Ali Arif Özzeybek was assigned as the inaugural head of the Alevi-Bektashi Culture and Cemevi Presidency, an institution founded by a presidential decree to reach out to the community.
Özzeybek, whose assignment was announced in the Official Gazette on Friday, is a former adviser to Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu. He will oversee the directorate officially founded in November 2022. The directorate will work under the Culture and Tourism Ministry. It is tasked with research on Alevi-Bektashi culture as well as procedures and assistance to cemevis, places of worship for the community.
The directorate has an advisory board comprised of the director and 11 members. The members will be appointed by the president for three-year terms and will include members of the Alevi-Bektashi faith and those who conducted studies and research on the community.
Alevis, who make up the second-largest religious community in the country with approximately 20 million followers, have a list of concerns about various issues, including the public recognition of their identity, the legal status of cemevis and funding, as well as the prerogative for Alevi students to be excluded from compulsory religion classes in elementary and high schools.
The cemevis have been regarded as foundations under the Interior and Culture and Tourism Ministries, rather than recognized as houses of worship, which would legally entitle them to receive state funding like mosques, churches and synagogues of recognized religious minorities in the country. Some 80% to 90% of all cemevis in the country were built during the successive ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) governments since 2002.
Also in November 2022, Parliament approved legislation that allowed provincial directorates to construct, maintain and repair sites, including historical and cultural properties, as well as cemevis.
Cemevis will also be entitled to receive discounted or free access to water, provided by municipalities and their subsidiaries, under the new bill. The power expenses of cemevis will be subsidized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
The Alevi faith is defined as a combination of Shiite Islam, the Bektashi Sufi order and Anatolian folk culture, rather than a separate religion.
The government has recently taken action to address the needs of the community. Under the coordination of the Interior and Culture and Tourism Ministries, all 1,585 cemevis in the country were visited by officials.
As a result of the visits, officials came across 8,740 demands and have already responded to 5,600 of them.
Both ministries have also sped up work to address other demands of Alevi citizens.