Turkey’s atheists and religious minorities join forces to protest religious instruction in schools

[hrmjustin]

Onur Erem and Jacob Resneck

ISTANBUL (RNS) Turkey’s largest religious minority — the Alevi community — is joining forces with atheists to protest mandatory religious education for students as young as 5.

The Alevi are the second-largest religious community in Turkey, comprising as many as 15 million people who adhere to a mystical branch of Islam that broke off from the main Sunni majority.

“This is a forced course about the Sunni sect,” said Ali Kenanoglu, chairman of the Hubyar Sultan Alevi Cultural Association.

http://www.religionnews.com/2015/02/18/turkeys-atheists-religious-minorities-join-forces-protest-religious-instruction-schools/