Alevis are muslim read this
Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2005 9:30 pmAlevi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Alevis are a branch of Islam, related to Shia Islam and practised mainly in (majority Sunni) Turkey, among both Turks and Kurds.
People
Alevis can be ethnic Turks, Kurds, Turkmen and Azeri with a particular concentration in mid-Eastern Turkey in a belt from Çorum in the West to Muş in the East, and to Ashgabat in Turkmenistan. In Balkans, especially in Albania there is a large Alevi/Beaktashi community too.(so are all those people really kurds diri??) There are also many Alevi who have migrated to the large cities of Western and Southern Turkey, as well as to Western Europe, especially Germany. Traditionally, Alevi worship isn't very often conducted in a mosque, but is intimately connected with the dede (elder) and the cemevi (meeting house).
There are also large communities of Alevis in Iranian-Azerbaijan (Iran) cities. The town of Ilkhichi (İlxıçı) , which is located 87km south west of Tabriz almost entierly populated by Alevis. For political reasons including to create a distinct identity for these communities, during early twentieth century, they are not called Alevi. They are called with various names, such as Alli Allahi, Ahle Hag and Goran. Groups with similar beliefs also exist in Iranian Kurdistan.
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Belief
Alevis has a strong beliefe in God (Allah) and his last messenger Muhammad. ( i thought they were yezdi diri?)While the sunnis follows the four caliphs; Omar, Uthman, Abu Bakr and Ali, the alevis follows only one of the caliphs;Ali_ibn_Abi_Talib and his two sons,Imam Hussain and Imam Hassan, just like the Shia muslims.Modern Alevi theology has been profoundly influenced by humanism and universalism, probably more so than any other school of Islam. Hajji Bektash Wali is just one of the alevi-teachers who lived in the 13th century. Yunus Emre and Pir Sultan Abdal is two other teachers. Like the sufis, also the Alevis uses religious music and dance, called semah or dergah, to show their belief in Allah.
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Historical
The Alevis have traditionally been discriminated against and persecuted in the rural areas of East Central Turkey which are their heartland. Their religion is tolerated in Turkey, but while compared to the Sunnis they suffer less state intervention into their internal affairs and the contents of their teaching, they also enjoy considerably less financial and organizational priviledges. The Turkish state has built and financed Sunni mosques in many almost completely Alevi villages and small towns; many Alevis consider this a purposeful humiliation.
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Recent History
In the 20th Century, many Alevis became involved in secularist left-wing politics in Turkey, both in the establishment Republican People's Party and parties further to the left, some to the point of left-wing extremism. This meant that Alevis bore the brunt of the anti-leftwing backlash after the military coup of 1980, and of Islamic fundamentalist violence. In the 1980s an ephemeral left-wing organisation called Kızıl Yol (Red Path) announced to struggle for an independent "Socialist People's Republic of Alevistan". The oppression reached its dénouement in Sivas on 2 July 1993, when 36 Alevis and a Dutch anthropologist attending a cultural conference were burned to death in a hotel by Sunni locals. The response from the security forces at the time and afterwards was weak. This began a process of Alevis organising more consciously and more publicly in favour of their own interests, although most still tend to vote for mainstream centre-left and left parties.
[edit]
Name
The name is derived from the name of Ali. They are not to be confused with the Alawi of Syria, who are another heterodox branch of the Shia (though also named for Ali). Alawites has other beliefs than the Alevis of Turkey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Alevis are a branch of Islam, related to Shia Islam and practised mainly in (majority Sunni) Turkey, among both Turks and Kurds.
People
Alevis can be ethnic Turks, Kurds, Turkmen and Azeri with a particular concentration in mid-Eastern Turkey in a belt from Çorum in the West to Muş in the East, and to Ashgabat in Turkmenistan. In Balkans, especially in Albania there is a large Alevi/Beaktashi community too.(so are all those people really kurds diri??) There are also many Alevi who have migrated to the large cities of Western and Southern Turkey, as well as to Western Europe, especially Germany. Traditionally, Alevi worship isn't very often conducted in a mosque, but is intimately connected with the dede (elder) and the cemevi (meeting house).
There are also large communities of Alevis in Iranian-Azerbaijan (Iran) cities. The town of Ilkhichi (İlxıçı) , which is located 87km south west of Tabriz almost entierly populated by Alevis. For political reasons including to create a distinct identity for these communities, during early twentieth century, they are not called Alevi. They are called with various names, such as Alli Allahi, Ahle Hag and Goran. Groups with similar beliefs also exist in Iranian Kurdistan.
[edit]
Belief
Alevis has a strong beliefe in God (Allah) and his last messenger Muhammad. ( i thought they were yezdi diri?)While the sunnis follows the four caliphs; Omar, Uthman, Abu Bakr and Ali, the alevis follows only one of the caliphs;Ali_ibn_Abi_Talib and his two sons,Imam Hussain and Imam Hassan, just like the Shia muslims.Modern Alevi theology has been profoundly influenced by humanism and universalism, probably more so than any other school of Islam. Hajji Bektash Wali is just one of the alevi-teachers who lived in the 13th century. Yunus Emre and Pir Sultan Abdal is two other teachers. Like the sufis, also the Alevis uses religious music and dance, called semah or dergah, to show their belief in Allah.
[edit]
Historical
The Alevis have traditionally been discriminated against and persecuted in the rural areas of East Central Turkey which are their heartland. Their religion is tolerated in Turkey, but while compared to the Sunnis they suffer less state intervention into their internal affairs and the contents of their teaching, they also enjoy considerably less financial and organizational priviledges. The Turkish state has built and financed Sunni mosques in many almost completely Alevi villages and small towns; many Alevis consider this a purposeful humiliation.
[edit]
Recent History
In the 20th Century, many Alevis became involved in secularist left-wing politics in Turkey, both in the establishment Republican People's Party and parties further to the left, some to the point of left-wing extremism. This meant that Alevis bore the brunt of the anti-leftwing backlash after the military coup of 1980, and of Islamic fundamentalist violence. In the 1980s an ephemeral left-wing organisation called Kızıl Yol (Red Path) announced to struggle for an independent "Socialist People's Republic of Alevistan". The oppression reached its dénouement in Sivas on 2 July 1993, when 36 Alevis and a Dutch anthropologist attending a cultural conference were burned to death in a hotel by Sunni locals. The response from the security forces at the time and afterwards was weak. This began a process of Alevis organising more consciously and more publicly in favour of their own interests, although most still tend to vote for mainstream centre-left and left parties.
[edit]
Name
The name is derived from the name of Ali. They are not to be confused with the Alawi of Syria, who are another heterodox branch of the Shia (though also named for Ali). Alawites has other beliefs than the Alevis of Turkey
