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ABSTRACT
Alevi-Sunni relations in Turkey are the result of a relational process constructed from contributions of each side rather than each groups’ perceptions of the other. Boundaries between Alevis and Sunnis in Turkey have been constructed relationally with the contributions of many complicated socio-political factors. This article aims to answer the question of what the symbolic boundaries between the two groups are, seeking to understand how Sunnis perceive Alevis. This aim will cast light on the nature of the two groups’ relations, help us recognize forms of Alevism and Sunnism specific to Turkey, and advance existing literature on the issue. This paper’s findings are based on ninety semi-structured and two focus group interviews with Sunnis living in Istanbul. Results show that the concept of ‘two-dimensional symbolic boundary,’ which runs along dimensions of not-knowing and not-accepting, is the answer to the question of how Sunnis perceive Alevis. The main components of these dimensions are perceptions, which seem to relate to the interpretations of group norms and values. This study, as a group-based analysis, reveals that perceived group norms – whether religious, cultural, social, or political – determine the perceptions of Sunnis towards Alevis and create dimensions of the boundary between the two groups.
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my gratitude to Ömer Çaha and Talha Köse who have read this paper. I am also thankful to anonymous reviewers for their helpful and insightful comments on this paper.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1 The first issue of the journal Cem, published in 1966, carried out research on Alevi culture and belief.
2 Hogg and Abrams, “Intergroup Relations,” 118.
3 Assmann and Czaplicka, “Collective Memory,” 125.
4 Bail, “The Configuration of Symbolic Boundaries,” 38.
5 Tajfel and Turner, “An Integrative Theory,” 35.
6 Lamont and Molnar, “The Study of Boundaries,” 186.
7 Bail, “The Configuration of Symbolic Boundaries,” 39.
8 Tajfel and Turner, “The Social Indentity Theory,” 16–17.
9 Yıldırım, Aleviliğin Doğuşu, 25.
10 Ibid., 360.
11 Çamuroğlu, Değişen Koşullarda Alevilik, 8.
12 Shankland, “Maps and the Alevis,” 238.
13 Ibid., 228.
14 Raudvere, “Kentin Bugünü,” 257.
15 The Sıraç Alevis, whose origins are based on Central Asia, are Turkmen Alevis. There are Sıraç villages with their closed social life in some parts of Central Anatolia. Sıraç Alevis’ clothing is traditional Turkish clothing of Central Asian origin, but the community is heavily dependent on Shiite traditions.
16 Yuruk are Turks who originated from Central Asia.
17 Çamuroğlu, “Türkiye’de Alevi Uyanışı,” 99.
18 Çakır, “Politik Alevilik,” 81.
19 Karolewski, “What is Heterodox,” 450.
20 Van Bruinessen, “Kurds, Turks and the Alevi,” 10.
21 The Alevi Declaration released in Hamburg in 1989 was the first formal expression of Alevi demands. One of the articles of this declaration is directly concerned with the subject of this study, as it states that ‘Sunnis must change their opinions about Alevis.’ With this declaration, Alevis have formulated their demands as ‘The Right to Equal Citizenship.’ A potential future study may choose to analyze the social, religious, and political contents of these boundaries in detail. In this way, the implicit assumptions about Alevi-Sunni relations will be both questioned and could pave the way for policies leading to the improvement of intergroup relations and impact the reconciliation process in various forms. In 2008, many Alevi leaders gathered and reformulated the Alevi demands as ‘The Right to Equal Citizenship without Discrimination.’ The most recent version of their demands was formulated in 2014 in Tunceli. Alevi Dedes submitted their twelve-item demands to Prime Minister Davutoglu. The first item is again related to Alevi relations and the desire that Alevis should not be marginalized. See http://www.haberturk.com/gundem/haber/1012598-alevilerden-basbakana-12-maddelik-talep-listesi.
22 Alevis’ place of worship.
23 Yaman, Alevilik ve Kızılbaşlık, 32.
24 Karolewski, “What is Heterodox,” 443.
25 Yıldırım, Aleviliğin Doğuşu, 64.
26 Shankland, “Maps and the Alevis,” 230.
27 A dede is the second most important person in the Alevi community after the efendi. They are accepted as essential for the wellbeing of the community and their religious practices. The interconnection between the dede and a community’s religious ceremonies is the backbone of Alevi social order. See Shankland, The Alevis, 32.
28 Bozkurt, “Aleviliğin Yeniden Yapılanma,” 105.
29 Shankland, The Alevis, 46.
30 Karakaya-Stemp, “Documents.”
31 Dixon, “The Ties,” 2197.
32 Fowers and Richardson, “Why is Multiculturalism Good,” 610.
33 Stathi and Crisp, “Imagining Intergroup Contact,” 948.
34 Pettingrew, “Intergroup Contact Theory,” 70.
35 Karolewski, “What is Heterodox,” 448.
36 Lamont and Molnar, “The Study of Boundaries,” 175.
37 Pettingrew and Tropp, “Intergroup Contact Reduce,” 930.
38 Karakayalı, “Alevi Dede,” 131.
39 Bozarslan, “Alevism and the Myths,” 235.
40 Many scholars of Turkish modernization assert that the project of creating a homogeneous Turkish identity denied the existence of ethnic, religious, and cultural heterogeneity in Turkey. They claim that the linkage between Turkish national identity and Islam survived not only in the foundation period but also in the post-1980 period of the Republic. According to this idea, Islam and Turkishness are accepted as parts of an inseparable whole and form the elements of a harmonious entity since the Turks converted to Islam. Therefore, (Sunni) Islam is considered as one of the cornerstones of Turkish national identity. See Zürcher, A Modern History, 303, and Ahmad, Politics and Islam, 3–21.
41 Dressler, Türk Aleviliğinin İnşası, 11.
42 Karolewski, “What is Heterodox,” 444.
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Nigar Tuğsuz
Nigar Tuğsuz works as a lecturer in the Department of Sociology at Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University. She received her Ph.D. from the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Istanbul University and holds a master's degree in sociology from the Middle East Technical University. As a graduate student, she volunteered at non-governmental organizations. While working on her Ph.D., she was a researcher for a think-thank specializing in Turkish politics and economics.