Alevi Community Research Articles

Materialization of Ritual: The Example of Alevi Belief System

Rituals are symbolic and physical elements of beliefs and experiences. Individuals' and societies' relationships with nature and struggle for survival within nature have led to the creation of various practices. All these practices, when manifested symbolically within the context of belief systems, are called rituals. Therefore, every change in the relationship between the individual, society, and nature results in a change in rituals. Migration, urbanization, technological advancement, and globalization cause many elements concerning individuals and society to change. Changes that affect societies' social, cultural, economic, and religious lives have led to functional and structural changes in rituals performed within the traditional context. Thus, rituals passed down in traditional societies with their traditional and symbolic structures have undergone semantic and formal changes in rapidly changing modern societies. At the core of these changes lies the necessity for individuals to adapt to contemporary socio-economic conditions. Rituals has a power that shapes community in many ways with their mythic and theological backgrounds. Rituals determine the doctrinal and social structure of Alevi belief system. For the Alevi community, rituals hold the power to transmit cultural and social values, as well as to define the belief system with its mythic and theological background. Traditional Alevi rituals shape the entire lives of their followers. Members of the faith learn and transmit all components of their socio-cultural and economic environment through ritual-centered practices. Despite all political and social events, Alevi communities managed to sustain their ritual-centered traditional belief systems and lifestyles until the 1960s. However, migration after this period rapidly led to the transformation and alteration of ritual-centered life. Alevi communities experienced a culture shock due to their rituals not being accepted by the “other”s. This situation compelled them to conceal their beliefs and remain invisible. The process experienced after migration and urbanization has resulted in the weakening of traditional belief systems among Alevi individuals. During this period where non-governmental organizations are increasingly dominant and influential, the social and cultural demands of Alevi communities who come together under the leadership of non-governmental organizations in the city have led to the transformation and reconstruction of traditional Alevi rituals. Therefore, the traditional structure and rituals of the Alevi belief system have undergone a transition from their traditional context to a new world influenced by factors such as migration, urbanization, modern life, and the rejection of dominant authority. This article discusses the change and re-creation of rituals away from the traditional context in urban life following social and economic demands in the context of fieldwork conducted in Türkiye, Germany, and Austria.

Can the Scope of Secularization Theory Be Expanded Beyond the Modern‐Christian‐West? Exploring the Alevi Experience in Turkey

AbstractThis study asserts that the secularization theory has the potential to offer insights into the processes of social change experienced by faith groups outside the modern West. The study focuses on the transformation undergone by Alevi groups in Turkey, who are now experiencing a more modern way of life compared to their past. In this qualitative study, data collection was conducted through semistructured interviews during field studies in the cities of Çorum (Turk Alevis) and Tunceli/Dersim (Zaza/Kurd Alevis). Based on the interview findings, the study concludes that the new Alevi generation leads a more modern and at the same time more secular daily life compared to their parents. Therefore, the main assertion of this research is that the classical secularization theory has the potential to provide valuable insights not only for modern societies where Christianity is dominant but also for understanding the transformations occurring within Alevi communities in Turkey.

An International Human Rights Law Perspective on The Impact of Digitalization on The Alevi Community

The digitalization of law is occurring at an accelerated pace due to advancements in technology and the influence of the internet. This digitalization has brought about a significant transformation in the acquisition and diffusion of legal information and instruments, presenting both benefits and obstacles, particularly in the field of international human rights law. Comprehending the impact of digitalization on human rights is of utmost importance for populations such as the Alevis in Turkey, who are currently enduring violations of their fundamental rights. This is because technological advancements and their implications for human rights law play a vital role in ensuring the safeguarding and implementation of human rights while also potentially enabling tangible breaches of these rights. The European Court of Human Rights has often ruled in favor of Alevis in cases involving human rights breaches. However, the advent of digitalization brings up a new realm for Alevis’ human rights issues, since they may face distinct challenges arising from the digitalization of human rights. There are advantages to the digitalization of human rights law for Alevis, particularly in terms of enhanced accessibility to legal materials, while also having disadvantages, e.g., online hate speeches and low digital literacy, and facing potential obstacles such as bias in artificial intelligence (AI) systems. Digital platforms are also significant in safeguarding Alevi cultural rights and enabling the establishment of an understanding of being a community among Alevis via the use of internet platforms. In the era of digitalization of law, while Alevis comprehend their human rights and freedoms, they also use online platforms for activism. This article offers a thorough examination of the consequences of the digitalization of international human rights law for the Alevi population. It specifically focuses on the advantages and disadvantages associated with this phenomenon.

