Alevism Online: Re-Imagining a Community in Virtual Space
- Alevism Online:Re-Imagining a Community in Virtual Space*
Martin Sökefeld is Assistant Professor at the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Hamburg. He is the author of Ein Labyrinth von Identitäten: Zwischen Lanbesitz, Religion und Kaschmir-Konflikt in Nordpakistan [A Maze of Identities: Between Land-Ownership, Religion, and the Kashmir Conflict in North Pakistan] (Koppe, 1997) and of articles on the postcolonial history of northern Pakistan, such as "Rumours and Politics on the Northern Frontier: The British, Pakhtun Wali and Yaghestan," Modern Asian Studies 36 (2002). His current research deals with the politics of identity in general and of the Alevi diaspora in Germany, in particular. His articles on these topics include "Debating Self, Identity and Culture in Anthropology," Current Anthropology 40 (1999) and "Reconsidering Identity," Anthropos 96 (2001).
Notes
1. This workshop took place at the Biennial Conference of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Völkerkunde, Heidelberg, 3-7 Oct. 1999. I thank Andreas Ackermann for convening the workshop and Jonathan Friedman, who participated as discussant, for his valuable comments. I am also grateful to Serpil Sakinç and Susanne Schwalgin for carefully reading that earlier paper and making further important suggestions. Further, I have to thank Khachig Tölölyan for his careful reading of later versions and for his many perceptive comments.
2. For the development of the Kızıbaş/Alevi tradition as an offshoot of the Safawid order in the context of political rivalry between the Ottomans and the Safawids, see Kehl-Bodrogi, Kızılbaş/Aleviten 8ff. Shah Ismail established Shiism as the state religion in Persia in 1501 CE. Under his pseudonym "Hatayi" he is revered by Alevis as one of their most important pirs (saints).
3. On Hacı Bektaş Veli, see Mélikoff, Hadji Bektach.
4. For the practice of cem in the German diaspora, see Sökefeld, "Religion."
5. This is not a matter of the past. Messages accusing Alevis of blasphemy and heresy could also be found in the guestbook of the erstwhile Şahkulu homepage, w67: "Alevism is an (sic) heretic and a blasphemic sect that worship the devil. Alevis consider themselves muslims but I dont (sic) know what kind of religion do they follow. They are kafirs [infidels] and sinners because they say that Ali is God . . . " (Ghazi, from Lebanon, 7 July 1998). "Alevism is the most corrupt and the most blasphemic sect that I have ever seen in my life. Alevis worship Ali and not ALLAH and this is a great sin. Alevis pretend they are muslims but they do not believe in the Quran and I do not know what kind of religion they follow. Alevis are evil, mushrikeen [heathens] and all of their beliefs are corrupt. Allah will not forgive these damned and evil people" (Gazi, from Canada, 6 January 1999).
6. On dedes in the diaspora see Sökefeld, "Alevi Dedes."
7. This Alevi Kültür Gurubu became the Alevi Kültür Merkezi (Alevi Cultural Center) in 1990.
8. Only in 1999 did a court decision allow an Alevi foundation in Turkey to use the term in its name. However, this decision was not regarded as a precedent and did not alter the legal conditions for Alevi associations in general.
9. For the role of and development of organizations in the Alevi diaspora, see Sökefeld and Schwalgin.
10. The legal position of Alevis in Turkey is discussed by Schüler 203ff.
11. This is expressed for example by Şenol Şengül, writing that "as a suppressed community the Alevi community particularly got the chance to live its own identity in the European diaspora" (28). Translation of this and all other quotations from Turkish or German by M.S.
12. See Yaman Bibliografyasi; and, for an overview and analysis of the contents of books and articles, Vorhoff, Glaube; "Publications."
13. For instance HotBot merged with the search engine Lycos.
14. This was a Web site, w75, made by the graduate student, Gökhan Perçin, at Stanford University. It was mainly a site introducing Perçin himself, but it contained a file on...
