Turkish minorities protest required religion classes, expanded ‘Imam’ schools
Turkey’s largest religious minority—the Alevi community—is joining forces with atheists to protest mandatory religious education for students as young as five.
The Alevi are the second-largest religious community in Turkey, comprising as many as 15 million people who adhere to a mystical branch of Islam that broke off from the Sunni majority.
Christians and Jews are exempt from compulsory Islamic courses because Turkey recognizes them as religious minorities. But atheists, agnostics, and Alevi adherents are unrecognized and therefore come under the state-sponsored Sunni umbrella, religious rights advocates say. [Like the Alawites in Syria, Alevis share key beliefs with the largest branch of Shi‘a Islam. They also share some traditions with Sufis.]
