Ishikism (Turkish: Işıkçılık or Işık Aleviliği), also known as Chinarism or Ishik Alevism, refers to the movement among some Alevis who have developed an alternative understanding of Alevism and its history. These alternative interpretations and beliefs were organized by writer Erdoğan Çınar, with the publication of his book Aleviliğin Gizli Tarihi (The Secret History of Alevism) in 2004. The Ishik movement claim that the term "Alevi" is derived from the old Anatolian Luvians (Luwian) people, claiming that the word "Luvi" means "people of light" in the Hittite language, while the term "Alevi" in traditional Alevism is believed to have derived from Ali, as in the Arabic word ‘Alawī (علوي). Some Ottoman documents from the 16th century refer to the ancestors of today's Alevis as "Işık Taifesi", meaning "People of Light". This is, according to Ishikis, a proof of the connection between the Luvians and Alevis.In the area around the Southern Pyrenees a form of heterodox mysticism took hold, a mysticism that had historical and archetypal roots in the Gnosis and Gnosticism of late antiquity. At precisely this time, and in the same area of Southern France, there came the first flowering of the Troubadour traditions and of the Jewish Gnosticism of Kabbalah. To the south in Spain, the mystical tradition that gave root to a Gnostic school in Islam took form – exemplified by Ibn 'Arabī (1165–1240), the seminal figure in Turkish, Persian and Sufi Gnostic traditions. St. Francis of Assisi (1181–1226) was also deeply influenced by the spirit of this time and this Cathar land.
Though the term "Cathar" has been used for centuries to identify the movement, whether the movement identified itself with this name is debatable. In Cathar texts, the terms "Good Men" (Bons Hommes) or "Good Christians" are the common terms of self-identification.
Mavi Boncuk |
The Ishikis also claim that the religious ceremonies practiced by Alevis were practiced as early as by the Hittites and even by the Sumerians. According to Ishikis, medieval Christian sects as Paulicianism, Bogomilism etc. were also Alevis. A good example of this belief can be found in the translation of the book The Cathars: The Most Successful Heresy of the Middle Ages (2005) by Sean Martins. Even though the original English version does not contain the word "Alevi", the Turkish translator has translated the title of the book as Ortaçağ'da Avrupa'da Alevi Hareketi - Katharlar (An Alevi Movement in The Middle Ages - The Cathars).
Compared to traditional Alevism, the most striking differences of the Ishik movement are their interpretation of history. The Ishik movement claims that Alevis have changed their apparent identity several times in history in order to survive. According to Ishiki belief, heretic sects like the Paulicians and Bogomils were actually Alevis compelled to appear as Christians because of the Byzantine oppression.
Likewise the modern Alevis have gained an Islamic appearance because of the Ottoman oppression. Ishiki thought is convinced that most heterodox groups are inventions as a result of oppression, meaning that groups like the Ghulat, Ahl-e Haqq, Ismā'īlī, Nusayrî Alawism and Bektashism are in reality separate from real Islam.
Catharism (from Greek: καθαρός, katharos, pure) [1] was a name given to a Christian religious movement with dualistic and gnostic elements that appeared in the Languedoc region of France and other parts of Europe in the 11th century and flourished in the 12th and 13th centuries. The movement was extinguished in the early decades of the thirteenth century, when the Cathars were persecuted and massacred under the Inquisition. Catharism had its roots in the Paulician movement in Armenia and the Bogomils of Bulgaria which took influences from the Paulicians.
Paulicians (Armenian: Պաւլիկեաններ, also remembered as Pavlikians or Paulikianoi were a Christian Adoptionist sect and militarized revolt movement, also accused by medieval sources as Gnostic and quasi Manichaean Christian. They flourished between 650 and 872 in Armenia and the Eastern Themes of the Byzantine Empire.
See Also:
Syncretismes Et Heresies Dans L'orient Seldjoukide Et Ottoman: XIV- XVIII Siecle Gilles Veinstein Peeters Publishers, Jan 1, 2005, 428 pages
The Cathars, Fraticelli and Turks, a new interpretation of Berkludje Mustafa's uprising in Anatolia. 1415 by Konstantine A. Zhukov pages 188-95.
