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Turkey: Religious Conflict

October 12, 2012

Turkey's Alevis are increasingly concerned about a spillover of violence from the civil war in neighboring Syria. A number of Alevi interests have been attacked and homes defaced.

https://p.dw.com/p/16PFI
Alevi in Turkey - Ali Kenanoglu. Alevis consider themselves Muslims but have many differences from orthodox Muslims. Music plays an integral part in the Alevi faith, used in worship and at most meetings, like this recent Alevi gathering in Istanbul. Copyright Dorian Jones Hiermit räume ich der Deutschen Welle das Recht ein, das/die von mir bereitgestellte/n Bild/er zeitlich, räumlich und inhaltlich unbeschränkt zu nutzen. Ich versichere, dass ich das/die Bild/er selbst gemacht habe und dass ich die hier übertragenen Rechte nicht bereits einem Dritten zur exklusiven Nutzung eingeräumt habe.
Image: Dorian Jones

Approximately 10 million Alevi Muslims live in Turkey. They differ from the Sunni majority in so far as they allow alcohol and do not necessarily fast for Ramadan. They are keen to distance themselves from Syria's Alawites - the minority to to which President Bashar Assad belongs. Even so, the Alevis in Turkey are being targeted by Sunnis since the troubles began in Syria.