 Participants of the Grand Alevi Congress demand the recognition of cemevis as houses of worship, the abolition of compulsory religious courses and the dissolution of the country's Religious Affairs Directorate. DAILY NEWS photo, Selahattin SÖNMEZ |
The Turkish government is attempting to destroy Alevi traditions and assimilate the community with its ongoing “Alevi initiative,” according to the head of a leading organization from the group.
“Others are trying to describe our beliefs. They say, ‘Alevis are our brothers,’ but they impose compulsory religious courses on Alevi children. They build mosques in Alevi villages. We have nothing to do with this kind of brotherhood,” Ercan Geçmez, head of the Hacı Bektaş Veli Anatolian Culture Foundation, told the participants of the Grand Alevi Congress held Sunday in Ankara.
Widely perceived by many as a liberal form of Islam, the Alevis comprise between 10 and 30 percent of Turkey’s population. The government is currently seeking to build bridges with the country’s Alevis through a series of “Alevi workshops” chaired by State Minister Faruk Çelik, but the meetings have yet to produce any concrete results.
Many Alevis are demanding the recognition of cemevis as the community’s house of worship, the abolition of compulsory religious courses from the school’s curriculum and the dissolution of the country’s Religious Affairs Directorate.
“We insist on the abolition of the Religious Affairs Directorate. We want it for the freedom of the Sunni citizens as well. Because we would be free too if they were free,” he said.
Solving the problems of the Alevis, Kurds and non-Muslims, requires the engagement of Sunni Turks through a process of reconciliation, Geçmez said. “We want equal citizenship. We want to live our belief just like anyone else. We know what our belief is and we want the state to keep its hands out of it.”
Geçmez said various Alevi organizations would continue to hold mass rallies throughout the country to press the government on the abolition of the compulsory religious courses. One of the rallies will be held in İzmir on March 6, he added.
Time for unity
Turgut Öker, head of the Confederation of European Alevi Unions, lamented that Alevis had remained silent on the pains they had experienced. “If Alevis in Europe and Turkey could unite, we will end this cruelty. We are much stronger today.”
Among other participants to the congress were Ali Balkız, head of the Alevi-Bektaşi Federation; Necdet Subaşı, coordinator of the Alevi initiative; Sezgin Tanrıkulu and Ercan Karakaş, both of the Republican People’s Party, or CHP; Adana Chief Prosecutor İlhan Cihaner; as well as a number of Alevi organization representatives and Alevi citizens.
“We want an end to the policies of assimilation. We want everyone to live their own beliefs in freedom. The people of our country deserve this,” Öker said. “We have always talked about peace. Our language is the language of peace. We want everyone to learn and use this language. The government’s Alevi opening has not resulted in the way we wanted. Whatever we have said was misunderstood by the government.”
Alevi demands
The Congress was scheduled to produce a joint communiqué late Sunday as the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review was going to print. The statement is expected to outline six main demands from the Alevi organizations including the abolition of compulsory religious courses; the dissolution of the Religious Affairs Directorate; the conversion of Sivas’ Madımak Hotel, in which over 30 Alevi intellectuals were slain, into a museum; the return of dervish convents to Alevi control; the recognition of cemevis as Alevi houses of worship; and the termination of assimilation policies.
“Others are trying to describe our beliefs. They say, ‘Alevis are our brothers,’ but they impose compulsory religious courses on Alevi children. They build mosques in Alevi villages. We have nothing to do with this kind of brotherhood,” Ercan Geçmez, head of the Hacı Bektaş Veli Anatolian Culture Foundation, told the participants of the Grand Alevi Congress held Sunday in Ankara.
Widely perceived by many as a liberal form of Islam, the Alevis comprise between 10 and 30 percent of Turkey’s population. The government is currently seeking to build bridges with the country’s Alevis through a series of “Alevi workshops” chaired by State Minister Faruk Çelik, but the meetings have yet to produce any concrete results.
Many Alevis are demanding the recognition of cemevis as the community’s house of worship, the abolition of compulsory religious courses from the school’s curriculum and the dissolution of the country’s Religious Affairs Directorate.
“We insist on the abolition of the Religious Affairs Directorate. We want it for the freedom of the Sunni citizens as well. Because we would be free too if they were free,” he said.
Solving the problems of the Alevis, Kurds and non-Muslims, requires the engagement of Sunni Turks through a process of reconciliation, Geçmez said. “We want equal citizenship. We want to live our belief just like anyone else. We know what our belief is and we want the state to keep its hands out of it.”
Geçmez said various Alevi organizations would continue to hold mass rallies throughout the country to press the government on the abolition of the compulsory religious courses. One of the rallies will be held in İzmir on March 6, he added.
Time for unity
Turgut Öker, head of the Confederation of European Alevi Unions, lamented that Alevis had remained silent on the pains they had experienced. “If Alevis in Europe and Turkey could unite, we will end this cruelty. We are much stronger today.”
Among other participants to the congress were Ali Balkız, head of the Alevi-Bektaşi Federation; Necdet Subaşı, coordinator of the Alevi initiative; Sezgin Tanrıkulu and Ercan Karakaş, both of the Republican People’s Party, or CHP; Adana Chief Prosecutor İlhan Cihaner; as well as a number of Alevi organization representatives and Alevi citizens.
“We want an end to the policies of assimilation. We want everyone to live their own beliefs in freedom. The people of our country deserve this,” Öker said. “We have always talked about peace. Our language is the language of peace. We want everyone to learn and use this language. The government’s Alevi opening has not resulted in the way we wanted. Whatever we have said was misunderstood by the government.”
Alevi demands
The Congress was scheduled to produce a joint communiqué late Sunday as the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review was going to print. The statement is expected to outline six main demands from the Alevi organizations including the abolition of compulsory religious courses; the dissolution of the Religious Affairs Directorate; the conversion of Sivas’ Madımak Hotel, in which over 30 Alevi intellectuals were slain, into a museum; the return of dervish convents to Alevi control; the recognition of cemevis as Alevi houses of worship; and the termination of assimilation policies.
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