Living as an Alevi, Dying as a Muslim


Yagmur Karagol Demir, University of Alberta

Alevis constitute the second-largest religious community in Turkey, following Sunni Muslims. Nevertheless, they have historically practised their faith behind closed doors, driven by concerns about potential stigmatization and harassment from the state and the Sunni Muslims, as Alevism differs from normative, sharia-centered Islam (Karakaya-Stump, 2020). Believing in the cyclical existence, and the immortality and transmigration of souls are some differences among others. Starting in the late 1980s, the Alevi cultural revival increased their visibility in Turkey. They established their houses of worship and started to publicly disclose their religious/cultural identity. However, the pursuit of equal citizenship remains an ongoing struggle for them to this day. Some preferred to migrate to the European countries. Especially with the 1964 bilateral guest worker agreement between Turkey and Belgium, the presence of Alevis in Belgium increased. This led to the establishment of their cultural centers, which also function as places of worship, providing them with comparatively greater freedom to express and live their identity. In this paper, I explore the Alevis’ perspective on death and examine how their practices are affected by cultural oppression in Turkey and immigration to Belgium. I conducted 20 semi-structured interviews with Alevis in Belgium who had experienced the loss of their relatives, spiritual leaders, and presidents of cultural centres. The interview data is supported by participant observation during Alevi funeral and mourning ceremonies. The research shows a notable distinction between the Alevis perspective on death and that of Sunni Muslims. This distinction becomes evident in their deliberate uses of specific terms during the time of death. It also shows that their funeral and mourning ceremonies, compared to the other practices of their faith, are more affected by cultural oppression in Turkey since those ceremonies are practiced in public and open to stigmatization. Immigration to Belgium is another dimension that influenced practices around death. The newcomers prioritized securing a livelihood in the new country rather than actively maintaining their cultural/religious identity. Today, with more than 50 years of living in Belgium, and more than 20 years of officially organizing in the houses of worship/cultural centres, the Alevi community has revived their discourses and practices around death.

This paper will be presented at the following session: