Cemevi

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Part of a series on
Twelver Shi'a Islam
Alevism

Figures

Ali-Muhammad • Shah Ismail
Yunus Emre • Pir Sultan Abdal
Hajji Bektash Wali

Twelve Imams

Birinci Ali · Ikinci Ali
Ucuncu Ali · Dorduncu Ali
Besinci Ali · Altinci Ali
Yedinci Ali · Sekizinci Ali
Dokuzuncu Ali · Onuncu Ali
Onbirinci Ali · Onikinci Ali

Beliefs

Haqq-Ali-Muhammad
Four Doors • Insan-i Kamil
The Qur'an • The Buyruk
Wahdat-ul-Wujood
Zahir • Batin

Practices

Fasting • Semah • Music
Charity • Intercession • Taqiyya
Dushkunluk Meydani

Leadership Structure

Dedes • Murshid • Pir
Rehber • Darga • Jem
Cem Evi • Babas

Festivals

Nowruz • Ashura
Hindrellez

Groups

Bektashi • Qizilbash

Events

Sivas Massacre

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A Cemevi (pronounced and sometimes written as Djemevi) means literally a house of gathering, (Cem=public-gathering/ev=house) and is a place of fundamental importance for Turkish's Alevi-Bektashi populations and traditions. It is not a place of worship in the strict sense of the term, the accent is laid on its aspect as lieu of assemblage (cem; pronounced djem). Historically, the Cems were usually held outdoors, using candles and torches to light up the place of gathering when it got dark. Often, people from nearby places would come to a cem to have a collective meal. The participants would often bring along food, which they would then distribute during the meal. Nowadays, some of these customs are still preserved. Men and women conduct cem activities and rites together.

The structuring of cemevi as into their present characteristics and rites owes much to the Bektashi tradition within various historical currents of Turkey's Alevi culture. Urbanization of many Alevis also brought changes in the conception of cem. In larger towns in Turkey today, cemevi are multifunctional buildings where a broad range of cultural activities take place. In Turkey, it is always problematic for a cemevi to get off the ground, due to strict state interference in religious matters, and cases of discrimination against the Alevis, which results in the founding of each cemevi acquiring political dimensions and necessitating case-by-case lobbyism.

The Sunnite Muslim majority in Turkey labels Alevi communities as de facto Muslims, a view shared by mainstream Alevis themselves, although a disproportonate number of young Alevi people seem to have been attracted to certain extreme-left movements, sometimes also implicated in activities of a terrorist nature, in recent decades in Turkey. The issues between Sunnites and Alevis often center around, either historical grievances, or the present efforts consistently pursued by authorities for assimilating them into an official perception of mainstream Islam in Turkey. Many Alevi villages nowadays have mosques built by the state with attached clerics paid by the state. Compulsory religious education in the last decades also attract reactions by many Alevis, since these focus on an orthodox interpretations of faith, often excluding Alevi feelings in the matter.