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The Problem of Early Islamic Diversity in Anatolia: Rethinking Dervish Piety Through Pantheistic Ideas

August 2023
The Muslim World 113(3)

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Hacettepe University

The Islamic diversity that developed parallel to the Islamization of Anatolia from roughly the 12 th century onwards and was called dervish religiosity, is often defined by its inattentive and indifferent attitude toward Shari‘a, although some of its other features are mentioned more or less. However, in this dervish‐based religiosity, it draws attention that both the perception of Shari‘a and some other religiosity practices are more related to the tawhid beliefs in pantheistic sense. This paper aims to analyze how both dervish religiosity and folk religiosity, which developed largely under its influence, are shaped through some mystical thoughts and spiritual experiences such as ‘identification with God’, ‘immanence of God in man’ and ‘the human divinity’. The folk piety, which appears to be shaped within the framework of faith in saints, including high respect and various types of veneration that neglect the norms of Islamic worship, will be seen in relation to the pantheistic thoughts, as reflected in the understanding of seeing man as the qibla .

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The Problem of Early Islamic Diversity in Anatolia:

Rethinking Dervish Piety Through Pantheistic Ideas

Resul Ay

Department of History,Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey

Abstract

The Islamic diversity that developed parallel to the Islamization of Anatolia from roughly the

12th century onwards and was called dervish religiosity, is often defined by its inattentive and

indifferent attitude toward Shari‘a, although some of its other features are mentioned more

or less. However, in this dervish- based religiosity, it draws attention that both the perception

of Shari‘a and some other religiosity practices are more related to the tawhid beliefs in

pantheistic sense. This paper aims to analyze how both dervish religiosity and folk religiosity,

which developed largely under its influence, are shaped through some mystical thoughts and

spiritual experiences such as ‘identification with God’, ‘immanence of God in man’ and ‘the

human divinity’. The folk piety, which appears to be shaped within the framework of faith in

saints, including high respect and various types of veneration that neglect the norms of Islamic

worship, will be seen in relation to the pantheistic thoughts, as reflected in the understanding

of seeing man as the qibla.

Introduction

From the very beginning of Islam’s presence in Anatolia, one can observe a kind of

Islamic diversity, or ‘inner- Islamic plurality’ as Marcus Dressler suggests,1 rather than

a homogeneous understanding of Islam or a uniform religiosity. This novel expression

of Islam, which is quite different from the institutionalized understanding of Islam and its

form of religiosity, has been the subject of endless interest and debate in the literature. The

problem, it seems, actually arises from the definition of this diversity and the choice of terms

1 Marcus Dressler, ‘How to Conceptualize Inner- Islamic Plurality/Difference: “Heterodoxy” and

“Syncretism” in the Writings of Mehmet F. Köprülü (1890– 1966)’ British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies,

December 2010, 37 (3), 241.

DOI: 10.1111/muwo.12472

The MusliM World • VoluMe 113 • suMMer 2023

212

such as non- Sunni, heterodox, Batinite and non- Shari‘a to describe it.2 In existing studies, the

Sufi- based nature of this new religiosity, especially the teachings of the abdals or dervishes

and their model of religiosity, is of particular interest, and the ‘new renunciatory movement’

or Qalandarism as its Sufi framework is discussed in detail.3 Since the language of this reli-

giosity is Turkish, recently a special parenthesis is opened to its vernacularity,4 while refer-

ring to its possible Shi‘ite and pre- Islamic Turkish roots.5

2 The first views and conceptualizations on the subject began with Fuad Köprülü, and then followed by

Gölpınarlı, Mélikoff and Ahmet Yaşar Ocak. Roughly from the end of the 1990’s onwards, a serious debate

against the paradigm pioneered by Köprülü began and is still ongoing. For Köprülü’s views on Anatolian

Islam and especially on Islamic diversity see Fuad Köprülü, Islam in Anatolia After the Turkish Invasion

(Prologomena), trans. by Gary Leiser, (Salt Lake city: University of Utah Pres, 1993); Fuad Köprülü, The

Origins of the Ottoman Empire, trans. by Gary Leiser (New York: State University of New York Press, 1992);

Fuad Köprülü, Türk Edebiyatında İlk Mutasavvıflar (Ankara: Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı Yayınları, 1993). For

a criticism on Köprülü paradigm, see Ahmet T. Karamustafa, ‘Yesevîlik, Melâmetîlik, Kalender’ilik, Vefâîlik

ve Anadolu Tasavvufunun Kökenleri Sorunu’, Osmanlı Toplumunda Tasavvuf ve Sufiler: Kaynaklar- Doktrin-

Ayin ve Erkan- Tarikatlar- Edebiyat- Mimari- İkonografi- Modernizm (Haz. Ahmet Yaşar Ocak) (Ankara: TTK.

Yayınları, 2005), 74- 84; Ahmet T. Karamustafa, ‘Early Sufism in Eastern Anatolia’ Classical Persian Sufism

From Its Origins to Rumî (Ed. Leonard Lewisohn) (New York: Khaniqahi Nimetullahi Publications, 1993,

196- 197; Ahmet T. Karamustafa, ‘Hacı Bektaş Veli ve Anadolu’da Müslümanlık’ Uluslararası Hacı Bektaş

Veli Sempozyumu Bildirileri, Hacı Bektaş Veli Güneşte Zerresinden, Deryada Katresinden, ed. Pınar

Ecevitoğlu, Ali M. Irak, Ayhan Yalçınkaya, Dipnot Yay., Ankara, 2010, s. 46- 48; Ahmet T. Karamustafa

‘Anadolu’nun İslamlaşması Bağlamında Aleviliğin Oluşumu’ Kızılbaşlık Alevilik Bektaşilik: Tarih- Kimlik-

İnanç- Ritüel, ed. Yalçın Çakmak, İmran Gürtaş (İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları, 2015), 47- 49; Devin Deweese’s

criticism of Köprülü, see Devin Deweese, ‘Foreword’ in Mehmed Fuad Köprülü, Early Mystics in Turkish

Literature, trans. and ed. by Gary Leiser and Robert Dankoff (London &New York: Routledge, 2006), 8- 27;

Marcus Dressler, ‘How to Conceptualize Inner- Islamic’ 241- 260; Ayfer Karakaya- Stump, Vefailik, Bektaşilik,

Kızılbaşlık: Alevi Kaynaklarını, Tarihini ve Tarih Yazımını Yeniden Düşünmek (İstanbul: İstanbul Bilgi

Üniversitesi Yayınları, 2015), 1- 16.

