Orthodox Outlet for Dogmatic Enquiries Islam - History

 

The "lost Christians" of Asia Minor

By Nick Chiladakis, Journalist - Author - Turkologist (*)

 

   
 

A huge scandal - but also the central focus of intense discussions - has befallen Turkey, on account of a book by Erdoğan Çinar and a group of Turkish researchers, titled "Scandal: The History of the Alevis". 

 

 

In the description of the Alevis' history, he maintains that the Alevis of Turkey are in actual fact the lost Christians of Asia Minor - a truly vast historical problem, to which contemporary, official Turkey systematically avoids giving convincing answers.

 

According to the book's author, the Alevis are the lost Christian flock of Asia Minor - lost during the prevalence of the Ottomans - and that in many cases, the religious centers of the Alevis were built atop Christian churches.  Çınar goes as far as asserting that all the Alevi Elders (Dedes) are but Christians who in their desire to avoid forced Islamisation, had resorted to creating an Islamic heresy with many Christian elements.  He attributes a Christian and even an ancient Hellenic origin to the major religious center of the Alevis - the Hacibektas of Cappadocia - by pointing out the existence in that very place of an older temple of Zeus, and a later Christian monastery.   He even relates the Apostle Paul, the founder of the Christian church in Macedonia as he characteristically mentions, to the great spiritual leader of the Alevis, who was none other than the  Pir Sultan Abdal

 

The Turkish author even invokes the writings of the renowned Turkish traveller of the Ottoman empire, Evliya Çelebi, in order to support that the influences of the Apostle Peter, the Apostle Matthew from Urfa of south-eastern Asia Minor, and even of the Empress Anna Comnene were determinative for the faithful (later Alevis),  thus raising a huge historical scandal over today's Alevis of contemporary Turkey.

 

 

Alevis in Turkey

 

 

 

This book naturally provoked intense reactions and discussions, once again bringing to light the serious problem of Alevis, which continues to be a large "thorn" with regard to the cohesion of the Turkish State. It is a fact, that, because of the marked rise in political Islam and the Sunnis in Turkey, the matter of the religious minority of Alevis has taken on a special political significance.  The recent decision by the Turkish government on the 19th July 2012 to once again not recognize the "Cem Evleri" - that is, the religious centers of the Alevis - has heightened this problem.  This matter is of extreme importance, if one  were to consider that the minority that comprises the Alevi populations reaches up to 20 million - a fact that implies yet another "tinderbox" in the foundations of modern-day Turkey.

 

The uncontested historical truth is that the Alevis appeared in a region of north-eastern Cappadocia, where there was a dense Greek-Orthodox Christian population. Many of the Christian elements that are observed in the Alevis are seen as actual grounds by those who support the view of their lost Christian identity.  The Alevis believe in Saint George, while Confession of new members was implemented, and, following Confession, they would be given wine to drink and bread and cheese to eat. Their "monks" observed celibacy, and were reminiscent of Christian monasteries in many other aspects.  Their beliefs have many common points with the Orthodox Christian presence in Asia Minor, which is why at quite an early stage they had attracted thousands of Greek Orthodox to their ranks.  A unique ritual of theirs which reminded us of the Last Supper was the Alevi tradition of a ritual meal.  The women preserved the status of freedom and of equality with men - a status that had existed ever since the ancient era among the Hellenes of Asia Minor. Even Ottoman historians such as Yakoub and Hasluk have stressed that Alevism owes much of its own beliefs to the Christian beliefs and rituals of the inhabitants of Asia Minor. 

 

The highlight of all the above was the Alevi belief regarding the  Holy Trinity, a point that brought the Alevis even closer to the Hellenic Orthodox Christianity of Asia Minor.  The unity between God, Mohammed and the Prophet Ali was the Alevi version of the Holy Trinity.  However, the Orthodox influence of the Hellenes was also expressed in other ways, such as the pilgrim sites or the locations that were regarded as sacred by the Christians, which until this day, also continue to be  Alevi pilgrimage sites.

 

Most assuredly, this problem of the true identity of the Alevis which preoccupies modern-day Turkey from time to time is yet another "link" in the chain of identity problems that are the cause of "creakings" - and at times "earthquake tremors" - in today's Turkish regime.

 

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Special note:

 

Alevism (Alevilik) is a group identity which is variously interpreted as religious (combining Anatolian folk Shi'ism with Sufi elements such as those of the Bektaşi tariqa) sub-ethnic (within larger Turkish, Kurdish, and Zaza communities) cultural (emphasizing special traditions of poetry, music and dance), and/or humanistic and political (whether leftist or Kemalist). Estimates of the Alevi population place them somewhere between fifteen and twenty million people, primarily in Turkey. (Olli Rehn, from the 1996 (Camiel) "Eurlings Report" to the European Commission , on the suitability of Turkish accession to the EU . Also see "Alevism," from The Encyclopedia of the Orient). Alevi worship and other social activities take place in assembly houses (cemevi). The ceremony (âyîn-i cem, or simply cem) features music and dance (semah) in which both women and men participate. Rituals are performed in Turkish, Zazaki, and other local languages—not in Arabic, as in other Muslim groups.

"Alevi" is generally explained as referring to ‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib, the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad. The name represents a Turkish form of ‘Alawī (Arabic: علوي‎) "of or pertaining to ‘Alī".Even though the term Alevi is simply the Turkish derived form of Arabic ‘Alawī, the Arab form of the term today refers to the distinct group of the Arabic-speaking ‘Alawī of Syria.

Alevis believe in the unity of Allah, Muhammad, and Ali, but this is not a trinity composed of God and the historical figures of Muhammad and Ali. Rather, Muhammad and Ali are representations of divine energies, the first of which is Allah.

Alevism (Alevilik) is a group identity which is variously interpreted as religious (combining Anatolian folk Shi'ism with Sufi elements such as those of the Bektaşi tariqa) sub-ethnic (within larger Turkish, Kurdish, and Zaza communities)cultural (emphasizing special traditions of poetry, music and dance), and/or humanistic and political (whether leftist or Kemalist). Estimates of the Alevi population place them somewhere between fifteen and twenty million people, primarily in Turkey. (Olli Rehn, from the 1996 (Camiel) "Eurlings Report" to the European Commission , on the suitability of Turkish accession to the EU . Also see "Alevism," from The Encyclopedia of the Orient.).

Alevi worship and other social activities take place in assembly houses (cemevi). 
The ceremony (âyîn-i cem, or simply cem) features music and dance (semah) in which both women and men participate. Rituals are performed in Turkish, Zazaki, and other local languages—not in Arabic, as in other Muslim groups.

"Alevi" is generally explained as referring to ‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib, the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad. The name represents a Turkish form of ‘Alawī (Arabic: علوي‎) "of or pertaining to ‘Alī". Even though the term Alevi is simply the Turkish derived form of Arabic ‘Alawī, the Arab form of the term today refers to the distinct group of the Arabic-speaking ‘Alawī of Syria.

Alevis believe in the unity of Allah, Muhammad, and Ali, but this is not a trinity composed of God and the historical figures of Muhammad and Ali. Rather, Muhammad and Ali are representations of divine energies, the first of which is Allah.


 

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(*) Turkology (Turkish: Türkoloji), also Turcology or Turkologie, is a complex of humanities sciences studying languages, history, literature, folklore, culture, and ethnology of people speaking Turkic languages and Turkic peoples in chronological and comparative context. This includes ethnic groups from the Turks (Turkish People), Sakha in East Siberia to the Balkan Turks and Gagauz in Moldova.

 

Translation K. N.

Article published in English on: 9-8-2012.

Last update: 9-8-2012.

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