Alevism and the Politics of Religious Freedom

Abstract

This chapter describes the recent emergence of a multifaceted Alevi movement in Turkey and among Turkish and Kurdish immigrant communities in Europe. It provides an overview of the recent history of Alevi communities, political representatives, and organizations. Broadly, Alevi civil society organizations can be divided into two camps according to their attitude toward the Turkish state and, particularly, the Directorate of Religious Affairs (the Diyanet): accommodationist and abolitionist. Accommodationists seek integration within and representation by the state and the Diyanet; abolitionists foreground institutional separation and advocate for the Diyanet’s dismantlement. Whether on the left, center, or right, Alevi organizations have framed their grievances as part of global efforts to secure “religious freedom.” This chapter analyzes contemporary Alevism through the lens of religious freedom, adumbrates the forms of knowledge that religious freedom privileges and precludes for Alevis, and surveys the institutional and discursive plurality that defines the Alevi movement.