Syria Crisis Prompts Turkey's New Openings to Its Alevis
Turkey’s new liberalization package for its largest religious minority is linked to Syria.
Everyone in Turkey agrees that one of the most vital issues facing the country is the situation of Alevis. It is a top-priority societal issue that has to be handled with urgency.
Alevis constitute the country's largest minority, estimated between 12 and 15 million people. Given Turkey’s population of 76 million, this is a significant number. In short, Alevis are generally considered to be a part of Islam, with a syncretic and esoteric belief system that has incorporated many pre-Islam tenets of Anatolia. Only a tiny minority of Alevis see themselves outside of Islam. Although some of the beliefs of the Anatolian Alevis resemble doctrines of Shiite Islam, their roots are not the same. Almost none of the tenets of Sharia are accepted by Alevis. Recognized as a branch of Shiism, Arab Alawites in southern Turkey are known as Nusayris. Almost all of Turkish Nusayris have relatives in Syria. In today’s Turkey, when we say Alevis, it covers all the Turkish, Kurdish and Arab Alawites.
