What influence Alevi-Sunni intermarriage has on spouses’ individual religious affiliation after marriage was the initial research question addressed in this study. No official or unofficial data exist regarding the Alevi-Sunni intermarriage in Turkey. This study responded to the need to describe extant relationships by using a qualitative approach to gather detailed information from a sample of married couples in Corum city, Turkey. A case study method was applied to a sample of ten couples. Couples were selected using snowball and purposive sampling techniques. A team of researchers conducted forty face-to-face interviews. Each of the ten husbands and ten wives in Alevi-Sunni intermarriages were interviewed twice using semi-structured questionnaires. Additional demographic and observational data were gathered. Spouses in the Alevi-Sunni intermarriages sampled did not change their religious affiliation after marriage. The spouses reported few if any problems in their marital relationships and in child rearing. However, spouses did report many problems with parental families, in-laws, and other relatives. The disapproval and punishments from extended family members are related to the social stigma attached to Alevi-Sunni intermarriages. However, intermarriage, modernization including secularism and pluralism are challenging this stigma. Because of this transition further interdisciplinary studies on Alevi-Sunni intermarriage that explore different dimensions of intermarriage are needed.

Alevism as such is both contested and difficult to define, despite the fact that nearly a quarter of the Turkish population can be said to identify with it (See egMarkussen, 2005; Sirin, 2013). Discussions regarding whether alevism should bedefined as a religious minority or not is going on both in the research communityas among the Alevis themselves. Also the meaning of Alevi religiosity as such isdebated and can be simply described as a discussion of whether alevism should beregarded as a part of Islam. The purpose of this discourse study is therefore to examine the construction of Alevi religious identity in two English-language Turkish newspaper, namely the Hürriyet Daily News and Today `s Zaman. With the overarching aim to achieve adeep understanding of the conditions that are given the Alevi group to form their own identity. The research questions are therefore formulated as follow; How are alevism described in Hürriyet Daily News and Today `s Zaman?, What religious dimensions are highlighted in the description of alevism? and What limitations and negotiation space indicates these descriptions of the Alevi group?. To sum up, this study shows that the Alevi identity constructed in Hürriyet DailyNews and Today´s Zaman is based on three different discourses; The Islamdiscourse, which describe alevism as a minority position within Islam emphasizing it´s heterodox nature, The Syncretisticdiscourse, which instead emphasizes the syncretic character of alevism and describes it as a separate religion outside the Islamic Community, and The Alevireligion-discourse, that in turn can be said to include both The Islamdiscourse and The Syncretisticdiscourse. Furthermore, it describe alevism and the Alevi identity as non-sunni and as a religious minority. Regardless of discourse the Alevis are inevitably in a minority position when it requires a Sunni identity to be a part of the majority group. The negotiation space of their identity could therefore be seen as limited.

No description available.

This thesis aims to analyze the gender dynamics in the Alevi belief and the &lsquo / Cem&rsquo / rituals by focusing on the gap and tension between the discourse of equality and practices of the rituals. Within the framework of a theoretical approach which underlines the evolution of monotheistic religions along a patriarchal line of development and the resultant subordination of women particularly in the rituals, the approach and the discourse of the Alevi belief on women is overviewed. In this study, &lsquo / cem&rsquo / ceremonies of the selected Alevi communities in Istanbul and Isparta are analyzed empirically. It is contended that while there are significant differences in terms of gender dynamics and women&rsquo / s position between the observed cems, in general the gender equality principle of the belief is not fully realized. It is contended that the gender issue and women&rsquo / s position vis-a-vis men constitute a major site of the constitution of the Alevi identity in the Turkish society. However, although patriarchal practices and premises have permeated the ritual dynamics of the Alevis, they are also subject to ongoing negotiations, legitimizations and interpretations by male and female actors of the community.

The present thesis aims to recount the current situation of the Alevi community in the urban Turkish setting. The data were collected during eight months of ethnographic field research from February 2009 to October 2009 in a complex preferred to be called as the Dikmen Alevi Community Center, in Ankara. I present different ways adopted by various groups while explaining what Alevism is and I stress the fact that there is a certain degree of fragmentalization within the community due to such diverse descriptions. Thenceforth, I emphasize the reasons behind the existence of divergent classifications and analyze Alevis&rsquo / migration from rural to urban areas during 1970s and 1980s as it relates to the changes in the institutions. After offering an evaluation of the changes accompanying migration, I accentuate the competitive sharing of the city as a religious space between Alevis and Sunnis concentrating on Alevis&rsquo / perception of religious space and providing a comparison between Sunni and Alevi perceptions regarding the places of worship. Subsequently, I attempt to show that there is a competitive sharing relationship present within the community giving the example of Dikmen Alevi Community Center after the establishment of the Alevi Institute for Research, Documentation and Application. I conclude that this kind of a relationship and the current state of affairs are the results of the struggle to adapt to a changing environment, which in turn alters the individuals themselves.

