Alevi history

The history of the Alevis is that of a community of heterodox Shia Muslims of Anatolia and neighbouring regions.

Attempts to identify the origin of Alevism are highly controversial. Many Alevis trace their tradition to primitive Islam and the Twelve Imams, a conclusion which some prominent scholars agree. [cite book
last=bar-Asher
first=Meier
authorlink=
coauthors=Aryeh Kofsky
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title=The Nusayrī-ˤAlawī Religion: An Enquiry into its Theology and Liturgy
origdate=
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url=http://books.google.com/books?id=2bli4DyuHRIC&pg=RA1-PA5&sig=j3yd2L3yCyYEj71q6q2u2Wx8Doo&vq=%22Extremist+Shiites%22&source=gbs_book_citations_r&cad=0_1#PRA1-PR12-IA1,M1
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series=Jerusalem Series on Religion and Culture
volume=1
date=2002
year=
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publisher=Brill
location=Boston
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ref=] Others see Alevism as a pre-Islamic substrate which acquired a veneer of Shia theology, and disagree as to whether to describe this folk culture as Turkic or Persianate. Still others detect Orthodox Christian influence, perhaps Armenian. More than one of these viewpoints might be true simultaneously.

Origins

Alevis trace their origins back to the early days of Islam. After the death of Muhammad his followers were divided over who should lead the Muslim community. The predecessors of the modern-day Sunni majority elected Abu Bakr, while those of the modern-day Shia maintained that Ali, the son-in-law of Muhammad, was his legitimate successor. This rift was widened when Hüseyin, grandson of Mohammed, was killed in the Battle of Karbala, an event which is commemorated intensely by Alevis and Shias alike. The Alevis also recognize the same twelve Imams as the Twelver community.

Pre-Islamic Turkish traditions have had great influence on Alevism. Turkish tribes, which had been spread across a wide geographical area, had come into contact with and been influenced over the centuries by Shamanism, Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Buddhism prior to emergence of Islam. Large-scale Turkish conversion to Islam can be dated to the 8th century. Most of these Turks did not respect the traditional Muslim sheikhs (leaders) and clergy, whose religious conceptions were more restrictive. Rather they attached themselves to, and came under the influence of "fathers", who filled a role similar to pre-Islamic religious leaders such as shamans. Traces of this influence can be traced in Alevism. This form of Islam which the Turks who moved into Anatolia beginning in the eleventh century brought with them, mixed with local people and Persian cultures.

Another theory (favored particularly by Kurdish Alevis) is that, as these Turkic tribes migrated across the Iranian cultural sphere they adopted various elements of pre-Islamic Iranian religions. As evidence they point to similarities between Alevism and Kurdish religious movements such as Yarsansim and Yazidism.

Early history

During the Seljuk period (eleventh and twelfth centuries), northern Iran and eastern Anatolia fell under the domination of nomadic Turkic tribes migrating out of Central Asia. Their conversion to Shia Islam came during the Ilkhanate Mongol period by means of charismatic Sufi missionaries, who typically established family-based lineages. The poet Yunus Emre and philosopher Hacı Bektaş Veli, whose names would later become associated with Alevism, lived during this period (or shortly after). Hacı Bektaş, who spent most his life as a missionary from an Iranian-based Sufi sect among Turkish tribes in Central Asia and Anatolia during the 13th century, is highly revered and generally seen as the founder of the "Alevilik" faith. Most of his followers belonged to the Türkmen tribes. The tribes, who tried to keep their traditional customs, often stood in opposition to the Seljuk and later the Ottoman Empire.

The forms of Shi'ism which arose in such groups typically neglected practices emphasized by the Shia mainstream (such as daily prayer). At the same time, religious practices, beliefs, and institutions would have become difficult to distinguish from secular ones such as folk dances, or the tribal leadership structure. It is likely that elements of nomadic Turkish society such as these have survived into later Alevism as well. For example, shamanic influences have been detected in the Alevi "Crane Dance".

In any case, these nomadic Turkic groups came to occupy the borderlands between two great sedentary societies, the Ottoman Empire and Safavid Persia, which though founded by nomadic Turks like themselves, gradually distanced themselves from this Central Asian heritage.

In the early 16th century, a militant "ghulat" Shia order emerged, called "Kızılbaş" or 'Redheads' after their distinctive headgear. Shah Isma'il was a hereditary leader of the Safaviyya Sufi order centered in Ardabil who led his (predominantly Azeri) followers in conquering Persia. The result was the founding of the Safavid Dynasty, and the conversion of Iran to Shiism. Shah Ismail's personal religious views are reflected in his Turkish-language Sufi poetry of a "ghulat" nature (he claimed divinity), of which selections came to be included in Alevi scriptural compilations, the "Buyruks". The religion of the Iranian populace, however, fell under the domination of Shia Arab clerics who downplayed the "ghulat" beliefs of the Turkish warrior class.

