Turkey's Alevis Struggle for Religious and Secular Acceptance

ISTANBUL, Turkey --This past July, President Abdullah Gul of Turkey spoke to an assembled crowd of Shiite Turks, known as Alevis. The speech, calling for unity and acceptance of minorities, came less than a month after Gul's Justice and Development Party was spared closure by the constitutional court for anti-secular activity, a decision hailed as the start of a more inclusive atmosphere in the country. Three months later, a massive demonstration of Alevis in Ankara shows that the vision of a multi-ethnic, multiconfessional Turkey is in tatters.