Erdogan faces uphill bid to woo Turkey's large Alevi minority

Members of the local Alevi community attend a cem, a ceremony filled with symbolic rituals, music and dance, at a cemevi, the Alevi places of worship, in Istanbul, Turkey November 11, 2021. Picture taken November 11, 2021. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Ali Erdem leads his Alevi community each week in a ceremony filled with symbolic ritual, music and dance, performing in a place of worship that has been thrust into political debate ahead of Turkish elections due by 2023.

As a musician plays the lute-like saz and worshippers in red sashes dance in a circle to experience union with God, Erdem recites prayers and tales of persecution that Alevis, Turkey's largest religious minority, have faced in Turkish history.