ALEVIS IN BRITAIN: EMERGING IDENTITIES IN A TRANSNATIONAL SOCIAL SPACE Ayşegül Akdemir A thesis submitted for the degree of PhD Department of Sociology University of Essex 2016 Acknowledgements First of all I would like to thank my family for their continuous support. Being abroad for a long time meant missing many family occasions and not being able to 'be there' most of the time but they understood. My parents Sevim and Süleyman Akdemir always believed in me and encouraged me. Without their support this thesis would not be a reality. I would also like to thank my sister Ebru Bıçakcı and my niece Hilal Bıçakcı for always finding a way to cheer me up even from miles away and my brother Salih Bıçakcı for sharing his wisdom at stressful times. My supervisor and 'Doktorvater' Prof. Dr. Andrew Canessa and Dr. Ayşe Güveli have been most helpful during all stages of my PhD. Also the comments and suggestions of my supervisory board chair Prof. Dr. Ewa Morawska, my internal examiner Prof. Dr. Lydia Morris and my external examiner Prof. Dr. David Shankland have improved my thesis substantially. I would like to thank them all. My research participants, who generously shared with me their time, opinions, personal stories and quite often their food, deserve special thanks. Their names are anonymised here but I will remember them. I would like to thank the chairpersons and volunteers in London Alevi Cultural Centre and Cemevi, DayMer, Nurhak Kültür Evi, Kırkısraklılar Kültür Derneği, Karacaahmet Sultan Dergahı, Şahkulu Sultan Dergahı and Kartal Cemevi for their help. Finally I would like to thank my closest friends Zeynep Kalaç, Hande Özüak and Başak Barut for their emotional support and for reminding me that life is larger than the PhD. I am also happy to have met Dilek Ulu, Deniz Ünan, Özgül Bilici, Dragana Vidovic, Vilma Agalioti, Tuğba Karayayla, Ali Keleş, Onur Düzgöl, Angeliki Balantani, Carla Xena, Johanna Hoekstra 2 and Burak Sönmez. Our "short" coffee breaks that easily turned into two hour conversations were the salt and pepper of my routine days. 3 ALEVIS IN BRITAIN: EMERGING IDENTITIES IN A TRANSNATIONAL SOCIAL SPACE Abstract Since the late 1980s Alevi identity has become increasingly visible in a transnational context. Alevis in Turkey and across various European countries have contributed to this process through active involvement in local, national and cross-border activities. From the 1980s on, mainly Kurdish and Alevi people from Central and Eastern parts of Turkey have migrated to Britain, established cultural centres and places of worship (cemevi) and gained cultural rights and public visibility. Through ethnographic research conducted mainly in London and partly in Istanbul, I explore Alevi identity building in Britain within a transnational context in which they strive to gain recognition both in Britain and in Turkey through equal citizenship (eşit vatandaşlık). My research contributes to Alevis’ visibility in academia and sheds light on the concepts of transnationalism and identity through empirical evidence. Alevi identity is a central motivation for mobilising Alevis and they construct their identity in a dynamic process that involves links with Turkey, symbolic attachment to homeland based identities and their new experiences in the receiving country, engaging in various cross-border practices on the supranational and transnational levels. The two levels interact; a universal human rights discourse and the institutions that promote it strengthen Alevi claims on the transnational level in both their interactions with the Turkish government and translocal activities. They not only use this human rights discourse instrumentally in their claims- making but also argue that it is a component of their belief system. In both private and public spheres, Alevis continue to express their identity in opposition to, or difference from, the Sunni majority in Turkey through emphasising morality over religious practices, liberal gender attitudes and claiming their inherent compatibility with the host society’s norms. By 4 integrating these principles into their communal activities, Alevis in Britain also construct their identity as one that is progressive, inclusive and in opposition to assimilation. 