Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit on Monday to an Alevi house of worship inAnkara following a string of attacks targeting the religious minority, sparked criticism in the Alevi community over what they see as a move void of any substance.
The Turkish leader’s visit to the tomb and cemevi of Hüseyin Gazi in Ankara’s Mamak district took place on the 10th day of the Islamic month of Muharram, a day of fasting that is considered particularly sacred for the Alevi community as it marks the killing of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.
Erdoğan vowed to stand by Turkey’s long-oppressed Alevi community during the visit, but stopped short of issuing any statement on granting legal status to cemevis, which the group has long fought for, BBC Turkish reported.
The community during Monday’s fast-breaking meal was given the message that the Turkish government would support them, “never leaving them alone’’ and “try to meet their demands,” BBC said.
But the Turkish president failed to address the issue of cemevis despite the Çankaya Cemevi Association conveying their request, Ali Öz, head of the association, told BBC Turkish.
Erdoğan’s visit was effectively imposed on the Alevi community, according to Celal Fırat, head of the Federation of Alevi Associations, who said that they had not been informed of the move.
Moreover, a number of portraits at the Hüseyin Gazi Cemevi were removed to appease the president during his visit, Fırat said, including those of the founder of modern Turkey Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Prophet Muhammad’s son-in-law and cousin Ali Ibn Abu Talib, and 13th century Bektashi dervish Hacı Bektaş Veli.
“This shows that the president takes issue with even being photographed in front of an image of Ali,” Fırat told Duvar news site on Tuesday, whom Alevis hold a divine reverence for.
Alevis consider themselves Muslims, but do not adhere to several key pillars of Islam. They form 15-20 percent of Turkey’s 84 million population and have for centuries faced violence and discrimination. The group has long fought for official recognition as a religious community, but the Turkish government does not recognize Alevi cemevis as places of worship, depriving the group of funding and state support.
Erdoğan’s visit to a cemevi arrives days after the community was targeted in a string of attacks in Ankara and Istanbul, which saw five institutions vandalised and a community leader attacked outside his home.
The Turkish president has remained silent on the attacks, Fırat told Duvar, in what can only be interpreted as a sign of “prejudice” against the group.
The chair of the Alevi organization Pir Sultan Abdal Culture Foundation (PSAKD), Cuma Erçe, said that they wish to Erdoğan at a meeting during which the demands of the community are discussed and not at a fast-breaking dinner, Duvar reported.
Erçe highlighted the need for community leaders to come together with government officials to discuss the needs of Alevis, noting that government methods, which divide the Alevi community from each, other are “ill-intentioned.’’
Ahval