Islam and Christian - Muslim
Relations,
Vol. 17, No. 1, 1 - 20, Januar y 2006
A Surviving Neoplatonism: on the Creed
of the Bektashi Order. Conversations
with a Mursit 
ERIK CORNELL
Bromma, Sweden
to the Bektashi Order, holding very liberal views related to those of the
Mevlana Order. They have no ABSTRACT About 20 million men and women, a quarter
of the population of Turkey, are Alevites, afliatedmosques in their villages but
community houses, where men and women together take part in cult ceremonies.
They do not prayve times a day, neither do they fast. Alcohol is consumed in
connection with initiation, men and women are equal and women do not wear veils,
etc. As a consequence they are persecuted by Sunni neighbours as heretics and
have been victims of arson attacks. The author received four years of weekly
instruction by a Bektashi elder on questions related to faith, but not on the
origin and context of the beliefs, which were virtually inaccessible locally.
Further study has shown that their origin is in liberal Su thought, going back
to Neoplatonism, Plotinus and the hermetic tradition. This tradition survives in
Anatolia.
Bektashism means to Bektashis different things. According to their capac ity to
under
stand the truths are given. The apprehension of truth in the individual Bektashi
will,
therefore, depend both on his ownabili ty to see spiritual truth and on the qual
ity of
life and thinking of the one who has been his mursit. (Birge, 1965, p. 1 01)
The Outward Setting
Introduction
A consider able numb er of the inha bitants of both Turkey and Albani a belo ng
to a particu-
lar religious group, the Bektashi s, also know n a s the Bekta shi Or der of
dervishe s. The
name refers to the founder in the Mid dle Ages, Haji Bektashi Veli , and is
mainl y rese rved
for townspe ople while the membe rs of this group who belo ng to the formerly
illi terate rank
and le who have their roots in the Anatolia n countrys ide are usual ly k nown
as Alevi s.
Consid ering their numb ers-prob ably exceedin g a quarter of the popul ation of
Turkey ,
imply ing a latent forc e o f publi c opini on not to be neglect ed if mobilize
d-they have
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Correspondence Address: Erik Cornell, Topeliusvägen 15, 167 61 Bromma, Sweden.
Email: erik@ cornellcaspian.com
0959-6410 Print=1469-9311 Online= 06= 010001 - 2 0 # 2006 CSIC and CMCU
DOI: 10.1080= 09596410500399078
2 E. Cornell
Figure 1. Bektashi calligraphy. A face in which the name Ali¯ i n mirror-writing
forms the eye, the
nose and the moustache. The Osmanli text below the gure means 'I held the mirror
in front of my
face and Ali¯ appeared for my eyes'. (Dierl, 1985, p. 285)
remained remar kably unknown, the reason being that the great majority of them
have for
centuries been mainly loca ted in rural areas and followed an oral tradition.
They were and
are frowned upon as heretics by the Sunni Muslim majority and have been isolated
and
persecuted, and conse quently the Alevis have been both lacking in inuence in
society
and of scant political importance. This isolation has contributed to the group's
anonymity
as it has hidden its secrets from the world in order to be left in peace . For
their protection
the adherents have also strictly applied taqiyya , the right not to disclose
their beliefs when
living among other Muslims. For these reasons not much has been written about
their
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A Surviving Neoplatonism 3
customs and beliefs. They have kept the details of their faith to themselves and
have been
more or less intention ally misunderstood by other Muslims. Secular scholars,
including
foreigners, have shown a tendency to attach little importance to them because of
their
lack of influence. As a result, the details of their faith have been
comparatively neglected
and efforts to study them have concentrated more on treating them as a
sociological group
facing problems of cohabitation with other groups in society.
The Alevis have kept a low profile but have nevertheless been persecuted as
heretics.
The reason for this is probably the apparent difference s between their beliefs
and practices
and those of the majority society. The Alevis represent a syncretistic and
non-dogmatic
religion, or rather 'view of life' , which is essentially different from
orthodox Islam.
They are not organized, and Alevism therefore virtually becomes a collective
notion by
which to refer to different groups of people scattered all over the country who
have developed their own particularities. Most of them have in common the
recognition of Haji Bektashi Veli as their religious master. Nomin ally they
belong to Twelver Shi"ism, but they have developed their own characteristics
which are quite different from Iranian Shi"ism, for which reason the Iranian
government in its subversive activities against Turkey has
not employed Alevis but preferred Sunnis.
The most important of the particular religious characteristics of Alevism are:
. to have no mosques (as was natural for nomad s) but community houses , cem evi
;
. not to pray five times a day but rather when one feels so inclined;
. not to undertake pilgrimages to Mecca;
. not to apply rules regarding fasting and drinking alcohol;
. equal treatment of women and men, e.g. no requirement for women to wear the
veil;
. joint participation of men and women in cult ceremonies;
. consumption of alcohol in connection with initiation rites (compare the
Christian
Eucharist);
. that Shari"a is not strictly applied;
. that the Qur'an is not unreservedly recognized as God's final divine
revelation.
Shari"a is in principle regarded as 'the law' to be followed by everybody.
However,
through the initiation ceremony, which takes place when leaving childhood, the
individual
Alevi reaches a higher degree of knowledge, tarikat or 'the way ', which takes
precedence
over the prescriptions of Shari"a regarding, for example, forms for prayer and
fasting.
Reservations regarding the Qur'an are due to a suspicion that the early Caliphs
manipulated the text to the detriment of Muhammad's son"Ali", who plays a
central role in Alevism and is called 'the living Qur'an'-a way of indicating
that Alevism is not literalistic but emphasizes the message rather than the
text. Religio us worship is a matter for the individual and his Creator. Alevis
shun eating hare, an old Anatolian prohibition applied as early as the Hittites
and also listed in Leviticus. Apart from this, the observation of a cluster of
cult formalities and different types of prohibiting regulations are frowned upon
or openly despised. Instead, the importance o f a pure heart, good intentions
and especially the duty to love one's fellow man are underlined. The Alevis see
a difference between Sunnism, which is considered to bear the imprint of the
literal meaning of the word islam, i.e. 'submission', and their own religious
hallmark of Love. The categorical imperative of Alevism is contained in the
current expression eline- diline-beline , roughly meaning: 'Control your hands,
tongue and loins' ; that is: 'Do not steal, do not
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4 E. Cornell
lie and slander, do not commit adultery.' Credal variations are ignored but
importance is attached to the conscious manifestation of faith in words and
deeds. 'Inherent within the very terms of their religion is the possibility of
different forms of belief and practice', as an authority on Alevism has
expressed it. And he continues: 'learning to live with the dominant tradition
has resulted in a combination of mystical philosophy and a doctrine of peace and
equality between the sexes which is remarkably attractive' (Shankland, 1998, p.
22). This article will give an introduction to the emergence and background of
Alevism- Bektashism as well as a description of the main characteristics of its
beliefs. Then follows a digest of the instruction received by the author, which
indicates at least the partial origin of the creed in Hellenistic concepts.