Cette étude porte sur Ḳayġusuz Abdāl, le représentant le plus célèbre et le plus prolifique du mouvement appelé les Abdālān-ı Rūm, un groupe de derviches de tendances antinomiques affiliées de façon ténue, qui apparut lors du 13e siècle en Anatolie et devint un composant principal du Bektachisme à partir du 14e siècle. Les œuvres de Ḳayġusuz Abdāl ont joué un rôle clé dans la formation du corpus ultérieurement appelé « la littérature Alévi-Bektachi ». La première partie de ce travail se concentre sur sa doctrine religieuse, ses positions versatiles et opportunistes en fonction des milieux, et son choix du turc vernaculaire comme vecteur de son propos. Ce dernier aspect est comparé à l’apport de Yūnus Emre, fameux derviche des 13e - 14e siècles, qui a contribué grandement au style littéraire de Ḳayġusuz Abdāl. Les şaṭḥiyye (un type de poème) de Ḳayġusuz Abdāl et Yūnus Emre sont analysés pour leurs rôles de passerelles entre les genres folkloriques et la littérature soufie classique. Dans le dernier chapitre de la première partie, les ouvrages des successeurs de Ḳayġusuz Abdāl, de Ṣādıḳ Abdāl, Yemīnī, Şemsī et Vīrānī Abdāl sont lus sous l’angle de leurs contenus doctrinaux. Ainsi, un panorama de l’évolution des pensées abdāl et bektāşī est créé. La deuxième partie de l’étude constitue en l’édition critique, la traduction et le commentaire de l’ouvrage le plus fascinant de Ḳayġusuz Abdāl, à savoir le Kitāb-ɩ Maġlaṭa. Le commentaire commence par étudier comment l’ouvrage se met en résonance avec la tradition islamique sur les rêves, en montrant particulièrement la subversion de celle-ci. Suit une analyse structurale, doctrinale et littéraire de l’ouvrage, trois aspects qui se complètent et se renforcent les uns les autres dans la manière humoristique de Ḳayġusuz Abdāl. En conclusion, le présent travail vise à comprendre la pensée religieuse et littéraire de Ḳayġusuz Abdāl, personnage saint toujours vénéré de l’Alévisme. Sa vision de la sainteté a joué un rôle clé dans la formation du Bektachisme et de l’Alévisme et leur évolution jusqu’à nos jours. / This study focuses on Ḳayġusuz Abdāl, the most famous and prolific representative of the abdāls of Rūm, an antinomian movement of loosely-affiliated dervishes which emerged in Anatolia in the thirteenth century and became a main constituent of Bektashism from the fourteenth century onwards. Ḳayġusuz Abdāl’s works played a major role in the formation of the corpus later called “Alevi Bektashi literature.” The first part of the study focuses on Ḳayġusuz Abdal’s religious doctrine, multiple social positions, and choice of the Turkish vernacular as his literary medium. This last aspect is compared to famous 13th-14th century dervish Yūnus Emre, who was instrumental in shaping Ḳayġusuz Abdāl’s literary style. Yūnus Emre’s and Ḳayġusuz Abdāl’s şaṭḥiyye (a type of poem) are analyzed for their role in creating a bridge between folk genres and classical Sufi poetry. In the last chapter of the first part, the works of Ḳayġusuz’s Abdāl’s successors, Ṣādıḳ Abdāl, Yemīnī, Şemsī, and Vīrānī Abdāl are examined for their doctrinal content, thus creating a panorama of the evolution of abdāl and bektāşī thought. The second part of the study contains the critical edition, translation, and commentary of Ḳayġusuz Abdāl’s most intriguing work, the Kitāb-ı Maġlaṭa (The Book of Prattle). The commentary begins with a focus on the work’s engagement with and subversion of the Islamic tradition of dream literature. A structural, doctrinal, and literary analysis of the work is undertaken, wherein these three aspects are shown to complement and reinforce one another in Ḳayġusuz’s unique humorous way. As a whole, the study aims to understand the religious and literary thought of Ḳayġusuz Abdāl, who has been to this day one of the most important saints of Alevism. His understanding of sainthood was instrumental in shaping Bektashism and Alevism up to our day.

In fact Dersimi people have constructed a visible population in Europe, there needs to be more studies made about the diasporic existence of Dersimis in Europe. Being aware of this need, this study attempts to contribute to the understanding of the existence of Dersimi people through Europe. In line with this, this study focuses on the re-invention of Dersim identity in Berlin around a Dersimi association, Berlin Dersim Community. According to this, the intensive participant observation conducted around the Dersimi association is the main source for this study. In the light of this ethnographic fieldwork, the following findings are found out in this study: Self identification on the basis of homeland identity is a significant phenomena for Dersimi people which unites Dersimi people around Berlin Dersim Community Association. And Dersimi people around the association can be defined as diaspora according to Robert Cohen&rsquo / s usage of the term. Being a part of Turkish labour diaspora in Berlin, Dersimi people have transformed into a cultural diaspora with the passing years abroad.

The subject of this work are houses of assembly - cemevi at Alevis in Turkey. The current Alevis follow on from the so - called Kizilbash (Qizilbash), who lived in the territory of the Ottoman Empire and the teachings of the mystical order of Bektashi, which was associated with the Ottoman Empire and the corps of Janissaries. Contemporary Alevism (alevilik), understood either as a religion or as a culture, is a product of the 20th century. Cemevi is a house where Alevis gather to conduct their own rituals. Modern day cemevi serves as multifunctional religious and cultural center where besides the rituals, teaching takes place and funerals are conducted. In this work I pursue the development of houses of assembly, deriving their terminology from two main sources - the form of the Bektashi ritual space (meydan) and from the village architecture of the Alevis populated areas. Today's cemevi is not only an architectural phenomenon but also a political problem, so I reflect on the Alevis' struggle to equate it with other sanctuaries and describe the focus of Alevis' roots, which in most cases initiate the construction of the cemevi. The appea- rance of the cemevi buildings, taking into account the available budget, is influenced by the perception of Alevism of their builders. Part of this work is field...