Coral Academy of Science - Evidence of affiliation with the Gulen Movement


Page created October 14, 2010   last updated Jan 27, 2012
by C.A.S.I.L.I.P.S. - Citizens Against Special Interest Lobbying in Public Schools

Coral Education Corporation is the charter holder for Coral Academy of Science, a publicly-funded charter school which has two branches, one in Reno and one in Las Vegas.  Fatih Yilmaz and Volkan Akbas are the Secretary and Treasurer, respectively, of the board of Coral Education Corporation.  Both Fatih Yilmaz and Volkan Akbas are members of the Sierra Foundation, an overtly Gulenist non-profit in Nevada that promotes Fethullah Gulen and his teachings.  A quote of Gulen's can be seen in the top banner of the Sierra Foundation's website.  Akbas has served as a "distinguished panelist" in at least one Sierra Foundation public event, and both Yilmaz and Akbas have participated prominently in other public events such as the "Lenten Supper with Noah's Pudding" organized by the Sierra Foundation. (Noah's Pudding events are organized by Gulenist non-profits and dialog associations all over the United States and Canada.)

Students of Coral Academy of Science have participated in the Turkish Olympiads, a Gulenist competition.

Further connections to the Gulen Movement are shown by the multiple affiliations, both past and present, of the following individuals.

Erdinc Acar
  • Coral Academy of Science, Director
  • Regional Director, Magnolian Science Academy  (Gulen charter school in California)
  • Co-authored paper on Lego Robotics at Coral Academy of Science with Faruk Taban, Ismail Fidan and Ayhan Zora

Volkan Akbas
  • Coral Education Corporation
  • Sierra Foundation   (Gulenist)

Ismail Fidan
  • Coral Academy of Science, grant writing and fundraising
  • Co-authored paper on Lego Robotics at Coral Academy of Science with Faruk Taban, Erdinc Acar and Ayhan Zora   
  • Fulton Science Academy governing board  (Gulen charter school in Georgia)
  • Board Member, Nashville Charter Middle School (proposed Gulen charter school in Tennessee that never materialized)

Mustafa Gunozu
  • Teacher, Coral Academy of Science Las Vegas
  • Foundation for Intercultural Dialog, Arizona  (Gulenist organization)

Eray Idil
  • Coral Academy of Science IT; college advisor
  • Coral Education Corporation
  • Sierra Foundation (Gulenist organization)

Bunyamin "Ben" Karaduman
  • Principal, Coral Academy of Science
  • Washington Education Foundation  (Gulenist)
  • Petitioner, First State Math and Science Academy, Delaware  (proposed Gulen charter school)

Hanifi Oguz
  • Coral Academy of Science teacher
  • Indialogue  (Gulenist organization in India)

Talha Oz
  • Judge at Coral Academy Science Fair, 2010
  • Judge at LISA Academy Science Fair, 2011   (Gulen charter school in AR)
  • Judge at Pinnacle Academy Science Fair, 2011  (private Gulen school in VA)
  • Computer science instructor and chaperone at Advanced Math and Science Program (Summer 2010), Accord Institute for Educational Research  (Gulenist)

Ali Riza Oztek
  • Coral Academy of Science, math coordinator
  • Fatih University  (Gulenist institution)

Faruk Taban
  • Coral Academy of Science
  • 2010-2011 Head of the Turkic American Alliance (formerly Assembly of Turkic American Federations) umbrella organization for numerous Gulenist entities across the US (see here for list of member organizations; Taban was the organizer of a "gala" event in March 2010 which the prominent Turkish newspaper Hurriyet wrote up as "The Gulen movement plays big in Washington")
  • Accord Institute for Education Research
  • President of MAFTAA, Mid Atlantic Federations of Turkic American Associations (Gulenist organization)

Tekin Tuncer
  • Coral Academy of Science teacher
  • Sierra Foundation member   (Gulenist organization)

Ali Kemal Unver
  • Coral Academy of Science Las Vegas
  • Paragon Science Academy (Gulen charter school in Phoenix, Arizona)
  • On a webpage at the Gulen website about a melting pot dinner sponsored by the Pacifica Instiute in Las Vegas, it is stated that "Ali Unver and his wife, Zeynep, answered my questions and also educated me about the noted Turkish preacher and scholar M. Fethullah Gulen, head of the Gulen Movement.
  • Wrote article for Fountain Magazine     (Fountain is a major publication of the Gulen Movement; Fethullah Gulen writes the lead article for each issue)
  • Wrote 5-star review of Jill Carroll’s pro-Gulen book "A Dialogue of Civilizations" at the following website.

Fatih Yilmaz
  • Coral Education Corporation
  • Sierra Foundation

Recai Yilmaz
  • Teacher, Coral Academy of Science
  • Teacher, Magnolia Science Academy - Reseda  (Gulen charter school)

Murat Yuksel
  • Board President, Coral Academy of Science
  • Author, Fountain Magazine  (Gulenist)
  • Petitioner, Capital Academy Charter School  (proposed Gulen charter school in Troy NY)
  • Colleague, coauthor of Hasan Guclu who also wrote for Fountain Magazine
  • Thesis advisor to Hasan Aydin's PhD thesis on Gulen schools in Nigeria (thesis reads as an advertisement for Gulen and Gulen schools)

Ayhan Zora
  • Co-authored paper on Lego Robotics at Coral Academy of Science with Faruk Taban, Erdinc Acar and Ismail Fidan
  • Suleyman Demirel University, Almaty, Kazakhstan  (Gulenist institution)
  • Friend of Levent Koc, Interfaith Dialog Center NJ (now renamed Peace Islands Institute; Gulenist)
  • Turkish American Society of Iowa  (Gulenist)