"The study on the rebellion and execution of the above-mentioned preacher of poverty Börklüce Mustafa by Konstantin Zhukov (“Börklüce Mustafa, was he another Mazdak?”, pp. 119-27), brings to light the diff erent perceptions of
the heresy and, consequently, our difficulty in combining information in Islamic and Christian sources on the ways used by diff erent powers to crush syncretist trends." REVIEW
Proceedings of an international conference held at the College de France in 2001, the book is a set of 27 contributions in English and in French of wellknown experts both in Turkish and Middle Eastern history (11th-18the c.) and in the history of Religions. The aim was to draw a large picture of the religious richness and complexity of the Seljuk and Ottoman worlds and to comment on the consequences in terms of heresies and syncretisms, two concepts which are currently revisited by the same token. The influence of the dualistic doctrinal legacy is particularly put in light. Simultaneously the effects of the religious context upon Ottoman society and politics are discussed extensively.
[1] For those interested in the question of the name Cathar and its connection with the Greek word Katharos (pure), it is an extraordinary fact that in the early third century AD the father of Mani above) had belonged to a Judaeo-Christian sect known as katharioi [Stoyanov, The Other God, p 102].
Mani, of course, was the founder of Manichaeism[*], a Dualist system of belief which seems to have developed into Bogomilism and thence Catharism.
The name Cathari had also been used by Novation sects of Anatolia in the fourth century - see for example Epiphanius, Adversus Haereses, (edited by Oehler, Berlin 1859) p 505. Significantly, perhaps, the Novations, well known Gnostic Dualists, were condemned by the victorious party that we call "orthodox" at the Council of Nicea in 325 (Cannon 8 " Concerning those who have given themselves the name of Novations...."). In other words, it seems that self professed Cathars, with fully developed Gnostic Dualist ideas, were already in existence when the first "Orthodox" Church Council met to start the long process of hammering out its own version of orthodoxy.
Cathar Texts and Rituals
[*] Manichaeans: a reference to an ancient Dualist synthetic religion founded by Mani in the fourth century. Aurelius Augustinus, later Saint Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430) had been a Manichaean but he left when he realised that he was not going to advance in the hierarchy. He therefore transferred to the branch of the Christian Church that developed into the Roman Catholic Church - bringing some Manichaean ideas with him, but leaving detailed denunciations of others in his writings. When later scholars read his works and compared Manichaean beliefs with contemporary Cathar beliefs they deduced that Cathars were Manichaeans, and adopted the term to describe them.
While mainstream Alevis
believe the term Alevi means "follower of Ali", as in the Arabic word
‘Alawī (علوي),
and consider themselves followers of the teachings and practices of
13th-century Alevi saint Haji Bektash Veli, Ishik believe differently. The
Ishik movement claim that the term "Alevi" is derived from the old
Anatolian Luvians, claiming that the word "Luvi" means "People
of light" in the Hittite language. Some Ottoman documents from the 16th
century refer to the ancestors of today's Alevis as "Işık Taifesi",
meaning "People of Light". This is, according to Ishikīs, a proof of
the connection between the Luvians and Alevis.
The Ishik Alevis have been likened to the Kurdish Yezidis, as part of a wider monotheistic tradition called Yazdanism. A shared cultural history of that nature relates to common folklore describing the invention of agriculture by plant domestication. Wheat is assumed to have been first cultured in the northern part of the Middle East; and likewise, regional peoples shared a culinary tradition in the types of vegetables they consumeStatement by the Foundation Board of Luwian Studies
It has come to the attention of the Luwian Studies foundation that some social media posts have expressed a belief that the Alevi religious community may be descendants of the ancient Luwians. Although we have great respect for the Alevis, it is not possible that they are related to Luwians. The term Luwian refers to the city-states and petty kingdoms that existed during the Middle and Late Bronze Age in western Asia Minor. These were multi-ethnic and multi-lingual with speakers of Luwian, which is of Indo-European origin, making up the largest language group. The Luwian hieroglyphic script was no longer in use after about 600 BC, although use of the Luwian language persisted until Roman times.
