Ali Yaman (Istanbul University)*

Before discussing some of the less known aspects of the Kizilbash Alevi Dedes¹, who have been of fundamental importance in the survival of Anatolian Alevism until today, a general assessment of the topic, I believe, will be useful. Up to now, many things have been written and certain theories suggested about the genesis and roots of Alevism by the Orientalists, foreign missionaries, travelers, and local and foreign researchers. While some of them argued that “the Alevi groups in Anatolia are the remainders of Christian elements”², others claimed that “Alevism is a destructive movement originating in the Persian civilization which aims at undermining Islam”³, and yet others suggested that “Alevism is the essence of Islam.”⁴ At times, Alevism became victim to ideological conflicts. Attempts were made to explain it in connection to left-right, Turk-Kurd or Alevi-Sunni divisions. In sum, everybody interpreted the topic subjectively. Unfortunately, it is still possible to encounter such emotional assessments and impositions that are far from the seriousness of a scientific approach.

Especially towards the end of 1980s, there was almost an explosion in the number of publications about Alevism. But this publication explosion proved to be no more than transient, because a number of researchers, ignorant of the scientific method, and without even feeling a need to review the existing literature, contributed to the confusion surrounding the topic. In the end a variety of definitions of Alevism mushroomed: “it is a sect, a religion, an order, a path, a way of life etc.” As a natural result of the failure of the universities and government institutions to develop a sound approach to the subject, it remained vulnerable to manipulations. These manipulations are still going on, including even by those who claim to serve the Alevis. Hence the need for scholarly research as the only way to block such manipulations is increasing day by day.

Gökhan Percin (Stanford University)

For him who has perception, a mere sign is enough.
For him who does not really heed, a thousand explanations are not enough.
Haji Bektash Veli

Kaygusuz Abdal: A fifteenth-century popular mystic poet, what is known of his life is mixed with legend. He seems to have settled in Egypt and founded a dervish lodge there of which he was the sheyh. He is considered the founder of the Bektashi branch of mystical poetry and excelled particularly in humorous-satirical verse. He was also the author of powerful pamphlets in prose on mysticism.

Reprinted from the Middle East Studies Association Bulletin, December 1995 (with changes in orthography to HTML standards. NB: Turkish characters may not display on all Web Browsers.).
Copyright 1995 by the Middle East Studies Association of North America

Introduction to Sufi Music and Ritual in Turkey

Irene Markoff, York University

IT IS DIFFICULT to appreciate and understand Sufism fully without an informed exposure to the expressive cultural forms that help define and enhance it. It is this dimension of Islamic mysticism that transports the seeker on the path of spiritual attainment into higher states of consciousness that promise spiritual intoxication (wajd) and a unique and intimate union, even annihilation (fanâ'), in the supreme being. This emotional expression of faith is intensified and externalized in elaborate forms of meditation and esoteric techniques that are part of ritual ceremonies.

Through ritual, many Sufi orders and Sufi-related sects throughout the world of Islam have been able to articulate doctrines and beliefs through artistic traditions such as sung poetry, instrumental music and dance-like movements (samâ' or spiritual concerts) and have utilized meditation patterns that combine corporeal techniques and controlled breathing (dhikr; Turkish, zikr) to induce or conduct trance and ecstatic states.

In Turkey, the Sunni brotherhoods (tarikat) such as the Halveti (Khalwatiyya), Rifai (Rifâ'iyya) and Kadiri (Qâdiriyya) engage in the collective musical dhikr that was the principal Ottoman dervish ceremony. In the true spirit of dhikr (recollection of God), divine names and expression of tawhîd (Turkish, tevhid) (oneness of God with all existence) are repeated to rhythmic patterns often including rhythmic breathing, body postures with a variety of motions and hymns (ilâhî), songs of mystical love (gazel) and mersiye (sung poems commemorating the martyrdom of the imam Husayn at Karbala'). This form of worship meditation in line or circular formation is incomplete without recitation of passages from the Koran.

Ritual Change in a Turkish Alevi Village

Introducing the Community

This study is a documentation and analysis of change in ritual in the village of Sarylar, on the west bank of the Euphrates River near Yavuseli, Gaziantep. It is based on material collected during the months of May and June 1989 consisting of field notes, recorded interviews, and photographs, as well as comparisons with complementary material collected on subsequent visits to Turkey. The research problem posed was identification of ritual change within the consultants’ memory and some tentative ways of situating such change within the socio-economic context.

Sarylar is a pistachio farming village reachable by a daily local bus leaving from the market in the center of Gaziantep. Almost everyone living in the village cultivates the nuts as a cash crop. Other occupations include the few paid officials and school-teachers as well as one or two shopkeepers. Goats, sheep, poultry and a few cows complete the economy. Horses are far fewer than donkeys, and although there are a good many tractors that began to make an appearance in the 1970s, there were no automobiles in the village in 1989. Some families are fortunate enough to have gardens of vegetables and fruit trees on the river bank, but the climate is too arid for such agriculture in other places in the immediate vicinity. Although some land is rented, it appears that most of the land is owned by the families who cultivate it.

John Shindeldecker

Introduction

Almost every single guidebook or encyclopedia I have ever read describes Turkey as 99% Sunni Muslim. But the world is slowly learning of the existence of a large group in Turkey called Anatolian Alevis (Anatolia is a name for the part of Turkey which lies in Asia). The name Alevi sometimes appears in English as Alawi, Alawite, Alouite, or Alevi-Bektashi. Alevi faith and culture is called Alevism (Alevilik).

Finding objective and easily-understood material about Turkish Alevis in a language other than Turkish is very difficult. In fact, Alevi leaders asked me to write this guide because they lack any introductory material in English which they can give to their foreign visitors. My single purpose is to briefly, clearly, and objectively explain the beliefs and practices of Alevis and the issues they face today in a way that a reader with minimal knowledge of Turkey and Islam can understand.

For a variety of reasons, it is impossible to make absolute statements about Alevi beliefs and practices. So, by necessity I use statements like, “almost all,” “many,” “most,” and “some” when describing Alevis and their beliefs. This may be disturbing to the reader who wants a definite answer about what all Alevis believe and practice, but that is the nature of the subject. The reader should not be surprised that there is a wide variety of beliefs and practices among those who call themselves Alevis. There is a similar broad spectrum of belief and practice among those who call themselves Jews, Christians, Buddhists, or Hindus.

In the past decade, Turkey's official image as a country of Sunni Muslims has been vigorously challenged by the 'coming out' of the Alevis, a large heterodox Islamic minority, which consists of approximately 15 million Turkish- and Kurdish-speaking members. Until that time, due to the official definition of Turkey as an ethnically and religiously homogenous nation, public expressions of deviating collective identities had been banned by law. However, a shift in government policy in the early 1990s enabled the Alevis to come to the fore and to inaugurate an ethno-political movement to achieve official acknowledgement.

The New Garments of Alevism