Turkish Alevi poetry in the twentieth century: the fusion of political and religious identities

This article examines Turkish Alevi metrical composition in the twentieth century focusing upon how the Alevi community integrates political issues within a traditionally religious genre The figure of Kemal Ataturk, the state ideology of Kemalism, and the acts of violence the Alevi community have experienced below the Republic are recurring themes in this numbers A contextual interpretation of Alevi piece of poetrys contradicts our commonsense understanding of the supposedly distinct categories of religion and politics. The Alevi worldview does not operate with notions of "sacred" versus "profane" and indeed challenges our conception of religion and politics as distinct categories. The Alevi case provides