September 16, 2013

Cemevi next to mosque embraced by residents in Malatya

Since the groundbreaking ceremony of the first ever joint mosque-cemevi (Alevi place of worship) culture center was held in Ankara on Sept. 8, there has been an ongoing debate on the presence of joint religious centers, with Cihan news agency reporting on Monday of a site in Malatya's Doğanyol district that has a mosque and a cemevi standing side by side that is embraced by the residents.

Fresh momentum in Turkey-Pakistan ties

Abdullah Bozkurt

Business-savvy Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was elected only four months ago in a landslide general election victory, may be the best hope to make up for what has been lacking between Turkey and Pakistan, two close friends and allies in a tough neighborhood.

Turkey builds village in Pakistan in honor of Iqbal

A housing complex built by a Turkish aid foundation will be named after Mohammed Iqbal, the spiritual founder of Pakistan who led a nationwide campaign to help Turkey during World War I.

The mosque-cemevi project and the settlement process

In Muş, where I was during the final days of August for the anniversary of the Battle of Manzigert, I had the chance to speak with citizens from both Manzigert and Ağrı about the terror problem and the solution process aimed at Turkish-Kurdish peace. Last Sunday, I was in the neighborhood of Tuzluçayır in Ankara's Mamak district to watch the groundbreaking ceremony for the cami (mosque)-cemevi (house of worship for Alevis) project. While there, I headed over to listen in person to the complaints of protesters opposing this particular project.