Meanwhile, the rulers of the Ottoman Empire gradually distanced themselves from their nomadic Turkic heritage, ultimately (during the thirteenth century) adopting the Sunnism of their Mediterranean subjects. During the long rivalry with Safavid Persia Qizilbashi tribes fought for Persian (or local) control of the Anatolian highlands, and were responsible for several 15th and 16th century uprisings against the Ottomans. The 1555 Peace of Amasya found them on the "wrong" side of the Ottoman / Persian border, as subjects of an Ottoman court which viewed them with suspicion. Massacres of Qizilbashi occurred.

The career of Pir Sultan Abdal takes place in this context. Apparently a 16th-century folk musician from Sivas, Pir Sultan Abdal was known for playing a stringed instrument called the "bağlama" and singing songs critical of his Ottoman governors, in defense of the rights of the Anatolian peasantry. Hanged for fomenting rebellion, he became another beloved figure in Alevi folklore and is now often invoked as a symbol of Alevism's leftist aspect. He is also preferred by Alevi Kurds, who appreciate his protest against the Turkish establishment, over Hacı Bektaş Veli (whom they identify with the Turks).

After the Kızılbaş lost their power in Anatolia, they are assumed to have merged into the Anatolian Alevis. Kurdish Alevis are sometimes still called Kızılbaş. Even as far east as Afghanistan and Pakistan, many Shias have "Qizilbash" as their family names. [ [http://www.uni-duisburg.de/JUSO/EMRE/alevismu/diplom/diplom.htm Religion und kollektive Identität im gegenwärtigen Diskurs der anatolischen Aleviten] ]

Under Ottoman rule the Alevis emerged as an endogamous ethnic group, primarily Turkish-speaking but also including Kurdish communities, concentrated in rural Anatolia. (One writer speculates that Dersim's Kurds converted to Alevism from another "ghulat" sect.) [Citation
last =van Bruinessen
first =Martin
date =1997
contribution =Aslini Inkar Eden Haramzadedir! The Debate on the Kurdish Ethnic Identity of the Kurdish Alevis
contribution-url =
editor-last =Kehl-Bodrogi
editor-first =Krisztina
editor2-last =Kellner-Heinkele
editor2-first =Barbara
editor3-last =Otter-Beaujean
editor3-first=Anke
title =Syncretistic religious communities in the Near East : collected papers of the International Symposium "Alevism in Turkey and comparable sycretistic religious communities in the Near East in the past and present",Berlin, 14-17 April 1995
place =Boston
publisher =Brill
pages =7
isbn =9004108610
year =1997
oclc =150825720] Led by hereditary "dede"s, and sometimes by Bektashi dervishes, they practiced "taqiyya" "dissimulation, secrecy" about their religion.

Bektashi identity may have been adopted to this end, since the Bektashis were technically Sunni and tolerated by the court. After the 1826 disbanding of the Janissary Corps, the now-proscribed Bektashi order began to meet underground, like the Alevis. Adherents of the two groups blurred together to some extent. In the years before and during World War I the Çelebi family, one of two leadership groups associated with the shrine of Hacı Bektaş, attempted to extend its authority to the "village Bektashi" (Alevi) "dede"s, whose own hierarchy was in disarray. Some Alevi groups accepted this Bektashi authority, while others did not. [See Ali Yaman's article " [http://www.alevibektasi.org/dedes.htm Kizilbash Alevi Dedes] ."]

Modern history

In the early 20th century, many Alevis supported the Turkish revolutionaries and the creation of the Turkish republic. Atatürk was seen by some as a new Hacı Bektaş, and his secularist principles were credited with ending Ottoman-era discrimination against them. [Markus Dressler. [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&se=gglsc&d=5007621588&er=deny Turkish Alevi Poetry in the Twentieth Century: The Fusion of Political and Religious Identities.] ] However, under the early Republic, the Presidency of Religious Affairs was founded as an exclusively Sunni institution, and the 1925 banning of Sufi tariqas also applied to the Alevis and Bektashis, who must have viewed the move with mixed feelings. At the same time the "Turkish" culture which Atatürk promoted was largely inspired by Alevi traditions. Many Kurdish Alevis fought "against" the 1925 Kurdish rebellion, but took the Kurdish side in the Dersim rebellion of the 1930s. Many Alevis became involved in secular left-wing politics in Turkey, both in the establishment Republican People's Party and in parties further to the left.

