EFFECT OF GULEN MOVEMENT ON ALEVI OPENING

The issue of Alevism in Turkey constitutes a faction of the debates on both group relations and religion-state relations. While a solution in this area requires a long-term effort, the AK Party’s Alevi Opening, which was formed after 2010, is one of the most serious steps taken in this regard. Despite this, a number of factors emerged that have hampered mutual reconciliation between political actors in this short period of time. One important reason is the stiffening of the political environment after 2013 in Turkey. One of the actors in this political environment is the Gülen Movement. The Gülen Movement, which initially emerged as a civil society movement and spread to various areas of Turkish society with this title, created some social-engineering projects and has also been involved in unexpected illegal political activities. This article examines the Gülen Movement’s social projects on Alevi groups, which were carried out as part of their own concept of society, and assesses the influence of these projects on the Ak Party’s Alevi Opening