DIYARBAKIR, Turkey – Followers of the Alevi religious minority in the city of Diyarbakir in Turkey worry about the outcome of the March 30 local elections, fearing greater persecution if the polls result in a victory for any one of several Islamist parties.
Although Alevis are scattered in many of Turkey’s Kurdish regions, Diyarbakir is the only place where they own an official place of worship. It is also where the Free Cause Party (Huda Par), which was created by former Hezbollah activists, is very active.
"The mentality of Huda Par and other fundamentalist parties is against the existence of Alevis here," said Cafer Koluman, chairman of the Alevi Association in Diyarbakir.
He told Rudaw that Alevis in Diyarbakir worry about what would happen to them if Huda Par, the Felicity Party or the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) – all of them described by him as “Shariah” parties – win local power in Sunday’s elections.
One of Huda Par’s candidates, Vedat Turgut, told Rudaw that his party would ban alcohol and prefer women to wear headscarves, but would not force them to do so.
"Although they do not say it directly, we fear that Huda Par and the other parties will gradually introduce Sharia law. It will be the end of our religious freedom,” Koluman said he feared.
Diyarbakir is the only place in the region that is home to an official place of worship for the religious minority. Cem House, where the Alevis gather, was built by Osman Baydemir, the current mayor of Diyarbakir.
It serves not only Diyarbakir, but two nearby ethnically Turkmen Alevi villages, as well as Alevis from neighboring provinces who come not only to worship but also for seminars and classes in music and dance.
The Alevis, who are considered by some Muslims as a heretic sect, comprise an estimated 10 to 20 percent of Turkey’s Kurdish and Turkmen populations. They do not pray in mosques; do not face Mecca in prayer like other Muslims do not observe the fasting month of Ramadan or the Islamic ban on drinking alcohol.
In an incident in the province of Malatya, an Alevi family was attacked by a group of nationalist Turks last year after complaining about the loud drums played before dawn during Ramadan to wake the faithful for the pre-fast meal.
Last month, Cem House was twice pelted with stones by unknown men.
It is for this, and a past history of persecution that includes a 1993 incident in which a hotel in Sivas was burned down by arsonists during a conference, killing 37 people – most of them Alevis -- that the community is worried.
Koluman said the Alevis do not feel safe. But Huda Par’s Turgut said that there is no reason for worry.
"When we come to power, we will give religious minorities their freedom of religion. I am in favor of allowing both Alevis and Christians to build places of worship, depending on their needs," he said.
But Koluman said he did not have much confidence in Huda Par’s words.
"They have to say that. This is politics. But when we look at the past, what we see is different. We fear that they will close our only place of worship if they win.”
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