3 Ahmet T. Karamustafa, God’s Unruly Friends, Dervish Groups in the Islamic Late Middle Period, 1200-

1550 (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1994); Ahmet Yaşar Ocak, Osmanlı İmparatorluğunda

Marjinal Sûfîlik: Kalenderîler (14- 17. Yüzyıllar) (Ankara: TTK Yayınları, 1999)

4 Ahmet T. Karamustafa, ‘Kaygusuz Abdal: A Medieval Turkish Saint And The Formation of Vernacular

Islam In Anatolia’ in Unity in Diversity: Mysticism, Messianism and Construction of Religious Authority in

Islam, ed. Orkhan Mir- Kasimov, Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2014, 335- 336; Zeynep Oktay Uslu, ‘The Şathiyye

of Yunus Emre and Kaygusuz Abdal: The Creation of a Vernacular Islamic Tradition in Turkish’ Turcica, 50,

2019, 9- 52.

5 A brief discussion on the Shi‘ite roots of Anatolian religiosity see Rıza Yıldırım, ‘Sunni Orthodoksy vs

Shi‘ite Heterodoxy?: A Reappraisal of Islamic Piety in Medieval Anatolia’ in Islam and Christianity in

Medieval Anatolia, ed. A.C.S. Peacock, B. De Nicola, Sara Nur Yıldız, Ashgate, UK, 2015, 287- 307; For the

traces of Shi‘ism in Abdal and Bektasi tradition see Zeynep Oktay, ‘Historicising Alevism: The Evolution of

Abdal and Bektashi Doctrine’ Journal of Shi‘a Islamic Studies, XIII/3- 4 (2020), 425- 456.

For pre- Islamic Turkish roots, although it does not receive the same attention today, see Abdülkadir İnan,

‘Müslüman Türklerde Şamanizm Kalıntıları’ Makaleler ve İncelemeler I, Ankara: TTK Yayınları, 1968, 469-

472, 476- 479; Irène Mélikoff, ‘Les Origines Centre- Asiatiques du Soufisme Anatolien’ Turcica 22 (1988),

7- 18. [For Turkish translation, see Irène Mélikoff, Uyur İdik Uyardılar Alevîlik- Bektaşîlik Araştırmaları,

trans. into Turkish by Turan Alptekin (İstanbul: Cem Yayınevi, 1994), 151- 158]; Ocak Alevî ve Bektaşi

İnançlarının İslâm Öncesi Temelleri (İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları, 2005).

14781913, 2023, 3, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/muwo.12472 by HACETTEPE UNIVERSITY, Wiley Online Library on [19/10/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License

The Problem of early IslamIc DIversITy In anaTolIa

In all these works, the definition and description of the religiosity represented by the

abdals also has an important place with their most typical aspects, such as its non- Shari‘a

character, its mystical dimension, reflecting as identification with God or human divinity, and

other features probably originated from Malamatiyya and Qalandariyya. However, it is not

easy to say that the relationship between these characteristics has been emphasized enough.

In particular, I think that the relationship between the non- Sharia dimension of this religiosity

and the mystical experiences or pantheistic thoughts of dervishes deserves more focus and

analysis. Because the indifference of the dervishes to the Shari’a and their approaches to

consider themselves as exempt from the Shari’a rules only gain meaning with their mystical

thoughts or experiences about the oneness of God or identification with God. The reflection

of this understanding on folk religiosity is also quite interesting. This time, however, the

indifference to the Shari‘a in folk religiosity is not built on personal mystical experience,

but on the saints (awliya) themselves, who are thought to have mystical experience about

oneness of being. Not only in the way of imitating their religiosity, almost all acts of religi-

osity are shaped by the meaning attributed to them. The religious rituals of the people are

largely develop through their relationship with these awliyas, who are believed to have a

divine nature.

This paper will attempt to examine the non- Sharia character of abdal piety in the

context of their mystical experiences or pantheistic ideas that emphasize the ’immanence

of God in man’ or the ‘divinity of man’, sometimes implying a complete identification

with God. The more characteristic dimension of the issue, the reflection of dervish piety

on folk piety, will be analyzed through the adoption of dervish piety as a model, but more

importantly through the belief in the mystical experiences and holiness of dervishes. In

this context, it will be discussed how the meaning attributed to the abdals, who have

reached the level of awliya, and the special relationship established with them determine

their religious rituals.

Another important issue of this dervish religiosity, which is the subject of Islamic diver-

sity in Anatolia, is who or which Sufis6 represent this religiosity. Of course, it is not easy to

clearly identify who represents this diversity and to what extent and in what dimensions.

Nevertheless, it seems possible to present a certain picture by making as many inferences as

the sources allow. Typical features of Islamic diversity, such as indifference to Shari‘a, pan-

theistic thoughts and antinomian behavior, can be detected in many groups of dervishes in

Anatolia. However, it would be misleading to reduce this representation to the identity of a

tariqa or a congregation, as there were probably representatives who were not affiliated to a

tariqa or whose tariqa affiliation was unknown. It is also possible to see the tawhid beliefs in

a pantheistic sense, which is the catalyst of this model of religiosity, within a wider scale of

Sufism, even among the Sufis close to the mainstream understanding, albeit in various forms.

6 Although the term Sufi is used as a collective name for those who embrace ascetic and mystical life, the

main representatives of Islamic diversity in Anatolia are often referred to as dervish, abdal, baba, dede. In this

text I will try to use them all according to their context.

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Therefore, it would be useful to begin the article by getting to know the Sufis who are the

subject of Islamic diversity in Anatolia.

Such a study also requires specific time markers. However, it is not easy to provide an

accurate starting date for this different expression of Islamic thought. Likewise, it is almost

impossible to provide specific dates for each changes along the process to any degree of accu-

racy. As such, the best possible estimation for the period falls between the 13th and 15th cen-

turies, which is the time interval of this article, even though the dating should be understood

as flexible. These centuries can easily represent the time period when Islamic diversity began

and reached a certain maturity in Anatolia. Despite the surrounding centuries also having

some features of the presented Islamic diversity, the data within this article has been compiled

from the aforementioned time period.

