Alevi

Alevis (Turkish: Aleviler) are adherents of a syncretic religion which has elements of an ultra-heterodox branch of Shi'a Islam and contains a core base of pre-Islamic religions of Anatolia and ancient Turkic Shamanism. It is practised mainly in Turkey and in small pockets in Albania and Bulgaria.

Due to the number of its Alevi citizens, Turkey has the fifth largest Shi'a population in the world.

See also: Shia Population

Etymology

The name "Alevi" is derived from the name of Alev, flame in Turkish meaning source of light. They are not to be confused with the Alawī of Syria, who are another heterodox branch of the Shīa (though also named for Alī), with distinct, although related, beliefs.

However, according to the Kurdish linguist Jamal Nebez, the word Alevi is probably derived from the word Halav or Hilav meaning tip of the fire flame. Alev also happens to be the Turkish word for "flame". Alevis regard fire as holy and highly value the sight of fire. It is their custom not to extinguish a fire or candle without invoking the name of God ([1] p.21).

Alevis

Adherents of Alevism (Alevîlik) are called Alevis. The exact number of Alevis is not known, with estimates varying from 20 to 30% of the population of Turkey alone, i.e. 14-21 million believers in Turkey, with perhaps as many as three million in Iran and Turkmenistan and half a million Turkmen Alevis in Iraq. Alevism has integrated many diverse religious influences over time, such as pre-Islamic religions of the Near East as well as small elements of ancient Turkic shamanism. The Bektashi Sufi order is a significant element in Alevism. Both Bektashi Alevi and Kizilbaş Alevi revere Hajji Bektash Wali, a Persian saint of the 13th century. The Turkish language is used in Alevi rituals and while worshiping.

People

Alevis in Turkey

Ethnic groups that have Alevi adherents include Turks,Turkmen and Azeris with a particular concentration in central Anatolia in a belt from Çorum in the west to in the east. The only Turkish province with an Alevi majority is Tunceli. In the Balkans, especially in Albania, there is a further large Alevi-Bektashi community. There are also many Alevi who have migrated to the large cities of western and southern Turkey, as well as to western Europe, especially Germany.

Today, the Alevi community in Turkey is heavily urbanised due to mass migration (1960s to present) from their often mountainous and barren rural residence to cities. When compared to the general Sunni population, on average, they have significantly higher rates of literacy, higher education, and female employment and a lower fertility rate.

There are also large communities of Alevis in some regions of Iranian Azerbaijan. The town of Ilkhichi (İlxıçı), which is located 87 km south west of Tabriz is almost entirely populated by Alevis. For political reasons, one of which was to create a distinct identity for these communities, they have not been called Alevi since the early 20th century. They are called various names, such as Alli Allahi, Ahl-e-Haqq and Goran. Groups with similar beliefs also exist in Iranian Kurdistan.

Belief

Alevis are followers of the Ithnāˤashari Shīism. Belief in Allah is varied. Though some accept the idea of a personal creator, many believe that Allah is merely the good in humans. This is expressed by the Alevi saying "insan Hakta Hak insanda" (human is in God, God is in human).

While the Sunnis follow the four caliphs Omar, Uthman, Abu Bakr and Ali, the Alevis recognize only one of the caliphs, Ali ibn Abi Talib and his two sons, Hassan ibn Ali and Hussein ibn Ali, just like the Ithnāˤashari Muslims.

Though expressing belief in the Qur'an, most Alevis in Turkey reject practices such as polygamy. Traditionally, Alevi worship is not conducted in a mosque, but is intimately connected with the dede (elder), cem (from Arabic jamˤ, a gathering), and the cemevi (meeting house).

Hajji Bektash Veli, who lived in the 13th century, is just one of the Alevi's principal theologians. Yunus Emre and Pir Sultan Abdal are two other teachers. Like the Sufis, the Alevis also use religious music and dance, called semah, to show their belief in Allah. 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. In Turkey, there is an ongoing discussion about whether Alevism is part of Islam or not.

Further, relations with other Muslim groups must be considered. As Ilhan Ataseven has noted, there is some tension between family-tradition Alevis and the Bektashi Order, which is a Sufi order founded on Alevi beliefs. In certain Turkish communities, other Sufi orders, namely the Helveti-Jerahi and some of the Rifa'i, have incorporated significant Alevi influence. Though generally regarded as a Sunni group historically, some Rifa'is accept the Alevi identity. This is particularly common among Turkish teacher Sherif Baba's Rifa'i Marufi Order, whose worship combines elements of typical Alevi traditions with the practice of dhikr, commonly associated with the Sunni Sufi orders. This pattern can be traced to a traditional fluidity between non-orthodox Muslim practices and also to the polarity between secular and religious worldviews in contemporary Turkey. Though to many contemporary Turks the line between tarikat (traditionally meaning a Sufi order, but since the 1980s used by Turkish journalists to describe militant Muslim groups such as Hizbullah) and Alevi seems vast, in other areas of the world and even in Turkey until recently, the Arabic word "tariqa" referred to Sufi orders, such as the Mevlevi. Such groups shared many principles with the Alevi, though membership was by initiation rather than familial ties. Most notable among these was the Bektashi, whose identity has been virtually fused with the Alevi, even at a popular level. Smaller orders such as the Rifa'i Marufi, have sometimes identified with the Alevi, with whom they share secularist principles, a general scepticism of extreme orthodoxy, an emphasis on men and women worshipping together, a common group of revered saints such as Hajji Bektash Veli and Pir Sultan Abdal, and a deep devotion to the family of the Prophet Muhammad. That said, such groups stand a bit outside of the main body of Alevi culture in significant ways.

