On The Path of Pir Sultan? Engagement with Authority in the Modern Alevi Movement

Abstract

In this paper, I explore some approaches in the contemporary Alevi Movement to semi-official discourses on religion, citizenship and belonging in Turkey. I study the revival activities of an Alevi group from Erzincan called the Derviş Cemal Ocak, which I find to be characterized by an emphasis on its Turkish ethno-cultural roots and Islamic religious identity. The group is following the national Cem Vakfı’s definition of Alevilik according to these terms, and reflects an openness to negotiation with both official institutions of state authority as well as semi-official public discourses that other Alevi groups do not. I analyze this conciliatory approach within the Alevi Movement in light of hegemonic majority discourses on national and religious identity. Specifically, I explore post-migration geographies, ethnicity and the Kurdish issue, as well as internal factors within the Alevi community regarding religious legitimization and the sanctity of its leaders (dede).