Alevism

Practices

The Alevi spiritual path (yol) is commonly understood to take place through four major life-stages, or "gates". These may be further subdivided into "four gates, forty levels" (Dört Kapı Kırk Makam). The first gate (religious law) is considered elementary (and this may be perceived as subtle criticism of other Muslim traditions).

Krisztina Kehl-Bodrogi reports that the Tahtacı identify müsahiplik with the first gate şeriat ("the way"), since they regard it as a precondition for the second tarikat ("the order"). Those who attain to the third gate marifat, ("gnosis") must have been in a müsahiplik relationship for at least twelve years. Entry into the third gate dissolves the müsahiplik relationship (which otherwise persists unto death), in a ceremony called Öz Verme Âyini ("ceremony of relinquishing the self"). The value corresponding to the second gate (and necessary to enter the third) is âşinalık ("intimacy"). Its counterpart for the third gate is called peşinelik; for the fourth gate hâkikat (the truth). Most Alevi activity takes place in the context of the second gate (spiritual brotherhood), during which one submits to a living spiritual guide (dede, pir, mürşid). The existence of the third and fourth gates is mostly theoretical, though some older Alevis have apparently received initiation into the third.

There are major crimes that cause an Alevi to be declared düşkün (shunned).

Hierarchy

The clergy is totally different from mainstream Islam and takes its roots from Sufism and Tengrism. Bektashism is initiatic and members must traverse various levels or ranks as they progress along the spiritual path to the Reality. First level members are called aşıks (lit. bards). They are those who, while not having taken initiation into the order, are nevertheless drawn to it. Following initiation (called nasip) one becomes a mühip (lit. lover). After some time as a mühip, one can take further vows and become a dervish.

The next level above dervish is that of baba. The baba (lit. father) is considered to be the head of a tekke and qualified to give spiritual guidance (irşad). Above the baba is the rank of dede (lit. grandfather). Teachings are passed on by a dede, instead of an imam. Traditionally there were twelve of these, the most senior being the "dedebaba" (great-grandfather).

The dedebaba was considered to be the highest-ranking authority in the Bektashi Order. Traditionally the residence of the dedebaba was the Pir Evi (The Saint's Home) which was located in the Haji Bektash Veli Complex in Turkey and currently in Bektashi World Center in Albania.

Cem and Cemevi

Alevi religious, cultural and other social activities take place in the cemevi "assembly house". The ceremony's prototype is the Muhammad's nocturnal ascent into heaven, where he beheld a gathering of forty saints (Kırklar Meclisi), and the ultimate reality made manifest in their leader, Ali.

The Cem is the gathering for ritualistic reasons which features music, singing, and dancing in which both women and men participate. Rituals are performed in Turkish, Zazaki, Kurmanji and other local languages.

During the Cem, the Aşık plays the bağlama whilst singing spiritual songs, some of which are centuries old and well known amongst Alevis. Every song, called a nefes, has spiritual meaning and aims to teach the participants essential lessons.

Twelve services

There are twelve services (Turkish: On İki hizmet) performed by the twelve ministers of the cem.

1. Dede: This is the leader of the Cem who represents Muhammad and Ali. The Dede receives confession from the attendees at the beginning of the ceremony. He also leads funerals, Müsahiplik, marriage ceremonies and circumcisions. The status of Dede is hereditary and he must be a descendant of Ali and Fatima.
2. Rehber: This position represents Husayn. The Rehber is a guide to the faithful and works closely with the Dede in the community.
3. Gözcü: This position represents Abu Dharr al-Ghifari. S/he is the assistant to the Rehber. S/he is the Cem keeper responsible for keeping the faithful calm.
4. Çerağcı: This position represents Jabir ibn Abd-Allah and s/he is the light-keeper responsible for maintaining the light traditionally given by a lamp or candles.
5. Zakir: This position represents Bilal ibn al-Harith. S/he plays the bağlama and recites songs and prayers.
6. Süpürgeci: This position represents Salman the Persian. S/he is responsible for cleaning the Cemevi hall and symbolically sweeping the carpets during the Cem.
7. Meydancı: This position represents Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman.
8. Niyazcı: this position represents Muhammad ibn Maslamah. S/he is responsible for distributing the sacred meal.
9. İbrikçi: this position represents Kamber. S/he is responsible for washing the hands of the attendees.
10. Kapıcı: this position represents Ghulam Kaysan. S/he is responsible for calling the faithful to the Cem.
11. Peyikçi: this position represents Amri Ayyari.
12. Sakacı: represents Ammar ibn Yasir. Responsible for the distribution of water, sherbet (sharbat), milk etc..

