Physical Address
Indirizzo: Via Mario Greco 60, Buttigliera Alta, 10090, Torino, Italy
More than 250 Alevi faith leaders and association representatives from across Türkiye are gathering in Ankara for a daylong consultation summit aimed at shaping the future of the community.
The summit will focus on new initiatives to strengthen social cohesion and address the needs of cemevis, the Alevi places of worship supported by the government, Turkish newspaper Sabah reported Wednesday.
The meeting, organized by the Alevi-Bektashi Culture and Cemevi Presidency, is being held at the Presidential Complex and is expected to run from 9 a.m. through the evening.
Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy and Esma Ersin, president of the Alevi-Bektashi Culture and Cemevi Presidency, are attending the consultations. The agenda includes proposals for preserving Alevi-Bektashi cultural traditions and ensuring their transmission to future generations.
The summit will also feature a question-and-answer session during which faith leaders are expected to discuss concerns and receive updates on upcoming government-supported initiatives for the community.
The Alevi-Bektashi Culture and Cemevi Presidency was established three years ago under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and currently provides financial support to more than 2,000 cemevis nationwide.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan played a pivotal role in establishing the presidency in 2022, aiming to reach out to the long-neglected community.
Since its foundation, the presidency has endorsed dozens of civic society organizations linked to the community and responded to several requests. The presidency mainly helps cemevis to cover maintenance and repair fees, as well as utility use fees, such as water and electricity.
The Alevi faith is defined as a combination of Shiite Islam, the Bektashi Sufi order and Anatolian folk culture rather than as a separate religion. In Türkiye, Alevis comprise a large community with approximately 20 million followers, although official figures are unavailable.
The community has long raised concerns over the public recognition of their identity, the legal status of cemevis and education issues, including the right for Alevi students to opt out of compulsory religion classes. Currently, cemevis are classified as foundations under the Interior and Culture and Tourism Ministries, rather than as official houses of worship, which limits their access to state funding available to mosques, churches and synagogues of recognized religious minorities.
Most cemevis, roughly 80% to 90%, have been built since 2002, during successive governments of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party). The establishment of the Cemevi Presidency in 2022, enshrined in legislation by Parliament, marked the first time the republic formally addressed the needs of the Alevi community. The law also granted cemevis discounted or free access to water from municipalities and their subsidiaries.
