"Growing influence of Islam alienating Alevis, Turkey's 'true second-class citizens'
(The Irish Times Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)TURKEY : Most Alevis wholeheartedly aligned themselves with Kemal Ataturk's secular revolution of the 1920s, writes Nicholas Birch in Istanbul
Remote, mountainous and poor, Tunceli has all the ingredients of a typical, conservative eastern Turkish town. Except that Tunceli is anything but typical.
Few women under the age of 60 wear headscarves. The fine central mosque lies empty, even on Fridays."
More:Growing influence of Islam alienating Alevis, Turkey's 'true second-class citizens'