Gulenist Bilal Eksili with former governor Mitch Daniels
blogspot.com/2013/05/gulen-movement-influence-invading.html
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Gulenist Bilal Eksili with former governor Mitch Daniels
blogspot.com/2013/05/gulen-movement-influence-invad
Gulen's activities in Indiana
have been largely carried out by the Niagara Foundation, formerly known as the
Holy Dove Foundation. Gulen's front person in Indiana is Bilal Eksili, a Turkish immigrant who
has a far closer relationship with many of Indiana's top political leaders than
most long-time political activists of either political party.
Eksili sits on the board of trustees for Indianapolis' Math &
Science Academy, a publicly-funded charter school he was instrumental in
establishing. Eksili ran Indiana's chapter of the Niagara Foundation until
last year when he became the Vice President of the Turkish American Federation
of Midwest, another Gulen-funded organization. Despite efforts at one time by
the FBI to kick Gulen out of the United States, FBI Director Robert Mueller
presented to Eksili's organization the 2008 Community Leadership Award.
Eksili, who has made large campaign donations to several Hoosier public
officials, including Gov. Mike Pence and U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly, has hosted
numerous lunches, dinners and other events on behalf of the Niagara Foundation
at which many of Indiana's top political, business, education, religious and
community leaders have participated. He also solicits public officials and
other leaders to accompany him on all-expense paid trips to Turkey. Advance
Indiana obtained an e-mail solicitation that Eksili sent out in 2011 to persons
who he sought to accompany him on a trip to Turkey. The following is a partial
text of that e-mail, boasting about the number of influential persons
who have accompanied him on past trips to Turkey:
You are cordially invited to
join our Inter-Cultural Friendship Trip to Turkey. Every guest is
responsible only for purchasing his/her Indianapolis - Istanbul airfare.
We will cover all travel, lodging and food costs in Turkey. Your spouse
is also invited.
Other than our regular tour
program, we will be welcomed by the Turkish academics, media members,
government officials and by the leading businessmen of Turkey. In each city we
will have a chance to have dinner with local families at their residents
too.
The Niagara Foundation
(formerly known as Holy Dove Foundation) is a Non-profit foundation and aims to
forge bonds of lasting friendship between Hoosiers and Turkish people by
identifying what it is we have in common, by learning to appreciate and honor
our differences, and by collaborating on mutually beneficial projects.
In 3 years over 400 leaders
from Indiana including many State Senators, Representatives, academics,
media members and leading businessmen have experienced this life changing
opportunity and they all came back with remarkable memories.
We believe what makes Turkey
particularly attractive as a travel destination is the fact that it has
historically been one of the most interesting meeting places of different
civilizations, not to mention its marvelous natural beauties, warm hospitality
and world famous cuisine, which attracts approximately 25 million of
foreign tourists every year.
The dates will be as follows:
June 8th – 19th, and June 19th – 29th. Attached you can find sample
itinerary and also you can visit our webpage for further information. Our
webpage is www.theholydove.org
, www.niagarafoundation.org
Some of the Previous
Travelers:Senator Brandt Hershman, Senator Vi Simpson, Senator Jim Arnold,
Senator Karen Tallian, Senator Jim Lewis, Representative Linda Lawson,
Representative Vernon Smith, Kevin Rader Channel13 . . . Sherrie Bossung
Eli Lilly, Julie Dewitt . . . Jason Kloth Teach for America, Jason
Dombkowski Chief of Police Dept in West Lafayette, Tom Harton IBJ, Roland
Dorson President of Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, Donald Knebel B&T
Law, Bobby Fong President of Butler University, Scott Appleby Director of
Kroc Institute at Notre Dame, Patrick & Melissa Mason Notre Dame,
Barbara Lockwood Notre Dame, Kent Millard, St. Luke’s United Meth. Church,
Dennis & Sandy Sasso, Beth El-Zedeck Synagogue, Suellen Reed, former
Superintendent of Public Education, Judy O’Bannon WFYI, Lewis Galloway Second
Presbyterian Church, Kevin Armstrong North Meridian United Meth. Church, Bonnie
Maurer Printing Editor of IBJ, Virgil Madden Lt. Governor’s Policy Advisor,
Chris Crabtree Lt. Governor’s Chief of Staff, Pierre Atlas Marian University,
Sylvia Payne IUPUI, Bill Plater IUPUI, Dwight Burlingame Philanthropy Center,
Gary Roberts IUPUI, Nancy Chism IUPUI, Grady Chism IUPUI, Valerie Eickmeier
IUPUI, Laurie and Bill Schneider IUPUI, Darrel Bailey IUPUI.
The list of prominent Hoosiers participating in
Gulen-funded trips to Turkey is astonishing to say the least. It's not
surprising that so many politicians would jump at the opportunity to take part
in an overseas junket to Turkey, but many people will be shocked that top media
representatives, business, religious and community leaders took advantage of
the free trips as well. Advance Indiana obtained a sample itinerary for
one of the Gulen-sponsored trips, which included stops at a mosque, the Turkish
parliament, Turkey's largest TV station and newspaper controlled by Gulen,
meetings with government and media officials loyal to Gulen, and dinners
in the homes of Gulen followers, along with plenty of time allotted for
typical tourist trappings including shopping, boating, swimming and other
leisure-related activities.
In February, Advance Indiana exclusively
reported that another prominent Turkish immigrant, businessman
Ersal Ozdemir, was accompanying Indiana Commerce Secretary Victor Smith on a
four-day trade mission to Turkey during which Smith was planning to
attend the Young President's Organization Global Leadership Summit in Istanbul
at which Smith was presenting. YPO is an exclusive organization first
established by the CIA back in the 1950s, which counts Ozdemir among
its members. An IEDC spokesperson told Advance Indiana
that Ozdemir accompanied Smith and IEDC officials on the trip to
"introduce IEDC staff to leaders in the Turkish business community."
Advance Indiana has previously reported on the meteoric rise of Ozdemir
in Indiana during the relatively short time he has lived here. Ozdemir has
scored numerous government construction contracts from state and local
governments and won tens of millions of dollars in government handouts for his
private development projects after emerging as one of the state's largest
individual campaign contributors. Ozdemir exerts enormous influence over Mayor
Greg Ballard and the Marion County Republican Party, which houses its offices
in a building owned by Ozdemir, as well as Carmel Mayor James Brainard. Ozdemir
also recently announced that he had landed a professional soccer team franchise
for Indianapolis. Speculation now abounds that the CIB, with Mayor Ballard's
backing, will build or at least subsidize a new soccer stadium for Ozdemir's
soccer franchise
READ MORE ABOUT INDIANA AND THE GULEN MOVEMENT HERE:
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