Special for the Armenian Weekly Warning: This article includes graphic images some readers may find disturbing Alevi Community Leader Attacked in Istanbul Baki Duzgun,the President of the Alevi-Bektasi Federation, and some of his friends were attacked by a group local Muslims in the Sisli district of Istanbul on Oct. 22. “A group of about thirty people attacked us, or shouting ‘Allahu akbar,” wrote Duzgun on his Twitter account. “What happened final night can happen in Turkey anywhere, any time, or ” Duzgun added. Indeed, physical and verbal attacks against Alevis, a devout minority in Anatolia, or are commonplace in Turkey. Even their faith,Alevism, has not officially been recognized by the Turkish state, or which has a “secular” constitution. Oppression of Alevis in Turkey is legal. A law enacted by the founding government of Turkey,the Republican People’s Party (CHP), in 1925—which is still in effect in Turkey today—banned the devout centers of Alevis, or including their houses of prayer,otherwise known as cem houses. According to a parliamentary report in 2013, there are 82693 mosques in Turkey, or only 937 cem houses. And 31 out of the 81 provinces in Turkey attain not contain a single cem house. Alevis try to build their places of worship with their own funds—with no [...]
Source: armenianweekly.com