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

Gülen criticizes remarks insulting members of Hizmet movement

Fethullah Gülen has strongly criticized remarks that insulted members of the Hizmet movement, saying that these kind of behavior won’t solve problems. Gülen didn’t directly mention Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s name, but it was obvious that he was responding to the prime minister’s remarks on Friday, when he said the government will “come down to your caverns and tear you to shreds.”

Niagara Foundation’s Peace & Dialogue Awards – Michigan 2014

Niagara Foundation publicly recognizes individuals and organizations who have distinguished themselves in their profession and contributed their time, energy, leadership, and dedication to the cause of dialog, peace, understanding, education and community service.

Turkey’s New Maps Are Reclaiming the Ottoman Empire

Erdogan, by contrast, has given voice to an alternative narrative in which Ataturk’s willingness in the Treaty of Lausanne to abandon territories such as Mosul and the now-Greek islands in the Aegean was not an act of eminent pragmatism but rather a betrayal. The suggestion, against all evidence, is that better statesmen, or perhaps a more patriotic one, could have gotten more.

Current defamation campaign against Hizmet was part of Ergenekon scheme

A major campaign launched by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government and media organs to defame and discredit the Hizmet movement was among the plans of the Ergenekon network, which once attempted a coup d’état against the AK Party.

School Children, Not Tools Of War: A Nigerian’s opinion on Gulen, Hizmet and Erdogan

AS a Nigerian who has experienced Turks and their culture both at home and in Turkey for over a decade of my life, I have come to see and feel Turkey as my second country. My first interaction with the Turkish society was through education in Abuja at one of their many schools nationwide before I went on to spend five years in Istanbul.

Don’t draw us into your family fight: Washington

The United States has told Ankara it has no any intention of getting involved into what it calls “a family fight,” denying conspiracy theories suggesting Washington’s role in the ongoing struggle between the government and the powerful Gülen community that has exploded with a new corruption probe. “Please don’t draw us into your family fight here. We don’t want one side or the other to feed this conspiracy idea that we are against the prime minister or against Fethullah Gülen Hocaefendi,”

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

Question in the aftermath of the Turkey coup – Who is Fethullah Gulen?

TUSKON: Twitter ban a disappointment in information age

Turkish consulate in Rotterdam seized passports of Gulen-supporters

Archbishop Fitzgerald: Fethullah Gülen has inspired many Muslims to be engaged in interfaith dialogue

Conference on Hizmet movement to take place in Senegal

[Hizmet’s] Prep schools and civilized debate

668 Babies to welcome Eid Al-Adha in Turkish prisons

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News