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The Alevi Diaspora: Its emergence as a political actor and its impact on the homeland Zeynep Arslan ± Abstract Through comparative literature research and qualitative analysis, this article considers the development of Alevi identity and political agency among the diaspora living in a European democratic context. This affects the Alevi emergence as political actors in Turkey, where they have no official recognition as a distinct religious identity. New questions regarding their identity and their aspiration to be seen as a political actor confront this ethnic group defined by common historical trauma, displacement, massacre, and finally emigration. It also raises important questions of what makes the Alevis a diaspora community and what are the chances and possibilities to influence the homeland. Furthermore, how does the self-identification process influence their awareness about the challenges resulting from their diaspora existence? Keywords: Eastern Anatolian Alevis; European (Anatolian) Alevis; Ethno-religious community; Democratization processes; Self-identification processes. Defining Alevism Identifying the Alevis, also involves defining an ethno-religious group. The British historian Eric J. Hobsbawm (1992: 63) writes “‘Kinship’ und ‘blood’ have obvious advantages in bonding together members of a group and excluding outsiders, and are therefore central to ethnic nationalism. […] Yet the genetic approach to ethnicity is plainly irrelevant, since the crucial basis of an ethnic group as a form of social organisation is cultural rather than biological”. Regarding the definition of “ethnicity”, the German Sociologist Max Weber (1922) used the term “Kulturgemeinschaft” as a constructed imagined feeling based on feudal boundaries of togetherness. Political scientist Benedict Anderson (2006: 6) works with the terminology of “imagined communities” and says “In fact, all communities larger than primordial villages of face-to-face contact (and perhaps even these) are imagined. Communities are to be distinguished, not by their falsity/genuineness, but by the style in which they are imagined”. In this sense, the Alevis could be seen as an ethnic communit
due to their collective consciousness of togetherness beyond “blood” and “kinship”. While Karl Michael Reiser (1997) introduces the Alevi associations in Austria as “ethnic associations” and “political pressure group” in his diploma thesis Susanne Puchberger (2004) refers to Max Weber’s activity oriented, situational and instrumental theoretical approaches and points to the fact of boundaries and togetherness of groups depending on situational, strategic and rational purposes (p. 42). The Armenian scholar Victoria Arakelova (2010) defines the Alevis as a “religious ideology spread among various ethnic groups” (p. 14). She does not assert that there is a “unifying vector”, but she simply identifies “the belonging (sometimes formal) of self-awareness”. Another very important point in Arakelova’s research is “endogamy” within ethno-religious groups. The ethno-religiousness points to the connecting point and priority of religious items aside from the ethnic belongings. Arakelova writes, “The presence of such groups in different ethnoses indicates their sub-ethnic character, as well as the initially supra-ethnic character of the doctrine itself” (p. 6). Because Alevis do not proselytise, they have never felt the need to define a dogma explaining their beliefs to the outside world. Finally, in my research (Arslan, 2016) I wrote about Alevis, who are defined by their common political traumata and discrimination under central Sunni- orthodox and nationalist political discourses through history. After being pushed to the margins of the hegemonic society and always faced by “othering”, the Alevis reacted to Sunni-Islam by developing a common attitude opposing oppressive and discriminatory political actions. Many different groups are frequently counted among the “Alevis” living in the Balkans, the Middle East and in different parts of Asia. However, they distinguish themselves from each other on a variety of points, such as their religious practices and views on Islam. For example, the Anatolian Alevis are different from the Nuṣayrī (also called the “Arab-Alevis” or just Alawis; ‘Alawīyyah) and to the Ja’fari also called “Imami Shiites”). 1 This article concentrates on the estimated twenty-five million Anatolian Alevis in Turkey and the estimated two million Alevis in the European diaspora. Also, the Anatolian Alevis contain different groups. Historian Hans Lukas Kieser (2001) notes a difference between the Western and Eastern Anatolian Alevis by also considering the particular condition of the Eastern Anatolian Alevis. For example, while the Western Anatolian Alevis mainly belong to the ethnicity of Turkmen, the Eastern Anatolian Alevis are mainly of Zaza or Kurmanc origin and therefore face multiple challenges resulting from the Turkish political 1 Ja’fari is the third tendency, beside the Ismailis and the Zeydis, in the Shīʿah rite of Islam. The Jaferi are not generally recognised by the Sunni-dominated Islam world, because of their strict position against the second and the third Caliphs in Islam, who did not support Imam Ali to serve as the fourth Caliph succeeding the Prophet Mohammed. Today this tendency of the Shīʿah rite of Islam is supported by the Iranian state. In Turkey, the most popular leader of the Cafer-i school is Selahattin Özgündüz, who very much favours the Iranian regime.
