A lightning rod for Turkey's Alevi community

[He] is a committed Alevi and leader in his community and has in fact the best known name among the Alevis today, nationally and internationally. The Alevis are facing problems that only a government can deal with and not just the present one but others in the past that have promised help just to gain Alevi votes. Prof İzzettin Doğan could be described as something of a lightning rod.

His comments and pronouncements as one of the leading dedes (elders) of the Alevi community often attract support and criticism. But he comes intellectually well-equipped to explain, argue, comment and pronounce to and for his community.

In spite of white hair, Doğan's energy and activities make him seem younger than his 68 years. Born in Malatya to parents who were both from the families of Alevi dedes, he spent his formative years there. He went on to study at Galatasaray Lycee, then abroad in Switzerland and France and eventually obtained a doctorate in law. His studies and thesis show a special interest in Turkey and its relations with the European Union from a legal point of view. His experience left him western oriented but at the same time he hasn't wanted to lose the values he has from Anatolia.

Doğan's continuing to work in academia Ğ he has taught in universities in Istanbul - shows that he is disciplined, has a good memory and enjoys reading and learning new things but not just superficial things, he likes to go to the heart of matters. He also likes and trusts the young people who are around him.

Where the Alevi community in Turkey belongs has become a bone of contention since the end of the Ottoman Empire. The Alevis to some extent agree with the Shiite branch of Islam that believes the rightful heir of the Prophet Mohammed was Ali, the latter's cousin and son-in-law, and his heirs by blood. Hence their name is Alevi or the follower of Ali, but they are not Shiites. Turkey on the other hand throughout the Ottoman Empire was Sunni for the most parts and Sunnis and Alevis believe that the leader of the Muslim community can be chosen by that community.

Shiite Islam
The followers of Shiite Islam are mostly to be found in Iran and Iraq and today constitute only about 15 percent of Muslims altogether. Although the origin of the Alevis is none too clear, they historically were mostly found in the eastern part of Turkey and scattered throughout the many villages there. They likely came from Central Asia in the 10th century. At some point, they mingled with the mystic sect based on the teachings of Haci Bektasi Veli, a 13th century mystic philosopher and humanist from Khorasan in northeastern Iran. Haci Bektasi's philosophy that was adopted by the Alevis had three major points: love and respect for all people, tolerance for other religions and ethnic groups and respect for working people.

When the Alevis began migrating west in search of work and a better life, they brought their religious beliefs and practices with them. But the Sunnis had trouble accepting that the Alevis were Muslims since they followed practices that did not conform to what the former believed. For instance the Alevis do not believe in fasting during the month of Ramadan or going to a mosque to pray. They have their own places of worship known as cemevis and their services include singing and dancing. The Sunnis who are in the majority and control the government refused and continue to refuse accepting the cemevi as the equivalent of a mosque. There are other areas of disagreement.

Modern times have called for a leader who would be courageous and willing to speak up and Izzettin Doğan is just such a person. The dedes in the rural areas had been able to control of the Alevi communities but this power dissipated as people migrated to the large cities of Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir and even immigrated to other countries. Today their role is rather limited to social activities, rituals and rites and the communal use of the cemevi.

But Doğan is a committed Alevi and leader in his community and has in fact the best known name among the Alevis today, nationally and internationally. He writes letters and articles, gives interviews and speaks at conferences and he has set up his own association, Cem Vakfi or Cem Foundation. Established in 1995, it has a website and publishes information on Alevi-ism and its beliefs, has links to its radio and television stations and provides a host of other information about the community.

Doğan told the Daily News that he set it up as a means of warning about the politicization of Islam. "If western democracies continue with values that rely on intelligence and knowledge that will neutralize political Islam, I believed that it was necessary that an understanding of Alevi Islam had to be offered to the Turkish people anew in order to secure its continuation."

Doğan added, "Turkey has witnessed Alevi-ism slowly appearing in the light of day. If you don't provide people with an understanding of Alevi Islam, the majority will suffer a very great loss and it will be inescapable that Alevi-ism will become a problem of trust in Turkey."

Doğan is a staunch supporter of Atatürk and his reforms. He in fact sees Atatürk as having set out to establish the Turkish Republic on a new foundation. He explained, "Many people are unaware that Ataturk wanted the new republic to rest on a new cultural basis. He established the Turkish Language and History Societies for this reason and for the first time in nearly 400 years books related to Alevi-ism were published."

