The government has been discussing the Alevi issue in debate platforms. The first meeting was held on June 3 with the participation of the leading representatives of the Alevi community. What the government is doing is actually to handle the Alevi issue with deliberative methods of democracy. It listens to all sides of the issue. But it just listens. The second meeting which I, too, attended intended to draw the universities' interest in the issue and foster academic studies and debates on Alevism at universities. Thirty-two academics attended the meeting, all of whom were respected and leading academics who have a close interest in the Alevi issue. A comment made by Professor Ahmet Yaşar Ocak, who is regarded as an indisputable authority in Alevi studies, about the meeting was like a concise summary of the current status of the Alevi issue in Turkey. Professor Ocak first noted that the Alevi issue is an old and established issue. He complained that the name of the issue was a wrongly chosen one. For him, there was a "Kızılbaşlık" issue, not an "Alevi" one. Alevism was an umbrella term that also comprises Kızılbaşlık. Ocak's comments about the meeting were much more interesting. He noted that while Alevism has been a major faith in this geography, the state has never shown an interest in it and archives or libraries do not contain even a single text written merely out of interest. His judgment: This meeting is a first of its kind.
Politicians' interest
There is a very clear truth that this meeting has taught me. The political power's interest in the Alevi issue is a considerably serious and constructive one. Politicians born out of democratic politics are working in a world and with priorities that are different from those of the social scientists of the universities that work like closed boxes. The majority of the academics who spoke after the opening speech by State Minister Faruk Çelik felt the need to stress that the minister's speech was the most progressive one. In his speech, Çelik emphasized the need for respect for beliefs and criticized how the people who interpret these beliefs can arrive at pro-conflict conclusions, and said that the Alevi issue is not "merely a political issue, but one with human, conscientious and moral aspects" and that its solution can be possible only via freedom of belief, which put him far ahead of the academic world.
The 10th day of Muharrem, a month in the Islamic calendar, is a day of mourning for Alevis. Having fasted for 10 days in mourning, Alevis mark the 10th of Muharrem, the anniversary of the killing of Hüseyin, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, as the peak of their mourning. For the last two years, the government has attended the fast-breaking dinners with leading Alevi representatives on this day. The first of these fast-breaking dinners had seen a low-profile attendance, but with much controversy. Yet, the second instance was much better attended with many Cabinet members going to the dinner. The Alevi workshops organized by the State Ministry imply that the government's interest in the Alevi issue is not restricted to these fast-breaking dinners. Thus, one can say that the Alevi issue has now acquired a new dimension compared to, say, 10 years ago.
The second Alevi Workshop is a new step taken by the Turkish government toward the settlement of the Alevi issue. It is an official initiative planned and implemented by Professor Necdet Subaşı, another authority in this field. The harmony produced by the meeting that was held on June 3 and that gathered together the representatives of the Alevi community came as a surprise to many. The current meeting could be expected to produce much debate or controversy as it secured the involvement of academics. The meeting, which convened such scholars as Ahmet Yaşar Ocak, Erol Göka, a psychiatrist with special interest in the study of psychology in this region, Nevzat Tarhan, Yasin Aktay, Levent Köker, Tarhan Erdem, Ferhat Kentel, and Bekir Berat Özipek, each of whom has repute in their respective field, would naturally attract attention.
Debated issues
The Alevi issue is the most complicated issue in Turkey. It has historical, social, psychological, legal and most naturally, political aspects. These diverse aspects entail participation and contributions from diverse disciplines at university for their settlement. University may make its contribution with studies conducted in a cool-headed, fair, objective and exhaustive manner and with common sense, as well as with the guiding conclusions arrived at in these studies. It can illuminate the darkness created by a number of biases and preconceptions and by an established ignorance. As an impartial authority, it can provide both Alevis and non-Alevis with sound information and measures they can use.
As stressed by many academics, particularly by Levent Köker, during the meeting, Alevism is essentially an issue that relates to the freedom of conscience and religion. Thus, Alevism is also related to the issue of secularism. This issue is a hard problem to solve because of its complexity but at the same time, it is easy to solve thanks to the good will shown by the concerned parties. Erol Göka's argument should be given some thought: The Kurdish issue cannot be solved if the Alevi issue is not settled.
As noted by Kadir Canatan, the gap between how Alevis define Alevism and how non-Alevis describe it should be closed. In addition to its connection to the problem of secularism, the Alevi issue must also be discussed as a matter of diversity and recognition.
The problem is really an important one. It must be solved in order to secure social peace. The move to attract academics' interest in this issue is alone a great step forward. All sides must try to understand the contribution that diverse academic thought will make to the settlement of this issue. Everyone has sufficient goodwill, but mere goodwill won't get anything done.
Academics should start with measures, respectful, impartial definitions and methods on which everyone can agree. The Alevi issue is not only a belief-related problem, it is also a complicated social one. Alevis have had to conceal their beliefs for centuries in this region. They have started to express themselves for the last two years. They have started to express themselves with their own beliefs and identities and voice their own demands. We should acknowledge that this is in the first place the result of the maturity of the Turkish democracy and human rights mentality.
The debates which would in the past be restricted to the theological and historical resources of the Alevi faith should now accommodate the discussion of the social aspects of the issue. Politics is a job of solving problems. The Alevi issue is not a problem which was caused politically and which can be settled through political measures. Politics must develop tools to settle this issue that has deep-running social repercussions.
Turkey's authoritarian secularism debates have long prevented exhaustive comparative studies on beliefs and faiths. We should remember the fundamental social perspective that religion is a major manifestation of sociality. Perhaps, it is the universities that must conduct independent debates with the highest self-confidence.
I believe that the second Alevi workshop that convened academics shows that the government is taking steps in the right direction. But there is still a long way to go.