344 The Alevi Diaspora as a political actor and its impact on the homeland TPLondon.com/BorderCrossing paradigm of Turkish-Turk-Sunni-Islam 2 . Above all, Alevi activists (Kaplan, 2009: 161) define the Sivas Massacre of 1993, in which Sunni extremists assassinated 33 Alevi artists and writers, as a catalyst for the stronger political organisation of the Alevi associations. 3 The efforts for official recognition of Alevism as a legitimate religion became stronger in the 1990s. Because Alevism lacks a written text and therefore needs basic research on its origins and history, the Alevi adherents face the challenge of defining the particular Alevism and Alevi theology that should be recognised. The recognition processes were quite successful in European states, except Austria. 4 The Islam Act of 1912 passed by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, originally regulated the rights of the Muslim minority from Bosnia- Herzegovina. After the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the act was amended many times because other Muslim minorities migrated to the Austrian Republic. To recognise a particular situation for the Austrian-Anatolian Alevis, the act was again revised in 2015. 5 The question of whether or not Alevis are Muslims and whether or not Alevism is a denomination within Islam has become a dividing issue within the Austrian Alevi associations. While the former president of the IGGiÖ, Anas Schakfeh (personal communication, 22 February, 2011) declared that Alevism remains diametrically opposed to Islam and Alevism is not accepted within Islam at all, this issue polarised the Alevis in their struggle to become institutionalised in Austria. This polarisation is no longer defined by ethnic differences, but by the Alevi position to Islam. The “Islam–Alevi Society in Austria” (German: Islamisch Alevitische Glaubensgemeinschaft in Österreich) has changed its name to Alevi Religious Community in Austria, ALEVI, (German: Alevitische Glaubensgemeinschaft in Österreich) and received official recognition on 22 May 2013. Since then, it has become accepted as the official representation for the Austrian Alevis (Official Gazette; 22.5.2013). However, in the meantime, another group of Alevis, who demand recognition of Alevism as a distinct religion without a subordination to the Islam Act of 2015, do not accept the exclusive power of ALEVI and continue their efforts for a separate recognition. This Alevi tendency recently defines itself as “non–Muslims”, while simultaneously using Islamic definitions and content to explain Alevism. While initially the discussion had been focussed on the definition of Alevism, the Austrian Department for Religious Affairs (German: Kultusamt) finally broke the political power of the Islamic Religious Community in Austria
IGGiÖ (German: Islamische Glaubensgemeinschaft in Österreich), which officially represented all Muslims in Austria. The Austrian government recognised one tendency of the Alevi adherents, who sought recognition of Alevism within the Islam Act of 2015 (Arslan, 2016: 206f). Those Alevis criticised the Islam Act of 1912 for not covering all Islamic tendencies and therefore thought it was discriminatory. To be clear, the revision of the Islam Act of 1912 attempted to break the hegemonic power of the IGGiÖ. Therefore, the Shiites are also officially registered as a “registered religious community” as the Islamic Shiite Religious Community in Austria (Shia) since 1 March 2013 (Austrian Department for Religious Affairs; Kultusamt Österreich). This happened in the shadow of the Austrian government’s policy that Islamic religious teachers will no longer be accepted as diplomatic envoys from Turkey to teach Muslim children at Austrian schools. This had created many scandals due to extremist Islam propaganda through teachers primarily sent from Turkey. 