Sources
Having taken up a position at the Ankara embassy in the beginning of 1990, my
attention was almost immediately drawn to the Alevis, the reason being that life
on the ground did not match my expectations. I had expected to meet a well
educated and secular, Western rather than Westernized establishment and a
numerous, more tradition-bound Islamic majority with their roots in the
Anatolian countryside. So I did, of course, but too many women, clearly not
belonging to the establishment, wore neither traditional clothes, nor the
'Islamic uniform', i.e. a wide cloak reaching to the feet and headscarf and,
furthermore, did not turn away their faces when meeting strangers in general
and men in particular. They also gave the impression of being Western rather
than Westernized. To obtain information on this phenomenon, however, proved to
require both patience and perseverance. In those days the numbers and role of
the Alevis in Turkish society were paid little attention outside some academic
circles, and even their existence was outrightly denied. By way of illustration,
my question to the Dean of the Faculty of Divinity of Ankara University
regarding the presence of non-Sunni groupings in Turkey received a
characteristic answer: 'There aren't any!' Numerous other attempts were as
discouraging. But I found an interested and knowledgeable supporter in the Papal
Nuncio (the Ambassador of the Vatican) who organized valuable and instructive
meetings with Ms M. Kashgarli, Professor of Religion in France, a specialist in
early Christianity and herself a Bektashi, who, among other things, arranged our
participation in the annual pilgrimage to the Order's shrine in the town of
Hacibektash. It emerged furthermore that a member of the embassy's local staff
was a Bektashi, initiated after marrying an Alevi, who could give me first hand
information at a popular level. (One can be an Alevi only by birth; others have
to seek initiation into the Bektashi Order.)
Later I happened to engage as a language teacher a retired senior civil servant
who was a leading member of the Bektashi Order, and the language instruction
became totally overshadowed by discussions on religious questions, mainly
related to Alevism-Bektashism, continuing for four years until I left Turkey
towards the end of 1995. The contents of our conversations form the background
of the description below of the Bektashi outlook on life.
As regards literature on the topic, the situation in Turkey was unequivocally
difficult. The establishment of the Turkish Republic was based on the need to
create a strong and unified state out of the Ottoman Empire's residual tapestry
of Anatolian peoples, languages and beliefs. Any counter-indication to the
desired 'oneness' was for this reason more or less denied, as indicated by the
comment of the above-mentioned dean.
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A Surviving Neopla tonism 5
Scholars and literature dealing with different religious move ments in Turkey
were not mentioned. The Turkish press contained sporadic articles on Alevis, but
older material was very difficult to trace and, because of the complexities of
the subject, a translator was needed who was familiar with the topic. Generally
speaking, most articles treated the role of the Alevis in society, reflecting
their gradual emergence from traditional isolation and migration to the towns.
On their creed there was virtually nothing, probably because of taqiyya , the
right to hide one's real beliefs in a hostile environment, and in consequence it
is totally unknown or misjudged by other Turks. This was the situation at the
beginning of the 1990s, but it has markedly improved since then. A number of
active publishing houses have been established which print a great number of
pamphlets and instruction booklets for the adherent s, who have left their
traditional village societies and are eager to get a more systematized
instruction in religious matters in order to establish their proper identity in
the predominant Sunni environment of the cities.
In these circum stances foreign literature on the topic could only be obtained
through personal contacts. At a relatively early stage I came across Kehl-Bo
drogi's important work, published in 1988, which contains a valuable survey of
the literature . I also obta ined J. K. Birge's (1965) basic description and
analysis. He deserves to be mentioned first for having already published in 1937
The Bektashi Order of Dervishes , which also deals with the religious and
philosophical aspects of Bektashism. He duly draws attention to the Neoplatonic
element, as did Professor Kashgarli in her conversations. But apart from this,
the oral instruction I received made no mention of that historical relationship
but rather sought to establish a direct link to ancient Egypt. It was
symptomatic that, while in Turkey , I was never informed of such an early and
important work as Altan Gökalp's (1980) Te ˆ tes rouges et bouches noires . Only
later, after returning to Sweden and having access to well established
university libraries, was I able to make further and wider studies which
clarified the relationship between the instruction received and Islamic mysticism
, as well as with its classical forerunner, especially Neoplatonism . Dierl's
Geschichte und Lehre des anatolischen Alevismus - Bektaschismus (1985) clarifies
and is more closely related to my mürsit's teachings than any other work. It is,
however, more descriptive than scientific. A most comprehensive book is
Bektachiyya (Popovi c & Veinstein, 1985), containing contributions from a
Strasbourg conference held in 1985 and covering a wide range of topics by
scholars such as the grand lady of Alevi studies Irene Melikoff, van Bruinessen
and During, to mention only a few. It also contains a valuabl e bibliography.
Another interesting collection of reports is to be found in Alevi Identity (O
lsson et al. , 1998), based on an Istanbul conference in 1996 with contributions
not only by the likes of Irene Melikoff, but also from a younger generation of
scholars such as, among others, David Shankl and and Kar in Vorhoff. The
latter's book contains a com prehensive bibliograp hy (1995, pp. 218 - 263). Ire
` ne Me ´ likoff's indi spensabl e grand' oeuvre, Hadji Bektach, un mythe et ses
avat ars, referred to in the text below, appeared only in 1998 (Me ´ likoff,
1998a) . I t is the most modern and com prehensive description and analysis of
Alevism - Bektashism, based on a lifeti me's academic research.
During the conver sations with my above-m entioned teacher, which took place in
private, I regularly took notes. He became my mürsit and, as pointed out above,
these notes constitute the background for the text below. His tuition followed
local traditions and had a quite personal and individual character. It contained
virtually no references, and as a consequence I found it necessary to search for
other sources in order to find the context to which its religious, philosophical
and historical roots belonged. The
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6 E. Cornell
character of this article accordingly is that of a field report, reflecting his
instruction and my subsequent efforts to find the schools of thoug ht that
inspired it. It seems expedient, however , to preface the presentation of the
subject matter with a description of the emergence and early history of Alevism
- Bektashism.
Origin and Background
During the migrations of the Turkic peoples westwards from Central Asia, their
original
religious concepts-too often simply referred to as worship of heaven, and
shamanism-were influenced by the religions of the peoples they met: Buddhism,
Zoroas trianism, Islam and Christianity. Their eventual Islamization was thus
preceded by obvious syncretistic tendencies, and took place in regions where,
alongside regular orthodox Islam, Sufi mysticism had also grown strong. These
tendencies had flourished from the beginning of the Arab conquest of the eastern
Mediterranean where they were inspired by the multifarious expressions of
Hellenistic thought that dominated the region during the first centuries of the
Christian era. Individual mystics gathered pupils around them and in this way a
number of religious brother hoods or dervish orders appeared and spread. Of
those active today, some have existed for centuries all over the Muslim world
while others have appea red in living memory and have a limited field of
operation.