UNWRITTEN POLICY, CONTRADICTION OR ACCEPTANCE IN TURKISH SOCIETY VIEWED FROM A RELIGIOUS LIFE PRESPECTIVE

Majority of Turkish society adheres to the Sunni Islamic faith, while the Alevi group has emerged with a different faith. The Alevi are a complex and diverse religious and cultural identity that has undergone numerous changes in its position, outlook and interactions with the rest of Turkish society. Turkish society is not static, the contradictory attitudes taken by Turkish society towards the Alevi community, and the shifting perspectives on Alevi religious life, are often questioned. Their society changes over time due to factors such as political developments, generations and social movements. By 2022, 25 million Alevi people in Turkey will have no legal security. Alevis have faced challenges such as discrimination, unequal treatment and lack of recognition for their unique religious practices. This raises the issue of the Turkish government’s policy in dealing with the problems of the Alevi community, the attitude of Turkish society in dealing with the contradictions of the Alevi community, and the comparison of Alevi beliefs with the beliefs of Turkish society and the impact of Alevi groups on Turkish society. This paper uses a descriptive qualitative research method with data analysis and literature review. The findings of this study are that the Turkish government does not have a structured and official policy on the acceptance or rejection of the Alevi community, and Turkish society is beginning to open up to the understanding of Alevi culture. Despite the differences between Sunni and Alevi Islam, Alevi community is still able to perform their rituals without any hindrance.

Popular Tactics in National Strategies: Folkloric Nationality in Alevi Communities

Bu çalışma Alevi toplulukların folklorik unsurlarının milli ve medeni bir devlet kurmak isteyen seçkinlerin düzenlemelerinden sonra yine bu topluluklar tarafından nasıl kullanıldığını, ne gibi taktikleri oluşturmak için araçsallaştırıldığını sorunsallaştırmaktadır. İktidarların hâkim kıldıkları bir sistemde tikel kültürlerin kendilerini ifade etme ve gösterme tarzlarının çeşitliliği uzunca bir zamandır sosyal bilimcilerin gündeminde olmasına rağmen bu verimli hat henüz Alevi topluluklar özelinde tam anlamıyla tartışmaya açılmamıştır. Böyle bir sorunsallaştırmayı odağına alan çalışma, modern ve milli bir toplumun inşa sürecinde Alevi toplulukların seçkinler tarafından işlenmiş kültürlerinin yine bu topluluklar tarafından günümüz Türkiye’sinde belli taktiklerin kaynağı olarak nasıl kullanıldıklarını göstermeyi deneyecektir. “Folklorik millilik” başlığı altında tartışılacak olan bu taktikleri ele alan çalışma yoğunlukla 1980 sonrası yıllardan itibaren Alevi yazarlar tarafından neşredilmeye başlamış popüler nitelikli eserlere odaklanacaktır. Yazarlığı profesyonel bir uğraş olarak yapmayan ve çoğunlukla Alevi dernek, vakıf ve dergâhlarında görevler üstlenmiş kişilerin oluşturduğu matbuatı metin analizi yöntemiyle çözümleyecek olan çalışma, Alevi folklorik milliliğinin temel unsurlarını göstermeyi deneyecektir.

Sectarianism as racism: the collective punishment of Alevi communities in Turkey

Drawing on the case of state-sanctioned violence and discrimination against Alevis, a historically stigmatised and persecuted ethnosectarian community in Turkey, this article shows that sectarian identities can also be raced. The case of Alevis in Turkey not only indicates how sectarianism can function as a form of racism but also offers an example of the connection between the production of race and the politics of death. Approaching racism as a punitive mechanism and form of collective punishment that punishes racialised communities at different levels and that constantly reminds them of the possibility of what Gilmore terms ‘premature death’, the article offers a new and nuanced understanding of the multiple modalities of racism in Turkey. Rather than viewing racism in Turkey as merely an imitative form of European racism, this article shows that racism in Turkey is also informed by the country’s own imperial past. Turkey provides fertile ground for examining both western and non-western forms of racism and the intersections between the two.

