‘Islamic monasteries won’t be reopened’

ANKARA

Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ, AA photo

The government has no plans to reopen “tekkes and zaviyes,” Islamic dervish lodges and monasteries closed in the early years of the republic, Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ said, linking up the issue with Alevi rights.

“The law that bans tekkes and zaviyes also bans the usage of honorific titles such as çelebi, dede, mürit, baba and seyyid, which are titles of our Alevi leaders. If there will be a reform on this issue, we have to debate this law, you cannot ignore the law. That was what I said. There’s no plan to amend this law,” Bozdağ told reporters in Ankara yesterday.

Bozdağ’s previous statements on tekkes and zaviyes sparked a debate when he said dervish orders still exist in Turkey even though dervish lodges were closed in 1924. Bozdağ implied his remarks came after some lawmakers asked whether the government was considering to fulfill Alevi citizens’ demands.