İftar brings cracks among Alevis to surface

While the Alevi organizations that attended the iftar dinner maintained that the iftar had enlightened them, those who refrained from participating asserted that the fast-breaking dinner ended up a total fiasco.

The Alevi fast-breaking dinner, hosted by the AK Party, was held on Friday at Hotel Bilkent in Ankara on the occasion of the month of Muharram, the first month of the year in the Islamic calendar, in an effort to thaw the ice between the state and the Alevi community, though most major Alevi organizations announced they wouldn't participate in the dinner as they didn't believe in the government's sincerity.

Head of the Cemevi (prayer house) Associations Federation Veli Güler expressed his satisfaction over having participated in the event. "The atmosphere during the iftar affected me. Our Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was very sincere," he said.

Founder of the İstanbul-based Cem Foundation Kurtcebe Noyan noted Alevi dedes (religious leaders) do not have the right to apply "sanctions" against those who attended the fast-breaking dinner. Stressing that the popularity of the iftar should not be assessed in terms of the number of participants, Noyan was quoted as saying by several Turkish newspapers: "This iftar was a first in the republic's history. Erdoğan made remarks that could help thaw the ice between the state and the Alevi community. He proved that the state has adopted a brand new stance toward the Alevis."

Alevi dedes had raised their voices against the dinner because they are against the idea of reconciling with the government, which they feel has ignored Alevi problems for many years, and its attendees prior to the event. In a joint press conference the dedes said they would apply "sanctions," which in Alevi tradition means shunning, to those who participated in the fast-breaking dinner.

Recalling that the iftar was attended by some 50 representatives from several Alevi organizations, AK Party İstanbul deputy İbrahim Yiğit said those who participated had not received the slightest negative reaction from Alevis. "I received more than one thousand phone calls from Alevis who wished to participate in the fast-breaking dinner. I believe the number of attendees could have reached 10,000 if that many guests could have been accommodated.

Dozens of people from the Alevi community congratulated me for having participated in such an iftar. Some circles are trying to spark a wave of separatism within the Alevi community,” he told Today’s Zaman.

Underlining that no government has taken steps to introduce a solution to the Alevi problem, Yiğit said they have a project to establish an institute to train Alevi dedes. “In the past, the existence of the Alevi community was acknowledged only prior to elections. But Prime Minister Erdoğan proved that he will not be indifferent to the problems the Alevis encountered throughout the history [such as the recognition of the Alevi community by the whole society] with this iftar organization,” Yiğit added.

President of the Cem Foundation İzzettin Doğan, on the other hand, slammed the AK Party’s initiative to bring together the Alevi community and representatives from the government. Doğan asserted Friday’s fast-breaking dinner ended in failure, saying: “The Alevi community faces several problems in various fields. The government has the power to eliminate such problems. We may have dinner with the government only when it takes necessary steps to meet our needs.”

Doğan also noted they are against such iftar dinners because it is against their tradition.

The Alevi community engages in no ceremonies or luxuries during Muharram, which is considered a month of mourning as the killing of Imam Hussein, the son of Caliph Ali and one of the 12 holy imams of the Alevis, corresponds to this month. Alevis break their fast during Muharram with very modest dinners.

Kazım Genç, president of the Association of Pir Sultan Abdal Culture, another prominent Alevi organization, termed the Alevi groups that attended the iftar dinner “fake associations.” Genç noted Friday’s iftar table was full of luxurious food and added: “Erdoğan did not utter the word ‘Alevi’ even once throughout his speech. He tried to make a show, but the iftar ended up a total fiasco.”

Selahattin Özel, head of Alevi Bektasi Federation, in a phone interview with Today’s Zaman, accused the AK Party of cooperating with small Alevi organizations whose leaders had already been excluded from the Alevi community instead of long-standing ones. Özel said the AK Party was not successful in organizing the dinner and added that party officials lost prestige with the iftar.

Other organizations believe the AK Party turns a blind eye to the problems encountered for years by the Alevi community and criticize the stance adopted by Erdoğan toward the Alevis.

Ali Kenanoğlu, head of the Hubyar Sultan Association, thinks the AK Party made mistakes in organizing the fast-breaking dinner. Speaking to Today’s Zaman, Kenanoğlu said: “We do not refrain from discussing the problems of the Alevi community with the government. The AK Party did not have a positive stance toward the Alevi community in the past. AK Party officials used to believe that the Alevis’ cemevi should not obtain the status of places of worship. And today, we have serious doubts over the government’s reform initiative on the status of Alevis.”

Court rejects granting cemevis status of ‘place of worship’

The Ankara Sixth Administrative Court has rejected a demand made by the Alevi community that their cemevi be granted the status of “place of worship.”

Sources noted the court ruled that there was no clear evidence that Alevis were subjected to pressure in terms of faith and that there were differences within the Alevi community in methods of worship.

“The demand filed to grant the Alevis’ cemevi the status of place of worship does not cover the whole Alevi community. The objective of the principle of equality is to prevent certain groups from obtaining privilege, not to eliminate differences,” said the court.

Prime Minister Erdoğan, on the other hand, noted he has not received any demand to grant the cemevi the status of a place of worship and added that the government will take necessary steps to this end if there is something to do within the context of the constitution.

“There have been rumors over the status of the Alevis’ cemevi from time to time, but no demand has been forwarded to the Prime Ministry about conferring the status of place of worship upon cemevis. If such a demand is forwarded to me, I will most certainly not remain indifferent to it. We will take necessary steps to this end if there is something to do within the context of constitutional law,” said Erdoğan.

Baykal invites Alevi organizations to eat ‘Noah’s pudding’

Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal on Sunday invited Alevi organizations to eat Noah’s pudding, or ashure, a symbolic representation of the unity and essential relationship of humans to one another and to their creator -- at CHP headquarters, saying the Alevi community can overcome the grief of the killings of Imam Hussein and one of the 12 holy Alevi imams through unity and solidarity. “The killing of Imam Hussein was a crime perpetrated against the whole of humanity. Such deep grief can be eased only through solidarity, fraternity and unity. Thus, I invite our Alevi citizens to eat Noah’s pudding on Jan. 23,” he said.