Alevi, Sunni businessmen will finance joint prayer complex

Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ (L) met with Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli Culture Association head Nazif Ünlüyurt at his office. (Photo: Cihan, Emrullah Bayrak)
Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ (L) met with Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli Culture Association head Nazif Ünlüyurt at his office. (Photo: Cihan, Emrullah Bayrak)


Date posted: September 6, 2013

İLYAS KOÇ, ANKARA

The first joint mosque-cemevi (Alevi house of worship) project in Turkey will be financed by businessmen from both parties, the head of the Hacı Bektaş Veli Culture, Education, Health and Research Foundation, Kemal Kaya, said on Thursday.

The idea for such a project, which aims to strengthen will of peaceful coexistence, came from Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen who is known for his efforts to promote peace and dialogue. Referring to Gülen as the father of the idea, Kaya says that they were in a way encouraged by Gülen to initiate such a project but denied rumors that the project would be financed by Gülen himself. “The project will be financed by Alevi and Sunni businessmen,” Kaya stated. Construction on the project in Ankara will begin on Sunday.

The project is widely supported by Alevi religious figures (dede). İsmail Eker, the head of the dede council in the Ankara Branch of the CEM Foundation, said those who are against this project might call themselves Alevis but they fall outside of the definition of Alevism. Eker also dismissed claims that there is an intention to assimilate Alevis [into the Sunni faith]. “I have no doubt about my own faith; no one should have any doubts. We want people to go wherever they want, to either the mosque or the cemevi.” Referring to the big meeting area planned in between the mosque and the cemevi in the project, Eker said that people can socialize and get to know each other better following their prayers in the complex.

Eker also warned of possible acts of provocation during the upcoming ceremony to break ground on the project on Sunday, urging people to be careful and the security forces to take the necessary precautions. He also asked the police not to spray anyone with pepper gas should there be a protest at the ceremony area.

Another dede, Celal Abbas Bektaşoğlu, stated that their goal was constructive and described those who are against the project as fanatics. “I wonder whether those people have ever been to a cemevi in their life,” he said, commenting on the opponents of the joint mosque-cemevi project. “In the Quran, believers are considered brothers and sisters. Why should they be uncomfortable with that?” Bektaşoğlu asked.

Providing examples from his personal life, he said he has had a Sunni business partner for the last 12 years, adding that the opponents’ concern is not about the mosque or the cemevi. “Among them are people pretending to be Alevis,” Bektaşoğlu said.

Marxist Leninist Alevis are against the project a dede argues

According to dede Baki Özdemir, those who are uncomfortable with the collaboration between Alevis and Sunnis are Alevis who are heavily influenced by Marxism and Leninism. He also argued that the Alevi opening project which was initiated by the government in the previous years was not going well and that nothing had been accomplished. Consequently, he believes that if such a task was assumed by civil society, this would bring about better results.

Representatives of Alevi organizations will hold a press conference in Ankara on Friday to talk about the details of the project which aims to promote the idea of “accepting others as they are.”

Bozdağ: Punch against me hurt Hacı Bektaş Veli’s spirit

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ, who was attacked by an Alevi citizen during the commemoration of Alevi thinker Hacı Bektaş Veli last month, said on Thursday that the punch against him also targeted Hacı Bektaş Veli.

Receiving a delegation from the Hacı Bektaş Veli Association in Ankara, Bozdağ said the attack on him disrespected the philosophy of the Alevi thinker.

Source: Today's Zaman , September 05, 2013


Related News

Students from Turkish school send pocket money to needy ones in Nepal

Students of a Turkish schools operating in Australia send their pocket money to people who were affected by a massive earthquake in Nepal.

Turkey’s Unethical Interference in American (Muslim) Civic Society is Dangerous

The Erdogan government jails its citizens without due process, severely curtails freedom of speech by jailing journalists, and ignores the plight of vulnerable minorities. They are the least credible messengers to warn Americans about their civic duty. The Turkish Consulate’s attempt to use McCarthyite tactics to spread fear and unduly influence American civic life is simply abhorrent and deserves condemnation.

Ex-soccer player’s resignation a turning point for the AKP

“Those who want to establish a parallel structure alongside the state, those who have infiltrated into the state institutions … We will come into your lairs, and we will lay out these organizations within the state,” PM Erdogan said on Dec. 21. Gulen responded in kind via a video message: “Those who don’t see the thief but go after those who chase the thief … May God bring fire to their homes.”

Hizmet movement rejects claim of forming political party

Hizmet says it is both practically and theoretically impossible to form a political party or to support a specific party, as it has volunteers from many different political ideologies. “This movement, which has no other goals than to serve humanity, would only advise its volunteers to form their political stances according to certain principles, like human rights, democracy, transparency, justice, pluralism, rule of law and freedom of expression and belief,” the statement said.

Islamic scholar Gülen warns Hizmet movement against possible plots

Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has warned volunteers of Hizmet, a social movement known for its cultural and educational activities around the world, against possible plots aiming to portray the movement as a criminal network by placing illegal materials in houses and institutions affiliated with the movement.

Gülen’s teachings to be taught at Belarus universities

10 October 2012 / AYTEN ÇİFTÇİ, İSTANBUL A group of academics from Belarus were in İstanbul on Tuesday for the presentation of the book “Social and Philosophical Aspects of the Teaching of Gülen: The Look of Belarusian Intellectuals,” which will be used in the country’s universities as a course book. The academics, who are experts […]

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

Sacked policeman’s grim death sparks debate on COVID-19 data in Turkish prisons

Pro-government Yeni Şafak daily fires critical columnist

Chicago organization welcomes new scrutiny amid fallout of failed Turkish military coup

Kazakh President Nazarbayev hails Turkish schools in his country

Hundreds of young Turkish children jailed alongside their moms as part of a post-coup crackdown

Hizmet school ready to pioneer education in Kurdish

Police waiting at hospital to detain Kayseri woman after childbirth

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News