Migration, collective remittances and religion: the growth of Alevi worship places (cemevi) in the rural homeland

ABSTRACT The influence of transnational engagements on emigrant villages has attracted noticeable scholarly attention, however, the religious dimension of the link between migration and remittances remains largely unexplored. Providing an ethnographic study exploring the dynamics and meanings involved in the growth of cemevis in villages, this paper aims to contribute to an understanding of this phenomenon, something that has received less attention in studies of migration and transnationalism. Drawing on a multi-sited ethnography of the British Alevi community in London and their villages in the Afşin-Elbistan region in Maraş province in Turkey, the paper discovers how and to what extent these transnational interactions shape places and social and religious spaces in the villages. The paper describes rural cemevis built by migrants as “remittance cemevis’ that form a channel between the diaspora and homeland and allow migrant Alevis to expand their role in the village community and influence social and cultural life.

Lokma Understanding and Practices of Balören Village Region Alevi Community

Kimliğin bir ifadesi olarak toplumsal bağları güçlendiren yemek kültürü, taşıdığı mitsel ve sembolik anlamlarla bir grubun gelenek ve göreneklerini, tarihini ve inanç sistemini yansıtabilmektedir. Bu çalışmada, Alevi topluluğunda yemek erkânının, mitler ve semboller bağlamında gündelik hayat pratiği ve inanç sistemi ile ilişkisini araştırmak amaçlanmaktadır. Çalışmada, yemek kültürü ve kimlik arasındaki ilişkiyi inceleyebilmek amacıyla öncelikle yemek kültüründe ritüel, mit ve sembollerin işlevleri ele alınmıştır. İkinci bölümde ise söz konusu bu erkân, mit ve semboller ile ortak atalar, soy ve köken arasındaki ilişki değerlendirilmiştir. Son olarak, Alevi geleneğinin yemek erkânında bölgeler arası farklılıkları analiz edebilmek amacıyla literatürdeki çalışmalara yer verilmiştir. Çalışmada, Kocaeli Balören Köyü’nde ikamet eden ya da kendisini Alevi kimliğiyle tanımlayan 18 kişi ile yüz yüze görüşmeler yapılmıştır. Ayrıca, 1 Nisan 2023 tarihinde yapılan Bağlantı Cemi ve 14 Mayıs 2023 tarihinde gerçekleştirilen Gönül Birliği lokması, katılımcı gözlemci olarak incelenmiştir. Araştırma sonuçları, Kocaeli Balören Köyü yöresi Alevilerinin cemlerde, geçiş ve özel gün sofralarında lokma geleneğini sürdürdüğünü göstermiştir. Muharrem, Hızır ve Kasım oruçlarında ve musâhiblik, düşkünlük, görgü, dardan indirme ve bağlantı cemlerindeki erkânlarda kurban edilerek yapılan yemekler (lokmalar) ve bulgur/pirinç pilavı, gözleme, lokum, börek, yufka, poğaça, kıvırma tatlısı, aşure, tulumba tatlısı ve un helvası yapıldığı tespit edilmiştir. Musâhiblik ceminde, musâhibler tarafından yenilen süt, elma, bal ve üzüm yiyeceklerinin kutsal sayıldığı ortaya çıkmıştır. Ayrıca, cemlerde yapılan yemek erkânları aracılığıyla grup kimliğine yönelik sadakatin tesis edildiği ve Balören Köyü’nde ikâmet eden Alevi topluluğuna mensup bireylerin kolektif yükümlülük ve fedakârlık pratiklerinin güçlendirildiği belirlenmiştir.

