Yogyakarta, (Antara) - Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifudin said the government is studying request of the Turkish government to close schools affiliated to alleged Turkish rebel mastermind Fethullah Gulen.
Fethullah Gulen is a Turkish imam, the founder of the Islamic Transnational Religious and Social Movement, now living in the United States.
He was accused by the Turkish government of masterminding recent bloody but failed coup attempt in Ankara.
Lukman said here on Friday the Indonesian Government is still studying the request.
He said the Religious Affairs Ministry wants to know if the Turkish government referred to public schools or Islamic schools having any links with Gulen.
"If what they referred to is Islamic schools, it would be for the Religious Affairs Ministry to answer, but otherwise it would be for the Ministry of Education to answer," he said.
After studying the request the Indonesia government would officially send its answer via the Turkish embassy here, the minister said.
"The Indonesian government would look into the request. We will give the answer in time," he said.
Earlier the Turkish embassy issued a release asking the Indonesian government to close all schools having links with 'Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO)'.
FETO is the name given by the Turkish Government for the followers of Fethullah Gulen, an ulema accused by the President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of being behind the recent failed coup attempt by a faction of the Turkish military.
The release gave a list of 9 schools allegedly having links with the Gulen movement including 1. Pribadi Bilingual Boarding School of Depok, 2. Pribadi Bilingual Boarding School of Bandung, 3. Kharisma Bangsa Bilingual School in South Tangerang, 4. Semesta Bangsa Bilingual Boarding School in Semarang, 5. Kesatuan Bangsa Bilingual Boarding School in Yogyakarta, 6. Sragen Bilingual Boarding School in Sragen, 7. Fatih Boy's Shool in Aceh, 8. Fatih Girl's School in Aceh, 9. Banua Bilingual Boarding School in South Kalimantan.(*)