Rituals

Alevis use Turkish rather than Arabic for their religious ceremonies and literature. A family of ritual dances characterized by turning and swirling is inseparable from the cem. The Semah is performed by men and women together to accompany the bağlama. The dances symbolize (for example) the revolution of the planets around the Sun by people turning in circles, and the putting off of the self and uniting with God.

The Rite of Admission (ikrar cemi) is the initiation ritual when somebody born or converts into Alevism.

The Rite of Integration (görgü cemi) is a complex ritual occasion in which a variety of tasks are allotted to incumbents bound together by extrafamilial brotherhood (müsahiplik). These incumbents undertake a dramatisation of unity and integration under the direction of the dede.

The love of the creator for the created and vice versa is symbolised in the Cem by the use of fruit juice and/or red wine. Dem represents the intoxication of the lover in the beloved. During the ceremony Dem is one of the twelve duties of the participants.

At the closing of the cem ceremony, the dede who leads the ceremony engages the participants in a discussion called a sohbet.

Festivals

Alevis celebrate and commemorate Ali's birth, his wedding with Fatima, the rescue of Yusuf from the well, and the creation of the world on this day. Various cems and special programs are held.

Muharram

The Muslim month of Muharram begins 20 days after Eid ul-Adha (Kurban Bayramı). Alevis observe a fast for the first twelve days, known as the Mourning of Muharram (Turkish: Muharrem Mâtemi, Yâs-ı Muharrem, or Mâtem Orucu; Kurdish: Rojîya Şînê or Rojîya Miherremê). This culminates in the festival of Ashura (Aşure), which commemorates the martyrdom of Husayn at Karbala. The fast is broken with a special dish called aşure from a variety (often twelve) of fruits, nuts, and grains. Many events are associated with this celebration, including the salvation of Husayn's son Ali al-Sajjad from the massacre at Karbala, thus allowing the bloodline of the family of Muhammad to continue.

Hıdırellez

Hıdırellez honors the mysterious figure Khidr (Turkish: Hızır) who is sometimes identified with Saint George, and is said to have drunk of the water of life. Some hold that Khidr comes to the rescue of those in distress on land, while Elijah (Ilyas) helps those at sea; and that they meet at a rose tree in the evening of every 6 May. The festival is also celebrated in parts of the Balkans by the name of "Erdelez," where it falls on the same day as George's Day in Spring or Saint George's Day.

Khidr is also honored with a three-day fast in mid-February called Hızır Orucu. In addition to avoiding any sort of comfort or enjoyment, Alevis also abstain from food and water for the entire day, though they do drink liquids other than water during the evening.

Note that the dates of the Khidr holidays can differ among Alevis, most of whom use a lunar calendar, but some a solar calendar.

Müsahiplik

Müsahiplik (roughly, "Companionship") is a covenant relationship between two men of the same age, preferably along with their wives. In a ceremony in the presence of a dede the partners make a lifelong commitment to care for the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of each other and their children. The ties between couples who have made this commitment is at least as strong as it is for blood relatives, so much so that müsahiplik is often called spiritual brotherhood (manevi kardeşlik). The children of covenanted couples may not marry.

