A solid step in Gulen movement Alevite community dialogue: Mosque-cemevi-soup kitchen project


Date posted: April 3, 2013

The Gulen movement and Cem Foundation of the Alevite community have agreed to launch an important project. They will build a mosque, a cemevi (Alevite house of gathering) and a soup kitchen side by side in the capital of Turkey, Ankara.

Gulen (Hizmet) movement takes a concrete step forward to extend common shared values with Alevite community of Turkey. The dialog that has been built up between the two communities in various programs over the years came to the point where they plan on a solid project.

According to the news from Rotahaber, a committee from Gulen movement recently paid a visit to Prof Dr. Izzettin Dogan, the chairman of Cem Foundation. The committee offered a joint project: a mosque and a cemevi side by side in Ankara. Pleased to hear the project and Dogan added: “We should also build a soup kitchen next to them so that there will be a place where mosque and cemevi congregations can get together.” His offer was accepted and the visit ended up with a decision to implement the project.

They already acquired almost 2 acres land in Ankara for the project and started preliminary works.

Dogan briefly explained this project to the of the Cem Foundation.

Gulen-Dogan friendship

Gulen and Dogan had built warm friendship through the activities of The Journalists and Writers Foundation in 1990s. This friendship had caused great excitement in public those days.

Their friendship had started with an interview. Dogan liked Gulen’s answer to a question in the interview: “Why do you prefer opening schools in the Central Asian countries to Arap countries.” Gulen had answered: “We preferred to find places like Turkic countries who would welcome us with open arms. You may reach out to Turkish world with Sufism. The number of cemevis must increase beside mosques.”

Source: RotaHaber April 1, 2013

Disclaimer: The original news is in Turkish. Slight deviations from the original meaning may have occurred due to the difficulties in translating phrases and idioms. PII volunteers translated the article.

 

 

Tags: | | | |


Related News

Arbitrary rule in Turkey

ABDULLAH BOZKURT On Nov. 18, in a Cabinet meeting that lasted more than seven hours, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan discussed the ban on private prep schools with his ministers for almost four hours. The meeting came only four days after the draft bill on the ban was leaked to Turkey’s largest circulated paper Zaman. […]

Turkey’s Post-Coup Purge and Erdogan’s Private Army

A year later, Western intelligence officials and top Turkey analysts aren’t nearly so sure of Gulen’s complicity. Earlier this year, German spy chief Bruno Kahl revealed that Ankara has failed to convince the BND foreign intelligence agency that Gulen was behind the ill-planned and executed coup plot. “Turkey has tried to convince us of that at every level, but so far it has not succeeded,” Kahl told the German weekly Der Spiegel in March.

Turkey needs a new constitution to save its democracy

Until recently Turkey was seen as an example of a country that prospered while maintaining a democratic government run by observant Muslim leaders. No longer. A small group within the government’s executive branch is holding to ransom the entire country’s progress. The support of a broad segment of the Turkish public is now being squandered, along with the opportunity to join the EU.

Man dies of heart attack while on way to help Turkish refugees in Greece

A 43-year-old Turkish man has died of heart attack while on a charity trip for Turkish asylum claimants in Greece. Hasan Degirmenci suffered a heart attack at the house of a Turkish [refugee] family in Athens and was subsequently taken to a nearby hospital where he later died.

Civil death: Amnesty report on social upheaval caused by Turkey’s purge of public servants

“Tainted as ‘terrorists’ and stripped of their livelihoods, a large swathe of people in Turkey are no longer able to continue in their careers and have had alternative employment opportunities blocked,” Andrew Gardner, Amnesty International’s researcher on Turkey.

Turkish businessmen have first iftar with Syrian refugees in Hatay

A group of Turkish businessman traveled to Kilis province on Wednesday to join an iftar dinner with Syrian refugees, according to media reports. After iftar, one of the Syrian refugees gave a speech in Turkish, saying: “We are refugees here and you have left your homes and your children and you have come here to have iftar with us. We are very happy and grateful for what you have done for us.”

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

Turkish charity Kimse Yok Mu opens two orphanages in Burundi

The Muslim Martin Luther? Fethullah Gulen Attempts an Islamic Reformation

Best robot design award for Turkish school students in NY competition

Romania denies extradition request for Turkish teacher over Gülen links

Fethullah Gulen’s Video Message for International Women’s Day

Teachers, parents oppose Pak-Turk Schools takeover

Turkish Olympiad held in Philippines enchants audience

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News