Representatives of Islamic Diversity in Anatolia

The dervish circles that constitute the subject of this Islamic diversity or dervish religiosity

are reflected to a certain extent both in a number of medieval sources that reflect the clichés

of general Islamic heresiography and in the works produced by the dervish circles them-

selves. Although the first kind of sources use accusatory and exclusionary language, they

also express the main framework of the religiosity of these dervish circles. However, in order

to understand or interpret the essence of this picture, we need sources of the second kind. The

evaluations of the first type of sources on dervishes, whose non- Shari‘a and pantheistic di-

mensions they point to with concepts such as ibaha, hulul, ittihad, etc., are of course open to

debate, but the dervishes or shaykhs they describe with these characteristics also give us

important ideas about the circles in which we should look for dervish piety.For example, a

medieval Anatolian source Fustāt ul- ʿadāle fī kavā’idi’s- saltana by Moḥammad al- Khatib

refers to the Jawlaqis or Qalandars, while another source from the same period, el- Veledü’ş-

şefīk by Qadi Ahmed mentions some names and groups without specifying their sectarian

affiliation. Qadi Ahmed talks about the shaykhs such as Herakli, Shaykh Ibrahim and

Taptuki.7 Judging by his expression ‘cursed malamati’ about Herakli, he considers him re-

lated to the Malamatiyya.8 However, he does not provide any information about the tariqa of

the other two shaykhs, only introducing them as shaykhs who had many followers among the

Turkmen (of course with the discourses of heresy and antinomianism).9 If we accept that the

shaykh named Taptuki was Taptuk Emre, we can associate him with the famous Yunus Emre.

Again, the fact that the accusatory language used by Qadi Ahmed for almost all of them is

also used by füstatül adale and Vahidi’s hagiography may rightly lead us to think of them in

the context of dervish groups operating in Anatolia, such as Qalandaris, Jawlakis, Haydaris,

7 Ali Ertuğrul, Niğdeli Kadı Ahmed’in Elveledü’ş- Şefîk ve’l- Hâfidü’l- Halîk’ı (Anadolu Selçuklularına Dair

Bir Kaynak), Cilt I (İnceleme- Tercüme)(Ankara: TTK. Yayınları, 2015), 162, 258- 259, 261; compare with

main manuscript, Niğdeli Kadı Ahmed, Elveledü’ş- Şefîk ve’l- Hâfidü’l- Halîk (Anadolu Selçuklularına Dair

Bir Kaynak), Cilt II (Farsça Metin), ed. Ali Ertuğrul (Ankara: TTK. Yayınları, 2015), 52, 678- 679, 685.

8 Ertuğrul, ibid, 261; Niğdeli Kadı Ahmed, ibid, 685.

9 Ertuğrul, ibid, 162, 258- 259; Niğdeli Kadı Ahmed, ibid, 52, 678- 679.

The Problem of early IslamIc DIversITy In anaTolIa

Wafais, or Abdalan- ı Rum, or in the context of the ‘new movement of renunciation’ that

formed the roof of all these.10

Their own literary works, which reflect dervish piety from a more direct and insider

perspective, rarely mention their tariqa identities. Geyikli Baba’s statement in the history

of Aşık paşa that he belonged to Sayyid Abu’l Wafa Order,11 Dede Garkın’s mention in

Elvan Çelebi’s Menakıbul Kudsiyye as a disciple of Sayyid Abu’l Wafa and the grandfather

of Baba İlyas,12 and the dervishes who were guests at Hace- i Cihan’s tekke expressing

their Qalandarism13 are rare examples of this. In fact, the picture painted by the sects and

communities mentioned in Vahidi’s hagiography with their lifestyle, dress and teachings

is confirmed by western travel books. Therefore, we can see the Qalandars, Abdalan- ı

Rum, Haydaris, Câmîis, Bektashis, Shamsîs and Edhemîs as 16th century representatives

of Islamic diversity in Anatolia. We see the first three of these and to a large extent the

Bektashis in the 13th- 14th centuries as well. If we add the Wafais, who are not included in

this list, we will probably have identified at least the tariqa representatives of Islamic

diversity.

However, the representatives of this diversity defined themselves more as abdal, some-

times using the term dervish, and used titles such as baba, dede, sultan for their pirs (mas-

ters). They do not specifically use the term Sufi for themselves. In fact, with a sense of

identity, they use it for ascetics in the Shari‘a circle, whom they marginalize and attribute

negative meanings to. For example, they accuse Sufis of being pretentious and hypocritical14

After Hacı Bektaş, it is seen that the Bektashi identity formed a very broad roof identity in

the circles subordinate to him. Otman Baba’s rivalry with Bayazid Baba and Mü’min Derviş,

disciples of Hacı Bektaş, suggests that the Bektashis and Abdals may have formed sub-

identities within themselves, at least in the 16th century. Indeed, whereas the Bektashis vis-

ited the Haci Bektash Dervish lodge in Sulucakaraöyük, the Abdals of Rum visited the

Seyyid Gazi tomb near Eskişehir.15 It is now more widely accepted that Wafa’iyya was also

an important overarching identity in this dervish religiosity, incorporating large Sufi circles

in Anatolia. The fact that Baba Ilyas, the pioneer of the Babai movement, was a Wafa’i

shaykh and that many Alevi ocaks that emerged in Anatolia in the following centuries were

10 For the first see Osman Turan, ‘Selçuk Türkiyesi Din Tarihine Dair Bir Kaynak: Füstât ul- ‘adâle fî Kavâ‘id

is- saltana’ Fuad Köprülü Armağanı (Ankara: DTCF Yayınları, 1953), 537- 539. For Vahidi’ menakıbname

see Vâhidî’s Menâkıb- ı Hvoca- i Cihân ve Netîce- i Cân, critical ed. and analysis by Ahmet T. Karamustafa

(Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University, 1993). For the conceptualization of the dervish groups in

the Islamic Middle period as ‘new movement of renunciation’ see Karamustafa, God’s Unruly Friends, 3, 5.

11 Tarih- I Ali Osmandan Aşıkpaşazade Tarihi (İstanbul: Ali Bey neşri, h. 1332), 46.

12 Elvan Çelebi, Menâkıbu’l- Kudsiyye fî Menâsibi’l- Ünsiyye, ed. İ. Erünsal, A.Y. Ocak, (Ankara: Türk Tarih

Kurumu, 2014. 2cd ed.

13 Vâhidî’s Menâkıb- ı Hvoca- i Cihân, 28a,29a;

14 Hemîşe bizüz şâl u peşmîne pûş

Değülüz çü sûfî- i sum‘e- furûş (Vâhidî’s Menâkıb- ı Hvoca- i Cihân, 29a

15 Ibid., vrk. 51b,

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associated with Wafa’iyya, shows that Wafa’iyya has an important representative power in

dervish religiosity.16

However, the representation of dervish piety does not necessarily have to be sought

within the super- identities of sects and congregations. During the same centuries, as

Karamustafa stated that there were also countless examples of saints, whose tariqa affil-

iations are unknown, who probably did not have such a silsila (linage) but whose exis-

tence we know through their tombs and cults. We can also see this saint milieu, whose

importance is emphasized as one of the sources of folk Islam by Karamustafa, among the

sources of this Islamic diversity.17 These saints, like the shaykhs, whose non- Shari’a

attitudes, pantheistic thoughts and antinomian behaviors are emphasized in Qadi Ahmed

in an accusatory manner, may have been nourished by a climate of belief that had been

prevalent in the Islamic world for a long time without the mediation of an order. For

example, they could have been unaffiliated Sufis who were inspired by the Ismailis,

whose fate after the Mongol invasion we do not know very well, or by the tawhid beliefs

in a pantheistic sense represented by Sufis such as al Hallaj and al Bistami, the famous

Sufis of the 9th- 10th centuries.