CLASSIFICATION AND ANALYSIS OF SOME TEXTUAL REFLECTING ALEVI- BEKTASHI ORAL TRADITION IN POLITICAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL CONTEXT

Abstract
 First, it should be noted that the Alevi culture was created, transmitted and maintained mainly as an oral discourse. Alevi poetry played the biggest role in this process. In this study on Alevi poetic discourse, cem, poetry, dance, semah, prayer and recitation of hymns, which are an Alevi ritual, will be discussed. The Alevi poetry, which is the creation of Bektaşi, urbanite Alevi poets who used the poetical forms of the classical Ottoman literature, or court literature will be excluded from my discussion. These forms include gazel, kaside, kıt’a, terciibend, terkib-i bend, mersiye etc which follow the form, style and the metric system used mainly by the Medresse educated court poets. Up until now the Alevi-Bektashi people have maintained their beliefs, thoughts, policy, philosophy, traditions and practices through some cultural instruments (muhabbet) which they perform in or out of cem rituals (worship gatherings), such as folk poems, folk songs (nefes, deyiş, duvazimam and so on) and folk dances (semah). Cem rituals have social, educational, cultural and political dimensions as well as their inherent religious dimension. Cem rituals, folk poems and dances change from one region to another. Despite the differences between them, it is believed that their "essence" is same. We can say that the saying "there is one path but a thousand ways" is the major notion in their cosmology. In our research, the belief structure of the Alevi culture and the way of worship are discussed based on the mâni and the koşma. In addition, the syllable structure and meanings of mâni, koşma and deyiş are presented with Turkish and English examples. Alevi ashıks, such as Kaygusuz Abdal, Hatayi and Muhiddin Abdal inserted their pen name in that short poetical form and transformed it into an individual creation. The koşma, may be known by several names, such as deyiş, deme, düvaz imam, mersiye, depending on musical tune it is associated with in the local tradition, social context, the geographic area, other performance components. These word structures and formulas reveal the Alevi cultural structure in religious rituals, music and art. Brief history of the Alevi-Bektashi society, which forms the basis of this belief structure, is also evaluated in our study. The Alevi poetry, which is the creation of the Alevi aşıks, minstrel, played a major role in transmitting the Alevi moral principles, the social and individual behaviors, the history of the Alevi community, the legendary life stories of the Alevi Babas and Dede’s and most importantly, the Alevi religious beliefs and ritual.

Fuat Bozkurt, Çağdaşlaşma Sürecinde Alevilik, Kapı Yayınları, İstanbul, 2006.

This study consists of the evaluation of Fuat Bozkurt's work called Çağdaşlaşma Sürecinde Alevilik-Alevism in the Process of Modernization-, which is about the experience in the urbanization process. Fuat Bozkurt conveyed the problems faced by the Alevi communities who migrated from the countryside to the cities in the 1990s and the solutions they produced for these people in a fluent and understandable way. Keywords: Fuat Bozkurt, Çağdaşlaşma Sürecinde Alevilik- Alevism in the Process of Modernization, Urbanization.

Police, Provocation, Politics: Counterinsurgency in Istanbul

Police, Provocation, Politics: Counterinsurgency in Istanbul

THE PERCEPTION OF THE OTHER: ALEVISM AND ALEVIS

The reality of Alevism has been affected by the political, social, religious and cultural aspects of change and transformation processes that it has been exposed to positively or negatively since the first times it emerged (itself and the societies it interacts with) and has survived until today. Along with modernity, there are many data that emerged in the name of the change-continuity relationship experienced in the transition of Alevi communities from village life to city life. Belief, worship, religious authority and the changes that occur in the new religious and social life shaped by them and the structures that show continuity are important. In some field studies, these data are identified and analysed. The subject of the study is to make socio-religious evaluations on the interviews carried out by me at various times with our Alevi citizens living in the Adıyaman region, and on some events and practices observed during this time. In this way, it is aimed to convey the (changing/differentiating) perspectives of individuals and communities living in the region (which they witnessed/exposed) under the shadow of some events and situations, and some value judgments formed accordingly, with the dimensions of "change and continuity". For example, in the Dervish Yusuf narrative, the food ritual is due to the anxiety of positioning against the other. It has revealed the prejudice that Sunnis will not eat the food of Alawites. Some unpleasant events experienced by Talip H. in his school life led him to break away from the Sunni environment as an expected result of othering. In the sense of "prayer" that Rahman Dede attributes to prayer, it is seen that the original meaning of the word has changed as a result of the adventure of marginalization. While searching for the prayer rug that the headman kept in his own house; despite all the separation movements, it is possible to see the Islamic culture in the codes. When teacher M. catches up with the meaning of the tawhid sentences read with an instrument during the cem ritual, a painful confession of othering is seen in the sentences he utters. It reveals that the cultural bigotry about the marriage of Alevis and Sunnis in the region still functions as a mediator of othering. In this article, unlike previous studies for the purpose of recognizing the study area, some of the testimonies of Alevi individuals, who have traditional and modern belief panoramas, in Adıyaman and the understanding of the other that they cause or nourish are emphasized. In the study, besides scientific data scanning, field scanning was also done. Written works were used within the framework of the subject. In addition to this, the interview method, which allows the participants to express their personal thoughts, experiences and perspectives on the subject, was used. Keywords: Alevism, Change, Continuity, Prejudice, Other.