Folk practices

Many folk practices may be identified, though few of them are specific to the Alevis. In this connection, scholar Martin van Bruinessen notes a sign from Turkey's Ministry of Religion, attached to Istanbul's shrine of Eyüp Sultan, which presents:

...a long list of 'superstitious' practices that are emphatically declared to be non-Islamic and objectionable, such as lighting candles or placing 'wishing stones' on the tomb, tying pieces of cloth to the shrine or to the trees in front of it, throwing money on the tomb, asking the dead directly for help, circling seven times around the trees in the courtyard or pressing one's face against the walls of the türbe in the hope of a supernatural cure, tying beads to the shrine and expecting supernatural support from them, sacrificing roosters or turkeys as a vow to the shrine. The list is probably an inventory of common local practices the authorities wish to prevent from re-emerging.

Other, similar practices include kissing door frames of holy rooms; not stepping on the threshold of holy buildings; seeking prayers from reputed healers; and making lokma and sharing it with others. Also, Ashure is made and shared with friends and family during the month of Muharram in which the Day of Ashure takes place.

Visitations

Performing ziyarat and du'a at the tombs of Alevi-Bektashi saints or pirs is quite common. Some of the most frequently visited sites are the shrines of Şahkulu and Karacaahmet (both in Istanbul), Abdal Musa (Antalya), Seyyid Battal Gazi Complex (Eskişehir), Hamza Baba (İzmir), Hasandede (Kırıkkale).

In contrast with the traditional secrecy of the Cem ceremony ritual, the events at these cultural centers and sites are open to the public. In the case of the Hacibektaş celebration, since 1990 the activities there have been taken over by Turkey's Ministry of Culture in the interest of promoting tourism and Turkish patriotism rather than Alevi spirituality. The annual celebrations held at Hacıbektaş (16 August) and Sivas (the Pir Sultan Abdal Kültür Etkinlikleri, 23–24 June).

Some Alevis make pilgrimages to mountains and other natural sites believed to be imbued with holiness.

Almsgiving

Alevis are expected to give zakat, but there is no set formula or prescribed amount for annual charitable donation as there is in other forms of Islam (2.5% of possessions above a certain minimum). Rather, they are expected to give the "excess" according to Qur'an 2:219. A common method of Alevi almsgiving is through donating food (especially sacrificial animals) to be shared with worshippers and guests. Alevis also donate money to be used to help the poor, to support the religious, educational and cultural activities of Alevi centers and organizations (dargahs, awqaf, and meetings), and to provide scholarships for students.

Infant initiation

There is an initiation called kırklama, which takes place 40-days after the birth. Unlike, many other Islamic sects, in Alevism khitan or circumcision is considered a tradition, but it is not strictly mandatory. Today, there are is an increasing number of modern and secular Alevis who choose to not circumcise their male children for a variety of different reasons. Many other branches of Islam view circumcision as strictly mandatory outside of rare circumstances. The Dede is responsible for leading the spiritual kinship practice of kirvelik which can include but does not require circumcision.

History

Seljuk period

During the great Turkish expansion from Central Asia into Iran and Anatolia in the Seljuk period (11–12th centuries), Turkmen tribes accepted a Sufi and pro-Alid form of Islam that co-existed with some of their pre-Islamic customs. Their conversion to Islam in this period was mainly achieved through the efforts not of textual scholars (ulama) expounding the finer points of tafsir and sharia, but by charismatic dervishes, a belief whose cult of Muslim saint worship, mystical divination and millenarianism spoke more directly to the steppe mindset. These tribes dominated Anatolia for centuries with their religious warriors (ghazi) spearheading the drive against Byzantines and Crusades.

Ottoman period

As in Khorasan and West Asia before, the Turkmens who spearheaded the Ottomans' drive into the Balkans and West Asia were more inspired by a vaguely Shiite folk Islam than by formal religion. Many times, Ottoman campaigns were accompanied or guided by Bektaşi dervishes as they were the military chaplains, spiritual heirs of the 13th century Sufi saint Haji Bektash Veli, himself a native of Khorasan. After the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the Ottoman state became increasingly determined to assert its fiscal but also its juridical and political control over the farthest reaches of the Empire.

