It’s not just about cemevis, Diyanet remains the problem

Two recent court rulings, one from Turkey and one from Europe, have strengthened the Alevis’ case for cemevis, which the state refuses to recognize as houses of worship, but the main source of injustice against them is still the Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet).

Turkey’s top appeals court issued a landmark ruling yesterday regarding demands for cemevis to be officially recognized as houses of worship, one day after a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on the same issue.

The Civil General Council of Turkey’s Supreme Court of Appeals said in a ruling that the judiciary “cannot decide whether cemevis are houses of worship,” but ruled that establishing an association with the purpose of building a cemevi is not against the law, despite an opposite ruling from a local court and a civil chamber of the top court.

The ruling overturns the earlier decision, which had said “legally, no place other than mosques and masjids can be recognized as a house of worship,” ordering the closure of the Çankaya Cemevi Construction Association on the grounds that its charter referred to cemevis as “houses of worship.”

According to Anadolu Agency, the majority of judges in the General Council said “judicial decisions cannot decide whether or not a place is a house of worship, it is a decision a person should take.” According to the same report, a number of the judges cited an ECHR ruling that came one day earlier as a basis to the decision.

The ECHR ruled on Dec. 2 that Turkey violates the religious rights of Alevis in the country by refusing to pay the electricity bills of cemevis, while it pays the costs for mosques, churches and synagogues.

The state channels money to the mosques through...