When one asks about the problems Alevis face in Turkey, those in the know immediately list specific issues: no legal recognition of Alevi places of worship; compulsory religious teaching in primary and secondary schools based on Sunni Islam; the Department of Religious Affairs, the official body responsible for religious affairs, provides services only to Sunni citizens; and Turkish national identify cards cite only Islam or Christianity, excluding Alevi identity. 

Of course, one has to add to this list the discrimination that Alevis confront in every sphere of social and public life.

Included among the many telephone conversation recordings recently leaked, which were related to government corruption allegations, was a March 4 conversation allegedly between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and former Minister of Justice Sadullah Ergin. Erdogan questions why they couldn’t get the decision they wanted from a court, and the minister responds, “That judge is an Alevi.”

According to claims made public, Alevis who pass state employment examinations are eliminated in oral examinations because of a red mark placed on their examination papers.