Theatre and Solidarity among the Transnational Alevi Community

The Alevi religious minority makes up the largest religious minority in Turkey, and their history of persecution dates back before the Republic of Turkey. The inception of the Republic of Turkey as a secular nation-state in 1923 was initially promising for the Alevis, but the regime remained implicitly Sunni Muslim. So, the community’s experiences of citizenship and belonging continued to be characterized by precarity as they occupied a category of national abjection. Beginning in the 1960s, the waves of migration from rural areas to urban Turkey and Western Europe gradually transformed the experiences of the Alevi community and they became more visible. With migration, Alevi people’s everyday experiences of oppression and discrimination as well as their need for community-building and solidarity intensified. In Europe, the Alevi diaspora was too often categorized simply as Turkish or Muslim immigrants. Many of them wanted to differentiate themselves from the Sunni Muslim Turkish majority in the diaspora and gain recognition as a distinct group. They organized in their new homelands and established formal and informal networks of transnational solidarity. In the formation and sustenance of these networks and solidarity, theatre has played a crucial role. The plays staged by Alevi community theatres and professional groups in Turkey and its diasporas have focused primarily on the histories of violence and persecution against Alevis. As such, theatre functions as a site for the constitution of public memory and the intergenerational transfer and transformation of trauma and serves the affective politics of community-building and solidarity among the transnational Alevi community. The political economy of these performances is a crucial element of the politics of solidarity, contributing to the sustenance of Alevi cultural producers and their communities.

Avusturya’da Alevilik Din Eğitimi Dersleri ve “ALEVI: Lehrwerk Für Alevitischen Religionsunterricht” Ders Kitabı

Austria is one of the countries where students can take Alevism education classes as an elective course in schools and where Alevism is legally recognized and accepted as a faith. Acquisitions such as the rights obtained by the Alevi community and the ability to receive Alevism education in schools, the acceptance of Alevi holidays as an official holiday for those who have Alevi in their identity, the execution of funerals of Alevi individuals according to the Alevism tradition, the official recognition of the Alevi community by the Austrian State, etc. make Austria more prominent among other countries in terms of Alevism.Austria, which is one of the countries where the Muslim community gained the earliest rights in Europe, has broke the grounds in the process of recognizing Alevism as a faith, and has accepted Alevis as a religious community. It also recognized Alevism as a religious belief and secured the rights of Alevis with legal regulations in this regard. One of these rights and the most important one is undoubtedly Alevi religious education courses in schools. Alevism religious education courses are extremely important especially for Turkey. This situation brings up the demand of Alevis to give compulsory religion courses as an elective in our country or to teach Alevism as an elective course. The teaching of Alevism religious education courses in schools in Austria and the training of teachers who can teach these courses are carried out in accordance with Austrian laws and the protocols/agreements made by the Alevi community with relevant institutions. Although the selection and criteria of Alevism religious education classes in schools, the qualifications of the teachers who will teach the course, the teaching material/materials of the course have been determined and finalized with the directives, the Alevism religious education classes have not been fully on track due to the fact that the recognition process of Alevism in the country has taken place in the very recent

From ‘yol’ to diasporic Alevism: migration and religious change among Alevis in Britain

ABSTRACT This article explores how a religion ‘on the move’ responds to the challenges of diasporic conditions and provides an understanding of how migrant religions articulate and orient their ritual universe and social and organizational structures. Drawing on research using ethnographic fieldwork on the British Alevi community in London, the article examines how Alevism is lived, ritualized and practised in migration settings to explore the formation and experience of diasporic religion. The religious structures established through historical processes have encountered many challenges and have updated and re-oriented in new settings. Such structural changes, although first provoked by rural–urban migration, shifted and ripened in the diaspora. This migration-driven institutional development has emphasized an institutional and spatial shift since Alevism is now centred on cemevis (cem houses), a characteristic that substantially distinguishes post-migration Alevism from its old pre-migration form. The institutional and spatial transition has replaced spiritual charisma with bureaucratic power legitimized through cemevis. The article demonstrates that the migration and diaspora experience has profoundly transformed ritualized Alevi culture.

