Abstract
The Alevis, a Muslim minority group in Turkey, have been marginalized as “non-believers” and “atheists” by the Sunni majority. Following a long period of political turmoil that involved discrimination and massacres, Alevilik were considered taboo in Turkish society. However, the 1990s brought about a turning point: more people publicly identified as Alevis and thus became more visible in the Turkish public sphere. The cemevis, or centers for their religious activities, increased at this time and today continue to provide services to those seeking an Alevi way of life. This process of increased visibility, called the “Alevi revival,” received a great deal of scholarly attention.
However, some of the younger generation born after the beginning of the “Alevi revival” see such rituals as anachronistic and are hesitant to identify themselves as Alevis. Some studies have shown the reformulation of Alevilik as a “faith” through the process of cemevis becoming the counterpart of mosques. Others have emphasized the importance of self-identifying as being of Alevi lineage. Since such studies have focused on the foregrounded Aleviness, it is still unclear how the younger generation has come to terms with their Alevi origins. This study aims to shed light on the struggles of the younger generation by focusing on the ambiguity of the term Alevilik. It concludes that the “Alevi revival,” which supposedly enabled more people to identify as Alevis, also generated new forms of silence by emphasizing the religious aspects of Alevilik.
