The Turkish state should provide the Alevi community with state funds and support for religious activities, the Cem Foundation, one of Turkey's prominent Alevi organizations, said yesterday in an application to the European Court of Human Rights.
"According to our legal system, religious services are considered like public services. Consequently, this should be applied without any discrimination to all religious groups," said Cem Foundation head İzzettin Doğan during yesterday's press conference, which was also attended by representatives from many Alevi groups.
The foundation opened a case against the Prime Ministry in 2005, demanding the community's prayer houses, known as cemevis, be officially categorized as a place of worship like a mosque, church or synagogue. At the same time, the foundation also demanded that Alevi religious leaders be included on the state payroll like Sunni imams.
A court later ruled against the foundation's demands, with the Council of State, Turkey's top administrative court, approving the first court's decision, leading the group to ultimately apply to the European court with its requests.
Source: Hürriyet, Turkey, September 1, 2010