CULTURAL IDENTITY FORMATION PROCESS OF MINORITY INDIVIDUALS: AN INTERPRETATIVE PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

This article analyzes the experiences associated with ethnic/cultural identity formation process through the question of ‘How do members of minority groups form their ethnic identity?’. For this aim, qualitative methodology was applied and data analyses were done based on Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis guidance and steps. Nine participants from Arab Alevi community were interviewed twice via semi-structured interview, almost with one week interval and each interview lasted almosted 50 minutes. The participants age range changes between 18 and 70. The analyses ended up with one superordinate theme; ‘The process of ethnic identity formation’ and three subthemes namely, ‘The assumption that everybody is the same’, ‘Realization of one’s own differences’, and ‘(Ways of) Gathering Information’.Most of the participants reported that at the beginning of the ethnic identity formation process, they thought that everbody was the same and there were not any differences between people in terms of ethnicity and religious. Later on, they realized the differences through some experiences and to make it understandable they gathered information from different sources like, family, religious leader or books. The emerged themes are discussed in the light of the ethnic identity literature.

Emir Kaya. Secularism and State Religion in Modern Turkey: Law, Policy-Making and the Diyanet

Reviewed by: Secularism and State Religion in Modern Turkey: Law, Policy-Making and the Diyanet by Emir Kaya Kristin E. Fabbe Emir Kaya. Secularism and State Religion in Modern Turkey: Law, Policy-Making and the Diyanet. London: I. B. Tauris, 2018. 232 pp. Cloth, $108. ISBN: 978-1786722294. With Secularism and State Religion in Modern Turkey, Kaya makes an important contribution to a growing literature in Turkish studies that questions the usefulness of standard tropes characterizing Turkish politics and society along a secular vs. religious divide. Deploying “descriptive methods of legal pluralist theory,” the book seeks to avoid “the vicious circles of ‘secularism talk’” that have convoluted the study of the relationship between state, religion, and society in Turkey for decades. Kaya deems the theoretical tool of secularism as “too scattered and speculative to be useful” and instead offers a book that he calls “a treatise on secularism—a treatise that treats a particular type and implementation of secularism, though often tacitly, not head-on” (pp. 6–7). The focus for Kaya is on how the coexistence of Islam and Turkey’s particular variety of secularism is actually manifest in the field of law, as well as the institutions and individuals tasked with maintaining a balanced coexistence. As such, the study is rightly structured around an exhaustive examination of Turkey’s Presidency of Religion Affairs (the Diyanet), and how this official body relates to both state and societal elements. Kaya asks: What is it exactly that the Diyanet is doing as an institution and, concomitantly, what is done by means of it? The book’s central hypothesis about the Diyanet is structured around relative appearances. According to Kaya, the Diyanet appears “deficient” from some vantage points and “fair and fitting” from others, thus eluding decisive answers to the often-asked question “is it any good?” Rather, the institution as depicted through Kaya’s research comes across as a “flawed and indispensable body at the same time” (pp. 3–4), both a product of historical legacies and a pragmatic necessity. My hunch is that future scholarship is likely to debate the book’s self-proclaimed “relativism” with vigor because, at various points in the text, relativism seems to slip towards contradiction. For example, Kaya states that the Diyanet “claims to represent a multitude of voices and perspectives” (p. 75), but a thorough explanation of how exactly the Diyanet supports this claim is lacking. Furthermore, in the conclusion Kaya describes Turkey’s approach to religion as “an open-minded pluralist solution” (p. 182). Such lines of argumentation seem like a bridge too far, especially when one considers that the Diyanet is a tax funded, state institution that does not offer representation or services to Turkey’s non-Muslim and Alevi communities. To its credit, the book addresses the Diyanet’s relationship with Turkey’s multitude of religious minority groups and other detractors—both pious and non-pious alike—at some length (see below). Thus, I believe that what Kaya may be attempting to argue is that the Diyanet has tried to embrace certain norms that are traditionally associated with secularism and others that are [End Page 252] indisputably religious, which is a type of pluralism unto itself. Either that, or that the Diyanet is pluralist in the sense that it strives to maintain an equilibrium between the various sources of law that emanate from the state, from religion, and from society, respectively. Yet even still, legal pluralist theory as a research methodology and pluralism as a description of the religion-state-society arrangement that Turkey has institutionalized do occasionally appear to be conflated in ways that will unnerve critical readers of the book. Still, Secularism and State Religion in Modern Turkey is a very useful scholarly exercise for three reasons. First, through a multifaceted examination of the legal underpinnings of the Diyanet the book opens a number of new portals for analysis that go beyond the tired and polarizing discussions—the headscarf issue being just one such example—that typically structure academic work religion-state-society relations in Turkey. Indeed, several chapters of the book, especially chapters two and three, are a valuable reference for those seeking to identify the actual nuances...