Alevism has its origin in Turkic culture. The religion spread
after the arrival of Oghusian-Turkmen tribes from Central Asia (Khorasan) into
Anatolia in the 13th and 14th centuries, more than a millennium after the
disappearance of the Luwian language. Archaeological research provides no
evidence of a connection between Luwians and the peoples who immigrated into
today’s Turkey – and certainly no direct connections exist between Luwians and
today’s religious communities.
Luwian Studies aims to help illuminating the period between
2000 and 1000 BC in western Turkey, which has so far received too little
archaeological attention. – This statement of the foundation board aims to
clarify the argument to prevent any misunderstandings.
The
recent discovery of Alevi manuscripts were the last nail in the coffin of the
Luwian Hittite and the Catharism theories .. Professor Zeynep Oktay Uslu Phd
just discovered all the new documents and released them on April 2018 , the
documents contains the second oldest manuscript of Ḳayġusuz
Abdāl’s works (only 13 years newer than the oldest) It includes over 400
previously unknown poems, thus bringing Ḳayġusuz’s
total number of individual poems to around 530. The newly discovered poems
include previously unknown doctrinal
elements of Twelver Shi’ite origin.[1]
Our Alevi dedes , Alevi Leaders and Professors were very clear from the start , for they said :
“What's
Alevism, what's the understanding of Islam in
Alevism? The answers to these questions, instead of the opposite of what's
known by many people is that the birthplace of Alevism was never in Anatolia.
This is an example of great ignorance, that is, to tell that the Alevism was
emerged in Anatolia. Searching the source of Alevism in Anatolia arises from
unawareness. Because there was not even one single Muslim or Turk in
Anatolia before a specific date. The roots of Alevism stem from Turkestan - Central
Asia. Islam was brought to Anatolia by Turks in 10th and 11th
centuries by a result of migration for a period of 100 - 150 years. Before this
event took place, there were no Muslim and Turks in Anatolia. Anatolia was then
entirely Christian. We Turks brought Islam to Anatolia
from Turkestan. “[2]
Alevi
Muslim Professor İzzettin Doğan, The President of Alevi-Islam Religion Services
and the President of the Cem Vakfi [2]
The
Confused and the outdated Luwian , Hittite , Zoroastrian , Yazdani and the
people of light theories were based on a mistranslation and a misunderstanding
of some Ottoman documents from the 16th century refer to
the ancestors of today's Alevis as "Işık Taifesi" they understood
such words as words of praise ! and as a reference to the so called “ People of
Light “ while actually such words weren’t even Turkish but rather mere
Turkification of Arabic pejorative terms used against the different Shia groups
, for the same Ottoman Documents also used terms like “ Rafizi “ ( The original
Arabic term is Rafidhah ) “Zindik “ ( The original Arabic term is Zandiq means
heretic ) even the term “ Kizilbash” was actually a translation of the Arabic
Pejorative term “ Muhammerrah “ means red heads so the term Işık was simply
another Turkification of another Pejorative Arabic term , all we need is to
return to the book of sects and creeds by the Sunni Polemic Al
Shaharstani ( died 1153 AD ) to Know what Sunni Polemics used to call
us .. In Page 161 we read Al Shahrastani calling us “Ishaqiya “ sounds like
Işık , he says :
“The
Nusairiya and The Ishaqiya , These are extremist Shiite sects … There are
differences amongst them ….they believe that a spiritual substance may assume a
bodily form … God has appeared in the form of men and after the prophet there
were no men better than Ali and after Ali no one better than his chosen sons they
say that Ali existed before the creation of the heavens and earth …..The
Nusairiya are more inclined to insist on the divine element whereas the
Ishaqiya tend to stress the co sharing of the Prophethood . there are also many
differences between them “ [3]
So
from this paragraph we learn that Sunni polemics used the Pejorative term “
Nusairiya “ for the Alawites while used the pejorative term Ishaqiya for us the
Alevis , that’s why the Ottoman documents referred to us as Ishaqis or Işık
Taifesi it measn the followers of the Ishaqis who were very similar to the
Nusayris however there were differences between them yet both of them shares
most of the same beliefs .
