Journal of Alevism-Bektashism Studies

Bektashi Baba Dr. Hasan Ragıp Erensel: One of Atatürk’s Doctors

Metin Özata — 2024-06-27

Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, a charismatic leader and intellectual, had many physicians whom he befriended, assigned tasks to, and received treatment from, from his early days as a young officer until his death. One of these physicians was Dr. Hasan Ragıp Erensel, whom he met during the Battle of Gallipoli.

Dr. Erensel was born in 1881 in the town of Nevrekop near Thessaloniki. He graduated from the Medical School (Mekteb-i Tıbbiye) in 1905 as a medical captain and began his service in the army. In 1912, he went to Germany for a course and returned to Istanbul a year later. On January 6, 1915, he was appointed as the assistant chief physician of the Gallipoli Group.

During the Gallipoli War, his wife, Anna Schwartz, an Austrian nurse, was martyred in a bombing. Anna Schwartz’s grave is in the Eceabat Yalova village cemetery, and the local people also refer to it as “Ana Hatun’s Grave,” reminiscent of her real name “Anna.” On May 3, 1916, Dr. Erensel was appointed as the chief physician of the 17th Corps, and he retired from the military as a lieutenant colonel on June 30, 1927. Dr. Hasan Ragıp Erensel, who participated in the Italo-Turkish War, the Balkan Wars, World War I, and the War of Independence, was awarded the War Medal, the German Iron Cross 2nd Class, the Austrian Franz Joseph Medal, and the Independence Medal for his achievements.

Dr. Erensel, who served as a physician at the Çankaya Mansion, established a close relationship with Atatürk and personally attended to Atatürk’s health problems. This indicates the connection between Atatürk and Bektashism. Dr. Erensel, who was a physician at the Çankaya Mansion during Atatürk’s time, was a Bektashi Baba. He also guided Ali Naci Baykal Dedebaba for many years and had a spiritual influence on Dr. Bedri Noyan. Dr. Erensel passed away in Ankara on January 26, 1953.

Editor’s Letter

ABKED Editorial Board — 2024-06-27

A Comparison of Alevi and Shia Practices in the Context of Rituals Before and After Ashura

Fuzuli Bayat — 2024-06-27

There are many common rituals in the Shia Alevi belief system, which are the same as the fundamental beliefs of the people who march on the road to Ahl al-Bayt, one of which is the philosophical foundation of Alevism, Muharremlik, which is the basis of Shi’ism and the rituals around it. Muharremlik rituals, which are performed to keep the social reminiscence, remembering and Karbala event alive are the visual demonstrations of True’s victory over false. In both Alevism and Shi’ism, the rituals before and after Ashura symbolize the preservation of what is happening in the 7th century with the blood of the most precious of Islam. In the Alevi philosophy, these rituals are the symbol of Hz. Hüseyin’s rebellion against oppression and oppression. It is the process of formation of imamate doctrine in the emergence of this sect in Shiism. In ritual, pain, crying, beating, blood extraction, head splitting etc. applications, similar to the old Turkish yug ceremonies. The mythological origin of Muharremlik rituals is a new version of the old Turkish rites in many respects. Muharremlik, an Islamic form of Yug rituals, represents the manifestation of pain. The most obvious difference between the Muharram rituals of the Alevis and the rituals of the Shiites is the issue of Muharram fasting and the existence of the aza (mourning) group. If Muharram fasting is the key to keeping Karbala alive in Alevism, azadar (mourning) and the Shabih game performed as a theater show, Shiites identify themselves to the time of the Imam Hussein, and transfer it to Hüseyin’s time. All these rituals basically take place in two stages: before Ashura and on and after Ashura.

