The Alevis in Turkey
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Overview
"The Alevis, a heterodox Islamic group in modern Turkey, have no church, no established doctrine and no shared liturgy. Instead, their religion has developed in rural Anatolia through hereditary holy figures who transmitted esoteric religious thought through music, poetry and collective rituals." Using ethnographic material gained over a period of five years residence in Turkey, David Shankland shows how social change in the rural, hierarchical, rather closed Alevi communities is leading to the emergence of a unique secularist Islamic tradition. By including much contrasting information about the way the Alevi communities differ from the Sunni, their orthodox counterparts, this work is able to offer original insights into the wider processes of social change that are transforming Turkish society as a whole.Synopsis
This is the only volume dedicated to the Alevis available in English and is based on sustained fieldwork in Turkey. The Alevis now have an increasingly high profile for those interested in the diverse cultures of contemporary Turkey, and in the role of Islam in the modern world. As a heterodox Islamic group, the Alevis have no established doctrine. This book reveals that as the Alevi move from rural to urban sites, they grow increasingly secular, and their religious life becomes more a guiding moral culture than a religious message to be followed literally. But the study shows that there is nothing inherently secular-proof within Islam, and that belief depends upon a range of contexts.