Negotiations of Identity Among Alevi Immigrants in the Post-9/11 Context: Transnational Perspectives

Abstract

<p>This research examines identity formation and negotiation of the ethno-religious Islamic subgroup of Alevis. Particularly, this research suggests the 1960s is when Alevi immigrants began to migrate to Western countries and form diasporic communities. With the usage of a qualitative literature review and through the frameworks of post-modern identity theory, endorsed by Stuart Hall, and transnationalism, this major research paper seeks to understand how a transnational identity can create new meanings and configurations. The Alevi identity has been built upon historical marginalization and has travelled from Turkey into new settlement societies where new meanings of identity have emerged, which is entirely dependent on the social and political contexts. Considering the post-9/11 framework, this research concludes that it is imperative to situate Alevi immigrants in their rightful transnational political and social context to understand identity negotiation.</p>