Okay I know that Turkey is a muslim country I ythink everyone knows that but are there varoius types of muslims within Turkey?????? My friend comes from Hatay and he has tried to explain that his religion is slightly different i dont understand any info would be a huge help?????

long story it would take days to tell that

OK

There are different divisions in Islam - the main ones being Sunni and Shi'a.

For more information try:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam

there is nothing called shia in turkey sorry but you are wrong..that is why i said it is a long story.

okay i think i have started something here oooppps im sure my friend said something beginning with H possibly A

hahahahah thank you so much

Alevi so is there a big difference or small

Here is some info I found on the internet about Alevi:

The Alevi
A significant Shia minority lives in Turkey. As in the Ottoman period, a census of the Shia population has never been taken in the republican period. Thus, there is no accurate information on the size of the Shia community, which has been estimated to constitute as little as 7 percent and as much as 30 percent of Turkey's total population. Sunni in Turkey tend to refer to all Shia as Alevi. In actuality, Alevi constitute but one of four Shia sects in the country. But Alevi are by far the largest Shia sect in Turkey, accounting for at least 70 percent of the country's Shia.Twelve Imam Shia and followers of the heterodox Ahl-i Haq and Bektasi have resided in Turkey for centuries. Twelve Imam Shia comprise a majority of all Shia worldwide, although their numbers in Turkey are estimated at only 20 to 25 percent of all Shia in the country. Scholars believe that the unorthodox Ahl-i Haq, whose adherents are almost exclusively Kurds, and the equally unorthodox Bektasi, whose followers primarily are ethnic Turks, are even fewer in number than the Twelve Imam Shia.

Even though scholars of the contemporary Middle East tend to associate Alevi with Syria, where they have played an influential political role since the 1960s, a majority of all Alevi actually live in Turkey. Alevi include almost all of Turkey's Arab minority, from 10 to 30 percent of the country's Kurds, and many ethnic Turks. In fact, a majority of Alevi may be Turks. Historically, Alevi resided predominantly in southeastern Turkey, but the mass rural-to-urban migration that has been relatively continuous since 1960 has resulted in thousands of Alevi moving to cities in central and western Anatolia. Consequently, Alevi communities of varying size were located in most of the country's major cities by the mid-1990s.

Because of centuries of persecution by Sunni Muslims, Alevi became highly secretive about the tenets of their faith and their religious practices. Consequently, almost no reliable information about Alevi Islam is available. Unsympathetic published sources reported that Alevi worshiped Ali ibn Abu Talib, observed various Christian rituals, and venerated both Christian and Muslim saints. Prior to the twentieth century, information on the sect was so sparse and distorted that even Twelve Imam Shia regarded Alevi as heretics. However, the tendency among most contemporary Twelve Imam clergy is to recognize the Alevi as a distinct legal school within the Twelve Imam tradition. In addition, major Twelve Imam Shia theological colleges in Iran and Iraq have accepted Alevi students since the 1940s.

thank u

Wow - this is interesting:-

"Modern Alevi theology has been profoundly influenced by humanism and universalism. Thus, while many of the older generation view Alevism as a religious belief, many of the younger generation prefer to term it a philosophy, some even making connections with Marxism. Alevi communities are strong supporters of Kemalism due to its strong secularist ideology."


Marxism??!?! :-S

Maybe your friend meant one of the law schools within Sunni's? There are 4 of them, two starting with an H: Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali.

You can read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunni_Islam#Sunni_schools_of_law_.28Madhhab.29

which side does that leave for ciko to support?

ciko loves both sides because his brother is sunni and his sister in law is alevi

Just some of my personal opinions since I am not very familiar with Alevism, but as far as I've seen I like the way Alevis believe in İslam. They are very moderate and generally open-minded people. Their mentality is not based on formalism. They do not go to mosques, the women do not wear headscarves the way some sunnis wear. The woman and man have social relations. Their İslam reflects the Anatolian turkish Islam, not an Arap sunni Islam. So, toleration is a part of their belief.About 20% of turkish population is Alevis if I'm not mistaken. I think they should be more cared because longtime they have been considered as they do not exist.

The Alevis represent an independent religion group mainly in Turkey, but also in Iran, with a world total of between 15 and 25 million adherents. There is no independent data for their numbers, so these statistics are estimates or conjectures.
PROBLEMS OF CLASSIFICATION
Alevism is often labelled as a branch of Islam, sometimes Sunni and sometimes Shi'i. But the distance in theology and rituals from mainstream Islam is simply to large. Moreover, their origins seem to precede Islam.
The simple disagreement whether Alevis, when classified as Muslims, belong to the Sunni or Shi'i branch, may perhaps be understood as a reflection of bad research or lack of interest among Western scholars to Alevism.
Alevis are among the least described religious groups in the Middle East, despite their high number and presence all over Turkey. As a matter of fact, they represent the world's 5th or 6th largest religion (Sikhism of India is reported to have 23 million adherents), being larger than Judaism. Most reference works on Islam do not mention them, and important encyclopedias like Britannica, Encarta and CIA World Factbook put all Alevis into the category of Sunnis, without mentioning them in any way!
The confusion over the Alevis is linked to a troubled historical past. The Sunni majority in Turkey desired to hide their Alevi minority as well as legitimize Sunni propaganda towards the Alevis. And the Alevis have avoided emphasizing themselves in order avoid confrontation with Sunnis, well aware of the atrocities Christians have suffered as late as the 1910's (see Armenian Genocide and Assyrian genocide). An explanation to their concealment may be found in taqiyya (concealment of belief). While taqiyya is a part of Muslim theology, its roots predates Islam.
Alevis are not Alawites, but historically the two are linked and share many aspects of theology.

ORIGINS
The name 'Alevi' is of much interest when trying to find their true origin. It is commonly assumed by outsiders that "Alevi" relates to Ali, their central figure of reverence. This may be a link that many Alevis today would not object to.
A second theory is linking it with fire. The word 'alev', which in Turkish means 'fire', points to relations with Zoroastrianism where fire represents the holiest of religious symbols. Similarities in creed may indicate that Alevis are carriers of the ancient faith, but with numerous additions and alterations through time. Still, this is a connection not commonly known among Alevis.
Alevi theology seems to have departed from other Shi'i orientations in the 13th century. It is clear that differences seen today are mainly a product of developments within Alevi tradition. In the 20th century, Alevi theology has developed a great deal, including new perspectives with respect to modern secularism and humanism.
The Alevis have been staunch supporters of the secularism of the Turkish republic, due to their need to be protected from Sunni discrimination. Still, even in this secularist republic, the state has favoured Sunni to Alevi institutions in terms of funding. But the republic has also been able to protect Alevi adherents more beneficially than was true in the Ottoman Empire.

Alevi scholars themselves are at variance on this issue. Some consider themselves as a part of islam...some as a different religion with roots in deeper history.

They are very close to my heart...

I am shocked.........
"Turkey desired to hide their Alevi minority as well as legitimize Sunni propaganda towards the Alevis. And the Alevis have avoided emphasizing themselves in order avoid confrontation with Sunnis, well aware of the atrocities Christians have suffered as late as the 1910's (see Armenian Genocide and Assyrian genocide)."

Dear ,
These sentences may hurt us,please be careful while blaming people.You have many friends in Turkey.
You know us very well.How many of us can do these now or could do these in the past?
Please dont do.
we cannot accept these ideas and this site is not a proper place to talk about them.
Let the history to historains as well.