Five new mosque-cemevi projects on the way

A group of Alevis performing the ritual “semah” dance at a gathering in a cemevi, the traditional place of worship for Turkey’s Alevis. (Photo: Today's Zaman, Mustafa Kirazlı)
A group of Alevis performing the ritual “semah” dance at a gathering in a cemevi, the traditional place of worship for Turkey’s Alevis. (Photo: Today's Zaman, Mustafa Kirazlı)


Date posted: September 11, 2013

There are plans to launch joint mosque-cemevi (Alevi house of worship) projects in five other Turkish provinces in addition to the recently launched project in the Turkish capital city of Ankara, the Radikal daily reported on Tuesday.
According to the daily, the locations of the new mosque-cemevi projects will be the Kartal district in İstanbul, the Çiğli district in İzmir, Çorum, Adana and Gaziantep.

The groundbreaking ceremony of the first ever joint mosque-cemevi culture center was held in Ankara on Sunday with the participation of a number of government figures as well as Alevi and Sunni community leaders and members of the public.

The project aims to strengthen the ties between the Alevi and Sunni communities in Turkey in the face of efforts to ignite sectarian tension in the Middle East.

The project in Ankara, which was suggested by Turkish-Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, is being financed by businessmen both from the Alevi and Sunni communities and is being conducted by the CEM Foundation and the Hacı Bektaş Veli Culture, Education, Health and Research Foundation.

The project has drawn criticisms from some marginal Alevi and Sunni circles and a group of nearly 500 people protested against the project, clashing with the police and throwing stones at them during the groundbreaking ceremony in Ankara on Sunday.

President of Hacı Bektaş Veli Culture Education Health and Research Foundation Kemal Kaya, in remarks to Radikal, has called on opponents of the project to establish dialogue with them.

“Whoever has a question regarding this project, they should come and ask us. We are ready for dialogue and to eliminate question marks,” he said.

There are 10 administrators at the Hacı Bektaş Veli Culture Education Health and Research Foundation, two of whom are Sunnis. Kaya, an Alevi, said he is having difficulty in understanding the criticisms coming from Alevi circles. He said the project in Ankara is a positive step toward the recognition of cemevis as places of worship by the state.

Regarding critics’ claims that the project aims to assimilate Alevis, Kaya said: “This is not a state-sponsored project. This is an effort by two private institutions to win hearts. This is not the first time that such a project has been implemented. This model exists in Hacı Bektaş [a town in Nevşehir]. We don’t say there should be a cemevi next to every mosque. They should exist where they are necessary.”

Seyit Derviş Tur, an Alevi opinion leader, also hailed the mosque-cemevi project, saying that it will strengthen brotherhood between Alevis and Sunnis.

“Those taking to the streets in protest of the project are former politicians. Most of them are at the head of our foundations and federations today. They do not want Alevis to be at peace with governments,” he said.

Aydos Foundations Federation President Nurikan Akdemir said he supports the mosque-cemevi project, which he said promotes respect for other’s beliefs.

“There were some prejudices among Sunnis about Alevis. This project will help them get rid of these prejudices,” he said.

On the other hand, Şah Kulu Sultan Dervish Lodge Executive Board member Hüseyin Taştekin said it would have been better if the joint mosque-cemevi project had been announced either by the prime minister or the president. He said the project would have served societal peace more that way.

He said the demand of Alevis is recognition of cemevis by the state and the state not interfering in places of worship in line with the principle of secularism.

Source: Today's Zaman , September 10, 2013


Related News

Religion and war culture discussed in Vienna

The symposium titled “Religious Communities in the World War I,” organized as part of the “1914-Peace-2014” series, jointly by Vienna-based Friede-Institut für Dialog (Peace Institute for Dialogue), the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) and Austrian Katholische Militaerseelsorge took place at the Vienna Military Academy.

Multilingual singer Julie Slim breathes life into songs

“Music is transformational; it can transform you. It is a way of expression, it connects people, it can be a teaching and therapy tool, it makes people feel things they had not felt before,” Slim told Sunday’s Zaman in an exclusive interview ahead of her performance at Fatih University Conservatory’s Turkish music department.

Victims of Turkey’s purge exploited also by lawyers with exorbitantly high fees

Victims of Turkey’s post-coup purge have been taking another toll from lawyers who ask outrageously high prices either to keep themselves out of trouble or to exploit from the lost causes. In Turkey, the presumption of innocence has been dramatically reversed and now everybody is assumed guilty until they prove their innocence.

8 detained in police raids on İzmir schools as Erdoğan’s witch hunt continues

Eight people were detained on charges of forging documents in police raids on 30 private schools established by volunteers from the faith-based Gülen movement early on Tuesday in İzmir, as part of a Justice and Development Party (AAK Party government-orchestrated operation targeting the movement.

Letter campaign launched for Turkey’s imprisoned women, mothers

In the aftermath of a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016, more than 17,000 women from all walks of life including teachers, doctors and housewives have been jailed in Turkey on coup charges in government-led operations. There are currently more than 700 children accompanying their mothers in Turkish jails.

Say What? Ankara Mayor Blames Gulenists for Shaking Turkey With an Earthquake

No joke: Ankara’s mayor suggests that an earthquake that has recently hit Turkey’s northwest might have been caused by the followers of cleric Fethulah Gulen.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Turkey’s recent view from the US

Kimse Yok Mu provides meal for 250 Syrians each day in southeastern Turkey

‘Turkey has become dangerous for us’: Failed coup has some seeking asylum here

Campaign seeks donations for purge-victim Turkish refugees in Greece

Kimse Yok Mu’s free eye surgeries project inaugurated in Pakistan

Gülen convinces people that Islam is integral part of global order

What ‘struggle for power’? [Between the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government and the Fethullah Gülen movement ]

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News