Likewise, we cannot see the representatives of dervish religiosity as homogeneous groups.

There may be marked differences between them. For example, while some of them more

reflect nonconformist and deviant attitudes and practices which are the typical features of

Qalandars, others may be more compatible. For some, the state of being obsessed with divine

love and the state of spiritual ecstasy is prominent, while for others the preoccupation with

mystical thought formed around the unity of existence is more prominent. Some dervishes

constantly wandered around as homeless nomads, some lived in a certain place with their fol-

lowers in a lodge or lived in a tribal environment.18 Homogeneity may perhaps be the case for

local clergy, since they, as followers of abdals or dervishes a few generations later, may have

introduced a more homogeneous religiosity by reshaping abdal teachings based on their local

conditions.

Moreover, it is also possible that this Islamic diversity is a dynamic phenomenon and

may change over time. For example, a dervish environment subject to Islamic difference may

16 Ocak, Ahmet Yaşar, “Türkiye Selçukluları Döneminde ve Sonrasında Vefâî Tarikatı (Vefâiyye) (Türkiye

Popüler Tasavvuf Tarihine Farklı Bir Yaklaşım)”, Belleten, C LXX/S. 257 (2006); Karakaya- Stump, Vefailik,

Bektaşilik, Kızılbaşlık, 189- 205.

17 Karamustafa, ‘Yesevîlik, Melâmetîlik,’, 81, 85- 87.

18 For the nonconformist attitudes of the Qalandars, see Ocak, Osmanlı İmparatorluğunda Marjinal Sufilik,

5- 10; Ahmet T. Karamustafa, God’s Unruly Friends, Dervish Groups in the Islamic Late Middle Period,

1200- 1550 (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1994), 13- 23. Yunus Emre can be considered one of the

most typical examples of Sufis following the path of love. As reflected in his poems, he has an image of

tearful, broken- hearted and mad or love- drunk (divane), see MustafaTatcı, Yûnus Emre Dîvânı II (Tenkitli

Metin) (Ankara: Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı Yayınları, 1997), 355, 361- 362. Kaygusuz Abdal is also a typical

example of a state of mind focused on the unity of being. Aşık Paşa and Yunus Emre have such an image too.

For a description and analysis of these images, see Resul Ay, Anadolu’da Derviş ve Toplum (13- 15. Yüzyıllar)

(İstanbul: Kitap yayınevi, 2014), 63- 67. For itinerant dervish typology and the other dervish images, such as

ones living in a tribal environment, see also the same work, 17- 18, 112- 113.

The Problem of early IslamIc DIversITy In anaTolIa

occur by differentiating from any known origin. Even within orthodox Sufi teaching, such

differentiation may well be in question. The examples of the Yasawiyya19 and Wafa’iyya20 in

Anatolia can provide insight into this subject. There are modern studies which indicate that

Ahmed Yasawi was a Sufi in the mainstream understanding21 but became associated with

non- Sunni Sufi circles in Anatolia during the 13th to 15th centuries. Likewise, there are indi-

cations that the Wafa’iyya was initially Sunni in character despite being connected to the

same non- Sunni circles.22 In addition, while there are countless unknown and disconnected

dervishes, we do not know which Sufi orders they belonged to. We can identify them to be a

part of the Islamic diversity through the cults they created. Still, it is not easy to attribute them

a definite and specific sect or school identity.

The Relation of Non- Shariʿa Religiosity To Pantheistic Ideas

In the aforementioned Sunni discourses of heresy and atheism against some Sufis, two

concepts in particular stand out. One of them is ibaha (Antinomianism) and the other is hulul

(incarnation), and the term ittihad (unity) sometimes accompanies them as a complement to

the concept of hulul. İbaha is reflected in el- Veledüşşefik as ‘being freed from the obedience

to God’ and ‘claimed liberty’23, and in Fustāt ul- ‘adāle and many other sources as being in-

different to the rules of the Shari‘a, being exempt from its limitations, and considering ha-

rams as halal, more specifically, abandonment of prayer, fasting and the Hajj pilgrimage to

Mecca, as well as disobeying some prohibitions such as drinking alcohol.24 This form of reli-

giosity is in fact reflected in their own sources. They often express their opinions about the

rituals of Shari‘a, which they see as exceptions for them, in a defensive and self- expressive

framework of obligation. As will be discussed below, the dervishes’ discourses in this direc-

tion seem to be related to their mystical experiences regarding the unity of being and their

relationship with God.

The concepts of hulûl and ittihâd, on the other hand, have been long- debated within the

Islamic world. In fact, these two concepts cannot be considered independently from the

theorems about the relationship between God and creation, especially God and man, which

form the basis of Sufi thought, and the states of fana (passing away) and baqa (subsistence),

which are expressed as the last station of the mystical journey (seyr wa sulûk) of the Sufis.

In classical Sufi thought, the concepts of fana and baqa are generally designated as the

19 Yasawiyya is a Sufi brotherhood of Central Asian origin. Ahmad Yasawi (d.1166?) who lived in the town

of Yasi, - modern Turkistan in Kazakhstan- was accepted as its founder.

20 Wafa’iyya is a sufi order of Iraqi origin and was founded by Tâj al- Ârifîn Sayyed Abu’l- Wafâ al- Baghdâdî

known to have lived in Iraq in XI. Century.

21 Devin Deweese, ‘Aḥmad Yasavī in the Work of Burhān Al- dīn Qilich: The Earliest Reference to a

Famously Obscure Central Asian Sufi Saint’, Asiatiche Studien études Asiatiques, LXVII, 3 (2013), 868.

22 Haşim Şahin, ‘Selçuklu ve Erken Osmanlı Döneminde Vefâiyye Tarikatı’, Türk Kültürü ve Hacı Bektaş

Velî Araştırma Dergisi, 70 (2014), 49- 50.

23 Ertuğrul, Niğdeli Kadı Ahmed’in, 255, 261.

24 Turan, ‘Selçuk Türkiyesi Din Tarihine’, 537- 539; Eflaki, Ariflerin Menkıbeleri II, 59; Ahmet Yaşar Ocak,

Osmanlı Toplumunda Zındıklar ve Mülhidler (15- 17. Yüzyıllar). (İstanbul: Tarih Vakfı Yurt Yayınları, 2014),

64, 339, 369, 413.

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218

mystic being absent their self and persistence or subsistence towards God, or, simple, as

awareness of a consciousness of the absolute unity of the existence, i.e., the oneness of

God.25 However, this state (i.e., mystical station or maqam) has gained different meanings

with some Sufis, describing a fusion with God or the descending of God into man (or into

the heart of man), and, in this way, man becoming one with God and leaving behind his

human attributes.26 As being the subject of a spiritual experience obtained at the last stage

of the mystical journey, the divinity of man also takes an important place in the explana-

tions of Sufi thoughts about the God’s relation with creation, as well as the immanence or

transcendence of God within his creatures.

In fact, the juxtaposition of the terms ibaha and hulul while describing the different

understanding of Islam or form of piety in Anatolia should not be seen as a coincidence. In

this respect, when Qadi Ahmed declared the Shaykh named Herakli as the chief representa-

tive of the thoughts of ibaha and ittihad he also, consciously or unconsciously, indicated the

relationship of these two concepts with each other. As such, it is necessary to analyze the

attitudes of these Sufis who were in inattentive and indifference to the Shariʿa and its rituals

through their mystical and metaphysical experiences. This experience theoretically refers to

reaching the consciousness of the absolute unity of existence by eliminating or purifying the

self and reuniting with the primordial unity, i.e., with God, from which human being sepa-

rated by the ‘veil of createdness’. Whether this is just an awareness or a sense of true fusion

with the existence of God does not change the result. In both cases, there is a character change

within the mystic. Here, the following question can be asked: Can a mystic having such spir-

itual experiences remain to see himself as a servant who is responsible for worship?

Considering that worship is a means that leads a person to God, are these acts still necessary

for a mystic who feels that he has reached the desired goal? Some Sufis, whose examples will

be referred to below, give the impression that they hold such opinions. Additionally, the psy-

chological state created by love should also be decisive in this attitude. According to some

mystics, love annihilates the self- consciousness of the mystic, and leads to the unification of

lover with beloved, producing a state of unconsciousness in the lover. With such spiritual

experience, can a mystic still have sufficient consciousness required for servitude? Some Sufi

writers, describing the spiritual experience created by love in the lover, indicate the burning

nature of this experience, writing that love burns everything within the self except for the

25 For a more detail explanation on the meaning of fana, see A. E. Affifi, The Mystical Philosophy of Muhyid

Din - Ibnul ‘Arabi (Cambridge: At The University Press, 1939), 141- 147; Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical

Dimension of Islam, (Chapel Hill: The university of North Carolina Press, 1975), 142- 145; A. E. Garvie

‘Pantheism’, Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics (Ed. James Hastings) Vol. IX (1917), 610.

26 For the understanding of fana as hulul, and debates on this subject, see E. A. Afifi, Fusûsu’l- Hikem

Okumaları İçin Anahtar, trans. Into Turkish by Ekrem Demirli, İstanbul: İz Yayıncılık, 2000. s. 87- 88.

The Problem of early IslamIc DIversITy In anaTolIa

beloved. This situation produces a perception that the lover- beloved duality disappears and

only the existence of the beloved remains.27

The Sufis or dervishes in Anatolia who were criticized by their opponents as Antinomian

and incarnationist, and whose non- Shari‘a attitudes we have described, can easily be asso-

ciated with this spiritual experience. Even the folk religiosity, which developed largely

under the influence of these Sufis, should also be seen from this point of view. In particu-

lar, for the reason why saint cults are so effective in folk religiosity, we should see the

effect of a public acceptance towards these spiritual experiences of the Sufis. This relation-

ship can be best explored through Yunus Emre. It is easily understood from his poems that

Yunus was a love- oriented Sufi who tried to reach God or the secret of oneness through

love. Yunus, accessing the real unity or its consciousness with love, reflects an understand-

ing that he will be exempt from the obligations of servitude because he does not have a

separate existence from God and a servitude responsible for worship. When he says ‘When

the Friend’s face come in sight, duality was routed, And religious laws were all cast outside

of the portal’ (Dost yüzin göricek şirk yağmalandı – Anunçun kapuda kaldı şeriat).28 In

another poem, he also expresses the lover’s relationship with religion as follows:

Din ü millet sorarısan aşıklara din ne hacet

Aşık kişi harāb olur āşık bilmez din diyanet

(If you ask religion and nation, religion is not necessary for lovers

The lover is ruined, so he does not know religion, religiosity)

.................

Her kim dostı severise dosttan yana gitmek gerek

İşi güci dost olıcak cümle işden olur āzāt 29

(Whoever loves the friend [God] must go towards him if he is always busy with god,

exempt from all work)

This understanding of Yunus can also be considered a mystical response to the accusation of

Qadi Ahmed and others like him against some Antinomian and non- Shariʿa Sufis. According

to Yunus, since the lover, concentrating on union with the beloved (i.e., God), experienced

every aspect of love (such as sadness, pessimism, sometimes hope and enthusiasm, sometimes

unconsciousness), he will not have the energy to do other things such as pray or other religious

27 Aziz O- Din Nasafi, The Perfect Being, Selections From the Classic Islamic Text, trans. into and ed. by

Amir Sabzevari (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2021), 108- 112; [for turkish translation, see Azizüddin Nesefi,

Tasavvufta İnsan Meselesi: İnsan- ı Kâmil, trans. into Turkish by Mehmet Kanar, (İstanbul: Dergah Yayınları,

1990), 59- 60]; William C. Chittick, ‘The Pivotal Role of Love in Sufism’ in Eranos Jahrbuch 2009- 2010-

2011: Love on a Fragile Thread (Daimon Verlag, 2012), 259- 260. http://www.willi amcch ittick.com/wp-

conte nt/uploa ds/2019/05/The- Pivot al- Role- of- Love- in- Sufism.pdf; İbn Arabi, İlahî Aşk, trans. to Turkish by

Mahmut Kanık, (İstanbul: İnsan Yayınları, 2005), 78.

28 Tatcı, Yûnus Emre Dîvânı, 5, For English translation, see Talat Halman (ed.), Yunus Emre And His Mystical

Poetry (Indiana: Indiana University Turkish Studies, 1991, third ed), 184 (selected Poems translated by Talat

Sait Halman).

29 Tatcı, Yûnus Emre Dîvânı II, 60- 61.

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practices. In other words, he is in a devastated state or in a state of despair. In fact, according

to such ideas, these religious practices are not necessary for the lover because the lover’s

method of reaching God is so effective that it requires no other way. It is also possible to notice

this perspective in Yunus’ poems about prayer (or namaz). As he expresses the concept of

‘constant salat’, he says that he is always in a state of reverence, prostrating (sajdah) and in-

voking towards God, in the imamate of love, without being separated from God even for a

moment. Such a belief system indicates that the five- time prayer prescribed by the Shariʿa are

only obligatory for those who are separate from God, excluding these times of ‘oneness’.30

From this point of view, we can understand that Yunus did not reject the Shariʿa and even

considered obeying it as an obligation. That said, he only considered it obligatory for those

who do not always perform prayer and are not in a state of münacat (inward supplication to

God) except during the five daily prayers. Predictably, the state of being with God at all times

should be a product of spiritual experience, expressing a state of being overwhelmed by the

beloved. When the Sufi returned to a normal state, would his attitude towards prayer remain

the same? As we have seen in other Sufi examples, such as Kaygusuz Abdal and the others,

this experience of oneness they gained in a spiritual sense became a conscious choice when

they recovered consciousness. Thus, there was no change in their attitudes towards religious

practices (Shariʿa worship). As can be understood from this line of thought, having this expe-

rience of oneness (or the awareness of the secret of divine essence) was seen as a sufficient

justification for the exemption of Shariʿa practices.

30 Işk imamdur bize gönül cemaat

Kıblemüz dost yüzi dāimdür salat

(Love is minister to us, our flock is the inmost soul

The Friend’s face is our Mecca, our prayers are eternal)

………….

Can dost mihrābına secdeye vardı

Yüz yire uruban ider münacat

(The soul makes its obeisance at the altar of the Friend,

Rubs his face on the ground and prays to the all- Powerful)

Biş vakt tertibümüz bir vakte geldi

Biş bölük oluban kim kıla tā’at

(Our five time schedule has come to a time

Who divides into five and worships)

Şeri’at eydür bize şartı bırakma

Şart ol kişiyedür ider hiyanet

(Shari‘a says us don’t leave the condition,

The condition is for the person who betrays)

See Tatcı, Yûnus Emre Dîvânı, vol. II, 64- 65. Translation of the first two is from Talat Halman (Halman (ed.),

Yunus Emre, 184), the others is my attempt.

The Problem of early IslamIc DIversITy In anaTolIa

In Anatolia during the centuries examined here, we encounter a Shariʿa interpretation

more often within the framework of the belief of tawhid (unity of existence) rather than

love. In this sense, Kaygusuz Abdal and Yunus Emre are good examples. Most of the poems

in their works deal with existence and the relationship with God and the cosmos, and also

the immanence of God taking hold within the creation (i.e., man).31 It would not be wrong

to say that their religiosity and perception of the Shariʿa were also shaped within the frame-

work of these preoccupations and mystical experiences.32 Expressing the stages in their way

of Sufism as Shariʿa, tariqa (order), ma‘rifa (spiritual or interior knowledge) and haqiqah

(ultimate reality), Yunus and Kaygusuz emphasize that the common people or muhibs

(friend) who have not yet joined a tariqa are obliged to follow the Shariʿa.33 When speaking

about themselves, they discuss their experiences (or teachings) on the unity with primordial

existence or such thoughts as the oneness of the existence and the vanishing of the duality.

They justify their exemption from the rules of Shariʿa in that they thought themselves as not

having a separate existence from God. In other words, since the God- servant duality has

disappeared, there is no separate entity of servant left to worship God.34 The accusation of

not praying and even opposing the Shariʿa, directed by their contemporaries against

Kaygusuz Abdal, Hacı Bektaş, Otman Baba, and others, should be seen in this context.

As has been shown above, the key factor of this religiosity belongs to a distinctive inter-

pretation of wahdat al wujūd. One of the best reflections of this understanding can be seen in

Otman Baba’s hagiography. There, Otman Baba was characterized as a ‘secret of God’, he

speaks with the words of God and identifies himself with God’s existence. When Otman Baba

was criticized for his attitude by Sunni scholars, the author of the hagiography defends him-

self with the mystical authority he has reached. This refers to his unification with the divine

31 For a selection of poems and analyses of Kaygusuz Abdal and Yunus Emre pointing to the unity of exis-

tence and the immanence of God in the universe and in man, see Ay, Anadolu’da Derviş ve Toplum, 63- 67

and footnotes: 40- 46.

32 On Kaygusuz Abdal and Yunus Emre’s perception of Shariʿa, see Ahmet T. Karamustafa, ‘Kaygusuz

Abdal’ 335- 336; Ahmet T. Karamustafa, ‘İslam tasavvuf düşüncesinde Yunus Emre’nin Yeri’ Yunus Emre,

ed. Ahmet Yaşar Ocak (Ankara: Kültür Bakanlığı Yayınları, 2012), 299- 300; Oktay Uslu, The Perfect Man,

31, 52- 53.

33 Mustafa Kara ‘Yunus Emre’nin Tasavvufı Kavramlar Dünyası’ in Yunus Emre, ed. By Ahmet Yaşar Ocak

(Ankara: Kültür Bakanlığı Yayınları, 2012), 279- 280; Oktay Uslu, The Perfect Man, 31- 32.

34 Oruç namaz gusl u hac hicabdır aşıklara

Aşık ondan münezzeh hassu’l- havas içinde

Fasting, prayer, ghusl and pilgrimage are curtain for lovers

The lover is exempt from it as being purified of his self (or experienced the secret of fana and baqa)

.....................

İlm u amel sözü değil Yunus dili söylediği

Dil ne bilir dost haberin ben dost ile niçe birim

(What Yunus said is not the word of science and practice

What does the tongue know the Friend’s news, I am with (or united with) Friend for a long time. Kara ‘Yunus

Emre’nin Tasavvufı Kavramlar’, 276.

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existence and the claims that Otman Baba discovered the secret of unity in existence and

identified himself with this unity.35

Thus, such a religiosity which has been represented by the aforementioned dervishes, or

more commonly dervish piety, can refer to a perception shaped by the belief or experience of

the unity of existence, aiming to reach the knowledge of God, to have a secret of tawhid, and

to discover the divinity of oneself. In order to reach this goal, a method emphasizing love and

contemplation, as well as some moral values were adopted instead of Shariʿa practices.36 It is

also understood that they have the Malamati tendencies judging from their accusation of the

classical Sufis of arrogance, hypocrisy and ostentation, and from their praise of the humil-

ity,37 Kaygusuz Abdal’s words about namaz (ritual prayer) and other religious acts of wor-

ship, especially his mention of the Sufis making worship a means of showing off, have such

a connotation. Qadi Ahmed’s accusation and his labelling of the shaykh named Herakli

‘damned Malami’ appears to have produced such a perception about some shaykhs within

their own society. On the other hand, the presence of traces of Qalandariyya in this form of

religiosity can be seen as a sign of strong influence in this direction. Features expressed for

some Sufis, such as non- Shariʿa behaviors, nonconformism and attitudes of protest, strongly

evokes Qalandariyya teaching. Perhaps the most important point here is not to attribute the

common features of Islamic diversity with a higher Sufi identity, namely a Sufi order or

school. It is possible to determine the intersection points of this difference with many Sufi

teachings and schools.

Considering all these distinctive features, it may also be misleading to say that this

form of religiosity is a sui generis model that emerged only in the local conditions of 13th

to 14th century Anatolia. The divine love and pantheistic interpretations, which are com-

ponents of this model of religiosity, appeared very early in the Islamic tradition. It can thus

be said that love- based mystical teachings are as old as the history of mysticism. This

35 The Hagiography of Otman Baba explain it like this: ‘When the saint reaches a state where he will be one

with God, God descends or manifests directly in his heart. Then, since he is nothing but God, he has the

knowledge of every state and Word. In such a situation, if he says ‘I created the world and the creatures’ It is

not from his arrogance, but from his competence. If it was arrogance, people would have harmed him and

destroyed him. For this reason that Saint said, ‘Nothing can harm me”

(Evliyaullah bir makama yetişür ki Hakk’la Hak olur; bī vasıta ve bī madde Hak sübhānehu ve Teāla kutbu’l-

aktabın gönlüne nüzūl ve tecella ider ve oldem hiçbir şey ana dahil olmaz ve bi’l fi‘il ol oluşu olacağına her

hālin ve akvālin ‘ilmine ālim olur ve kādir olur öyle olsa ol dem ‘ālemi ve mahlūkatı ben yarattım dise söyli-

yen(nin) hüvviyetidur enaniyyet değildur ve eger bu enaniyyet olsa ol dem veya gayri dem ‘ālem halkı ona

zarar idup helak iderlerdi pes anunçun ol kani vilayet ‘bana hiç nesne kar eylemez’ dirlerdi) Küçük Abdal.

Otman Baba Vilâyetnamesi, (Milli Kütüphane, Mikrofilm Arş. No: A- 4985, 1976) vrk. 119b- 120a.)

36 Karamustafa, ‘Kaygusuz Abdal’, 335.

37 Walk, you proud ascetic, do not give us any advice

Prayer rug and rosary to you, trouble and moaning to us

(Yürü iy zāhid- i mağrur bize sen hiç öğüt virme

Sana seccāde vü tesbih bize bu derd ile āhı)

For this Poem of Aşık Paşa, see Abdülbaki Gölpınarlı, Yunus Emre ve Tasavvuf (İstanbul: İnkılâp Kitabevi,

1992), 328.

The Problem of early IslamIc DIversITy In anaTolIa

expression of Islam accepts divine love as one of the most important (and even the short-

est) means for a sālik (traveler of the esoteric path) to reach the manzil (last station).38

Moreover, the history of pantheistic interpretations in Islamic mysticism can be traced

back to the mystics of the 9th and 10th centuries, such as Mansur al- Hallaj (d. 922) and

Abu Yazid al- Bistami (d.874). In addition, the subject of esotericism should not be over-

looked, as there has always been an understanding that as soon as esoteric knowledge is

gained, the rules of the Shariʿa lose their validity. Even within the teaching of the Ismailis,

there was a belief that after the last imam appeared and announced the qiyāma (end of

time), the period of Shariʿa would come to an end and the hidden truth (batin) would

become apparent to the Nizaris. After which, the religious obligations would no longer be

applicable to the believers.39 It is probably for this reason that when non- Shariʿa interpre-

tations emerged in the Islamic world, the Sunni ulama of the time associated them with

Batinism. While expressing the originality of the dervishes or abdals in Anatolia and the

fact that they constitute a source of a unique local understanding of Islam and expression

of piety, their Islamic heritage should not be ignored. It should also be noted that this

Islamic understanding subsequently took on new forms under the influence of Hurufism

and Safavids and displayed a tendency for localization. As such, it is always possible to

notice new flavors of religiosity which are informed by local cultural codes, traditional

belief motifs and mythological elements. The traces of this can be especially noticed in

folk beliefs.

Reflection and Localization of Islamic Diversity or Dervish Religiosity on Folk Religiosity

In the early periods of the Islamization of Anatolia, a different religiosity model was

also developing among the people, parallel to the dervish piety. The relationship of this

form of religiosity, which would evolve into Alevism a few centuries later, with the afore-

mentioned dervish piety has been the subject of much debate. Both the dervish and folk

piety have been used in a near identical sense. The relationship of folk Islam with dervish

piety and the fact that the former was shaped largely under the influence of the latter

points to a reality that cannot be ignored. However, folk religiosity has also its own devel-

opmental conditions and a different nature of its own. In addition to the mystical thoughts

and religious practices of the dervishes, other influences can be noted which have been

informed by their own cultural codes, lifestyles and socio- political conditions. Therefore,

it seems more reasonable to consider folk religiosity a unique approach which developed

on its own accord.

It is quite interesting that dervish religiosity, which is the product of mystical experi-

ence, turns into folk religiosity. How does a religiosity, which is shaped only by personal

38 For the reflections of love teachings, see Necmüddin Kübra, Tasavvufî Hayat – Usûlu aşere, Risâle ile’l-

hâim, Fevâihu’l- cemâl, trans. into Turkish by Mustafa Kara, (İstanbul: Dergah Yay., 1996), 34,38- 44, and İbn

Arabî, İlahî Aşk, trans. to Turkish by Mahmut Kanık (İstanbul: İnsan Yayınları, 1998), 78.

39 Farhad Daftary, The Ismā‘īlis: Their History and Doctrines, (Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press1990), 140, 389; Mustafa Öz ve Muhammed M. eş- Şek’a, ‘İsmailiyye’ Diyanet Vakfı İslam Ansiklopedisi,

Vol. 23, 2001, 131.