Actually
Using Pejorative terms can’t erase the Alevi History for already In a text by
the Ottoman bureaucrat and historian Mustafa Ali (1541–1600) dating to 1589,
the term “Alevi” is also used referred to the Shia branch of Islam [4]
Already
The Term Alevi means “ The Followers of Ali “ just like Musevi “ The Followers
of Moses “ , or Isevi “ The followers of Isa “ it’s all Turkified names of
Arabic origin Alevi is Alawi , Musevi is Musawi , Isevi is Isawi yet
unfortunately again we see the mistake of those who use the Turkified Arabic
name and start to search for a Turkish origin for it !!!! then they start to
make a bizarre and outlandish conclusions for the term Alevi as a derived term
from the Turkish term “ Alev “ means flame !!! that’s why The Alevi
Muslim Professor İzzettin Doğan has warned against this
amateur , Childish and non scholastic method he has called it a great ignorance
. [2]
Alevis
and Alevism simply started with Islam itself then migrated and separated into
several yet similar Shia sects like the Alawites of Syria, Palestine and
Lebanon , like the Ismailis of North Africa ( Tunisia and mainly Egypt during
the Fatimid caliphate ) or like the Original Ahl e haqq of Persia and Iraq who
were originally Alevi Sufi Muslims separated later from Alevism after the
change of leadership .
Original
Alevi Islam just followed the esoteric teachings of Ehlulbayt , Hz Ali and the
Imams , that’s why our beliefs till this day are different from sunnis since
they refused the esoteric teachings of Ehlulbayt .
For
example , Imam Ja’far Sadiq has revealed the esoteric meaning of Hajj by
stating that “ We are the Ka’bah of God and We are his direction of
prayer ( Qiblah ) “ [5] -[6]
That’s
why our Understanding of Hajj differs from the Sunni understanding .
We
also follow the esoteric meaning of Fasting as prescribed by Hz Ali for he said
: “ The Fasting of the Heart is better than the fasting of the tongue
and the fasting of the tongue is better than the fasting of the stomach “
[7]
Our
Ismaili brothers also follows our same beliefs with slight differences for they
were originally Alevis and we just separated when we followed Imam Musa Kazim
the son of Imam Ja’far Sadiq while they followed his brother Imam Ismail the
son of Ima Ja’far Sadiq
See
what the top scholar of the Ismaili Fatimid Caliphate said regarding hajj :
Come,
I will show you that which is truly the House of God,
Not what you imagine to be the House of God.
Is
a House of stone more sacred than the chosen guide
[Muhammad] who established the House? [8]
Mu’ayyad
fil-Din ( Died 1078 Ad in Cairo ) served the Holy Caliph of Islam during the
Fatimid Ismaili caliphate Al Mustansir Billah , he was The Top Ismaili scholar
of the caliphate .
So
we actually believes in all the Pillars of Islam however with esoteric
Understanding based on the esoteric teachings of Hz Ali and Ehlulbayt . while
all the pseudo Luvian , Hittite , Yazdani , Zoroastrian theories has nothing to
do with Alevism at all . We are Muslims , esoteric Muslims and the followers of
Hz Ali .
All
Shias were called Alevis/Alawis during the time of Hz Muhammad
and all of them were the followers and the supporters of Hz Ali , then later
they were separated into many sects [9]
[1]
:Dervish Piety and Alevism in Late Medieval Anatolia
[3]
: Al Shahrstani : Muslim sects and Divisions , Translated by A.K.Kazi and
J.G.Flynn pages 161 to 163 , published 2014 by Routledge
[4]
: Nedkoff, B. C. , "Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nda Cizye", Trans. Şinasi
Altundağ, Belleten Dergisi, 1986 Ankara, c.VIII. pages 76 , 103 , 109
[5]
: Muhammad Ali Sabsvari : Tuhfah Yi Abbasi The Golden Chain of Sufism in Shiite
Islam pages 67 , 68 . published 2008 by University Press of America
[6]
: Bihar Al Anwar 24:211/1
[7]:
Oyoun Al Hikam 6:233
[8]:
Diwan al-Mu’ayyad, tr. M. Adra, Mount of Knowledge, Sword of Eloquence , page
189
[9]:Al Nubawkhti : Firq Al
Shia page 51
Because most Alevis are
ethnically Turkish instead of Kurdish.
The Alevis are mostly the descendants of Türkmen tribes that adopted nominal Islam but retained many pre-Islamic beliefs and customs.
