Hundreds filled Oxford’s Sheldonian Theatre for the festival
The Fifth annual Alevi Cultural Festival began this week in the spectacular setting of Oxford’s Sheldonian Theatre.
Around 700 people were present to watch the start of the festival on Tuesday with a concert, including visitors from Cemevi centres of worship across the country as well as tourists.
Speaking at the event, British Alevi Federation chairman İsrafil Erbil said that events like these were an opportunity to promote Alevi culture on international platforms.
“Alevis have been constantly suppressed and ignored until today. Our most important task is to convey this legacy in a correct manner onto our children,” he said.
Bill Moore, who was previously responsible for the religious education curriculum at the Department for Education, said he was “ashamed” not to have learned about Alevism until today.
“I began work to incorporate Alevism into school curriculums after I learned of its existence,” he said.
Also present was Julia Clarke, whose Prince of Wales primary school saw a rise in student achievement after it began offering Alevism classes.
Julia Clarke, head of the Prince of Wales primary school
Another guest speaker was Dr Celia Jenkins, from the department of sociology at Westminster University. She said they had undertaken studies of Alevism in the UK and that were particularly interested in gauging the number of Alevi living in Britain today.
She said there was a significant number living in the UK and that the numbers needed to be understood so that they could receive their dues in services.
The Alevi leadership has said its philosophy is “the road not paved in knowledge ends in darkness”.