Among Turkish Alevis, Kemalism lost much of its appeal during the 1960s, when Turkish nationalists made common cause with Sunni religious groups. As a result of this, and other trends such as urbanization, younger Alevis gravitated toward socialism. Even so, portraits of Atatürk remain ubiquitous in Alevi circles, and some Alevis even perceive him as a religious hero.

Contact with Sunni groups among urbanized Alevi led to political clashes in the 1970s, which often pitted ultra-nationalists (supported by the Sunni population) against left-wing groups (which often had an Alevi base). Sunni mobs killed Alevis in Malatya and Çorum. In 1978, confrontation between Sunni residents and Alevi immigrants (mostly Alevi Kurds, particularly from Pazarcık) in Kahramanmaraş eventually led to a massacre by the ultra-nationalist Grey Wolves of the city's Alevi population, leaving over 100 dead. The incident was of key importance in the Turkish government's decision to declare martial law, and the eventual military coup in 1980. [Eric Zurcher. "Turkey: A Modern History." I.B. Tauris: London, 1993: 276-277.] Alevis bore the brunt of the anti-leftwing backlash after Kenan Evren's coup in 1980, and of Islamic fundamentalist violence.

ivas massacre

The oppression reached its "dénouement" in Sivas on 2 July, 1993, when thirty-six people (Alevis, intellectuals, and a Dutch anthropologist) attending the Pir Sultan Abdal Festival 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 religious Sunnis in Turkey as it was he who attempted to publish Salman Rushdie's controversial novel Satanic Verses, in Turkey.

Thousands of Sunni locals in Sivas, after attending Friday prayers in a nearby mosque, marched to the hotel in which the conference was taking place and set the building on fire, chanting anti-Alevi and pro-sharia slogans. The Turkish government sees this incident as being aimed at Aziz Nesin only, yet most agree that the target was the Alevis since 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 and Kurdish culture by Alevis and others.

The response from the security forces at the time and afterwards was weak. The assault took eight hours without a single intervention by the police, military or fire department. 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 on the intellectuals but refuses to see it as an incident directed towards Alevis. The events surrounding the massacre were captured by TV cameras and broadcast all over the world. Every year, during the anniversary of the massacre, various Alevi organizations call for the arrest of those responsible. 33 individuals were sentenced to death in 1997 for crimes related to the massacre.

Recent developments

There was also a drive-by shooting of Alevis in Istanbul's Gazi neighborhood in 1995 which resulted in the death of some Alevis. Then when protests followed police periodically opened fire on the demonstrators. When the protests were over there were a total of fifteen Alevis killed. The result was a revival of Alevi identity, and debate over this identity which continues today.

With the political thaw of the 1990s, Alevis in Turkey, influenced by the activities of their brethren in Europe, especially Germany, began to actively publish Alevi books, and open Alevi cultural centers. [So argues Martin van Bruinessen in his 2003 paper " [http://www.let.uu.nl/~Martin.vanBruinessen/personal/publications/clashes_between_or_within.htm Clashes between or within civilizations? Meeting of cultures in Anatolia and Western Europe] " See par. 3.] After the fall of the Soviet bloc, Alevi activists have re-valorized Alevism as a religious or even ethnic designation.

Alevism is now recognized in Turkish law as an "indigenous" Anatolian religion, and the government now sponsors certain Alevi festivals.

References

Literature

*John Kingsley Birge, "The Bektashi order of dervishes", London and Hartford, 1937 (out of print)
*John Brown, "The Darvishes of Oriental Spiritualism," 1927, 1st Edition.
*Aykan Erdemir, "Tradition and Modernity: Alevis' Ambiguous Terms and Turkey's Ambivalent Subjects", "Middle Eastern Studies", 2005, vol.41, no.6, pp.937-951.
* Burhan Kocadağ, "Alevi Bektaşi Tarihi," Can Yayınları, 1996.
*Karin Vorhoff, "Zwischen Glaube, Nation und neuer Gemeinschaft: Alevitische Identität in der Türkei der Gegenwart", Berlin, 1995
*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 90-04-10954-4
* ____, "Uyur İdik Uyardılar," Cem Yayınevi, 1993.
* Matti Moosa, "Extremist Shiites: the Ghulat Sects, Syracuse University Press, 1988.
*Ali Yaman and Aykan Erdemir, "Alevism-Bektashism: A Brief Introduction", London: England Alevi Cultural Centre & Cem Evi, 2006, ISBN 975-98065-3-3