An Oral Text Belonging to the Badakhshan Ismailis: Guharriz

Zahide Ay — 2024-06-27

The Badakhshan Ismaili tradition, which originated in the south-eastern parts of Central Asia, in the region of the Hindu Kush, Pamir and Karakorum mountain ranges, not only copied various written orthodox Ismaili texts internally over the centuries, but also produced various oral works like the Anatolian Alevi tradition, belonged to a heterodox (belonging to the “periphery” rather than the “center”) community. In this study, I will try to analyze Guharriz among these texts. Guharriz’s literary and intellectual level is not high, as it is a work that emerged from the region itself. It contains many spelling mistakes. Although it is written in prose, it also contains poems, most of which are attributed to Nasir- i Khusraw. Its importance for us is that it is the most useful work produced in the region in terms of providing not only theological but also historical clues for our understanding of a mountainous heterodox Alevi-Ismaili society dominated by oral tradition. The fact that some of the elements in the text, such as the stories about creation, are just like those in the Alevi Buyruk texts, is also important for us, as it provides us with a kind of laboratory that can enable us to look at Anatolian Alevism from another perspective. Both traditions ascribe divinity to Ahmad Yassawi - the Badakhshan Ismaili tradition in Cheraghname, the Alevi-Bektashi tradition in Vilayetname-. In our opinion, the only difference between Bedakhshan Ismailism and Anatolian Alevism is that one is officially affiliated to an Ismaili state and therefore its religious identity is registered as Shiite and there is no doubt among scholars about its affiliation, whereas the other emerged historically in a Sufi environment after the Mongol invasions and therefore is not officially affiliated to any Shiite state and there is still controversy about which religious identity it belongs to. Apart from the debate over which religious identity they belong to, they are very similar in terms of tradition and the oral material they produce. Guharriz is one of the main works that provides us with this.

“Unity, Cohesion, Vitality” from Horasan to Anatolia; Social Cohesion in the Sultans of Saz and Word

Erdem Akın — 2024-06-27

Hünkâr Hacı Bektaş Veli, a Turkish-Islamic mystic born within the historical borders of Khorasan and who settled in Anatolia, is a messenger of friendship and love. Poets who followed his path and grew within the Alevi-Bektashi belief system, writing poems on a wide variety of topics, are notable for the strong social references in their works. Known as the “sultans of saz and word,” they adopted the tradition of minstrel and folk poetry from a young age, infusing their works with the Alevi-Bektashi faith and culture. They emphasized messages of social cohesion and unity, standing against division and segregation.

This study highlights how the teachings of Hacı Bektaş Veli and the Alevi-Bektashi poetic tradition provide a robust model for social integration from multiple perspectives. Utilizing the documentation analysis technique, the study includes examples from poems to focus on the role of minstrels in social cohesion. The findings underscore the strong social cohesion aspect of the poems by Alevi-Bektashi poets, who represent the vibrancy and prevalence of the minstrel tradition among follower communities. These poets, who did not remain indifferent to the issues of unity and integration within their society, emphasized themes of unity, equality, brotherhood, peace, and the absence of division based on religion, sect, and race in their poems.

These poems not only contribute to social integration but also play a significant role in ensuring the intergenerational continuity of the Alevi-Bektashi poetic tradition. Thus, the legacy of Hacı Bektaş Veli and the works of Alevi-Bektashi poets serve as universal, timeless, inclusive, and effective tools for reducing polarization. While the revered personality of Hünkar himself is a factor that strengthens and sustains social solidarity, the Alevi-Bektashi poetic tradition retains its relevance in today’s world, continuing to promote solidarity and integration within society.

Shiite Azerbaijan Academy’s Approach to Alevism

Birol Topuz — 2024-06-27

Relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey are of vital importance for the Caucasus region. It has been seen once again how strong this is, especially during the recent Karabakh-War. Although these two countries have built their relations on the axis of the concept of “nationalism” until now, it is also known that these two countries adhere to different branches of Islam such as Sunni-Shia. It cannot be said that this difference of belief has negatively affected the relations between the two countries until today. Especially in the recent conflict between Israel and Palestine, it is seen as an unusual situation that the two countries support different sides. It is noteworthy that, for the first time in recent history, the Azerbaijani state-owned enterprise, SOCAR, experienced an attack in Turkey. This incident occurred in the context of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine. The significance lies in the fact that this represents the first recorded instance of an assault on an Azerbaijani institution within Anatolia. An intriguing aspect to consider is how this unprecedented event may impact bilateral relations between the two countries moving forward, especially concerning regional security dynamics.

Another important thing that will trigger this extraordinary phenomenon is the perception of Shiism in the context of Alevi-Sunni relations. Although many studies on Shiites in Turkey, there is not enough information in the literature about Shiites, especially Alevis living in Turkey. Therefore, this gap in the literature highlights this issue as an alternative worthy of study in this field.

As it is known, Alevism in Turkey is perceived as Shiism by some Sunnis. However, Shia and Alevism seem to have almost nothing in common except the love for Caliph Ali and the Twelve Imams. Neither the institutions and religious practices nor the sources of Alevism resemble Shism. What is the level of knowledge of Azerbaijani Shias about Alevism and Alevis in Turkey? This study is designed to investigate the answer to this question.