The resulting Qizilbash revolts, a series of millenarian anti-state uprisings by the non-Sunni Turkmen population of Anatolia that culminated in the establishment of a militantly Shiite rival state in neighbouring Iran. The Ottoman Empire later proclaimed themselves its defenders against the Safavid Shia state and related sects. This created a gap between the Sunni Ottoman ruling elite and the Alevi Anatolian population. Anatolia became a battlefield between Safavids and Ottomans, each determined to include it in their empire.

During the same era, orders that the Alevis followed were positioned differently. The Bektashiyya became the official army order whilst other orders like the Qalandariyya, Saʿdiyya and Safaviyya were seen as public adversaries.

Republic of Turkey

According to Eren Sarı, Alevi saw Kemal Atatürk as a Mahdi "savior sent to save them from the Sunni Ottoman yoke". However, pogroms against Alevi did not cease after the establishment of the Turkish Republic. In attacks against leftists in the 1970s, ultranationalists and reactionaries killed many Alevis. Malatya in 1978, Maraş in 1979, and Çorum in 1980 witnessed the murder of hundreds of Alevis, the torching of hundreds of homes, and lootings. Alevis have been victims of pogroms during both Ottoman times and under the Turkish republic up until the 1993 Sivas massacre.

The workshops process launched during the second term of the Justice and Development Party government, known as the "Alevi Opening", ended in disappointment among Alevi organizations, who found their demands treated as a question of the authenticity of Alevi tradition rather than of equal citizenship rights. Migration to Turkey's cities sharpened the question: as cem ceremonies became difficult to hold in private households, the allocation of land for new cemevis and the payment of their utilities emerged as significant problems and sources of contention.

In 2022, the Turkish state has officially recognized Alevism as a 'cultural group'. As of 2025, Alevism is recognized by the governments of the main Turkish diaspora destinations throughout the world.

Organization

In contrast to the Bektashi order – tariqa, which like other Sufi orders is based on a silsila "initiatory chain or lineage" of teachers and their students, Alevi leaders succeed to their role on the basis of family descent. Perhaps ten percent of Alevis belong to a religious elite called ocak "hearth", indicating descent from Ali and/or various other saints and heroes. Ocak members are called ocakzades or "sons of the hearth". This system apparently originated in the Safavid state.

Alevi leaders are variously called murshid, pir, rehber or dede. Groups that conceive of these as ranks of a hierarchy (as in the Bektashi Order) disagree as to the order. The last of these, dede "grandfather", is the term preferred by the scholarly literature. Ocakzades may attain to the position of dede on the basis of selection (by a father from among several sons), character, and learning. In contrast to Alevi rhetoric on the equality of the sexes, it is generally assumed that only males may fill such leadership roles.

In the wake of 20th century urbanization (which removed young laborers from the villages) and socialist influence (which looked upon the dedes with suspicion), the old hierarchy has largely broken down. Many dedes now receive salaries from Alevi cultural centers, which arguably subordinates their role. Such centers no longer feature community business or deliberation, such as the old ritual of reconciliation, but emphasize musical and dance performance to the exclusion of these. Dedes are now approached on a voluntary basis, and their role has become more circumscribed – limited to religious rituals, research, and giving advice.

According to John Shindeldecker "Alevis are proud to point out that they are monogamous, Alevi women are encouraged to get the best education they can, and Alevi women are free to go into any occupation they choose."

Relationship with other groups

Alevis are usually classified as a sect of Shia Islam, and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini decreed Alevis to be part of the Shia fold in the 1970s. However, Alevi philosophies, customs, and rituals are appreciably different from those of mainstream, orthodox Usulis.

The relationship between Alevis and Sunnis is one of mutual suspicion and prejudice dating back to the Ottoman period. Hundreds of Alevis were murdered in sectarian violence in the years that preceded the 1980 coup, and as late as the 1990s dozens were killed with impunity. While pogroms have not occurred since then, Erdogan has declared "a cemevi is not a place of worship, it is a center for cultural activities. Muslims should only have one place of worship."

