The Alevis are a major religious community in Turkey — approximately 15–25% of Turkey’s population — whose faith synthesizes Shia Islam, Sufi mysticism (especially Bektashi order traditions), pre-Islamic Anatolian folk religion, and humanist values. The Alevis venerate Ali ibn Abi Talib and the Twelve Imams, mourn at Ashura, and gather for worship in cemevi (assembly halls) rather than mosques. Their worship includes music (saz, the long-necked lute), poetry, and the semah (a sacred dance). Alevi practice does not include the five daily prayers, fasting in Ramadan, or pilgrimage to Mecca as obligatory. The Turkish state historically suppressed Alevi identity — the Alevis were a major constituency of the secular Kemalist movement precisely because secularism protected them from Sunni religious authority. The Alevi-Sunni relationship in Turkey remains politically charged.