Turkey religious minority stages protest

Tue Mar 8, 2011

Members of a major religious community in Turkey have staged a demonstration in a show of protest against what they call unequal treatment.

Tens of thousands of Alevis gathered in the western city of Izmir in a demonstration of unprecedented scale, calling for broader rights and freedoms, a Press TV correspondent reported.

“This is so important. Today, is the resurrection of Alevi society,” said former lawmaker and renowned Alevi folk musician Arif Sag, addressing the protest, which he called historic.

Turkey's second-largest religious community after the Sunnis Muslims, Alevis comprise 25 percent of the population. The faith group, which adheres to a branch of Shia Islam, say the acceptance of Sunni Islam as the country's official religion has prevented them from enjoying the full gamut of their rights.

The demonstrators called for legalization of cemevi -- Alevis places of worship.

Dogan Bermek from the Federation of Alevi Foundation said as there were not recognized places of worship for the Alevis, “then we don't get the same equal treatment for those services that we have to pay...taxes, we pay for the services, we pay for the electricity and things like that.”

In November, Abdullah Gul became the first Turkish president to visit a cem house -- a place for the performance of cem or the central Alevi corporate worship service.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also promised to recognize the cem houses and grant equal rights to minorities.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/168761.html.