5 List of Abbreviations: AABF: Avrupa Alevi Birlikleri Federasyonu (Europe Alevi Unions Federation) BAF: Britanya Alevi Federasyonu (Britain Alevi Federation) CEM Foundation: Cumhuriyetçi Eğitim ve Kültür Merkezi Vakfı (Republican Education and Culture Centre Foundation) DayMer: Dayanışma Merkezi (Solidarity Centre) Turkish and Kurdish Community Centre DRA: Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı (Directorate of Religious Affairs) EACC: England Alevi Culture Centre and Cemevi ECHR: European Court of Human Rights JDP: Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (Justice and Development Party) PRP: Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi (People’s Republican Party) PSAKD: Pir Sultan Abdal Kültür Dernekleri (Pir Sultan Abdal Cultural Associations) TKP/ML: Türkiye Komünist Partisi/ Marksist Leninist 6 Alevi Terminology: Aşure is a dessert dish that is made of cereals, fruits and nuts. It is served during the first month of the Islamic calendar, Muharrem. Ayin-i cem (cem) can be regarded as the most significant spiritual ceremony in Alevi belief. Many other rituals within their communities reflect the elements of the cem ceremony. Cem literally means gathering, consists of prayers and several duties and is conducted when the participants’ consent is ensured. Cemevi, literally gathering house, refers to the place where the cem ceremony is conducted. Originally it was the largest house in a village. The modern cemevi is a public space specially designed for the ceremony but also functions as community centre, offering educational and cultural activities. Dede, literally grandfather, is the spiritual guide of an Alevi community belonging to a holy clan called ‘ocak’. Every Alevi is the talip (follower) of a particular dede and dedes are talips of higher spiritual leaders called pir or mürşit in some Alevi settings. Dedes are believed to descend from the twelve Imams’ lineage. Halk mahkemesi, people’s tribunal, resembles a part of the cem ceremony, (originally called ‘görgü’ or ‘dara çekmek’), where the dede asks the participants of the ceremony if they are content with each other and solves conflicts among his followers. This has been transformed in the diaspora context. Muharrem is the month when Imam Ali’s children and supporters were killed in the Battle of Kerbela in 680. It is a time for mourning and some Alevis (mostly dedes) may choose to fast during Muharrem. The rules and rituals of the Muharrem fast (Muharrem orucu) are different from those practised in Sunni Islam. 7 Musahiplik refers to a sacred bond between two married men and their households. This bond is believed to come from the spiritual brotherhood between Muhammed and Ali and is reckoned to be as strong as a kin tie. The individuals who have this bond are called musahip. Rıza Şehri, literally town of consent, is the utopian society which is organised according to the principle of consent in Alevi belief. Talip is a relational term. It refers to the follower of a particular dede. 8 Table of Contents Table of Contents .....................................................................................................................9 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 11 1.1. Transnationalism ........................................................................................................ 21 1.1.1. Assimilation – transnationalism axis ............................................................. 25 1.1.2. The novel aspects of contemporary transnationalism .................................. 27 1.1.3. Transnational perspectives on different research fields ..................................... 29 1.1.3. Critical perspectives on transnationalism ..................................................... 32 1.2. Identity ....................................................................................................................... 34 1.2.1. History and definition of the concept ................................................................. 34 1.2.2. Boundaries and identity: ..................................................................................... 41 1.2.3. Implications of identity ........................................................................................ 44 1.2.4. Multiculturalism .................................................................................................. 46 1.3. Methodology: ............................................................................................................. 49 2. UK Alevis, migration and Alevi identity in transnational context ...................................... 62 2.1. Understanding Alevis in the Turkish context ............................................................. 62 2.2. Rapid urbanization, Alevis in political life and violence ............................................. 68 2.3. The 1980 Military coup and its effects on Alevis: ...................................................... 72 2.4. Ritual aspects of the Alevi revival and the transformation of the cem ceremony:.... 75 2.5. Sivas and Gazi: attacks and visibility........................................................................... 80 2.6. Migration to Europe: .................................................................................................