The construction of gender identity in Alevi organisations: Discourses, practices, and gaps

The academic and lay interest towards Turkey’s Alevi community has so far treated the Alevi man as the ultimate Alevi subject. Gender dynamics in the Alevi communities have been overlooked since it was assumed that Alevi women enjoy equal rights with men as Alevism promotes gender equality. This has left gender dynamics in Alevi communities relatively under-researched. In this article I aim to analyse the construction of an idealised image of Alevi woman through the analysis of 31 semi-structured interviews that I have conducted with women who have administrative roles in various cemevi in Istanbul. In most narratives there is a gap between the actual situation of Alevi women and the idealised Alevi woman; this gap is understood as a result of the patriarchal culture prevalent in the Middle East, the encounters with the Sunni majority and the weakening of Alevi traditions’ influence on individuals’ daily lives.

ALEVİLİK, DAMAL'DA CEM TÖRENİNİN UYGULANMASI VE ZAKİRLİK

Alevi means that such as “belonging Ali”, “descendant of Ali”, “follower of Ali” and ”respecting and loving Ali”. Alevilik in Islamic history, means that loving, respecting and belonging Hz. Ali in all situations. In other words, Alevilik means belonging Hz. Ali and the twelve imams who are descendants of the prophet. Due to this, Alevilik is covered by Islam and cannot been thought that is seperated with Islam. Cem ceremony that is one of the most important rituals of Alevi-Bektaşi communities, is a cultural religion ceremony. Cem is a worship that is joined by Alevi community. Cem means mustering and being a community as a word, and is coming from Arabic. Kırklar Cem’i ceremony that is a kind of Cem, is scource of Cem ceremonies. Cem ceremonies are very important for Alevi communities and is base of Alevilik. There isn’t enough information about Cem ceremonies that are worshiped at tradition of Alevi-Bektaşi. Cem ceremonies is worshiped by people called Dede, who is leading the ceremony community and twelve servants. But sometimes, Cem ceremonies can be worshiped also by Anas. The twelve servants are twelve imams, who are descendants of Hz. Ali, and necessarily. Cem ceremonies are arranged for various situations in different period of year. Zakirlik sevice is one of the base ingredients of tradition of Alevi-Bektaşi in twelve services sequence. Zakirlik is serviced by a person as called Zakir. Zakir sits next to Dede during Cem ceremony, and supports him with instrument accompanied breaths. In our study, Cem, Cem ceremonies, Zakirlik, one of the twelve services have been explained in general, and later then Cem ceremony activities in Damal have been explained. For making clear, firstly Cem meaning as a word have been emphasized, and later then developing period of cem ceremony and developed native elements effects on Cem ceremony and activites have been explained.

Contract governance of religious diversity in a German city-state and its ambivalences

ABSTRACTThis contribution discusses whether specific German policy instruments developed to govern relations between the state and religious communities are a decisive step towards legal equality or of limited impact when extended to non-Christian religious minorities. I research the effects of the 2012 ‘contracts’ concluded between the city’s government and the Muslim and Alevi communities in the German city (state) of Hamburg by drawing on academic research, analysing official documents and interviewing city officials and local politicians. I find that the contracts are a decisive step towards legal equality but bring with them shortcomings that show the limited impact of contract governance measured against the complex reality of (non-)religious life in contemporary societies.