (a.k.a. Rain Drop Foundation.

Now it is becoming much clearer as to why Texas hosts the most “Gulen-inspired,” schools in the United States.

We know that Texans likes to boast about doing everything “big,” but political pandering on behalf of Gulen is a living just a little too large for our taste.

As a side note, why is everyone heading over to Turkey -- except  for Gulen?

http://turkishinvitations.weebly.com/winning-over-texas-politicians.html

Winning over Texas politicians
January 11, 2011   last updated Feb 2, 2011


Political contributions from Gulenists to Texas politicians
(this list is not comprehensive)

Contributor

Employer

Recipient

Amount

Date

Aksoy, Kudbettin

--

Al Green for Congress

1000.00

10/12/2010

Ay, Fatih

Cosmos Foundation/Director

Pete Sessions for Congress

1300.00

10/21/2010

Celepcikay, Oner Ulvi

Univ. of Houston Computer Science

Silvestre Reyes

500.00

10/22/2010

Celepcikay, Oner

Cosmos Foundation

Texans for Rick Perry

1500.00

09/22/2010

Celepcikay, Oner

Cosmos Foundation

Texans for Rick Perry

1500.00

09/22/2010

Celepcikay, Oner Ulvi

Univ. of Houston Computer Science

Poe for Congress

300.00

02/15/2010

Celepcikay, Oner

Univ. of Houston Computer Science

Gene Green Congressional Campaign

500.00

01/16/2009

Celepcikay, Oner Ulvi

Univ. of Houston Computer Science

Poe for Congress

300.00

12/31/2007

Cetinkaya, Coskun

SharePoint Architect/Director

Poe for Congress

300.00

2/15/2010

Cetinkaya, Coskun

Texas Gulf Foundation/Executive Dir

Olson for Congress Commmittee

250.00

11/21/2009

Guvercin, Mustafa

--

Howard, Donna S.

450.00

08/14/2008

Okumus, Mehmet

--

Poe for Congress

300.00

02/15/2010

Okumus, Mehmet

--

Olson for Congress Committee

250.00

11/21/2009

Ozer, Ozgur

Texas Gulf Institute

Texans for Rick Perry

2000.00

09/22/2010

Ozer, Ozgur

Texas Gulf Institute

Texans for Rick Perry

2000.00

09/22/2010

Ozer, Ozgur

Harmony Science Academy Superintend.

Poe for Congress

300.00

02/15/2010

Ozer, Ozgur

--

Culberson for Congress

500.00

03/28/2010

Pecen, Umit

Cosmos Foundation CFO

Gene Green Congressional Campaign

700.00

06/01/2010

Pecen, Umit

--

Al Green for Congress

1000.00

10/12/2010

Pecen, Umit

Cosmos Foundation CFO

Sheila Jackson Lee

1500.00

11/01/2010

Sel, Ibrahim

JP Morgan Chase & Co./Administrator

Elizabeth Ames Jones for Texas, Inc

500.00

09/30/2010

Sel, Ibrahim

JP Morgan Chase & Co./Administrator

Culberson for Congress

375.00

03/28/2008

Sel, Ibrahim

JP Morgan Chase & Co./Administrator

Eddie Bernice Johnson for Congress

300.00

05/08/2007

Tarim, Soner

Cormes [sic] Foundation (misspelling of Cosmos Foundation)

Texans for Rick Perry

5000.00

10/13/2010

Yildirim, Gulsah

--

Bolton, Valinda A.

50.00

10/22/2008

Yildirim, Yetkin

--

Naishtat, Elliott

400.00

10/27/2006

Yildirim, Yetkin

--

Howard, Donna S.

125.00

05/01/2010

Yildirim, Yetkin

The Institute of Interfaith Dialog

Bolton, Valinda A.

500.00

09/23/2010

Yildirim, Yetkin

--

Howard, Donna S.

100.00

09/30/2010

Yildirim, Yetkin

--

Naishtat, Elliott

300.00

10/11/2010

Yuksel, Zekeriya

Harmony Science Academy

House Democratic Campaign Committee

500.00

07/02/2010

Gulenist Turkey trips of Texas politicians and their staff

The Institute of Interfaith Dialog (I.I.D.), Turquoise Council of Americans and Eurasians (TCAE), and the Raindrop Turkish House (a.k.a. Rain Drop Foundation) are the main sponsors.  This list is just a sampling and is not comprehensive.

• Eliott Naishtat, State Representative
• Valinda Bolton, State Representative, June 2008 (I.I.D.)
• Donna Howard, State Representative, June 2008 (I.I.D.)
• Troy Fraser, State Senator, Oct 2010 (TCAE)
• Leticia van de Putte, State Senator, Aug 2010 (Rain Drop Foundation)
• Associate Judge Andy Hathcock  (Valinda Bolton's husband), June 2008 (I.I.D.)
• Travis County Constable Bruce Elfant and his wife, Lisa Harris, June 2008 (I.I.D.)
• David Wallace, former Mayor of Sugarland, Texas
• Victoria Anne Palmer, Staff of Congressman John Carter, summer 2010  (TCAE)
• Mark Ramon Williams, Staff of Congressman Sam Johnson, summer 2009  (I.I.D.)
• Christopher Roper Schell, Staff of Congressman Ralph Hall, summer 2009 (I.I.D.)
• Paul N. Balzano, Staff of Congressman Mike Conaway, summer 2009 (I.I.D.)
• Christopher William “Chris” Alsup, Staff of Congressman John Carter, summer 2009 (I.I.D.)
• Scott C. Graves, Staff of Congressman Mike Conaway, summer 2009 (I.I.D.)
• Lindsey Ray, Staff of Congressman Sam Johnson, summer 2009 (I.I.D.)
• Ryan D. Stalnaker, Staff of Congressman John Carter, summer 2009 (I.I.D.)
• Will Wynn, Mayor of Austin, August 2006 (I.I.D.)