There are claims that they have been subject to intolerant Sunni "nationalism" that has been unwilling to recognize Alevi "uniqueness".

Demographics

Most Alevi live in Turkey, where they are a minority and Sunni Muslims the majority. The size of the Alevi population is likewise disputed, but most estimates place them somewhere between 4% and 15%. Scattered minorities live in the Balkans, the Caucasus, Cyprus, Greece, Iran and the diaspora such as Germany and France. In the 2021 United Kingdom census, Alevism was discovered to be the eighth largest religion in England and Wales, after Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Judaism and Paganism.

Different estimations exist on the ethnic composition of the Alevi population. Ethnic Turks are thought to be the largest ethnic group among Alevis, while Dressler stated in 2008 that about a third of the Alevi population is Kurdish, Hamza Aksüt argued that the majority is Kurdish when all groups he considers as Alevis, such as the Yarsanis, are counted.

Population estimates

The Alevi population has been estimated as follows:

• Approximately 20 million according to Daily Sabah, a newspaper close to the government in 2021.
• 12,521,000 according to Sabahat Akkiraz, an MP from CHP.
• "approx. 15 million..." – Krisztina Kehl-Bodrogi.
• 4% of total population of Turkey – KONDA Research (2021).
• In Turkey, 15% of Turkey's population (approx. 10.6 million) – Shankland (2006).
• 20 to 25 million according to Minority Rights Group.
• There is a native 3,000 Alevi community in Western Thrace, Greece.
• The predominant religion of the Äynu people of western China is Alevism. There are estimated to be around 30–50 thousand Äynu, mostly located on the fringe of the Taklamakan Desert.
• 25,672 Alevi live in England and Wales.
• 600,000 to 700,000 Alevi live in Germany.
• 100,000 to 200,000 Alevi live in France.

Social groups

There is an unofficial division between Alevis in terms of locative origins. The 'Village Alevis' (Kizilbash or Köy Aleviliği) are traditionally predominantly rural and acquire identity through the family. According to the AABF (German Federation of Alevi Associations), in Kizilbash Alevism, it is sufficient for a person to be considered an Alevi if their mother or father are Alevi. The other partition, the 'City Bektashis' (Şehir Bektaşilği) however, are predominantly urban, and formally claim that membership is open to any Muslim. The groups are separately organized but subscribe to "virtually the same system of beliefs".

A research of the Swedish Research Institute has distinguished four main groups among contemporary Alevis in Turkey.

The first group, who form a majority of the Alevi population, regard themselves as true Muslims and are prepared to cooperate with the secular state. It adheres to the way of Jafar as-Sadiq, the Sixth Imam of Shia Islam. This group's concept of God is the same as Orthodox Islam, and like their Shia counterparts they reject the first three chosen Caliphs, whom Sunni accept as legitimate, and accept only Ali as the actual and true Caliph.

The second group, which has the second most following among Alevis, are said to be under the active influence of the official Shia and to be confirmed adherents of the Twelver branch of Shia Islam and they reject the teachings of Bektashism. They follow the Ja'fari jurisprudence and oppose secular state power.

The third group, a minority belief held by the Alevis, is mainly represented by people who belong to the political left and presumed the Aleviness as an outlook on life rather than a religious conviction by renouncing the ties of Alevism with Twelver Shia Islam. The followers of this congregation, who later turned out to support Erdoğan Çınar, hold ritual unions of a religious character and have established cultural associations named after Pir Sultan Abdal as well. According to their philosophy, the human being should enjoy a central role reminiscent of the doctrine of Khurramites, and as illustrated by Hurufi phrase of God is Man quoted above in the context of the Trinity.

The fourth who adopted some aspirations of Christian mysticism, is more directed towards heterodox mysticism and stands closer to the Bektashi order. According to the philosophy developed by this congregation, Christian mystic St Francis of Assisi and Hindu Mahatma Gandhi are better believers of God than many Muslims.