History

The Alevis have traditionally been discriminated against and persecuted in the rural areas of East Central Turkey which are their heartland. Their religion is tolerated in Turkey, but while compared to the Sunnis they suffer less state intervention into their internal affairs and the contents of their teaching, they also enjoy considerably less financial and organizational privileges. The Turkish state has built and financed Sunni mosques in many almost completely Alevi villages and small towns; many Alevis consider this a deliberate humiliation.

In recent years, the Alevi community has developed contested definitions for itself. Some Alevis consider their faith to be the Turkish branch of Shi'i Islam, others see it as a Sufi order, or a form of folk Islam. There are a few Alevis who see their faith as blending of Christianity and Islam, and some who see Alevilik as either a new faith with Islamic roots or a continuation of Central Asian shamanism that maintained itself by accepting certain elements of Islam as a guise. Although the debate continues, there is probably a certain element of truth in each of these positions.

Recent history

In the 20th century, many Alevis became involved in secular left-wing politics in Turkey, both in the establishment Republican People's Party and parties further to the left, some to the point of left-wing extremism. In 1970s, Alevi-inhabited regions were a setting for violent conflicts between left-wing groups (often with an Alevi base) and MHP militants (supported by Sunni population). In 1978, confrontation between Sunni residents and Alevi immigrants (mostly Alevi Kurds, particularly from Pazarcık) in Kahramanmaraş eventually led to a massacre of city's Alevi population. Alevis bore the brunt of the anti-leftwing backlash after the military coup of 1980, and of Islamic fundamentalist violence. In the 1980s an ephemeral left-wing organisation called Kızıl Yol (Red Path) announced the struggle for an independent "Socialist People's Republic of Alevistan".

The oppression reached its dénouement in Sivas on 2 July, 1993, when 36 people (Alevis, leftist non-Alevi intellectuals, and a Dutch anthropologist) attending a cultural conference were burned to death in a hotel by Sunni locals. Attending the conference was a left-wing Turkish intellectual Aziz Nesin who was vastly hated amongst the Sunni Turkish community as it was he who attempted to publish Salman Rushdie's controversial novel Satanic Verses, in Turkey. The Sunni locals in Sivas, after attending Friday prayers in a near by mosque, marched to the hotel in which the conference was taking place and set the building on fire. The Turkish government sees this incident as being aimed at Aziz Nesin only, yet most agree that the target was really the Alevis because many of the Alevi victims in the fire were very important artists and musicians. One musician, Hasret Gültekin, the most important and influential bağlama saz player in modern time was also killed in this fire. Gültekin is still considered a great loss for Turkish culture all over the world by Alevis and otherwise. The response from the security forces at the time and afterwards was weak. The assault took 8 hours without a single intervention by the police and military. Alevis and most intellectuals in Turkey argue that the incident was triggered by the local government as flyers and leaflets were published and given out for days before the incident. The Turkish government refers to the Sivas Madımak Hotel incident as an attack towards the intellectuals but refuses to see it as an incident directed towards Alevis.

Music and poetry

Alevis have a significant role in Turkish music and poetry. An important figure is the Sufi poet widely regarded as having been Alevi. Other significant poets include Pir Sultan Abdal and Kaygusuz Abdal. Songs attributed to these poets have been embraced by left-wingers in the 20th century.

The traditional musical instrument saz is considered sacred in Alevism. Many of the major traditional musicians in Turkey are Alevi, including Arif Sağ, Musa Eroğlu, Erdal Erzincan, Neşet Ertaş, Muharrem Ertaş, Aşık Mahzuni Şerif, Feyzullah Çınar, Aşık Veysel Şatıroğlu, Aliekber Çiçek, Sabahat Akkiraz, and Belkıs Akkale. Other non-Alevis, such as Yunus Emre ,Zülfü Livaneli, have recorded many Alevi songs. More recently, Mercan Dede, an artist with ties to the Rifa'i Marufi Order (see above)has recorded innovative ambient/techno music, frequently employing Alevi themes, sometimes in collaboration with established Alevi artists such as Sabahat Akkiraz.

Literature

*John Kingsley Birge, The Bektashi order of dervishes, London and Hartford, 1937 (out of print)
*Irène Mélikoff, Hadji Bektach, Un mythe et ses avatars. Genèse et évolution du soufisme populaire en Turquie., Leiden, 1998 [Islamic History and Civilization, Studies and Texts, volume 20], ISBN 9004109544
*Karin Vorhoff, Zwischen Glaube, Nation und neuer Gemeinschaft: Alevitische Identität in der Türkei der Gegenwart, Berlin, 1995

Alevi: Encyclopedia BETA

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