The brotherhoods especially flourished in hard times when the people suffered
from the violence of invaders such as J enghis Khan and Tamerlane. Their creeds
show evidence of considerable variation and represent a broad spectrum of
directions and aims . Some orders are strictly Sunni orthodox with strong
fundamentalist in clinations and often seek political influence , as, for
example, the Naqshbendi, Nurcu and Sulemaniye. Others are primarily directed to
wards the pious life or mysticism, and several are heterodox , emphasizing
religious experience as leading to direct knowledge of God orunion with, or
absorption into, God. These latter orders attach less importance to the
fulfilment of external observances such as regular prayers, fasting and
pilgrimage. In practice this means that their adherents regard themselves as
following a tarikat, a religious 'way' and consequently as no longer strictly
bound by Sharica, the Islamic law. Mystic s may be in itiated into higher
degrees of experience-marifet or 'insight' and hakikat or 'truth '- ultimately
leading to union with God. For this reason they are accused of heresy by
formalistic, Sharia-keeping Sunni Muslims. These movements seem to have found
fertile soil in Persia, where Shi"a Islam enjoyed growing influence at the time
of the Turkic migrations, and from there the teachings spread with the Turkic
peoples into Anatolia. The best known of these liberal orders is probably the
Mevlana, also known as 'the whirling dervishes'. The Bektashis, who constitute
the intellectual super structure , so to speak, of the illiterate Alevis, also
belong to these liberal orders. The Mevlana and Bektashi Orders were more
represented among the urban population while the Alevis, until the foundation of
the Turkish Republic, were mainly to be found in the countryside. The origin of
the Order is fairly obscure but according to tradition its future founder, Haji
Bektashi Veli (d. 1270), was sent in the thirteenth century from Khorasan to
Rum, where he attracted many followers.
The Seljuks and the Ottoman s were founders of states and tried to gain control
over other groups of Turkic nomads who followed their trail. The Turkic tribes
dominating the border areas between the Persian and Ottoman empires belonged to
a considerable extent to liberal and religiously heterodox communities , and the
teachings of Haji Bektash were widesp read. According to Me ´ likoff, however,
the life and teachings of
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A Survivi ng Neopla tonism 7
Haji Bektash himself are elusive and more guidance can be found by studying the
influence of Fazlullah al-Hurufi (1339 / 40 - 1394) (Me ´ likoff, 1998a, pp.
116ff., 126ff.). His teachings were very syncretistic, stressing, among other
things, reincar nation and the idea that it is the task of man to arrive at
union with God, Ali¯ being the great example. The roots of al-Hurufi's thinking
can be traced back to Ibn al-Arabi¯ (1165 - 1240) and to the Neo -Pythagoreans.
These religious tendencies were adapted by the people in the border areas of
eastern Anatolia and western Persia, taking on an aggressive and expansive
character towards the end of the fifteenth century, especially under the
leadership of Shah Isma"il, who was fighting for political influence. The
adherents in these areas were called Kizilbash, i.e. Redheads, after their
headgear, a designation nowadays replaced by Alevis or Alevites (not to be
confounded with theAlawites, the Arabic-speaking adherents of related beliefs
who live in Syria).
In 15 02 Shah Isma"il decided that this both liberal and militant form of
Shi"ism should be the state religion in Persia. He was involved in a struggle
with Sultan Selim over the drawing of the borders between the two empires, and
the Shah enjoyed the support of his fellow- believers so, before war broke out,
the Sultan had tens of thousands of Anatolian Kizilbash - Alevis killed. The
survivors retreated to their villages in the mountains and from then on avoided
contact with the Sunni environment and state. Shortly afterwards, the Sultan
conquered Egypt and thereby assumed the office of thecAbbasid Caliph, who had his
seat in Cairo. In this way the Sultan virtually became the leader of all Sunni
believers, a position of influence whos e preservation required a break with the
Shi"ite heresy. In Persia it was not long before a new Shah proclaimed a more
strict Shari"a to be the state religion, and by the middle of the eighteenth
century the Kizilbash are considered to have been assimilated by Persian /
Iranian Shiism. Governed by the Sultan and the Caliph, the identity of the
Ottoman Empire became
Sunni Muslim rather than nationalistic. As distinguished from the British,
French, Russian (later Soviet) and Austrian empires, the Ottoman realm lacked a
national kernel. Its form of government also took on a particular character as
the Sultan did not entrust the leading positions to his kinsmen but had the
Empire administered by his serfs. According to the so-called Devshirme system ,
they were recruited by force mainly in the Balkans where young boys were levied,
converted to Islam and trained or educated as both soldiers-the Janissa ries-and
civil servants. Consequently, with the exception of the religiously dominated
legal and educational sector, the Empire was not governed by Turks or even
Anatolians. Another consequence was that there never existed any fertile ground
where ethnic solidarity or identity could take root, a feature that would prove
to be fatal when nationalism spread later in the Empire's Europe an and Arab
territories. The Sultans usually distrusted the orders or brother hoods and
organized instead a religious hierarchy, theulama ¯ ' , who represented a
normative Sunnism and were also responsible for education and the judicial
system. They were not recruited from among the serfs, but constituted a body of
free civil servants, unique to the Ottoman Empire . First control ling the
Caliphs and later holding the title themselves, the Sultans were also the Heads
of Islam and the religious and temporal powers were thus as united and indisting
uishable in the minds of the people of the Ottoman Empire as they had been
during the Byzantine era. Bearing in mind the concept of umma , the Islamic
community and the oneness of Islam, this must have been perceived as the natural
state of affairs. The Ottoman -or Turkish, as they were called in the West-civil
servants and officers saw themselves predominantly as Muslims.
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Alevi and Bektashi
In Anatolia the Kizilbash survived in spite of persecutio ns and discrimination
, and their
religious ties to the Bektashi Order are thought to have helped protect them.
But an ambiguity existed in the relationship. On the one hand the Bektashis were
religiously militant, especially during the earlier centuries, and the Sultan
had entrusted them with the conversion and education of the young boys who, as
mentioned, according to the Devshirme system were forcibly recruited in the
Empire's Christian areas to become both Janissaries and civil servants. As
initiates in the Bektashi tarikat the dervishes were not bound by the Qur'an's
Shari"a prohibition of both conversion by force and the ownership of Muslim
serfs(1).The Order simultaneously exerted a strong influence on the state
authority through its influence on the corps of Janissaries, and developed its
inclination to mysticism into a tolerant version of Islam with obvious influences
from earlier religious beliefs in the region, not least the command to 'love thy
neighbour '. On the other hand these very Janissaries had been ordered by Sultan
Selim to crush the Kizilbash before the war with the Shah. The role of the
Bektashis in this context is complicated and difficult to analyse. According to
one explanation , the Janissaries were first and foremost the Sultan's slavish
and mos to be dients oldiers, ready to follow a ny orders, while others suggest
that they were ordered to undertake a swift punitive expedition and were quickly
recalled before realizing that they were killing fellow-believers. According to
a third version , the Janissaries were elite soldiers fighting external enemies
on the Empire's frontiers , the expedition against the inland Kizilbash
constituting a singular exception of short duration.
