A large number of religious structures operating in Türkiye have reached a more influential position in various spheres of social life during the rule of the AKP. Following the liquidation of the Gülen movement, which had fallen out with the AKP, new religious sects and communities flourished in the space that opened up. It was observed that religious sects and communities operate in almost every field and generate exorbitant incomes through their economic enterprises. BirGün has mapped out the religious sect and community landscape of Türkiye.

HİRANUR ASSOCIATION

Affiliated with the İsmailağa Congregation and coming to the fore with the abuse a six-year-old girl was subjected to, the Hiranur Association operates in Ankara, Kocaeli, Bursa, and Sakarya, particularly in Istanbul. While the association's headquarters are located in Istanbul's Fatih district, its total number of representative offices in Türkiye is stated as 15.

MURADİYE FOUNDATION

The Muradiye Foundation runs the Ankara branch of the Erenköy Congregation, which is situated within the Naqshbandi tradition. The foundation has 6 nursery schools in Ankara. With the total number of its schools in the capital stated as 14, the foundation has a total of nine student dormitories in Ankara, 8 of which are independent and 1 affiliated with a school. It is reported that the foundation is most active in the Keçiören and Altındağ districts in Ankara.

SÜLEYMANCILAR

It is alleged that the Süleymancılar Congregation is influential within the Ministry of National Education. It is reported that the influence of religious foundations and associations within the MEB drove the former minister, Ziya Selçuk, to resignation.

MENZİLCİLER

It is explained that the Menzil Sect, a branch of the Naqshbandi order, began to make a significant name for itself following the deterioration of relations between the AKP and the Gülen Congregation. The Adıyaman-originating sect is spreading across the whole of Türkiye with its activities. It is known that the sect has opened dozens of student dormitories across the country under the name of "Semerkand Student Dormitory”.

PROPAGANDA ACTIVITY

It is also observed that the İsmailağa, Menzil, and Nur Congregation, well-known to the public, have increased their propaganda activities through the television and radio channels they have established. The Menzil Sect is at the forefront of the formations that began to make a serious name for themselves following the breakdown of AKP-Gülen Congregation relations. Entering the media sector in 2013 under the name of Semerkand TV by opening numerous radio and television channels, the sect continues its media activities with a company possessing a capital of 18 million TL, which took the name Semerkand Radio and Television Joint Stock Company in June 2013. Despite its relatively low viewership numbers, it is noteworthy that Semerkand TV increased its capital to 21.9 million TL on 8 July 2015.

CÜBBELİ AHMET

The İsmailağa Community is also characterised as "one of the communities that took the largest share of the pie following 15 July". It is stated that there is a company belonging to the community named Birinci Radio Television Broadcasting Joint Stock Company. The capital of the company, which stood at 210,000 TL in 2007, reached 1 million TL in 2014, and 2.8 million TL in January 2022.

THE HİZBULLAH DETAIL

Kudüs TV, known for its proximity to Hizbullah, also constitutes one of the significant examples of the media activities of communities and sects. Established in Istanbul in June 2012 with a capital of 250,000 TL, Kudüs Media Joint Stock Company continues its operations under the same name to this day despite all the controversies.

SAMANYOLU TV

It is recorded that the capital of Samanyolu Broadcasting, whose operations in Türkiye were terminated following the Coup Attempt and which is known to belong to the Gülen structure, was 15 million TL in 2005, when relations between the AKP and the community had not yet deteriorated. In February 2010, the company added a further 7.5 million TL to its capital. Thus, the total capital of Samanyolu Broadcasting was reflected in financial records as 22.5 million TL.

It is argued that, alongside their activities in the media sector, religious sects and communities have also signed numerous protocols with the MEB.

EDUCATION PROTOCOLS

During the MEB's 2024 budget discussions, the Minister of National Education, Yusuf Tekin, stated that they would continue to make protocols with religious sects and communities in the field of education. Despite the increasingly growing weight of communities and sects in the field of education under the AKP government, the MEB has not disclosed the names of the foundations and associations it collaborates with.

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Data on the number of Imam Hatip secondary schools—which highlights the emphasis on religious education in the Ministry of National Education’s school enrolment policy—is broken down by academic year as follows:

Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Tarikatlar her alanda, published in BirGün newspaper on July 15, 2026.