Full Description
Investigates the Alevis' struggles for recognition in Turkey and the diaspora and transformations in authority and traditional rituals
Features 14 detailed case studies provide insights into the struggles for recognition and representation by Alevi communities in Turkey and the diaspora under the AKP administration
Demonstrates how the struggles for recognition transform and re-define traditions, authorities and rituals
Examines how diverse understandings of Alevi identities interplay with standardised representations of Alevism
Opens up the study of the recognition of minorities as local, national and transnational processes
This book explores the struggles of a minority group Alevis for recognition and representation in Turkey and the diaspora. It examines how they mobilise against state practices and claim their rights, while at the same time negotiating how they define themselves. The authors offers a conceptual framework to study minorities by looking at both structural and agency-related factors in resisting state pressure and mobilising for their rights.
The Alevis in Modern Turkey and the Diaspora is divided into three main sections looking into: the Turkish state and society's pressures over Alevis; how Alevis struggle and obtain representation in various Western countries; and how traditional authority and rituals transform under these conditions. Studying this minority group's experience helps to understand oppression and resistance in the broader Middle East.
Contents
Introduction
1. Alevi Agency in Changing Political ContextsDerya Özkul and Hege Markussen
The Turkish State and Alevis: Contentions over Recognition
2. What is Alevism? Contemporary Debates vis-à-vis Historical and Systematic ConsiderationsMarkus Dressler3. The 'Alevi Opening' of the Justice and Development PartyMurat Borovalı and Cemil Boyraz
4. 'Madımak Shall Be Turned Into a Museum': Negotiating the Sivas Massacre through the Built Environment Eray Çaylı
5. Dersim: The Paradox of Disclosing 'An Open Secret'Besim Can Zırh
6. Thinking of Alevism as a 'Majority': Alevi and Sunni Communities in Dersim Ahmet Kerim Gültekin
Alevis in the Diaspora: Prospects for Recognition
7. From Culture to Religion: Reframing Alevism for Recognition in GermanyMartin Sökefeld8. The Alevi Movement in Germany and Australia: Towards a Transnational MovementDerya Özkul 9. The Alevi Diaspora in France: Changing Relations with the Home and Host StatesAyça Arkılıç
10. From a Particularistic Organization to a Federation: Mobilization for Alevi Identity in BritainAyșegül Akdemir
Beyond Recognition: Changes in Alevi Rituals, Representation, and Authority
11. The Transformation of the Sacred Authority of the Çelebis: The Ulusoy Family in Contemporary Turkey Meral Salman Yıkmış
12. Ritual, Musical Performance, and Identity: The Transformation of the Alevi Zakir Ulaş Özdemir
13. The Socio-Spatial Meaning of Cemevis on Public Space in Istanbul Erhan Kurtarır
14. Mediatized Reproduction of Alevism: Alevi Television Networks and their AudiencesNazlı Özkan
Epilogue
15. Back to Anatolia: Reflections on Twenty-Five Years of Alevi Research David Shankland
16. Concluding Remarks: Alevi Agency and VisibilityHege Markussen