Gulenist events involving Texas politicians

In Today’s Zaman, Sep 30, 2010, Saim Orhan, who is affiliated with Samanyolu, a major Gulenist media outlet in Turkey, wrote about his trip to Austin:  “Our first stop was the Texas State Capitol, where we dropped in to meet some state representatives. We spoke with state representatives Donna Howard and Eliott Naishtat, both of whom knew a little about Turkey. Howard told us she had a chance to learn about the teachings of Fethullah Gulen, while Naishtat shared stories of his tour through Anatolia on a visit to Turkey and how impressed he was by both the land and the people.  //  Naishtat recalled his memorable trip through Turkey organized by the Raindrop Foundation and the Institute of Interfaith Dialogue. State representatives from Oklahoma were also in the party with them.” 
________

From the website of the Turquoise Council of Americans and Eurasians: “Turkish Delegation meets with Texas state officials.”  In attendance were:

• State Comptroller Susan Combs
• Commissioner of Education Robert Scott
• Austin Mayor Lee Leffinwell
• Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson

________

Congressman Louie Gohmert attended the Grand Opening Gala of the Turkic American Alliance (formerly ATAF), Washington DC, May 12, 2010, celebrating the inauguration of an umbrella organization with 180 member organizations, all linked to Fethullah Gulen.
________

US Congressman Honorable Louie Gohmert attended a lunch at the Raindrop Turkish House, Houston, Feb 28, 2008 organized by Raindrop Turkish House, The Institute of Interfaith Dialog (IID), The Institute of International Commerce and Partnership (IICP), Texas Gulf Institute (TGI), all Gulenist organizations.
________
 
Attending the 5th Annual Friendship and Dialogue Dinner of the El Paso chapter of the Institute of Interfaith Dialog (IID) Nov 27, 2010:

• El Paso Mayor John Cook
• El Paso Senator Eliot Shapleigh  ("received Institute of Interfaith Dialog Community Service award after serving 14 years in Texas State Senate")
• Senator-Elect Jose Rodriguez
• El Paso County Judge-Elect Veronica Escobar
• Texas State Representatives Chente Quintanilla and Marisa Marquez
• El Paso City Representatives
• County Commissioners
• Dictrict Judges
• (The Institute of Interfaith Dialog  website says that "many other valuable guests participated the dinner."  The use of the word "valuable" in this statement is quite revealing.)

________

Attending the Institute of Interfaith Dialog's 8th Dallas Annual Friendship and Dialog Dinner, November 29, 2010:

• Dr. John Harper, Mayor of City of Rowlett
• Dwaine Caraway, Mayor Pro Tem at City of Dallas

The above list is only a sampling.


Return on investment

Below are just two examples of the return on investment that Gulenists have received from Texas politicians:

State resolution 85 commending Fethullah Gulen

On January 25, 2011, the Texas Senate passed SR 85, a resolution "commending Fethullah Gulen for his contributions to the promotion of global peace."  While most Texans pay scant attention to such ceremonial gestures and would probably prefer that their elected representatives attend to more substantive matters, this resolution was treated as major news by all Gulenist media outlets.  For example, Today's Zaman ran a story on it.

The authors of the resolution, according to this Texas State Senate webpage, were Eddie Lucio Jr, Troy Fraser, Joan Huffman, Jane Nelson and Leticia van de Putte.  Notice how at least two of these individuals had been on a Gulenist Turkey trip (see above).

Houston Proclamation declaring "Gulen Institute - Dialog of Civilizations Day"

From the website of the Azerbaijanian American Cultural Alliance (a Gulenist organization), referring to a Jan 2010 event called "Dialog of Civilizations Platform":

"The honorary guest of the program was Congressman Al Green. He stated the Gulen Movement is a peace movement and the aid campaign of the Raindrop Turkish House for the Haiti Earthquake was something to be applauded.

"Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and newly-elected Houston Mayor Annise Parker also sent messages to the Platform to show their support. Annise Parker issued a proclamation in which she declared 22-23 January as the 'Gulen Institute – Dialog of Civilizations Day'. "

Do your own investigating

Campaign finance reports for Texas state office candidates can be searched at the Texas Ethics Commission website.  Turkey trips are declared on these reports.  Federal campaign contributions can be easily searched, both by donor and candidate name, at the Newsmeat website.   Congressional Turkey trips can be searched at the Legistorm website.   The websites of Gulenist organizations such as the Raindrop Turkish House, Institute of Interfaith Dialog, Turquoise Council, and Gulen Institute show many short articles on events that Texas politicians have participated in.