A combination of all three explanations seems most likely and may be summarized
as follows. First, we must remember that at the outset, say before the year
1500, there certainly existed a mutual distrust between Sunnis and Shi"is but it
was far from the level of mutual condemnation and persecution which arose in
consequence of an Ottoman fatwa in 1511/12 condemning the Kizilbash heresy that
led to war between Sultan Selim and Shah Ismail (Me ´ likoff, 1998a, p. 138).
Furthermore heterodoxy was the predominant religious attitude in the border
areas and was shared by most of the active participants. The killing was thus
primarily seen not in religious but in political terms as an element in the
Sultan's and the Shah's fight for power. For this reason it was natural for the
Sultan's subjects, whether Bektashis or not, to obey his orders to crush his
enemies, the followers of the Shah. For the Alevites, being the victims, it
became natural to withdraw as far as possible from all contact with the Sultan's
administration, a state of affairs which was to last until the demise of the
Ottoman Empire. The mutual distrust between the government and its Kizilbash
subordinates was inherited by the Republic, and even if its establishment meant
the gradual liberation and integration of its Alevite citizens, it has not yet
been totally overcome. The Sunni quest for the oneness of Islam constitutes an
obstacle to the recognition of heretics.
In the sixtee nth century and as time passed, the Bektashis were to be found in
educated urban circles, while the Kizilbash constituted the bulk of the
generally more illiterate Alevis remaining in the countryside of inner Anatolia
. Governed by weak Sultans, the Janissaries became more and more unruly and in
the late seventeenth century secured the right to have families and to make
their positions hereditary. This meant that their devotion to the qualities
attac hed to being the most fierce and austere 'warrior-monks' of the Sultan and
the Faith evaporated. They became ever more dem anding and time and again
threatened rebellion if not placated with gifts. In 1826 they were mercilessly
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A Surviving Neoplatonism 9
crushed by the Sultan because of their resistance t o the modernization of the
armed forces along Western lines. As a consequence, the Bektashi Order lost all
its influence on the civilian side of the administration too. This was taken over
by the orthodox, conservative and power- conscious Naqshbendi Order. Towards the
end of the nineteenth century the Bektashis slowly recovered and supported the
reformist 'Young Turks' . T hey retained their liberal attitudes and as a result
orthodox Muslims continued to suspect them for their heretical deviations , such
as support for Freemasonry (Me ´ likoff, 1995, p. 12; idem , 1998b, pp. 242ff.),
which was regarded as wielding Western political influence towards rebellion.
The Modern Context2
With the demise of the Ottom an Empire and the establishment of the Turkish
Republic a religious , cultural, intellectual and political revolution took
place. The collapse of the old order was so complete, both materially and psycho
logically, that the people were prepared to accept any change if it held the
prospect of returning society to peace and order. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk led this
transformation guided by the vision of creating a modern Western, secular
nation- state. The Sultanate and Caliphate were abolished. Sharia was abrogated
and replaced with imported Western European laws, translated from German,
Italian and Swiss originals. The Latin alphabet replaced the Arabic, and Persian
and Arabic words were purged from the language in order to break links with the
Ottoman past . A reformed and pure Turkish language was introduced as compulsory
and under the slogan of 'happy is he who calls himself a Turk' all ethnic
distinctions were suppressed and Turkish family names were imposed on all. The
Christian calendar replaced the Islamic and women were forbidden to wear the
veil and men the fez. Religion was relegated to the private sphere and was
permitted to have no influence on politics . All religious orders were closed. A
religious office, the Diyanet, was established to direct Muslim clergy and
mosques and a Faculty of Divinity to supervise modernized religious education.
Atatürk succeeded to an astonishing extent in imposing his reform policy (know n
a s Kemalism). The Alevis were among his staunchest supporters. In the Ottoman
Caliphate they had been despised and ostracized heretics and the exchange of
Sultan and Caliph for a secular state and the recognition of equal rights for
women suited them perfectly. With the creation of the Republic the Alevis were
freed from external threat, but at the same time the pressure that had held them
together disappeared. In a sense they were lured into believing that they no
longer needed state protection. After originally being scattered in middle
Anatolia among cattle breeders in the mountains and wood-cutters in the forests,
they started to migrate to the towns. As we have seen, the Alevis lacked a
central organization and lived in local communities where religious leadership
(dede ) was hereditary in certain families. When people moved to the towns this
religious responsibility seems to have remained with the village dede in
question and was not taken over by somebody else. As a consequence , the
migrating Alevis easily lost contact with their spiritual leaders and became
rootless. In many places the traditions lost hold as there was no Alevi parallel
to the Sunni establishment which was receiving migrating Sunnis. One could say
that the emancipation of the Alevis in the secular Republic was in a way
comparable to the emancipation of women. In practice, the physical walls were
pulled down while the mental walls remained if not intact , at least
overwhelmingly strong. By introducing his reforms over a short period, Atatürk
had swung the pendulum to one extreme and sooner or later it was bound to swing
back.
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10 E. Cornell
Atatürk's policy was autocratic but his long term goal was the establishment of
a democratic nation- state on the pattern of Western Europe . He prevented
Turkey from following in the tracks of the contemporary Communist, Nazi and
Fascist dictatorships in Europe and laid out the course towards parliamentary
democracy, entrusting the army with the double task of prohibiting dictators
from usurping power and preventing a relapse into religious domination. The
golden opportunity came after the Second World War when Stalin's ambitions to
control the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles enticed the West to grant Turkey
membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization . The condition was
democratic reforms, and Atatürk's unitary Republican People's Party (CHP) split
into two. General elections were held in 1950 and the new , more conservative
Democratic Party (DP) won a landslide victory. The pendulum began to swing back.
The new party's electoral base was mainly rural Turkey and its promises of
agricultural subsidies and increas ed respect for traditional religious values
were fulfilled. The restrictions on religious practices were relaxed, including,
for example, the lifting of the ban on religious orders. This might seem to be a
modest reform but its consequences were to proveominous . When the multi-party
system reopened the door to religious formations, it was in fact only the Sunni
religious majority, among them the Naqshbendi Order, that was able to benefit .
The need for the protection of religious minorities was not attended to, and
this applied not only to various Muslim 'heretics ' but also to the various
Christians churches who undoubtedly fared better under the Sultanate than its
successor, the secular repub lic. As a symbol of the changing religious climate
it should also be mentioned that, while Atatürk had decided that the call to
prayer from the minarets should be made in Turkish, the DP government changed it
back to Arabic. Excessive subsidies to agriculture ruined the economy and this
development, combined with the government's manifest religious leanings,
inspired the military to stage a coup d'e ´ tat in 1960.
The coup led to a leftward turn. A few leading DP politicians were executed. A
new constitution permitted trade unions and radical parties. The new pluralism
opened up the way for latent antagonisms, and leftist advances provoked rightist
reactions. Political life deteriorated into street violence and the government
had difficulties in controlling the situation. With the object of checking the
violence, the military took the initiative and in 1971 gave an ultimatum,
threatening to intervene again if the politicians did not control the anarchic
situation and return to Kemalist reform policies. This led to a rightward turn
and attempts to curb the pluralist character of political life, which failed.
