Alevis slam Turkish religious leadership

Diyanet president Mehmet Görmez

The British Alevi Federation has slammed religious authorities in Turkey for saying Alevisim is “not a religion”.

Mehmet Görmez, head of Diyanet, the country’s state-run Religious Affairs Department, was widely reported as saying: “Alevisim is not a religion but within Islam. The Cemevi is not a place of worship but a place where Allah’s name is alluded to.”

In a harshly worded statement, the BAF said Mr Görmez had effectively dismissed Alevis and their faith as “nothing”.

It continued: “While he should have said ‘Alevism should not be defined by my department’, Mehmet Görmez instead chose to form arrogant and hegemonic sentences. We understand from them that the Diyanet refutes the existence of Alevis and Alevism and is attempting to defame it by lowering the prestige of their places of worship.

“Our suggestion to Görmez is that he does not strain himself with long sentence and simply says ‘Alevism does not exist’ as a way to rescue himself. Either that, or he should shut up forever.”