Minister welcomes Alevi complaints

Speaking at the Parliament General Assembly, Education Minister Hüseyin Çelik said the government was open to all reactions and opinions as long as they weren’t voiced in a violent manner. He was responding to Democratic Society Party, or DPT, deputy Şerafettin Halis’s allegation that the government ignored and insulted the fact that Alevi groups demonstrated for the recognition of their houses of worship, Cemevis, and against the compulsory religious education classes at schools.

Alevis are a liberal branch of Islam and complain that the Sunni majority dominates the Religious Affairs Directorate, the top religious administrative body. The failure to recognize Cemevis is a major point of dissatisfaction and forces Alevi communities to support the houses of worship themselves, unlike the mosques used by the Sunnis, which are paid for by state funds.

Çelik said Alevism was included in religious education textbooks, with 32 pages being devoted to the sect. Any statement that could be construed as wrong was outside their power because experts prepared the text. He said all religions, including Judaism, Christianity with all its branches, Buddhism and others were taught in the book.

"The inclusion of Alevism in textbooks was done not because the European Union demanded so, but because it was something we had to do as part of respecting each other," Çelik said.

No such comments
No senior member of the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, had ever uttered any statement that could be offensive to Alevis, he said, adding that the peaceful demonstration of Alevis last weekend in Ankara was something the government respected and took into account.

Meanwhile the only Alevi deputy of the AKP, Reha Çamuroğlu, spoke out against Alevi groups who demonstrated in a mass rally in Ankara voicing their demands and targeting the government.

"The problems are not new," Çamuroğlu said, speaking at yesterday’s session in the parliament. "Do you really want to discuss and find solutions to those problems or do you want to wipe out the government?"

He said the real purpose of the rally was to influence the coming local elections. "If you are ready for dialogue, the place to discuss problems is the parliament, and the one to discuss with is the government. It is time for you to decide," he said.

Alevi groups criticized Çamuroğlu for his light stance during his post as a consultant to PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He resigned from his post in July but remained an AKP deputy. Recently his name has been circulated as a possible minister in the next cabinet re-shuffle.