Turkey and Alevism again: Cumhuriyetçi Eǧitim ve Kültür Merkezi Vakfı

Another round has been concluded in the long-running dispute between the Alevis and the Turkish State – which does not recognise Alevism as a religion, choosing instead to regard it as a heretical sect of Islam.

The applicant association, Cumhuriyetçi Eǧitim ve Kültür Merkezi Vakfı (the Foundation for Republican Education and Culture), a foundation set up under Turkish law in 1995 to manage a number of Alevi places of worship [cemevis], had complained about the refusal of the Directorate of Religious Affairs to pay the electricity bills for the Yenibosna cemevi. Continue reading