There are also Kurdish Alevis although there is some dispute about whether “Alevi” is a correct name for Kurdish heterodox Muslims. Some Kurds also reject the label “Alevi” even though they also blend nominal Islam with pre-Islamic beliefs.
“Alevi” tends to be a catch-all term in Turkey for all kinds of heterodox Islamic groups. Near to where I live, there is an Alevi village where the inhabitants are probably descended from west Anatolian pagans. They call themselves “Alevis” but they have no cemevi in their town and do not carry out any of the usual Alevi rituals, such as the cem ceremony. Their funerals are also very unusual and differ from both standard Islamic and typical Alevi rituals.
My wife’s family is Alevi on her mother’s side and they are certainly not Kurdish in any way. Their roots are in Central Asia, not Mesopotamia. I do know Zaza Alevis from Tunceli and Kurdish Alevis from Bitlis and Kars. Apart from the name “Alevi”, these groups have little in common with each other. Most Kurdish Alevis have become more Sunni over time. All of the Kurdish “Alevis” I know pray in mosques and pray in the Islamic manner. Most Turkish Alevis do not go to mosques and do not pray in the Islamic manner at all.
Historically, the concept of a “Kurdish or Zaza Alevism” do not exist.
In 1501, Turkmen
tribes that migrated from Anatolia established the Safavid State in Iran. The
founder of this state, Shah Ismail, wrote folk poems under the pen
name of ‘Hatayi’.
He is still a very noble persona
for the Alawites of Anatolia today. Ismail I. founded the
Safavid Dynasty and military with the help of various Qızılbash Turkmen tribes
such as, “Shamlu, Tekeli, Dulkadir, Afshar, Bayat, Qajar, Karamanid,
Ustacalu and Rumlu”. The vast majority of these tribes
were Alawite.
In 1514, the Battle of
Chaldiran was fought between the Ottomans and the Safavids. In this battle, the
nomadic Alawite Turkmens of Anatolia supported Shah Ismail. The Sunni Kurd
tribes were ranked among the Ottoman State.
The Ottomans won the war and
Sultan Yavuz Selim granted autonomy to the Kur`dish tribal
chiefs to use them as leverage against the Qizilbash Turkmen followers of Ismail.
The ones who describe themselves
as “Kurdish Alawite” today are most likely the sub-branches of historically
Turkmen-origined tribes that vanished among the Kur`dish population in Eastern
Anatolia such as :
Afshar, Beğdili, Iğdır, Bayat, Eyva (Yıva), Şikak,
Ertuşi, Karakeçili, Küresin, Türkan, Döğer, Musabeyli, İlbeyli, Torunlar,
Saçlılar, Sekiz Büklüler, Kırıklar.
Do these names sound ‘Kurdish’ at
all? The vast majority of the Muslim Kurds also belong to the Shafi’i sect of
Sunni Islam, which is deeply different from Alevism.
Another fact is that the core of
Anatolian Alevism has always been Turkish. Alevism represents itself with
“saz/bağlama” in this geography, which is typical of Turkish culture. Alawites
consider this instrument as noble.
Such a mentality does not exist in
Kurdish culture. Anatolian Alawites always worshipped in Turkish language as
well, but never in Kur`dish, including even the ones who define themselves as
“Kurdish Alawite” today.
The “Seven Folk Poets” who are
considered as noble for Anatolian Alawites are also all Turkish such as :
Seyyit Nesimi, Hatayi [Shah
Ismail], Yemini, Virani, Pir Sultan Abdal, Fuzuli and Kul Himmet.
They always wrote in the Turkish language.
It is also not possible to speak of a “Kurdish Alawite folk poet” among the noble personas of Alevism today. The life style, status and value of women between Anatolian Alawites and the Kurds are also very different.
Generally speaking, the Alawites
of Turkey are strictly devoted to secularism and the fundamental principles of
the Turkish Republic. That is why, the portraits of Hz. Ali and M.
Kemal Atatürk stand side-by-side on the walls of every ‘Djemevi’, the
Alawite place of worship.
The summary is that the term “Kurdish Alawite” is historically and culturally inaccurate, and it is rather a political construct, often advocated by Kurdish separatist elements and the partisans of the PKK terrorist organization to cause division and confusion among the Alawite community.
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