The Alevis are facing problems that only a government can deal with and not just the present one but others in the past that have promised help in order to gain Alevi votes. After all the Alevis are several million strong. But once a political party was in power, its leaders would renege on their promises. In the most recent general election, Doğan called on the Alevis to vote for whichever party seemed to be the most helpful in addressing the Alevis' problems.

Some of these problems are based on the fact that the government has a government office called the Directorate for Religious Affairs. This office considers the Alevis to be Sunni Muslims and therefore should use mosques instead of cemevis as their places of worship. So it permits the building of mosques in areas where the majority of the people are Alevis while limiting the number of cemevis built. This started in the 1980s and while it still happens, it is much less frequent than before.

Another problem is the Directorate's insistence on religious instruction in school, that is Sunni Islam, on a compulsory basis. The only children that are not required to attend these classes are those of minority religions such as Christianity or Judaism. But the catch has been that questions on the annual examinations for educational advancement include some on Islam. They're not compulsory questions but the added points won from correct answers may mean the difference between having enough to go on to university or not or winning the university of one's choice.

Doğan and other Alevi leaders have their work cut out for them. Doğan has repeatedly called on the government to eliminate the Directorate of Religious Affairs or include a section in it for the Alevis. He is adamant about Alevis being Muslim.

He recently described those who said the opposite as "stark raving ignoramuses." Such statements have attracted widespread publicity and don't sit well with the current government whose members tend to be religiously conservative. In fact the Turkish government regardless of which party is in power is trapped in a definition of minority enshrined in the Lausanne Treaty that was signed in 1923 and allows for only Orthodox Christians, Jews and Armenians. Alevis are Muslims and so don't qualify as a minority even if their practices are different from those of Sunni Muslims.

There also is a tendency to equate Alevi-ism with being Kurdish, although most Kurds are not Alevi, thus turning Alevis from a group of people following the same beliefs into an ethnic group, in a way politicizing them. One has only to look at the situation in Iraq with two religiously based political groups, the Sunnis and the Shiites, and one ethnic group, the Kurds who may or may not have Alevi members. Just as the Sunnis and Shiites there cannot agree, the Alevis and the Sunni Turks also cannot agree.

Is Doğan something of a lightning rod? Yes, one could describe him that way since he doesn't mind saying provocative things. He prefers what is concrete although he is open to reform and is bothered when he thinks that he is faced by a fait d'accompli. And like a good lawyer, he asks penetrating questions in order to get at the heart of matters. Tolerance, peace, principles and uniting Alevis and Sunnis help guide him on his way.

Certainly he faces criticism within his own community from time to time. The Alevi groups that have formed in groups abroad are sometimes critical of his actions as well. When Doğan did not attend anniversary services at the Madımak Hotel in Sivas, he met with criticism. Thirty-three people, who were there to attend a memorial service for Pir Sultan Abdal, died when the Madımak Hotel was set on fire in 1993. Every year since then people have gone there to lay flowers at the hotel but Doğan didn't go on this, the 15th anniversary. Pir Sultan Abdal was a Turkish Alevi mystic poet who lived in the 16th century until he was hung by Ottoman authorities.

Comparison between Nazım Hikmet and Fethullah Gülen
Doğan also met with reaction in June this year when he seemingly compared Fethullah Gülen's stay in the U.S. that began in 1998 to Turkish poet Nazım Hikmet's going into exile in 1950. Gülen himself is a controversial figure who preached a philosophy of Islam that maintained Muslim faith based on the Qur'an and added his belief in modern science, inter-faith dialogue and multi-party democracy. People felt the comparison was inappropriate.

A recent march and meeting in Ankara that Alevi dedes called for met with Doğan's disapproval and he didn't attend. He disapproved because he felt that the participants shouldn't just be Alevis. Rather people who were not Alevis but supported them ought to have been called as well.

Some of the Alevi community decided in 2005 to battle for their rights through the Turkish courts and legal system because the Turkish constitution allowed for freedom of religion. If after the years of court battles came to naught, then the community would appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. They are still in the courts. Peace, cooperation and a communal spirit and having to figuratively fight for these seem rather like a contradiction in terms. But it has to be done and Doğan is determined to carry on.