Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Alevis and Alevism in the Changing Context of Turkish Politics: The Justice and Development Party's Alevi Opening

2011; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 12; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/14683849.2011.604214

1743-9663

B. Ali Soner, Şule Toktaş,

Islamic Thought and Society Studies

Abstract The Justice and Development Party (JDP, Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi) has launched a rapprochement policy toward the Alevis. The JDP's Alevi Opening has presented a unique case in Turkey's latest identity politics not only because Alevi claims, for the first time, came to be involved in political processes for official recognition and accommodation, but also because the process was handled by a political party which is regarded to have retained Islamist roots in Sunni interpretation. This article explores the JDP's Alevi Opening process and tries to explain the motivations behind the party's decision to incorporate the Alevi question in its political agenda. What is more, the debate that the opening has caused is also under scrutiny with the positions and arguments held by the actors and the agencies involved in the process, e.g., the Alevis (the secularist and the conservative wings), the General Directorate of Religious Affairs, the National Security Council, the JDP leadership and the Islamist intellectuals. Notes Etyen Mahçupyan, Türkiye'de Gayrimüslim Cemaatlerin Sorunları ve Vatandaş Olamama Durumu Üzerine [The Problems of Non-Muslims in Turkey and the Status of Non-citizens] (Istanbul: TESEV, 2004). Turkey officially recognizes these three non-Muslim communities as minority in the 1923 Lausanne Treaty. M. Hakan Yavuz, “Cleansing Islam from the Public Sphere,” Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 54, No. 1 (2000), pp. 21–42. Gürcan Koçan and Ahmet Öncü, “Citizen Alevi in Turkey: Beyond Confirmation and Denial,” Journal of Historical Sociology, Vol. 17, No. 4 (2004), pp. 464–89. Istar B. Gözaydın, “Diyanet and Politics,” The Muslim World, Vol. 98 (2008), pp. 216–27. Janina Karolewski, “What Is Heterodox about Alevism? The Development of Anti-Alevi Discrimination and Resentment,” Die Welt des Islams, Vol. 48 (2008), pp. 434–56. The terms “orthodoxy,” “heterodoxy” and “heresy” have been used in Christian theology in order to classify what should be seen as the true faith and what has to be considered a deviation from it. In this categorization, while orthodoxy represents the true faith, heterodoxy has been applied to those groups considered heretical and held outside the recognized mainstream religion. Ahmet Yaşar Ocak, Babailer İsyanı: Aleviliğin Tarihsel Altyapısı yahut Anadolu'da İslam-Türk Heterodoksisinin Teşekkülü [The Babai Uprising: The Historical Background of Alevism or the Establishment of Turkish-Islamic Heterodoxy in Anatolia] (Istanbul: Dergah Yayınları, 1996). Cem houses are specific places of Alevis. The Alevi community gathers in these houses to perform their rituals which consist of dancing, singing, performing rituals, praying and telling stories related to important religious people in history. Krisztina Kehl-Bodrogi, “Introduction,” in K. Kehl-Bodrogi, B. Kellner-Heinkele