Instead new extremist parties emerged on the right, one religious and one
nationalist. The consequence was protracted government crises and aggravated
left - right antagonism. Turkey entered a period of social and then economic
crisis. Towards the end of the 1970s street violence claimed twenty lives a day.
The stage was set for the next milit ary coup of 1980.
The Alevi support for Atatürk and his party meant that they found themselves on
the political left when the DP opened the gates to a Sunni renaissance. During
the anarchic years that followed they became the target of not only the
religious activists but also the nationalistic extremist 'Grey Wolves'. The
leftist activists, including groups of Maoists and Leninists, were considered to
have been recruited mainly from among Alevi towny outh. They had grown up in an
environment where for centuries they had been the victims of oppressive state
power, and in later years to a great extent had been uprooted from their own
ideological traditions. It would have been natural for the military, as the
guarantor of the Republic's Kemalist order, to seek the support o f the Alevis,
but the risk of the subversive influence of the Soviet Union on the leftist
activists was seen as a
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A Survivi ng Neoplatoni sm 11
greater danger and their integration was not promoted. The arson attacks against
Alevis committed in the late 1970s by their adversaries in the central Anatolian
towns of Malatiya and Sivas, Corum and Kharamanmaras, were among the reasons for
the military take over in 1980, but never theless the suppression of extremists
that then took place is considered to have been more firmly enforced against
leftist than against rightist groups . In order to create a counterweight to the
revolutionary communist ideology among the youth , the military further more
introduced compulsory religious education in schools. Th e practical consequence
was that Alevi children became the object of compulsory Sunni education.
After the return of civilian rule in 1983 the government was led by Tu rgut
Özal. He had
failed as a candidate for the religious party but was appointed to a ministerial
post in the DP's successor party, the AP (Justice Party). In the interim
government after the 1980 coup the military had refused to hold any posts and
Özal was a successful minister of econ-omic affairs. In the 1983 elections he
was permitted to run for his own party (the Mot herland Party, ANA P). He became
primeminister in 1983 and was elected President of the Republic in 1989. He
introduced a successful policy of economic recovery but we may say he applied
taqiyya as far as his religious programme was concerned . He apparently had
close connections with the conservative Naqshbendi Order and, outside the circle
of public discussions and parliamentary decisions, launched a boom in mosque
building and religious education without parallel in the history of the
Republic, probably fin anced by Saudi Arabian foundations. The budget of the
religious office (Diyanet ) increased to surpass that of many ministries and its
number of employees rose to 80,000. Alevi villages were forced to have mosques
and not allowed to build their own community houses . The policy of appointments
led to Sunni infiltration, especially of the sectors of internal (including the
police) and educational affairs. Fresh arson attacks against Alevis took place
in 1993, this time again in Sivas on the occasion of a Bektashi cultural
conference. It was revealed that the may or, who belonged to the religious
party, was not ignorant of the preparations for the persecutions and that the
police had orders not to intervene. Later the court proceedings and the
sentences on the guilty were the object of heavy criticism in the press for bias
in favour of the fire-raisers and against the victims. The measures taken by a
notorious security prosecutor in Ankara must be characterized as scandalous. One
of the victims who narrow ly escaped being burnt alive was prosecuted for having
provoked the arson. He was an elderly author, an atheist and translator of
Salmon Rushdi e's The Satanic Verses. Such a reaction from a high official of the
judiciary , one of the strongholds of secular Kemalism, seems indeed unexpected
. Apparently this secular but at the same time ultra-conservative civil servant
was influenced by the prevailing vulgarprejudices against the Alevis as
incorrigible adversaries of state, law and order, as well as potentially violent
leftist extremists.
The religious party made gains in the local elections of 1994,
fundamentalist-oriented mayors were elected in a number of townships, and social
pressure against the Alevis was officially sanctioned. The destruction of the
Alevi commun ity house in Taksim Square in central Istanbul was ordered, but
this created such an uproar that the action was prohibited by the government.
Against this background the religious disturbances in Istanbul in March 1995
came as no surprise. The consistent neglect of Alevi interests at the same time
as Sunnism was achieving real positions of power was sooner or later bound to
result in an explosion. The disturbances took place in a poor part of the city
mainly populated by immigrants from the southeast, both Alevis and Sunnis, who
so far had lived peacefully together. A few terrorists drove in a stolen taxi
through the area and fired
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12 E. Cornell
shots into coffee shops, which resulted in several deaths. Some Alevis marched
to the local police station and in the ensuing confrontation a number of
marchers were killed. It was later revealed that the Alevis had for some time
had strained relations with the local police who were considered to look down
upon the despised heretics, and that the police officer appointed as inspector
was known for imposing violent measures. All police personnel were changed. In
agreement with the local people, calm was re-established by army units which
were welcomed because the military was guaranteed to be secular. The event gave
rise to similar disturbances in other parts of Istanbul and in Ankara.
Conservative religious newspapers called for calm and reason and the government
undertook to abolish the Sunni monopoly on religious education. It then met with
the problem that the Alevis do not ask for the right to their own special
education but simply for a confirmation of the secular state's commitment to
freedom from obligatory religious education. The process of cultivating equal
rights for adherents of various beliefs in Turkey will, it can be concluded,
take some time. In later years the situation has remained calm and, in this
respect, the desire for closer relations with the European Union has already
proved useful as it motivates most parties to avoid conflicts and to cultivate
mutual respect.
Alevis in Modern Society
The anti-dogmatic character of Alevism-Bektashism should again be underlined.
This means that it is neither able, nor has the intention, to formulate an
established dogma. The foreign visitor to the yearly pilgrims' meeting in the
small town of Haci Bektash in Cappadocia is welcomed by all men-and women
because they take part on equal terms-with a striking sincerity and warmth,
because he or she by being present demonstrates a like-minded outlook on life.
Internal groups
A Turkish scholar working in France has distinguished four main groups among
contemporary Alevis, which cautiously show their distinctive features in modern
Turkey (Bilici, 1998, pp. 51-62).
The first is mainly represented by the urban population and emerged during the
Republic. It has constituted the recruitment basis for the above-mentioned
political extreme left, and regards Alevism as an outlook on life more than a
religion. The followers hold ritual meetings of a religious character and have
also established cultural associations named after the sixteenth-century poet
Pir Sultan Abdal. According to their beliefs, Man enjoys a central role as
illustrated by the concept 'God is Man' (see below in the discussion about the
'Trinity'). To a considerable extent old concepts have here, however, received
the imprint of Marxist materialism and forced interpretations based on the
principle of class struggle.
The second group is more directed towards heterodox mysticism and stands closer
to the Haji Bektashi Brotherhood. They consider St Francis of Assisi and Mahatma
Gandhi to be better believers than many a Muslim. The tuition given by my
miirsit below belongs to this category.
