In April 2023 Turkish presidential candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu made waves when he announced on social media, “Ben Alevi’yim—I’m an Alevi.” Until that moment, being Alevi carried a stigma for many people in Turkey. For Kılıçdaroğlu, his video was a celebration of pluralism in Turkish society. But what is an Alevi anyway?
“I’m a sincere Muslim,” said Kılıçdaroğlu immediately after declaring his Alevi background. It was a point of clarification: many people don’t know that the Alevis identify as Muslim.
That’s because some Alevi beliefs and practices are unfamiliar to many Muslims, let alone non-Muslims. Alevis worship one God (often called Hakk or Haqq, “Truth,” one of the 99 names of God in Islam), and their scripture is the Qurʾān. But some of the more visible signs of Islamic practice are absent: Alevis don’t perform ablution before prayers, and they don’t fast for Ramadan.
Those familiar with Islam’s diversity, however, will immediately recognize elements of classical Sufism and Shiʿi Islam in Alevi practices and beliefs. Dance (semah) plays a central role in worship, as it does for many Sufi Muslims, and inner spiritual meaning (batın) takes precedence over outward symbols and practices. And, as with the Shiʿah, Muhammad’s son-in-law Ali is venerated alongside Muhammad as one of the supreme spiritual guides to humanity. In fact, Alevis believe Muhammad and Ali became so close to God that they achieved a very intimate mystical union (ittihad) that Sufis hope and strive for through their mystical practices.
The Alevis make up Turkey’s largest religious minority. Most estimates range between 10 and 20 percent of the total population. They live largely in central-eastern Anatolia as well as in Turkey’s major urban centers and rural coastal areas. They comprise several heterogeneous communities, including the Kizilbash-Alevis, the Bektashis, the Tahtacıs, and the Abdals. These communities are largely rooted in a social and religious movement among 13th-century Turkic peoples who were embracing Islamic teachings. As they did so, they maintained folk practices that were considered not only compatible with Islam but also beneficial for achieving its spiritual goals. Many of them took inspiration from the teachings of Ṣafī al-Dīn (1253–1334) and other mystics.
It was partially that association with Ṣafī al-Dīn that led to their long history of suppression. Several generations after his death, his mystical order (tariqa) grew into an empire centered in Central Asia and Iran: the Safavid empire. Along with the Ottomans, the Safavids were one of the most advanced military powers in the world in the 16th century, and the two empires were in direct competition. Many of the Turkic communities in Ottoman Anatolia remained connected to those under Safavid rule. They also continued to favor the doctrines that were embraced by the Safavid leadership, while their Ottoman rulers sought to enforce a Sunni orthodoxy. As the Ottoman sultan Selim I (reigned 1512–20) prepared for war against the Safavids, he first took aim against these communities, which the Ottomans referred to as the Kizilbash. Suspicions and prejudice toward these communities has remained into the present day, especially as they have consolidated a common Alevi identity and as Sunni Islam has taken on an increasing role in Turkish society and public life.