and A. Otter-Beaujean (eds.), Syncretistic Religious Communities in the Near East (Leiden, New York and Koln: Brill, 1997), pp. 11–17. Erik Jan Zurcher and Harry van der Linden, The European Union, Turkey and Islam (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2004), p. 127. David Shankland, The Alevis in Turkey: The Emergence of a Secular Islamic Tradition (Curzon, London and New York: Routledge, 2003), pp. 13–33. Erdoğan Aydın, Kimlik Mücadelesinde Alevilik [Alevism in Identity Struggle] (Istanbul: Kırmızı Yayınları, 2008). Reha Çamuroğlu, “Alevi Revival in Turkey,” in T. Olson, E. Özdalga and C. Raudvere (eds.), Alevi Identity: Cultural, Religious and Social Perspectives (Istanbul: Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul, 1998), pp. 93–99. Elise Massicard, “Claiming Difference in an Unitarist Frame: The Case of Alevism,” in Hans-Lukas Kieser and I.B. Tauris (eds.), Turkey Beyond Nationalism: Towards Post-Nationalist Identities (London and New York, 2006), pp. 74–82. Esra Özyürek, “The Light of the Alevi Fire Was Lit in Germany and Then Spread to Turkey: A Transnational Debate on the Boundaries of Islam,” Turkish Studies, Vol. 10, No. 2 (2009), pp. 233–53. Bedriye Poyraz, EU Minority Perspective and the Case of Alevilik in Turkey, EUI Working Papers (RSCAS No. 2006/24) (Florence, Italy: European University Institute, Robert Schuman Center for Advanced Studies, 2006). Ömer Çaha, “The Role of the Media in the Revival of Alevi Identity in Turkey,” Social Identities, Vol. 10, No. 3 (2004), pp. 325–38. “AİHM'den Zorunlu Din Dersi Davasında Türkiye Aleyhine Karar,” Zaman, October 10, 2007; Olgun Akbulut and Oya Zeynep Usal, “Parental Religious Rights vs. Compulsory Religious Education in Turkey,” International Journal on Minority and Group Rights, Vol. 15, No. 4 (2008), pp. 433–55. “Bardakoğlu Sitem Etti: Danıştay, AİHM'nin Yanlışlarını Devam Ettiriyor,” Zaman, March 6, 2008. “Alevilik İslam Dışıdır Diyen Zihniyet Çağ Dışı,” Zaman, June 2, 2008. Faruk Bilici, “The Function of Alevi-Bektashi Theology in Modern Turkey,” in T. Olson, E. Özdalga and C. Raudvere (eds.), Alevi Identity: Cultural, Religious and Social Perspectives (Istanbul: Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul, 1998), pp. 59–73. Oral Çalışlar, “Cem Vakfı Başkanı İzzettin Doğan: Diyanet A'dan Z'ye Yeniden Yapılandırılmalı,” Radikal, November 13, 2008. “Aleviler Diyanet'in İçinde Özerk Olmalı,” Milliyet, December 25, 2007. Hakan Tanıttıran and Gülşen İşeri (eds.), Aleviler Aleviliği Tartışıyor [The Alevis Discussing Alevism] (Istanbul: Kalkedon Yayıncılık, 2006). “AİHM: ‘Din Hanesi İnsan Hakları İhlali’,” Milliyet, February 3, 2010. Turan Eser, “Alevi Sorunu ve Gerçeği Üstü Kapatılacak Kadar Kolay Değil” (interview with Oral Çalışlar), Radikal, November 21, 2008. Cafer Solgun, Alevilerin Kemalizm'le İmtihanı [The Test of the Alevis with Kemalism] (Istanbul: Hayy Kitap, 2008). “Alevi Dedeler, ‘Alevi Açılımı”nı Değerlendirdi’,” Milliyet, November 29, 2010. “Aleviler İlanla Hükümeti Uyardı,” Milliyet, December 15, 2007; “Alevilerden AKP'li İftara Destek Yok,” Milliyet, January 11, 2008; “Yıldırım: AKP'nin Yaptığı Alevi Açılımı Değil Alevi Çalımı,” Milliyet, June 1, 2009. “Org. Kılınç: Mezhep de Alevilik de