The third group regard themselves as true Muslims and are prepared to cooperate
with the state. They follow the way of Jacfar al-Sadiq, the sixth Imam. Their
concept of God is closer to orthodox Islam but, like the two groups already
mentioned, they consider the Qur'an to have been distorted by the early Caliphs
in order to eliminate cAlı¯.
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A Survivi ng Neoplatoni sm 13
The fourth group are said to be under the active influence of official Iranian
Shicism, to be confirmed adherents of Twelver Shicism and to reject Bektashism.
They follow Shari'a and oppose secular state power. Information about their
numbers and location is not available.
The new challenge
It was at one time thought that Alevism was on the verge of disappearing in the
new atmosphere of migration to the towns and secular society. But this never
happened, because as its existence faced new challenges, a reaction was
provoked. For the liberal-minded Alevis, orthodox Sunnism is not a viable
alternative and the experiences of experimenting with extremist socialism were
even more negative so that it lost its attraction. In these circumstances, the
oral traditions and beliefs had to find new forms not only to be kept alive but
to be revitalized. It is no longer possible to flee to the mountains in order to
escape persecution; on the contrary it has become necessary to define and
defend held convictions and be prepared to fight for recognition and respect in
the Sunni environment. Alevis now live in a modern society for which their
traditional isolation in secluded villages offers no guidance. The challenge
they now face is predominantly religious and inspires them to return to their
roots. As a consequence, Alevism finds itself in the difficult process of
adaptation from oral to written modes of expression and from protection by
isolation to exposed participation in society. The resistance the Alevis
encounter from the side of Sunni orthodoxy must not be underestimated because it
does not shun bloodshed and arson, as referred to above (Bumke, 1995, p. 115).
The signs of growth and lively activity are now manifold, as are those of
organizing and trying to establish a common ground and identity for all the
various dispersed groups of Alevis. But this is not easily compatible with the
tolerant and anti-doctrinal spirit of their beliefs. The Alevis face a double
challenge: they must simultaneously organize themselves for their own
protection and survival by the building up of a religious association and they
must not in this process lose their soul and special character by establishing a
hierarchy of their own, claiming a 'true' faith with its own infallible dogmas
and doctrines.
The Inward Concepts
Tuition of a Mürsit
The account below aims to show how the creed was introduced in an individual
case, and adapted to the pupil's religious background and experience of life.
The intention is to limit it, as far as possible, to conveying the words of my
miirsit (teacher), and to avoid references to different authors. It is
furthermore an attempt to systematize the instruction received and concentrates
mainly on reincarnation in the form of the 'emanation chain'. This means in
practice a focus on the elements inherited from the Neoplatonic world of ideas.
This context was, however, never mentioned by my miirsit who suggested an origin
'in the Egyptian temples', where Jesus also allegedly received his instruction.
On the other hand the manifold references to the prevalence of historical and
cultural influences from other sources, not least shamanism, are not included,
as they apparently were accorded only secondary importance. Neither is the
interpretation and substitution of words according to the numerical values of
their letters referred to because the
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14 E. Cornell
method is comprehensible only when applied to the spelling of words in Arabic.
Without any doubt the method of instruction aimed at gradual enlightenment, and
that only to a certain level. For this reason the following annotations can
hardly avoid being both incomplete and sometimes contradictory.
God
The concept of God is a natural starting point. To begin with it was difficult
to grasp but experiences from non-Western civilizations facilitated the
comprehension. Already in the Iliad it is obvious that the gods are not
almighty. When Achilles and Hector are fighting their last battle, Zeus holds up
his golden balance and learns that his favourite Hector will die-obviously a
higher level of decision making exists (Iliad, XX, 212) (Homer, 1946). The
Confucian societies of the Far East are considered to lack a god, but the
changes of dynasties were taken as manifestations of the Will of Heaven, which
man could only follow; and Chairman Mao is quoted as having said before his
death 'when in due time I shall meet God'. The old Turks also had a concept of
the God of Heaven. In African societies, pejoratively called animist, there
exists a clear concept of God, who is not personal, however, and is no more
concerned with the fate of individual men than with that of individual beasts.
These types of beliefs contain the concept of God at various levels, a supreme
God beyond the reach of man, and lesser gods/idols whom man can reach by
prayers, sacrifices and rituals, which often degenerate into superstitious
practices.
The Bektashism I learned about seems to contain a concept of God at various
levels, but none of them to be considered as idols. It seems doubtful that man
can influence any level. The higher level is beyond comprehension and reach. The
lower level is an emanation of the high-level God and man in his turn is an
emanation of that emanation. Man's influence seems doubtful but he can be guided
by inspiration from the lower-level God.
Reincarnation
is only vaguely referred to by both Birge (1965, p. 131) and Dierl (1985, p. 69)
and then mainly on a prophetic level as, for example, 'Al¯ı being present in
Haji Bektashi Veli. On the other hand both Melikoff (1998a, p. 198) and
Kehl-Bodrogi (1988, pp. 19, 142ff.) mention the theory of 1001 reincarnations.
In the teachings of my miirsit reincarnation played an important role as the
principal mechanism for man's improvement, which is the task and goal of
mankind. He insisted that reincarnations took place at intervals of 2000 years.
The notion of 1001 reincarnations at intervals of 2000 years yields the
information that the lifespan of an 'era' should amount to 2 million years.
Emanations
The different levels of emanation from God are described by Birge (1965, p. 116)
and Dierl (1985, pp. 65-72; cf. Bumke, 1995, p. 114). I received similar
instruction, but gradually, and with references to the philosophy behind the
Vedic sacred writings, the Old and New Testaments, the Qur'an and Buddhism. It
was underlined that there only exists one and the same religion and that each
cult usually degenerates into establishing a priesthood and a hierarchy, which
use their real or presumed and, with the passing of time, invariably degraded
knowledge to control fellow men and societies in order to obtain privileges.
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A Survivi ng Neoplatoni sm 15
Consequently new prophets emerge to preach the original message, which briefly
can be summarized as 'love thy neighbour'.
The tuition I received mixed vocabularies and names from several religions and
thus, at least initially, gave a rather bewildering and sometimes contradictory
impression. This was probably intentional, first as part of a probationary
period of teaching, and later because the stages of instruction should be given
in a certain order, in order that new elements could overrule those given
earlier. However, it depicted a clear chain of emanation from Universe and God
to spiritual man, man on earth, animals, plants and minerals (cf. Melikoff,
1998a, p. 121).
Angels
But somewhere between God and man there existed different categories of
angels-arche, archangels and angels-whom I had great difficulty in integrating
into the chain. Apparently they had originally constituted 'mankind' in earlier
'worlds', 'eras' or civilizations, possibly connected to other planets. As
spiritual beings they belonged to a higher level than man but on the other hand
they represented failed 'worlds' and are for this reason used as God's
messengers to man or as helpers to mankind. By 'failed' is meant that these
creatures/men from earlier 'worlds' did not succeed in carrying out God's
command to develop their 'world' to perfection. Angels on different levels may
thus have been 'Perfect Men' (see below) in earlier 'worlds'. Spirits from
ordinary beings in these 'worlds' may, in accordance with their qualities, also
exist either as helpers, or as tempters, leading men astray. (Compare Lucifer's
refusal to obey God's command to the angels to worship man.) In any case it
seems difficult to classify these different angels as parts of the direct chain
of emanation from God to minerals in our present world. Both Birge (1965, p.
