A cami and cemevi together


Date posted: September 11, 2013

TUĞBA AYDIN

A groundbreaking ceremony for the first cultural complex in Turkey that will have both a cami (mosque) and a cemevi (Alevi place of worship) was held in Ankara on Sunday with the participation of Labor Minister Faruk Çelik, Alevi CEM Foundation President İzzettin Doğan, Republican People’s Party (CHP) Ankara deputy Sinan Aygün and a number of Justice and Development Party (AK Party) deputies as well as other Alevi and Sunni community leaders and members of the public.

The project, which is the first of its kind in modern Turkish history, is expected to be completed in a year and opened in the Islamic month of Muharrem, a holy month to Alevis. Columnists discussed the necessity of a cultural center of this type that can build strong bridges between the two communities.

Radikal columnist Eyüp Can wrote that the rights of Alevis have been violated for many years. He criticized some Alevis who felt the culture center intended to assimilate them and so opposed the project. Can’s response is that no signs of an attempt at assimilation can be found when one analyzes every aspect the project. According to Can, the project will contribute a great deal to the creation of equality between Sunni and Alevi people in the country and that five more cultural centers that will house both a cami and a cemevi are planned for the near future. There is a contradiction in some Alevi circles, according to Can; though they struggled for many years to have more facilities, they are not satisfied with this large project.

The Bugün daily’s Ahmet Taşgetiren thinks the project is an effective step toward smoothing relationships between Sunni and Alevi people. With a strong relationship and as a more integrated country, Turkey may be better able to overcome many difficulties. However, he noted that the project has also upset some groups that are trying to cause tension by provoking people along Sunni-Alevi lines.

Milliyet’s Güneri Cıvaoğlu feels that the project is a very meaningful step, led by Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen and CEM Foundation President Doğan, during a period when there are severe conflicts between Sunnis and Alevis in some countries, such as Syria. The project will also be beneficial for Turkish-EU relations, he believes.

Source: Today's Zaman , September 10, 2013

Tags: | | | |


Related News

Turkish minister: Gulenists are more dangerous than ISIL because they’re well-educated

Berat Albayrak, Turkish energy minister and son-in-law of President Tayyip Erdoğan, has said at a conference that people affiliated with the Gülen movement are more dangerous than Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants because they’re well educated and have “higher IQs” than his own.

Education remains an alarming concern for scores of Syrian refugees

The topic of providing education to the Syrian refugee children was recently addressed by a meeting hosted by Kimse Yok Mu, the Journalist and Writers Foundation and the Peace Islands Institute (PII) in a panel held at the United Nations in New York.

Turkey torture claims in wake of failed coup

Kamil continues. “‘If you don’t speak, we’ll bring your wife here and rape her in front of your eyes’, they said. Then they took me to a dark room and tried to forcefully insert a baton into my anus. When they couldn’t do it, they left. Maybe I will forget the other torture – but for the sexual part, it is carved into the dirtiest corner of my heart.”

Victims of the state, come together

The reactions given by the spouses, families, relatives and supporters of those taken into custody during the police operations against certain police officers on July 22 are really significant from a political perspective.

Erzurum people call Minister Ala to apologize Gülen for his remarks

Gülen is highly respected both in Turkey and in many countries around the world for educational activities he has pioneered, along with his efforts to promote intercultural and interfaith activities around the globe. He is in self-imposed exile in the US, though there is no legal hurdle that prevents him from returning to Turkey.

Heightened anxieties in Kosovo after arrest of ‘Gulenist educator’

A civil servant: “Tens of thousands of people, educated people, academics, journalists, lawyers, and many others, are scattered around the world for different reasons and are trying to find a safe place where they can be sheltered and continue their lives with their families. The Ugur Toksoy case was the point when Kosovo’s level of safety, or its breaking point, was put to test.”

Latest News

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

In Case You Missed It

Informant on Gülen movement members says he fabricated testimony to avoid jail time

Fethullah Gülen’s Message for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

O.C. Muslim leaders speak out against extremism

Connecticut chapter of Peace Islands Institute promotes peace by bringing people together

Lawyer: Female journalist traumatized by abuse, torture at Turkish police station

KYM Volunteers lend a hand to Kosovo

ARO’s healthcare alliance with Cambodian Government agencies

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News