Turkey: Information on the treatment by the authorities of Alevis Kurds
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 June 1993 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | TUR14511 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Turkey: Information on the treatment by the authorities of Alevis Kurds, 1 June 1993, TUR14511, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6accc14.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Information on the above-mentioned subject is scarce. According to Michael Gunter, who wrote a book on Kurds in Turkey, Alevis Kurds adhere to an unorthodox form of Shi'ism (1990, 6). In his 1992 book entitled Agha, Shaikh and State, Martin Van Bruinessen pointed out that most Kurdish Alevis speak ZaZa dialects (23). Van Bruinessen also stated that the majority of Alevis in Turkey are not Kurds but Turks (Ibid.). The Alevis believe in reincarnation and in successive incarnations of the divinity in human form (Ibid.).
Further information on this specific subject is currently unavailable to the DIRB in Ottawa.
References
Gunter, Michael. 1990. The Kurds in Turkey: A Political Dilemma. Boulder: Westview Press.
Van Bruinessen, Martin. 1992. Agha, Shaikh and State: The Social and Political Structures of Kurdistan. London: Zed Books Ltd.
Attachment
The Independent. 5 February 1993. "Kurds on Hunger Strike." (NEXIS)