Intersection Points of Hurufism And Alevi-Bektashi Belief System Within The Framework of God-Universe-Human Conception

Selçuk Şengül — 2024-06-27

From ancient times to the present, humanity has pondered the nature of God and the human position in the universe and in relation to God. This issue has constituted one of the main subjects of both philosophy and religions.This issue has been a fundamental problematic in Turkish and Islamic thought traditions. The Hurufi and Alevi-Bektashi belief systems have interacted within a religious, historical, and political framework, and as a result, both belief systems have emerged as two aspects of the same world of thought and belief. The common world of belief in both systems has primarily manifested itself in the conception of God-universe-human. The fundamental proposition of the conception of God-universe-human in both belief systems is that existence emanates from the “one” and especially that the human is the manifestation of the divine.

The thought known as vahdet-i vücûd (unity of existence), which proclaims the unity of beings, has influenced the views of every sect and school of thought in Islamic tradition, yet in the Hurufism and Alevi-Bektashi belief system, this view has been uniquely interpreted. At the core of this unique thought lies a shared understanding of the human. In this study, the intersections of the Hurufism and Alevi-Bektashi belief system are examined, thereby arguing that, despite developing different methods and original ideas, the conception of God-universe-human in the two belief systems is built upon the same conceptual foundation. İn order to explain this approach, in this study examples were given and evaluated from literature and works that reflect the belief world of both Hurufism and the Alevi Bektashi belief system. As a result, the emphasis on common tradition in the context of both beliefs bas been tried to be concretely proven.

Folklore Evaluation of the Film and Novel “A Noise In The Night “ in the Context of Intertextuality/Intersemiotics

Melisa Öztürk — 2024-06-27

Intertextuality, which is defined as the inclusion of one text in another text, is intertwined with visual arts by interacting with cinema-literature, literature-music, sculpture-painting, etc., within the developments in the process Intersemiotics concept has occurred. However, according to the theory of intertextuality, since everything is considered as a text, it constitutes the scope of our subject. A Noıse In The Nıght The relationship between the work, which was adapted from the novel of the same name and turned into a film format, is analyzed like a text and the intertextuality of palempsest, adaptation, montage, narrative change, allusion, intra-narrative, side-filminess/side-textuality and Linearity- Tabularity which are the products of folklore within its methods such as myth and ritual It has been examined under the main headings. These products, which contain the traditional codes of the society; It has also been used as an important tool in explaining the structure of the community to be examined in folklore studies and the world of thought. Therefore, he builds his daily life almost entirely on rituals and myths; It has been more functional to examine the Alevi belief system, which is also the main subject of the novel and the movie, under these headings. The creation of folk knowledge products taken from the tradition in the literary field and then the construction of their transformation in the literary field in the context of cinema required a two-dimensional perspective. The rich cultural infrastructure of the Alevi belief system, which can be examined with the methods of many different disciplines, has opened the door to interdisciplinary methods for studies in the context of this belief system, and the situation of both tradition and the current has been compared while dealing with the recreation of Alevism by adapting it to cinema and novels. The rituals and myths of the Alevi faith in the novel and the film are considered as a text and evaluated within the framework of the relationship of intertextuality in semiotic and semantic dimensions. Finally, although they are seen as external elements in films and novels, the indicators on book covers, epigraphs and movie posters, which give important clues to the reader and the audience, are explained within the framework of the Alevi belief system within the framework of the side-filming/side-textuality method.

Artan Ok, Mihriban (2024). Mehdilik ve Şahkulu Ayaklanması, İstanbul: Alfa. 360 sayfa ISBN: 978-625-449-887-9.

Ilgar Baharlu — 2024-06-27

Baharlu, İlgar (2023). “Arznâme” ve “Hulâsatü’t-tevârîh” Eserlerinde Akkoyunlu ve Safevi Ordularının Resmigeçitleri (Çeviri-Tıpkıbasım-İnceleme) Çanakkale: Paradigma Akademi Yayınları. 162 sayfa ISBN: 978-625-6957-67-1.

Mihriban Artan Ok — 2024-06-27

Ambrosio, Alberto Fabio (2012). Dervişler Tarihi, Antropolojisi, Mistik Yönü. (çev. Buğra Poyraz) İstanbul: Kabalcı Yayıncılık. ISBN 978-605-5272-22-7. 236 Sayfa.

İrem Melike Gülden — 2024-06-27

Garnett, Lucy Mary Jane (2010). Osmanlı Toplumunda Dervişler ve Abdallar (Çev. Hanife Öz) İstanbul: Dergâh Yayınları. ISBN: 978-975-995-844-2. 164 sayfa.

Zeynep Göçer — 2024-06-27

Inner Cover

ABKED Editorial Board — 2024-06-27