Yanlıştır,” Zaman, April 25, 2003; “Laikliğe En Uygun Din İslam; Alevilik ise Ayrımcılıktır,” Zaman, May 17, 2003. Ruşen Çakır and İrfan Bozan, Sivil, Şeffaf ve Demokratik Bir Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı Mümkün mü? [Is a Civil, Transparent and Democratic General Directorate of Religious Affairs Possible?] (Istanbul: TESEV Yayınları, 2005), pp. 236–46. “Prof. Bardakoğlu: Alevilerin Talebi Siyasi,” Milliyet, November 6, 2005. “Cemevine İbadethane Statüsü Alevileri Müslümanlıktan Koparır,” Zaman, April 9, 2008; “Cemevleri İbadethane Değil Kültürel Mekandır,” Zaman, November 24, 2008. “Aleviler Diyanete Tepkili,” Milliyet, November 12, 2004. Ruşen Çakır, “Political Alevism versus Political Sunnism: Convergences and Divergences,” in T. Olson, E. Özdalga and C. Raudvere (eds.), Alevi Identity: Cultural, Religious and Social Perspectives (Istanbul: Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul, 1998), pp. 74–79. Ruşen Çakır and Fehmi Çalmuk, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: Bir Dönüşüm Öyküsü [Recep Tayyip Erdogan: A Story of Transformation] (Istanbul: Metis Yayınları, 2001), pp. 229–30. “AKP'den Umutluyduk,” Milliyet, December 26, 2005. “Bakan Cem'de,” Milliyet, September 18, 2006. “Erdoğan'dan Cemevi Ziyareti,” Milliyet, July 17, 2007. Mümtaz'er Türköne, “Alevi Zirvesi ve Mecburi Din Dersi,” Zaman, December 2, 2008. “Gül: Şahsen Zorunlu Din Dersine Karşıyım,” Milliyet, July 10, 2006. “Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, ‘Kurumların Değil Değerlerin Muhafazakarıyız’,” Zaman, January 12, 2004. Mümtazer Türköne, “Devrimci Muhafazakarlık,” Zaman, January 15, 2004. Ahmet Kuru, “Reinterpretation of Secularism in Turkey: The Case if the Justice and Development Party,” in M.H. Yavuz (ed.), The Emergence of a New Turkey: Democracy and the AK Parti (Salt Lake City, UT: The University of Utah Press, 2006), pp. 136–59. Ahmet Yıldız, “Muhafazakarlığın Yerlileştirilmesi ya da AKP'nin Yeni Muhafazakar Demokratlığı,” Karizma, Vol. 17 (2004), pp. 53–54. İhsan D. Dağı, “Rethinking Human Rights, Democracy, and the West: Post-Islamist Intellectuals in Turkey,” Critique: Critical Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 13, No. 2 (2004), pp. 135–51. Fatma K. Barbarosoğlu, “Ayakkabı Çıkarma Üzerinden Alevi Açılımına Bakmak,” Yeni Şafak, November 11, 2009. Ali Bulaç, “Aleviler, Devlet ve Diyanet,” Zaman, November 29, 2008; Yasin Aktay, “Gerçek Alevi Olmak İçin,” Yenişafak, January 15, 2007; Fehmi Koru, “Aleviler ve Sorunun Kaynağı,” Yenişafak, November 15, 2008. Fehmi Koru, “Çözüm: Daha Fazla Laiklik,” Yenişafak, February 9, 2005; Fehmi Koru, “Yeni Dönemin İlk Dikenli Konusu: Alevilik,” Yenişafak, August 20, 2008. Yasin Aktay, “Zorunlu Din Dersi,” Yenişafak, March 10, 2008. Ali Bulaç, “Alevi Talepleri,” Zaman, November 24, 2008. See Note 39. “Erdoğan: Birbirimizle Aynı Olmak Zorunda Değiliz,” Hürriyet, January 31, 2009; “Başbakan Erdoğan: Sivas Ortak Acımız,” Radikal, January 8, 2009. “AKP'de ‘Alevi Dedesi’ Krizi,” Vatan, November 27, 2008. “Hükumetin Yol Haritası Hazır; İlk Adım Alevi Zirvesi,” Zaman, November 30, 2008; “Hükümet Alevi Açılımı İçin Düğmeye Bastı,” Zaman, April 18, 2009. “Alevi Çalıştayları Önraporu,” Taraf, February 9, 2010. (full text).