12th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Culture and the Arts
Alevi People

8/13/2014 GAZI, ISTANBUL, TURKEY. A member of the extreme leftist group DCHP is holding a molotof cocktail. The group is comemorating the one year anniversary of the death of Hasan Ferit, an Alevi that was shot dead for his anti-drug activism. After Christians and Yazidis, Alevis fear they're next in ISIS's long list of victims. Alevi are Turkey's biggest religious and cultural minority, as they make 10% of the population. Despite they're so big, they're not recognised by the state, while they've been oppressed for centuries by both larger religions and had to hide their religious practices. But Alevis have also to deal with an inside enemy, the country's Prime Minister, Tayyip Erdogan, who views them as terrorists. According to a Turkish police report, last year, while 8 of the 9 people that died during the antigovernment protests died were Alevi.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 08.2014
Date Uploaded: 11.2014
Photo Location: Türkiye
Camera: ILCE-6000
Copyright: © Nikos Pilos