Title the Process of Marginalization of the Alevis in the Ottoman
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Title The process of marginalization of the Alevis in the Ottoman Empire: A historical perspective Buket Karakaya Supervisor Professor Victor Ghica This Master’s Thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the MA degree at MF Norwegian School of Theology, 2018, Spring AVH5080: Thesis for Master in History of Religions (60 ECTS) History of Religions Word count [(ex. front page, content list, bibliography, attachments): 32095] i Abstract Alevis have been marginalized, massacred, and assimilated since the Ottoman Empire, during the Turkish Republic and continue to be even today. So far, Alevis had to hide their identities and there is no homogenous definition of this identity such as a sect of Islam, Anatolian Shiah or a culture more than a religion. Therefore, the roots of Alevi belief have been under study and the agreed point of objective field researchers is claimed that Alevism is a syncretic belief system. At the same time, the reasons for being the “other” during the Ottoman Empire period have been questioned. The answers appeared in the form of opinions such as the Ottoman Empire tax system and the concomitant poverty, chaos, and rebellions; 16th century Safavid Empire’s propaganda led by Shah Ismail; and the concern related to fundamental religious practices which may damage Islam authority. Another reason, arising from the research, is that Alevism has its own system and heirarchical belief as Alevis conduct their social life based on humanism and equality. Thereby, this belief system and social practices are not compatible with any state government. Key words: Alevism, Alevis, Kizilbash, Bektashism, the Ottoman Empire, Marginalization, i Contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... i Contents ..................................................................................................................................... ii Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1 Definition of Alevism ................................................................................................................ 4 Historical overview of the definitions of Alevism ................................................................. 5 Anatolian Alevism .................................................................................................................. 8 Bektashism .......................................................................................................................... 8 Kizilbash ........................................................................................................................... 12 Faith and worship in Anatolian Alevism .............................................................................. 14 God and Humanity Perception in Alevism ....................................................................... 14 Dedelik .............................................................................................................................. 16 Cem ................................................................................................................................... 17 The Ottoman Empire and Kizilbash ........................................................................................ 21 The beginning of the Kizilbash in Safavid Dynasty period .................................................. 21 Bayezid II and Kizilbash politics .......................................................................................... 24 Yavuz Sultan Selim Period and Kizilbash Politics ............................................................... 27 Kanuni Sultan Suleiman Period and Kizilbash Politics........................................................ 34 Ottoman Janissary Army and its connection with Bektashism ............................................ 45 Janissary Army .................................................................................................................. 45 The Revolts in Anatolia and Alevism ..................................................................................... 51 Babâî Rebellion (1239/1240) ................................................................................................ 53 Sheikh Bedreddin Rebellion (1420) ..................................................................................... 56 Shah Kulu Rebellion (1511) ................................................................................................. 57 Kalender Çelebi (1524) ........................................................................................................ 59 Pir Sultan Abdal.................................................................................................................... 60 Domination of Sunni Islam and Marginalisation of Alevism in Ottoman Empire Period ...... 64 Alevism as an “Other” in the Period of Ottoman Empire .................................................... 70 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 82 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................ 86 ii Introduction Alevism is a belief which is still a debate subject in the scientific world in terms of how it started and is formed. In addition to definitions and social positions that can be assessed within the center-periphery relationship; orthodox-heterodox religious distinction, Turkish/Turkmen- Kurdish discrimination, etc. are deeply influencing these definitions. While according to some researchers, Alevism started with the Islamic Caliphate Ali; according to some others, it is an Anatolian interpretation of Shamanism which is a Central Asian Turkish belief. According to some other, it is the living version of Zoroastrianism in Anatolia. From another perspective, it is a religion that was born before Islam and Christianity and pioneered them. Based on historical evidence, Alevism, which is found in the context of “syncretism”, emerges as an identity problem, as it happens in all religions, ethnicity or other identities of belonging, from its existence to date. The Alevi identity is also evaluated together with the society it exists in. However, the most important thing for Alevis is the identity conflict with Sunni Islam, especially in Anatolia. A social identity has been formed through being the “other” in the presence of a dominant Sunni identity, having a historically opposite position to them, and seeing them as a threat. The Alevis have been subjected to policies of denial, slaughter, and assimilation in Anatolia and Mesopotamia for centuries. During the Seljuk Empire, Ottoman Empire, and the Republic of Turkey, it is possible to say that they also routinely suffered from massacres, were subjected to a systematic policy of assimilation, and still suffer from marginalization today. From this point of view, the real problem of Alevism is having had the experience of serious marginalization, assimilation, and slaughter. This has been an important factor for the identity formation of Alevism. The perspective of a society that has been marginalized in the formation and development of its identity, which was assimilated and slaughtered, must have been developed around these influences. In this context, it is difficult to make a retrospective analysis and analyze the lives of the communities in today's world in which life changes constantly; new identities and ideas are formed. However, the evaluation and interpretation of existing information and documents are important from this point of view. It is important to remember that Alevism and all other religions in this region are under the influence of peasant life in the past. It should be considered that religion and life approaches of all communities in which social values have hardly changed and are closed to the outside. However, in the last century, rapid changes connected to the technology both in Turkey and the world have led to a significant 1 change not only in Alevis but also on all religious and non-religious communities. It is important not to forget that there will be serious differences between the present Alevism that emerged as a result of these changes and Alevism of the past. It is difficult or even impossible to evaluate Alevism and say that this is real Alevism because there is not much written documents. Analyses to be done using scientific data will exhibit a general approach. What is also being done in this study is to define Alevism in the light of scientific data and to shed light on what happened in this context. Nowadays it is not possible to say that the majority of academic studies conducted on Alevism in Turkey is objective in nature. There are nationalist researchers who try to assimilate Alevism into Islam, Marxist researchers who see Alevism as a culture and a way of life instead of belief system, and various other studies. This identity has an expanding symbolic repertory and is nourished from innumerable elements. Among these, one of the most mentioned topics is the "doctrine of rebellion". One group argues that Alevism is resistant to Sunni repressive politics via secularism and humanism, while another group expresses that Alevism was born as pre- socialism and was a theology of salvation. In fact, all these aspects show that Alevism