Alevis are the largest religious minority in Turkey where they are consistently denied the right to provide Alevi religious education in schools and to build places of worship, in addition to being marginalized both in the government and public spheres.
The protesters, gathering in Istanbul from many cities, called on the government to return to a secular education system and to uphold equality between religious groups.
"As the Equality and People's Democracy Party [Now DEM Party], we were protecting the rights of Alevis yesterday, we are doing it today and we will do it tomorrow," Tulay Hatimogullari, co-chair of the pro-Kurdish DEM Party, told Rudaw.
"Until those demands have found a place and have been fulfilled, and until such a political and constitutional system [that answers Alevi demands] is established, we will continue this struggle with our Alevi friends..," added Hatimogullari
Numbering an estimated 12.5 million, Turkey’s Alevis follow a brand of Shiite Islam that sets them apart from Turkey’s majority Sunni sect. They have long complained about state discrimination and have demanded rights such as the recognition of their places of worship, or “cemevi”. Alevis are considered by some Muslims as a heretical sect.
"I personally cannot wear my Alevi outfit and walk freely. We cannot live freely. We are being watched all the time," Cemre Kaya, a protester, complained.
The demonstration took place under the slogan 'Secular Education, Humane Life, and Democratic Turkey'.
The protesters slammed the imposition of religious lessons in schools.
"They are trying to assimilate the Alevis,” said Vahap Akkaya, a protester criticizing CEDES, the joint educational program run by the Turkish education ministry and the ministry of youth and sports and directorate religious affairs, which, according to the official project documentation, is aimed at pushing students to embrace “national, moral, humane, spiritual and cultural values.”
According to Akkaya however, the project seeks to “transform schools into mosques.”
"I am here for equal citizenship," said Nurettin Aktas, another protester. "I am here for my rights. They [the Turkish government] still do not consider our cemevis as places of worship. They treat us like second-class citizens. That is why I am here."