Alevi workshops conclude, doubts remain

At the workshops, in trying to find a common approach to handling the problems of Alevis, the contentious issue related to the status of cemevis, Alevi places of worship, was raised. It is true that Alevis have differing viewpoints on many aspects of Alevism, but one of the issues on which they are unified is demanding from the government recognition of cemevis as places of worship.

However, this demand was met with resistance at the workshop from Islamic scholars who said the state cannot define cemevis as places of worship, as this could be potentially problematic and even offensive to other Muslims because there is supposed to be one place of worship in Islam, and that is a mosque.

Balkız, whose ABF is a harsh critic of the state’s involvement in Alevis’ religious affairs, reacted to this view immediately after the preliminary report became public.

“No matter whether they accept it or not, cemevis are places of worship,” he said as quoted by many dailies. He even went further to say that the preliminary report is not sincere and it is the product of a Sunni point of view.

Academics who look at the issue from the aspect of freedom of religion point out that it is not the state’s duty to define religion.

“First of all, the discussion on whether or not cemevis are places of worship should not be an issue of interest to the state. If Alevis see cemevis as places of worship, they are their places of worship,” said Levent Köker, a professor of constitutional law who was a participant at the second Alevi workshop, which gathered academics to discuss the issue.

Köker stresses that Alevism is essentially a topic that relates to freedom of conscience and religion.

Another academic and a member of the Association for Liberal Thinking, Bekir Berat Özipek, said that Alevis will never feel like their demands have been met, and rightly so, if cemevis are not recognized by the state as places of worship.

Not pleased with the recommendation of the report, which advocates giving cemevis the same privileges given to religious associations and foundations without referring to them legally as places of worship, Özipek said the psychological aspects should also be taken into consideration.

“Even the formula that provides cemevis with the same privileges given to other places of worship is not satisfactory because it ignores the psychological aspect,” he said.

In addition, he said the issue relates to the principles of a secular state, which should not attempt to regulate religion.

But this opens another sensitive debate in Turkey, which defines itself as a secular state but has a state-run Religious Affairs Directorate that funds mosques, churches and synagogues, although it does not recognize the cemevis of the Alevi community, thought to have between 6 million and 12 million adherents in Turkey.

When Tayyar Altıkulaç, former head of the Religious Affairs Directorate, said at the last Alevi workshop that Turkey would not be able to enter the European Union if the directorate retains its current structure, his criticism was keenly approved by the participants.

The report also stated that a majority of the Alevi community eyed the Religious Affairs Directorate critically and with suspicion and called on the government to abolish this institution for a better and more consistent application of secularism. However, the report said all sides had agreed that this would not be a rational expectation under the current circumstances. The report also noted that in the long term, the directorate should be given a more autonomous character that includes all versions of Islam.

Workshop participants also agreed that the curriculum for religious classes should be penned in neutral language that would be accepted by all segments of society.

On the fate of the Madımak Hotel in Sivas, where 34 Alevis were burnt to death by a religious fundamentalist mob in 1993, the report said most Alevis understand the potential of turning the Madımak into museum and agreed to turn it into a park commemorating the dead. On the other hand, families of the Madımak Hotel victims told State Minister Faruk Çelik, the coordinator of the government’s Alevi initiative, who met the families on Feb. 11, that the site should be turned into a museum.