Alevi

Etymology

However, according to the Kurdish linguist Jamal Nebez, the word Alevi is probably derived from the Kurdish 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 ([link] p.21).

Alevis

People

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Alevis in Turkey^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}

Ethnic groups that have Alevi adherents include Turks, Zazas, Kurds, Turkmen and Azeris with a particular concentration in central Anatolia in a belt from Çorum in the west to Muş 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^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}.

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

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 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 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

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

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. 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.

Alevis are generally left wing and are well known for supporting mainstream centre-left and left parties.

Music and poetry

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 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.^{([Disputed statementdisputed]—see [}

See also