" 'Aren't churches, synagogues and mosques places of worship?'
Sunday, February 13, 2005
The Alawis' attempts to build a cemhouse in Ankara’s Cankaya district have been prevented by the Religious Affairs Directorate, says Turkish Union of Cemhouses founder Chairman Ali Yıldırım
GUL DEMIR
ISTANBUL – Turkish Daily News
As a faith group that has been living in Anatolia for nearly 1,000 years, Alawis have their own special way of worshiping and living. Because Alawis resided in Turkey's rural areas until the 1950s, they remained a closed society. They performed their worship in cemhouses in accordance with their traditional rituals or in the house of an Alawite dede (elder) in rural areas. Later they migrated to cities and faced the problem of finding a place where they could continue their religious worship. This is the main reason why Alawis are asking for cemhouses. "
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