Alevi: Encyclopedia - Alevi

Alevi

Alevis are adherents of a branch of Islam, related to Shia Islam (Although some Alevi's claim that it is a completly seperate religion form -and predates Islam) and practised mainly in (majority Sunni) Turkey, among both Turks, Zazas, and Kurds.

Alevi - Alevis

Adherents of Alevism (in Turkish 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 turkmenic Alevis in Iraq. Alevism has integrated many diverse religious influences over time, such as ancient Turkish Shamanism and pre-Islamic religions of Near East. The Bektashi Sufi holy order is a significant element in Alevism. Both Bektashi Alevi and Kizilbaş Alevi revere Hajji Bektash Wali. Turkish is used in Alevi rituals and while worshiping.

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Alevi - People

Alevis can be ethnic Zazas, Turks, Kurds, Turkmens and Azeri with a particular concentration in mid-Eastern Turkey in a belt from Çorum in the West to Muş in the East. 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, 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 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 Azarbaijan. The town of Ilkhichi (İlxıçı), which is located 87km 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, Ahle Hag and Goran. Groups with similar beliefs also exist in Iranian Kurdistan.

Alevi - Belief

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

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, Imam Hussain and Imam Hassan, just like the Shia Muslims.

Though expressing belief in the Qur'an, most Alevis in Turkey reject concepts like polygamy, jannah (Turkish: cennet) and jahannam (Turkish: cehennem), salah (Turkish: namaz), fasting (Turkish: oruç), and hajj (Turkish: hac). Traditionally, Alevi worship is not conducted in a mosque, but is intimately connected with the dede (elder), cem (a gathering), and the cemevi (meeting house).

Hajji Bektash Wali, 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 zikr, 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 ouside of the main body of Alevi culture in significant ways.

Alevi - Historical

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 purposeful 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 many 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. Though the debate continues, there is probably a certain elemement of truth in each of these positions.

Alevi - Recent History

In the 20th century, many Alevis became involved in secularist 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. This meant that 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 to struggle for an independent "Socialist People's Republic of Alevistan". The oppression reached its dénouement in Sivas on 2 July 1993, when 36 Alevis and a Dutch anthropologist attending a cultural conference were burned to death in a hotel by Sunni locals. The response from the security forces at the time and afterwards was weak. This began a process of Alevis organising more consciously and more publicly in favour of their own interests, although most still tend to vote for mainstream centre-left and left parties.

Alevi - Music and Poetry

Alevis have had an influence even greater than their numbers because of their significant role in Turkish music and poetry. The most important figure is perhaps the mystical poet Yunus Emre, widely regarded as having been Alevi. Other significant poets include Pir Sultan Abdal and Kaygusuz Abdal. Songs attributed to these poet-saints have been not only important to Alevis themselves, but also embraced by musicians on the political left, who saw in the Alevi tradition a link between folk religion and socialist and humanist themes.

Because the saz (long-necked lute) is sacred to their gatherings, saz-playing is a particularly vital artform among Alevis. Many of the major traditional musicians in Turkey are Alevi, including Arif Sag, Musa Eroglu, Erdal Erzincan, Neshet Ertash, Muharram Ertash, Ashik Mahsuni Sherif, Ashik Veysel, Sabahat Akkiraz, and Belkis Akkale. Other non-Alevis, such as Zulfu 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.

Alevi - Name

The name is derived from the name of Ali. They are not to be confused with the Alawi of Syria, who are another heterodox branch of the Shia (though also named for Ali), with distinct, although related, beliefs.

Alevi - 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

Categories: Islam | Shi'a Islam

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Alevi", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki