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The Organization of Alevis in Sweden:

The Federation of Alevi Unions in Sweden and the Alevi Cultural Centers

in Light of the Swedish Incorporation Regime

Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements of the degree of

Master of Arts

In Middle Eastern Studies

Author: Nilda Gizem Batako

Supervisor: Hege Irene Markussen

Examiner:

Date: 18 May 2015

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ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to understand how and to which degree Alevis are organized in

Sweden and how their organization depends on internal and external factors. The study

presents a historical overview of Alevism, the Alevi movement and Alevis position during

the rule of the Justice and Development Party in order to grasp the dynamics behind the

organization of Alevis in Sweden. The data collected through two phases of ethnographic

fieldwork along with a variety of experiences and ethical issues focuses on the Alevi cultural

centers and the Federation of Alevi Unions in Sweden, the obstacles they face in their

organizations and solutions to overcome them as well as their relations to Alevi entities,

Swedish institutions and political parties and the other migrant associations from Turkey in

Sweden. The study analyzes to what extent the Swedish incorporation regime and internal

factors affect and shape the organization of Alevis in Sweden.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

It is a great pleasure to express my appreciation to those who showed valuable support and

made this thesis possible. Firstly, I would like to thank to Dr. Hege Irene Markussen for her

assistance, support and patience. I would also like to thank Dr. Torsten Janson and Dr. Barzoo

Eliassi for their encouragement and advice.

I owe a debt of gratitude to my husband, Bene Batako for his support and patience; and to my

parents Nee and Nail Hayatolu for their encouragement. I also acknowledge the invaluable

presence of my friends at every stage of my life. I gratefully thank to Fidem Ko, Burcu

Ceren Gyn, mer imek, Nuri Aydoan, Usman Boron, and many other that I could not

name in here. Finally, I would like to thank to the Swedish Institute for giving me scholarship

to study at Lund University.

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction...7

1.1. Research questions...7

1.2. Methodology.8

1.3. Theoretical framework.9

1.4. The findings of the project...9

1.5. Literature review10

1.6. Disposition..12

2. Methodological reflections on the ethnographic study of Alevis in Sweden..14

2.1. Introduction14

2.2. Ethnographic methods14

2.3. Two-phased ethnographic fieldwork..15

2.4. Methodological experiences...17

2.4.1. Interviews.18

2.4.2. Participant observations...20

2.5. Ethical considerations.22

2.5.1. The insider/outsider dichotomy and reflections on the fieldworks..24

2.5.2. The representation of the other.25

2.6. Concluding remarks...26

3. History of Alevism, the Alevi movement and Alevis during the rule of the Justice and

Development Party ................................................................................................................. 27

3.1. Introduction27

3.2. Transformations of Alevism..28

3.2.1. The first transformation of Alevism.28

3.2.2. The second transformation of Alevism28

3.2.3. The third transformation of Alevism...30

3.3. The European Alevi Unions Federation and the European Union.31

3.4. The Justice and Development Party and Alevis.32

3.5. Concluding remarks...34

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4. Alevi cultural centers and the Federation of Alevi Unions in Sweden...35

4.1. Introduction35

4.2. The Alevi cultural centers in Sweden and the Federation of Alevi Unions in Sweden.36

4.2.1. The Stockholm Alevi Cultural Center (S-AKM).36

4.2.2. The Gothenburg Alevi Cultural Center (G-AKM)..37

4.2.3. The Dalarna Alevi Cultural Center (D-AKM).38

4.2.4. The Malm Alevi Cultural Center (M-AKM).38

4.2.5. The Uppsala Alevi Cultural Center (U-AKM)39

4.2.6. The Halmstad Alevi Cultural Center (H-AKM)..39

4.2.7. The rebro Alevi Cultural Center (-AKM)..40

4.2.8. The Federation of Alevi Unions in Sweden (ARF).40

4.3. Obstacles and solutions..41

4.3.1. Financial difficulties41

4.3.2. Representation and introduction of Alevism to Sweden..42

4.3.3. Reaching out to Alevis and mobilizing them...42

4.3.4. Communication and the frequency of meetings..43

4.3.5. Organization of Alevi women in Sweden....44

4.3.6. Organization of Alevi youth in Sweden...44

4.4. The relations of the Alevi cultural centers and the Federation of Alevi Unions in

Sweden..45

4.4.1. Their relations to the Confederation of European Alevi Unions and Turkey..45

4.4.2. Their relations to Swedish institutions and political parties46

4.4.3. Their relations to other migrant associations from Turkey in Sweden46

4.5. Concluding remarks...47

5. Analysis on the organization of Alevis in Sweden in the light of theory of

incorporation regimes.48

5.1. Introduction....48

5.2. Incorporation regimes49

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5.2.1. The liberal incorporation regime..49

5.2.2. The statist incorporation regime..50

5.2.3. The fragmental incorporation regime...51

5.2.4. The corporatist incorporation regime...51

5.2.5. The corporatist-statist incorporation regime and Alevis in Germany..53

5.3. Analysis on the organization of Alevis within the Swedish corporatist system55

5.3.1. Ethnic and religious categorization..57

5.3.2. Umbrella organizations and representation..58

5.3.3 Women and youth branches..59

5.3.4. Activities..60

5.4. Internal and external challenges for the organization of Alevis in Sweden...61

5.5. The transnational Alevi movement and the Swedish corporatist system...63

5.6. Concluding remarks...64

6. Conclusion65

6.1. Summary65

6.2. Reflections on research questions and findings.66

6.3. Suggestions for further research on Alevis in Sweden..67

Reference List..68

Appendices...74

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Chapter 1. Introduction

I was 14 years old when my father told me that I was Alevi. Until that time, apart from

Turkish Sunni Muslims, I had no idea of the existence of other religious and ethnic identities

in Turkey, such as Kurds, Alevis, Assyrians, Laz, and Armenians. After I learnt that I was

Alevi, I started to be more aware of these other identities in Turkey. It did not occur to me that

it was possible to conduct research on Alevis and Alevism until I started the masters program

in Middle Eastern Studies at Lund University. Through my studies I found opportunities to

study Alevis, their citizenship status in Turkey and the Alevi diaspora.

When reading about the Alevi diaspora, I realized that much of the literature is focused on

Alevi mobilization in Germany. In Sweden, there are seven Alevi associations in which

people strive to preserve their cultural identity; however there has been no comprehensive

research on Alevis in Sweden. I became curious of whom the Alevis in Sweden are, and how

Alevi associations function in Sweden. Parallel to my curiosity, I found an internship project

with the opportunity to map Alevi associations in Sweden. During this ethnographic fieldwork

I became more interested in the organization of Alevis in Sweden since the majority of my

interviewees referred to obstacles they face in their endeavor to organize and the strategies

they apply to overcome these obstacles. So I decided to do a wider project and to go deeper

with the organization of Alevis in Sweden for my thesis. In order to do that, I developed the

research questions below.

1.1) Research questions

The aim of this project is to understand how and to which degree Alevis are organized in

Sweden and how their organization depends on internal and external factors. In order to find

answers for the main question, more detailed and concrete questions are needed.

Do the Alevi Cultural Centers1 in Sweden have organizational networks with other

relevant Alevi entities, such as the Federation of Alevi Unions in Sweden (the ARF)2,

the Confederation of European Alevi Unions or any Alevi associations in Turkey?

What are the relations between the AKMs?

1 Alevi Kltr Merkezi. The abbreviated form AKM will be used throughout the thesis.

2 sve Alevi Birlikleri Federasyonu / Alevitiska Riksfrbundet. The abbreviated form ARF will be used

throughout the thesis.

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Do the Federation of Alevi Unions in Sweden and the AKMs have organizational

networks and relations with the Swedish authorities and other migrant groups from

Turkey in Sweden?