The final reports regarding the Alewite Initiative considered as a ring of the democratic initiative program by the AK Party Government has been published in the end. Approximately one year has passed over the last workshop of the Alewite Workshops which were initiated in 2009 by State Minister Faruk Çelik and conducted by Dr. Nejdet Subaşı, a prominent scientist and thinker. Due to the deferment of the report some critiques by the Alewite associations full of accusations such as “diversion”, “fiasco” “betrayal” or “assimilation” were attributed to the initiative program. In fact, these critiques were on stage even during the period that these workshops organized to determine the horizon and route map of the respective initiatives were going on as well.  

 

First of all, it was frequently questioned why all these workshops were held for a few regulations regarding the Alewite and why was it filibustered so much. Things to be done were evident, the demands and rights were clear; then these workshops organized for granting these rights would only be beneficial to diverse the Alewite and to ignore their demands by manipulating them. However, these workshops directly showed the contribution of workshops to Turkish politics and democracy in identifying problems before all and then moving to the correct solutions. 

 

Secondly, if the case on stake is a movement like Alewism which passed through processes like urbanization, modernization, secularization in the last fifty years and if there is a significant variety and differences among the leader cadre who represent them, and while particularly the respective processes have created a significant ambiguity and dissidence concerning the nature of Alewism it cannot be said that the demands of the Alewite are quite clear.  

 

As the Sunnis who put in one’s oar cannot define the demands of the Alewite unilaterally it was also not acceptable that someone speaking on behalf of a part of the Alewite impose some demands considering themselves as the spokesmen of all the Alewite. Therefore, it was not possible to consider the demands of the Alewite group dominant on media as the demands of all the Alewite. Above all this would be unfair to all other the Alewite because some Alewite groups have the demand of considering Alewism as non-Muslim and other demands are in line with this general strategy. If these are taken into consideration and all regulations are done in line with these demands the possibility of defining Alevism as a different religion may come out which the Alewite would never desire. Therefore, the workshops served to define the optimum point determining the differences among the various demands. In the meantime, it was bent on immediately taking steps regarding the points considered to be the demands of all or a significant majority of the Alewite.

 

Thirdly, in all political deliberations, the endeavor of finishing the discussions in favor of their definite views is a typical attitude of those who tries to show themselves representing a larger population than they actually do and this attitude likely leads to dangerous results in negotiations. What is more, the democratic negotiation space does not only maintain the determination of the universal limits of rights but it also provides the parties to prepare for the transformation of the traditional relationship orders in social structures.

 

From the statements of State Minister Faruk Çelik, we learn that a few steps concerning the Alewite initiation have already been set without being publicized. The steps regarding the Madımak case were set out of hands before the publication of the report as an issue of commitment. When it comes to the issue of the “required course on religion,” it has been settled to a significant extent by changing the content of the course regarding Alewism in accordance with the demands of the Alewite.

 

We know that there are direct objections by some the Alewite themselves regarding the confirmation of the status of the Djemevis as official houses of worship. It is not possible to cast out the warnings of Yalçın Özdemir, the executive editor of the SU TV. In fact, anyone can consider any place as a house of worship, he should have the right to do this, and there should be no need to get approval from any entity. However, it should not be ignored that “formally recognition of the Djemevis as houses of worship” brings about the concerns of equating the Alewism with Christianity and Judaism as if non-Islamic. Furthermore, nobody should be after considering anyone as Muslim forcibly. Everybody has the right to not to prefer being a Muslim either.   

 

On the other hand, if there is a demand regarding providing the similar economic advantages that the mosques acquire from the state. Then the Alewite has the right for demanding it since they also pay taxes like all other citizens and a status should be given in this context. The reports give the hints regarding such a regulation as well.

 

In fact as in the Kurdish Issue in the Alewite Issue as well a significant progress has been achieved thanks to the paradigm change in the system. There is no obstacle before. At this level of this paradigm there is no obstacle before the solution of any problem. The rest is the good faith and the maintenance of warm negotiation atmosphere.