117) and Dierl (1985, p. 71) mention angels in connection with the chain of
emanation. A hypothetical interpretation will be given below.
The chain of emanation
The instruction of my miirsit regarding the chain of emanation and the place of
man in it can be summarized in the following levels. This is related to the
schemes of Birge and Dierl, but much simpler:
1. God/Universe
2. God/Truth
2b/3a. Perfect man 3b. Spiritual man
On earth: 4. Man 5. Animals 6. Plants 7. Minerals
The levels will be commented upon in reverse order.
7, 6 and 5 require no special explanation. A movement upward by way of
reincarnation, so to speak, belongs to the system. Animals at least were said to
be guided by 'spiritual selves' (see 3b below), not individually but as
species-information which appears alien to the system and can perhaps be
explained as being part of the developmental character of the instruction.
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16 E. Cornell
4. Man on earth: human beings as we see and know them on earth belong to this
category. They are reincarnated in accordance with their behaviour as outlined
below under 3b. If their lives have not been up to standard, a reincarnation
downwards, to animals, is possible. The fate of an evil man might be
disintegration into atoms to be dispersed in the realm of minerals.
3b. Spiritual man, or the spiritual self: every human being on earth is an
emanation of an astral, shining or spiritual self. This spiritual self is
androgynous and time and again sends part of itself down to earth as a man or
woman with the task of improving itself in different incarnations, in different
social positions, etc., in order to develop into higher degrees of perfection.
The hope is that each reincarnation will lead to improvement and the ultimate
goal is to become a 'Perfect Man' (see below).
It seems that the spiritual self is God on the lower level, to whom man directs
his prayers. The spiritual self seems to be the voice of conscience, i.e.
possibly the Holy Spirit in the Christian Trinity.
3a/2b. A Perfect Man has achieved what a Christian would call freedom from sin.
At this level man on earth is completely united with his spiritual self and
fully initiated-indicating that there exist lower degrees of initiation at level
4. To be fully initiated means to be united with God at level 2 but obviously
with the option or duty of being reborn time and again (cf. Mahayana Buddhism).
A Perfect Man is not subject to but the master of the laws of nature, a quality
which would explain, for example, the miracles performed by Christ. A fully
initiated person can move unhindered in time and space (cf. shamanism). Other
examples of Perfect Men are Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Muhammad and cAlı¯. Possibly
this level corresponds to the Son in the Christian Trinity.
On the earth there are always simultaneously about 300 Perfect Men (or 366
corresponding to the number of days in a leap year). The unknown period in the
life of Christ is explained as being a time of tuition and initiation in the
'temples of Egypt'.
Some fully initiated people seem to live a secluded and secret life in celibacy
and avoiding all worldliness. The words of the Bible 'to cast pearls before
swine' relate to the necessity of hiding the inner meaning of the religious
teachings from the ignorant masses, who lack the capacity to understand them.
Some Perfect Men, such as Christ and Buddha, seem to have been criticized for
having disclosed too much.
Could this degree of initiation correspond to the second highest in Bektashism,
i.e. marifet, insight?
As mentioned above it seems difficult to find a place for the various angels in
the chain of emanation. They could, however, be regarded as Perfect Men from
earlier 'worlds'. As such they should have achieved union with God, which is
also valid for Perfect Men in this world. Consequently they should all belong to
the same level in the chain of emanation, i.e. 2b/3a.
2. Truth is God as intelligible to Man on earth. Possibly this level corresponds
to God the Father in the Christian Trinity and the Allah of Islam.
Could this degree correspond to the previously mentioned highest degree of
initiation in Bektashism, among others, that is hakikat, truth?
1. God is beyond conceiving; he is the Universe, present everywhere and
consequently immovable.
If it is correct that the levels of emanation, including the transitory stage
2b/3a, are eight, this could be connected with the fact that the number 'eight'
apparently carries a symbolic
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A Surviving Neoplatonism 17
importance. Me´likoff quotes a myth about Haji Bektashi's death which relates
that the Sultan ordered the construction of a mausoleum with an octagonal
cupola-and an octagonal shape is not uncommonin Bektashi buildings-'en l'honneur
duhuitie`me Imam' (Me´likoff, 1998a, p. 83), maybe a reference to the seven
imams plus Haji Bektashi Veli, which would seem to indicate that the teachings
described above belong to Sevener rather than Twelver Shicism (Dierl, 1985, p.
26). If special importance is to be attached to the number eight, it should be
observed at this stage that in Neoplatonism (see below) a connection is to be
found with the ogdoad, the eighth sphere above the seven planets, according to
the Corpus Herme-ticum (Copenhaver, 1992, pp.6,117). It can be interpreted as
the dwelling ofthe Perfect Man. Nowadays Betashism's belonging to Twelver
Shicism seems not to be questioned, which perhaps could be explained by a habit
grown out of taqiyya, little importance being attached to religious formalities,
which are rejected on principle.
Love thy neighbour
This is the essence and core of religion and the measure by which human progress
is evaluated. Dogmas and rituals are worthless; Confucius is reported to have
said that it is possible to get ordinary people to follow but not to understand
(cf. the parable of 'pearls before the swine'). In Sunnism, like other formal
religious prescriptions, the Ten Commandments and rules regarding praying,
fasting, forbidden food, etc. are regarded as belonging to the Law which the
masses are forced to obey by complying with formalities and dogmas. By
initiation into a higher degree of knowledge and awareness, and thereby learning
and understanding the essence and core of religion, a person is no longer bound
by these formalities as contained in the Shari'a, for example. He or she is
then enlightened enough to follow the Way by obeying the voice of conscience and
thus to proceed alone by carrying out the religious commandment not to harm
fellow human beings but to love his or her neighbour. (Compare the last sentence
of Corpus Hermeticum XII: 'There is but one religion of God, and that is not to
be evil.') This teaching contains a social obligation to strive for the general
well-being and welfare of mankind, which is also an imperative in the political
field. Everybody's task is to improve himself through reincarnations in order to
arrive at the goal, to become a Perfect Man.
Trinity
The concept of the Trinity was a recurrent theme in the instruction and this
should perhaps be understood as a way of facilitating the reception of the
instruction for a Christian pupil. Nevertheless, the concept remained unclear
and is conveyed here only tentatively.
1. God the Father (cf. level 2 above) seems to be the God of Heaven, beyond
reach and accordingly taking interest in mankind in general rather than in the
lives of individual human beings on earth (level 4).
2. God the Son seems to correspond to the Perfect Man who has achieved union
with God, i.e. level 3b/2a above, represented by Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Buddha,
Muhammad and cAl¯ı, among others, according to the various faiths. Could these
be compared to saints or angels?
