A large-scale operation by Turkish authorities against the Süleymancılar has renewed scrutiny of the Islamic religious movement's activities in the north.
Reports in the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot press have for years documented an extensive network of student dormitories and educational facilities, accompanied by allegations involving the accommodation of minors and organised religious indoctrination.
At the centre of attention is the Tahsil Çağındaki Talebelere Yardım Derneği (Association for Assistance to School-Age Students), which Bugün Kıbrıs has linked to the movement.
Investigations by the newspaper since 2023 identified facilities in Trikomo, Lefka, Famagusta, Nicosia, Kyrenia and Karavas.
In some cases, premises were presented as offices or residences, while allegations suggest they were in practice operating as dormitories.
In Karavas, according to reports, one facility was closed twice by the local municipal authority, while in Trikomo a building licensed as a residence was allegedly being used as student accommodation.
Minors and religious education
The most serious allegations concern children under the age of 18.
According to Bugün Kıbrıs, minors were housed in facilities in Trikomo, Lefka and Famagusta, where they received religious instruction.
The newspaper further claimed that in some dormitories, classes were taught by imams appointed to mosques by the Religious Affairs Office of the Turkish "embassy".
The teachers' unions KTÖS and KTOEÖS have repeatedly called for information on who is teaching, under what curriculum and under whose supervision.
Particular concern was generated by a 2023 investigation into a facility in the Karmi area attended by children aged four to six.
Residents reported hearing religious hymns and Arabic phrases being repeated collectively by the children.
In January 2025, another facility was uncovered in Kyrenia where, according to the same newspaper, more than 10 secondary school students were residing and being taught the Quran using material allegedly prepared by the network itself.
The case of the 60 children
As early as 2020, Turkish newspaper BirGün reported that around 60 children were receiving unapproved religious instruction with accommodation provided at a villa in Karavas.
The premises were sealed due to a lack of permits, while a complaint was also recorded alleging violence against a child by a teacher.
According to BirGün, the movement's activities in the north date back to the 1980s.
The operation of the dormitories has also triggered legal proceedings and union reactions.
A case concerning the legality of similar facilities reached the so-called higher court, focusing on the protection of children's rights, oversight of the education provided and its compatibility with the broader legal framework in force.
Funding under the microscope
The latest operation in Türkiye has raised fresh questions about the network's finances.
Turkish authorities are investigating money movements exceeding 100 billion Turkish lira through individuals and companies linked to the network under investigation, as well as transfers of funds abroad.
So far, no direct connection has been announced between those sums and the financing of activities in the north.
The central question, however, remains unanswered: who finances the buildings, dormitories, accommodation and educational activities of the network in the north?
