Then my poxy laptop died and was taken away for open heart surgery. Hence I was reduced to staring at the wall and ruminating. Its then that I realised that this could be far more important and sensitive than anybody has realised for many reasons.
For those who are legal minded, can refer to the judgement here. I am going to quote heavily from the judgment so bear with me.
The background to Alevism:
7. Hasan Zengin stated that his family
were adherents of Alevism.
8. Alevism originated in central Asia but
developed largely in Turkey. Two important Sufis had a considerable impact on
the emergence of this religious movement: Hoca Ahmet Yesevi (12th century) and
Haci Bektaşi Veli (14th century). This belief system, which has deep roots in
Turkish society and history, is generally considered as one of the branches of
Islam, influenced in particular by Sufism and by certain pre-Islamic beliefs.
Its religious practices differ from those of the Sunni1 schools of law in
certain aspects such as prayer, fasting and pilgrimage.
9. According to
the applicant, Alevism is a belief or philosophy influenced by other cultures,
religions and philosophies. It represents one of the most widespread faiths in
Turkey after the Hanafite2 branch of Islam. It advocates close contact with
nature, tolerance, modesty and love for one's neighbour, within the Islamic
faith. Alevis reject the sharia (code of laws in orthodox Islam) and the sunna
(forms of behaviour and formal rules of orthodox Islam) and defend freedom of
religion, human rights, women's rights, humanism, democracy, rationalism,
modernism, universalism, tolerance and secularism. Alevis do not pray by the
Sunni rite (in particular, they do not comply with the obligation to pray five
times daily) but express their devotion through religious songs and dances
(semah); they do not attend mosques, but meet regularly in cemevi (meeting and
worship rooms) for ritual ceremonies. Equally, Alevis do not consider the
pilgrimage to Mecca as a religious obligation. They believe that Allah is
present in each person. According to Alevism, Allah created Adam in his image
and all his manifestations in this world are in human form. Allah is neither in
the sky nor in paradise, but in the centre of the human heart.
Now as you read this, you will immediately know that this is as far away from traditional Islam as possible. So this sect is definitely Haram, forbidden and it is not surprising that this sect’s religious learning is not passed on in schools. The Sunni Ulema (the mullahs, priests and theologians) will spontaneously combust if this happens!
But you see, universal principles of human rights, secularism and liberal traditions of democracy, humanism and universalism demand that the state does not take sides, each religion is equal, and as long as they do not commit any crimes against anybody else, you can worship who you please. But that’s the theory, and the practise is something else. Unfortunately for the Turkish State and Sunni Islam, the European Court of Human Rights is forced to look at theory to judge this case. Read on!
10. On 23 February 2001 the applicant submitted a request to the Provincial
Directorate of National Education (“the Directorate”) at the Istanbul Governor's
Office, seeking to have his daughter exempted from religious culture and ethics
classes. Pointing out that his family were followers of Alevism, he stressed
that, under international treaties such as, for example, the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, parents had the right to choose the type of
education their children were to receive. In addition, he alleged that the
compulsory course in religious culture and ethics was incompatible with the
principle of secularism.
11. On 2 April 2001 the Directorate replied
that it was impossible to grant the exemption request. In particular, it stated:
“... Article 24 of the Constitution states that 'Education and
instruction in religion and ethics shall be conducted under State supervision
and control. Instruction in religious culture and moral education shall be
compulsory in the curricula of primary and secondary schools. Other religious
education and instruction shall be subject to the individual's own desire, and
in the case of minors, to the request of their legal representatives.'
Article 12 of the State Education Act (Law no. 1739) ... provides that
'secularism shall be the basis of Turkish national education. Religious culture
and ethics shall be among the compulsory subjects taught in primary and upper
secondary schools, and in schools of these levels.'”
For these reasons,
your request cannot be granted.”
So the plaintiff took his complaint to the ECHR. Now the Government lawyer said that Jewish and Christian pupils were exempted from this compulsory teaching. Both sides submitted school textbooks on Islam to bolster their respective cases.
The learned judges then referred to the Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; Recommendations 1396 (1999) and 1720 (2005) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) General policy recommendation no. 5.
As an aside, the court did a fascinating review of what’s happening in other countries and again it is worthwhile to quote it in full.
30. In Europe, religious education is closely tied in with secular
education. Of the 46 Council of Europe member States which were examined, 43
provide religious education classes in state schools. Only Albania, France (with
the exception of the Alsace and Moselle regions) and the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia are the exceptions to this rule. In Slovenia,
non-confessional teaching is offered in the last years of state education.
31. In 25 of the 46 member States (including Turkey), religious
education is a compulsory subject. However, the scope of this obligation varies
depending on the State. In five countries, namely Finland, Greece, Norway,
Sweden and Turkey, the obligation to attend classes in religious education is
absolute. All pupils who belong to the religious faith taught in the classes are
obliged to follow them, partially or fully. However, ten States allow for
exemptions under certain conditions. This is the case in Austria, Cyprus,
Denmark, Ireland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, San Marino and the
United Kingdom. In the majority of these countries, religious education is
denominational.
32. Ten other countries give pupils the opportunity to
choose a substitute lesson in place of compulsory religious education. This is
the case in Germany, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands, Serbia, Slovakia and Switzerland. In those countries,
denominational education is included in the curriculum drawn up by the relevant
ministries and pupils are obliged to attend unless they have opted for the
substitute lesson proposed.
33. In contrast, 21 member States do not
oblige pupils to follow classes in religious education. Religious education is
generally authorised in the school system but pupils only attend if they have
made a request to that effect. This is what happens in the largest group of
States: Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia, Spain, Estonia,
Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Moldova, Poland, Portugal, the Czech Republic,
Romania, Russia and Ukraine. Finally, in a third group of States, pupils are
obliged to attend a religious education or substitute class, but always have the
option of attending a secular lesson.
34. This general overview of
religious education in Europe shows that, in spite of the variety of teaching
methods, almost all of the member States offer at least one route by which
pupils can opt out of religious education classes (by providing an exemption
mechanism or the option of attending a lesson in a substitute subject, or by
giving pupils the choice of whether or not to sign up to a religious studies
class).
To cut a long story short, the court found that the Government of Turkey had violated Article 2 of Protocol 1 of the European Convention of Human Rights. Too bad the court did not rule on the Article 9 but still.
So here we go, we have a situation that will force Sunni Majority Turkey, bastion of Militant Secularism, ruled by a mildly Islamist party to decide what to do. It is now forced into an unpalatable decision. You see, it is impossible for a theological position to emerge where different interpretations of Islam can co-exist. The continuing debates, protests, riots and demonstrations (both state and religiously sponsored) over apostasy and blasphemy show that tolerance at worst and theological supports at best are simply not there.
If the Turkish government decide to follow the court’s judgement and actually allow heretical sects such as Shia, Alevism, etc. to propagate their own theology in schools that will mean that the majority Sunni ulema and faithful will go up in flames. They cannot allow people to call themselves as Muslims and still exclude themselves from Sunni teaching as that gives a governmental recognition to these sects. The government cannot remove the compulsory teaching either as that will also make the majority Sunni ulema and faithful will go up in flames. It cannot remove secularism and say Sunni Islam is majority religion and you have to learn it or lump it because it has signed up to the European treaties (such as Council of Europe and the European Human Rights Convention). This is assuming the Turkish Military, the militant protector of Ataturk’s secularism, would be silent. Very interesting days ahead, folks.
All this to be taken with a grain of piquant salt!!!
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