3. God the Holy Spirit seems then to correspond to the Spiritual Self, the Voice
of Conscience, guiding man on his way to perfection and union with God.
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18 E. Cornell
Does the phrase 'I am the way, the truth and the life' reflect these three
levels, and if so, how? Could one venture to translate the phrase as: 'I am the
tarikat, the marifet and the hakikat'? Such reflections, however, remain
extremely tentative.
The central role given to mankind in Bektashism should be remembered. It was
illustrated during the 'Alevi Days ofCulture', organized in Stockholm in March
1997byAlevis living in Sweden. The headline on posters and programmes read 'God
is Man', which becomes more intelligible when seen against the background set
out above. Because of the emanation chain, mankind, like everything else, stands
in a direct relationship to God.
In the Islamic context the Trinity is composed of Allah, Muhammad and cAlı¯, and
cAl¯ı is given the dominant role, like Christ for many Christians. In the
Bektashi context God seems to be beyond reach and Muhammad is clearly eclipsed
by cAl¯ı. Muhammad often appears to be identified with cAl¯ı to such an extent
that it is difficult to avoid the impression that this is done in order to avoid
the embarrassment of completely neglecting him. These aspects of the instruction
were unclear and the possibility should not be excluded that I have
over-interpreted them in order to arrive at a comprehensible picture.
On the Neoplatonic Roots of Bektashism
The central theme of the tuition given by the mürsit contained two main
elements: the chain of emanation and the development to a Perfect Man through
reincarnation. These concepts hardly concord with the image of God the Creator
of the monotheistic religions. It was, however, claimed that the Bible and the
Qur'an contain hidden messages (batinism) proving these views and that these are
explicit for the initiated. These messages become much less hidden if they are
set in their context of the Hellenistic conception of the world which dominated
the region and the period in which Christianity and Islam emerged. Even a
concise review of their prevalence in Hellenistic philosophy is enough to
demonstrate how the ideas set out above illustrate the common origin of
Alevi-Bektashi and Western thought.
In his chapter on the relationship of Bektashism to other beliefs Birge mentions
rural Alevism, Sunnism, Shicism, shamanism, Neoplatonism and Christianity
(Birge, 1965, pp. 210-218). He emphasizes that the mysticism prevalent in
Bektashism, as well as in Islam in general, is inherited to a great extent from
Neoplatonism. He traces the tradition by way of Ibn al-cArab¯ı (1165-1240) and
Ibn Sı¯na¯ (Avicenna, 980-1037) to Plotinus and further back to Plato and
Pythagoras. It should in this context be stressed that from the point of view of
Sufism it is not a question of inheritance or tradition, but of an experience
lived by each individual Sufi in person (Idries Shah, 1971, p. 161).
Hellenistic culture was widely embraced by the peoples of the eastern
Mediterranean and was open to be appropriated by the Arabs when they extended
their territory under the banner of Islam. The works of the philosophers of
antiquity were available in Syria and were translated into Arabic, later to
return and make a lasting impression on Western scholars. The prevalence of
Neoplatonism in Anatolia in the times of Julian the Apostate is affirmed by John
Julius Norwich (1990, pp. 94, 228), who also calls attention to the Persian King
Chosroes' enthusiastic welcoming of the Greek philosophers and scholars who
sought refuge in Persia after Emperor Justinian's closure of Plato's Academy in
Athens in 529. The reception in Persia of the heritage of ancient knowledge is
confirmed by Hourani, who also stresses the importance of Ibn S¯ına¯ and Ibn
al-cArab¯ı for teaching the theories of emanation and the Perfect Man. He also
draws attention to al-Biru¯n¯ı's (973-1048) comparison of Greek and Indian
thinking (Hourani, 1992, pp. 60-61, 135-140, 142).
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A Survivi ng Neoplatonism 19
The inspiration originates with Plotinus who calls the origin of all things 'the
absolute and irrevocably One' (the Good) (Plotinos, 1953, pp. 378-379) from
which the world emerges 'like concentric circles in diminishing clarity,
perfection and existence' and 'pluralism streams out of unity' (Ahlberg, 1952,
p. 204), also described in the words: 'the world forms a series of diminishing
spirituality' (Plotinos, 1953, p. xi). It should be added that the flow of
emanation is double, one downwards from God and one upwards returning to God.
Aristotle imagines a series or chain from pure matter to pure form. The highest
principle is immovable and identified with God, whose 'activity is
contemplating his own contemplation' (Ahlberg, 1952, p. 156; Bhagavad-Gita,
IV-V). This aspect was absent from my miirsit's tuition but is reminiscent of
Dierl's description of God at the highest level as lacking knowledge of himself.
God's will to get to know himself takes the shape of the chain of emanation
(Dierl, 1985, p. 66). The theory of Perfect Man is also to be found in
Aristotle, who distinguishes him from the morally good man: 'The most perfect
human fulfilment is found to lie not in moral action ... but in intellectual
contemplation' (Aristotle, 1976, p. 40). In the present context this would imply
that the morally advanced man follows the way (tarikat), while the Perfect Man
is united with God through contemplation and thereby has risen beyond the
earlier stages to truth (hakikat).
Plato supported the idea of reincarnation: 'The soul having led a sensible, pure
and righteous life and having liberated itself from the dross of sensualism,
will after death move there [to the world of ideas]. But the soul who has been
submerged in sensualism must be purified through a number of reincarnations,
until being worthy of rising to his original home' (Ahlberg, 1952, p. 143). Also
in the Phaedrus there are clear indications of the theories of emanation and of
the Perfect Man (Plato, 1953, pp. 471, 479, 483).
The theory of transmigration is traced back to Pythagoras (sixth century BC),
who is supposed to have learnt it in Egypt or the Middle East (Ahlberg, 1952, p.
43). In this way the circle returns to the repeated references of my milrsit to
the origin of the creed in the 'Egyptian temples'. Other eastern and shamanistic
influences on Alevism -Bektashism are also evident but they lie outside the
framework of this survey, the aim of which has been limited to showing the
survival of Neoplatonic ideas in Anatolia until our own time, and to
demonstrating that they are not restricted to intellectual Bek-tashism but are
also applied as living concepts in popular Alevism.
Tolerance and harmony between believers in different faiths are a hallmark of
democratic societies. They are also a prerequisite for the European Union,
especially in its phase of enlargement and consolidation. This means that the
forces of pluralism and secularism must constantly be secured afresh. In this
respect the Alevis constitute an asset not only for Turkey and other possible
candidates, but for all Europeans. As has been illustrated in the foregoing
account of the origins of their concepts, Alevism and Western thought stand
closer to each other than either may realize.
Notes
1. The word 'serf' is preferred to the more commonly used 'slave' as they were
not bought and sold but tied to their master the Sultan in a way that is
reminiscent of the peasants in medieval Europe being tied to the land of their
feudal lords as serfs and villeins.
2. This account is based on corresponding sections in Cornell (2001).
3. A description of the method is to be found in the relevant chapters of Idries
Shah (1971).
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20 E. Cornell
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