6 According to the Islam Act of 2015, the Austrian education system will begin in 2017 to train Islam teachers. Moreover, the new Islam Act of 2015 sought to stop the financial and political influence of Turkey within the IGGiÖ. Currently, the Anatolian Alevis, both in Turkey and in the diaspora, are divided into two main groups. One group does not question the Alevi subordination to Islam; its critics mostly define this group’s adherents as “the Alevis of the government” (Turkish: Devletçi Aleviler). This group is more or less institutionalised by the Cem Foundation in Turkey and could be defined as Anatolian Shiites. Its followers question the hegemonial position of the Turkish Presidential Department for Religious Affairs (Turkish: Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı; Diyanet) for its exclusive representation of Sunni Islam. The other group is represented by Alevi adherents who partly question their relationship to Islam and refuse the existence of the Diyanet and resist any government intervention on religious issues. This group associates with the Confederation of the Alevi Associations in Europe and with its counterparts in Turkey, the Alevi Bektaşi Federation (Alevi Bektaşi Federasyonu) and the Pir Sultan Abdal Culture Associations (Turkish: Pir Sultan Abdal Kültür Dernekleri). It opposes the Turkish government ruled by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. However, the average member does not have a clear position towards Islam. It does not seem possible yet to have an alternative explanation for Alevism as beyond Islam or at least without using Islamic items. Therefore, the new position of Austrian Alevis due to the particular situation explained below, such as “non–Muslims” seem to enable new discussions within the community both in Turkey and in the diaspora. The situation of the Alevis in Turkey and their position as political stakeholders The processes of legally registering Alevism has succeeded in the European diaspora, except for the particular situation in Austria. However, Alevism is not formally recognised in its homeland, Turkey. Alevis still fear assimilation and persecution. The Turkish government ignores rulings of the European Court for Human Rights, such as the case brought by Hasan Zengin concerning compulsory Islam instruction at school in 2001 (EGMR: Hasan und Eylem Zengin gg. Türkei. Ruling of 9.10.2007). The first years of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) raised hopes for many people in Turkey. However, the first democratisation initiatives (Turkish: Demokratik Açılım Paketleri) 7 , did not fulfil their promises. In 2012, when Recep Tayyip Erdoğan became prime minister for the second time, he declared his project to create a “Religious Generation” (Turkish: Dindar Nesil) (Daily Newspaper Hürriyet; 2.2.2012: “Dindar gençlik yetiştireceğiz”). The AKP aims to continue this vision. In November 2015, the AKP again started to analyse the first reports about the democratisation openings, which originally started in 2009 (Daily Newspaper Milliyet; 15.11.2015: “Yol haritasının beş önceliği”). The government plans to introduce a bill establishing a foundation to represent the Alevis; to start a university related to Alevism; to officially recognise the Cem-Evleri 8 as the buildings for the religious rituals of the Alevis; to cover the administrative and actual expenses within the Cem-Evleri; and to pay the religious officiants of the Alevis, called Dede or Pir (Online Newsportal Radikal; 18.1.2016: “Hükümetin yeni ‘Alevi paketi’nde neler var?”). Currently, newspapers in Turkey debate whether each elementary school pupil should be forced to visit the mosque at least once a week. In 2015 and the first half of 2016, during discussions about constitutional changes (Turkish: Anayasa Reform’u), most Alevis in Turkey demanded the suspension of compulsory religious instruction 9 ; the suspension of the Diyanet; the official recognition of the Cem-Evleri; the reimbursement of costs for the Alevi pilgrimage Hace Bektaş Veli dermal; the end to the establishment of mosques in Alevi villages; the renovation into a museum of the Sivas Madımak Hotel, the site of the massacre of 1993; and the official recognition and apology for the Alevi massacres. The opposition Alevis, who do not conform with government policies and who do not accept subordination within Islam, complain primarily about the lack of direct government dialogue with all the Alevi tendencies in Turkey; they see the government as only representing a Sunni hegemony. The former Prime Minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, met with some deputies of the Alevi Initiative in