Just holding elections is not enough unless wide respect of civil rights and pluralism principles is upheld. Unfortunately, Turkey lags behind developed societies in embracing religious tolerance and multiculturalism. The Turkish state continues to deny its people of Alawite origin the right to exercise their faith without being subjugated by the majority Sunni population.
Speaking to Al-Monitor, Izzettin Dogan, the chairman of the Cem Foundation, a major umbrella organization for Alawites in this country, compared Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs to “a demon with unbelievable powers” and claimed that the head of this directorate is “Turkey’s real prime minister.”