Turkish Alevis release list of suggestions for 'pluralistic' religious education in new curriculum

A Turkish Alevi foundation has released a list of suggestions that was submitted to the Education Ministry on Jan. 30 to demand that officials include lessons on their faith in religious classes amid changes to the country's curriculum.

Members of the Cem Foundation, a foundation that represents a portion of Turkey's Alevi sect, which is often depicted as a liberal branch of Islam, held a press meeting to introduce their suggestions for religious classes from the fourth grade to the 12th grade, arguing that their faith was previously described in a discriminatory fashion in the previous curriculum and that their system of worship and prayers should be included in the new curriculum as is the case for the Sunni interpretation of Islam.

Cem Foundation President Erdoğan Döner said Turkey been the subject of numerous cases at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on charges that the country had violated Alevis' rights to education with its school practices.

"Taking the plaintiffs' demands into consideration, the ECHR ruled that the classes should be taught in a pluralistic way and be elective. The Education Ministry recently announced that it was carrying out a curriculum work and asked for contributions from all the public. We, as the Cem Foundation, have prepared our own draft education program and sample texts," said Döner, adding that according to the ECHR, the state was conducting discrimination against Alevis and that it should allocate some of its budget to Alevis to transfer their faith to future generations. 

Theologian Cemil Kılıç also said the current religions class taught in Turkish schools did not reflect the richness of faith in Turkey but was instead highly Sunni-centered. He also said the terminology regarding the...