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experience and some spiritual feelings, turn into a teaching and then a mass belief? An

answer might be given to this question through the nature of the relationship between the

dervishes and the public, or, rather, the people’s perception of dervishes. The common

people have often had absolute faith in the above- mentioned mystical experiences of the

dervishes, despite not experiencing these things on their own. It can be said that the dis-

courses of the abdals or babas, the propaganda of their disciples and the public’s percep-

tion of holy figures have been effective in producing this faith. For this reason, the public

acceptance of dervish or abdal religiosity as a model and how it relates to perceiving the

dervishes as holy men should play an important role in the formation of folk Islam. The

role of dervishes here should not be understood as imitating or following their religious

practices or mystical experiences by the people. They have been influential by their image

in society and have certainly become an important figure to be obeyed, feared, sought to

be pleased and at the same time begged for help. We can easily compare this with one’s

relationship with God.

The public response to the dervishes mentioned here, as well as the close relationship

these dervishes had with the public, can also be noticed within contemporary sources. As

mentioned above, while Qadi Ahmed was discussing some shaykhs and accusing them as

being mulhid (atheist) and mubahi (antinomian), he described some of them as the shaykhs of

the Turkmen and talked about ‘tribes who were trained in Anatolia in accordance with their

behavior’, saying that some Turkmen tribes respected them.40 As reflected in the hagiogra-

phies of such abdals or pirs as Hacı Bektaş, Hacım Sultan and Otman Baba, these figures had

close relations with the villagers and nomads (although they were sometimes opposed) and

were respected as holy figures.41 All these descriptions reveal that they and their religiosity

find a response in rural and nomadic environments. The relationship of such Sufis with urban-

ites is unclear because urban sources are prejudiced against them due to this seemingly devi-

ant religiosity. However, it would not be correct to imply that such dervish piety was completely

absent from the cities, just as it cannot be said that all of the countryside showed favor towards

them.

If we examine this relationship through the rural society, it is possible to make some

inferences about its role in shaping such folk religiosity. Dervish discourses emphasizing

the immanence of God in man and even identifying God with man are seen to be the most

decisive feature of this religiosity. Under the influence of these discourses, believing and

depending on the saints (awliya or friends of God), who are seen as the representatives or

manifestation of God on earth, emerges as the most obvious criterion of such religiosity.

40 Ertuğrul, 255, 258- 259, 261, Kadı Ahmed, 672, 678- 679, 685.

41 Rudolf Tschudi (ed.), Velâyetnâme- i Hacım Sultan (Das Vilâyet- nâme des Hadschim Sultan) (Berlin,

1914); Küçük Abdal, Otman Baba Vilâyetnamesi, Milli Kütüphane, Mikrofilm Arş. No: A- 4985, 1976. [For

a printing, see Şevki Koca (ed.), Vilayetnâme- i Şahi: Göçek Abdal, Bektaşi Kültür Derneği, 2002];

A. Gölpınarlı (ed.) Menâkıb- ı Hacı Bektaş- ı Veli, ‘Vilâyetnâme’. İstanbul, 1991. For a brief overview of rela-

tionship between dervishes and rural people, see Resul Ay, ‘The Travels of Dervishes in Anatolia and Rumelia

and the Impact on Rural Society from Thirteenth to Sixteenth Centuries’ Archivum Ottomanicum, 33 (2016),

41- 45. For an example of a nomad reacting to Hacım Sultan, see Tschudi, Velâyetnâme- i Hacım Sultan, 41.

The Problem of early IslamIc DIversITy In anaTolIa

The religious practices of the people were shaped within the framework of these meanings

they attributed to the saints and their relationship with them, generally reflected by serv-

ing the saints, offering them gifts and sacrifices and visiting them for asking assistance,

instead of following the method of worship outlined in the Shariʿa. The deceased saints

would receive the same treatment as the living ones. It is understood that all these prac-

tices, together with some moral requirements, are seen as the only method of salvation.42

As seen in Otman Baba’s Menakıbname, the disciples’ characterization of Baba as a secret

of God, even directly as God (Huda), and their statement that they worship the God they

see, reveals how highly they ascribed to the awliya.43 While we do not know the size and

form of this worship, it is highly probable that these practices, centered on saint worship

and being in the presence of a saint (naz u niyazında bulunmak), served as a source for

such practices of Alevism that would later emerge as salutation and being in the presence

of a Dede (Dede’ye niyaz), as well as the understanding of face to face (cemal cemale).

Some practices in the rituals of Alevism, such as prostrating to man and attributing divin-

ity to him, should be a clear reflection of a cult of saints that was molded by mysticism

within the framework of the theorems of perfect man (Insan- ı Kamil) and saintship

(velayet). The human face as the manifestation of God and the heart as the place of God’s

residence were seen as a sufficient qibla.44

While folk religiosity was shaped around the dervish teachings and the cult of saints,

it also went through a perceptible localization process. It is seen that this process is open

to change and has a very dynamic structure. While discussing this change, it is possible to

mention the effect of changing living conditions, pre- Islamic beliefs or belief elements

taken from newly encountered cultural circles, and more importantly, the transformative

power of public perception. When looking at the topic from this point of view, the percep-

tion and application of dervish piety in the public is more important than the piety reflected

by dervishes themselves. As a matter of fact, the great change in folk religiosity in the

process leading up to the 16th century can only be explained by this localization. In this

process, the institution of sainthood was accompanied by the institution of dedeship.

Although it is difficult to predict the starting date, the paradigm shift occurred when the

ocak system was formed.45 Separate places of worship were formed from the dervish

lodge, with rituals that were not related to dervish practices emerging in these places,

42 Karamustafa ‘Anadolu’nun İslamlaşması Bağlamında’, 47- 49; Yıldırım, Geleneksel Alevilik, 54; for the

dervish or Saint image in society, and relations with people, see Ay, Anadolu’da Derviş ve Toplum, 139- 149,

151- 152.

43 Küçük Abdal, Otman Baba Vilâyetnamesi, vr. 109a- b.

44 For the meaning attributed to human in Alevism, see Rıza Yıldırım, Geleneksel Alevilik: İnanç, İbadet,

Kurumlar, Toplumsal Yapı, Kolektif Bellek (İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları, 2018), 174- 178; About the reflection

of the meaning attributed to human on Shari‘a rituals such as prayer and pilgrimage, see Piri Er, Geleneksel

Anadolu Aleviliği (Ankara: Evrak Yayınları, 1998, 16- 21; Cenksu Üçer, ‘Geleneksel Alevilikte İbadet Hayatı,

Bazı Âdap ve Erkân’ Anadolu’da Aleviliğin Dünü Bugünü, Ed. Halil İbrahim Bulut (Sakarya: Sakarya

Üniversitesi Yayınları, 2010, 487- 490, 503- 504.

45 Yıldırım, Geleneksel Alevilik, 228- 237.

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which would be called cemevis. These rituals were accompanied by a lot of inspiration

from ancient religious rituals, and more importantly, mythological elements. For example,

the personage of Ali ibn Abi Talib has since shifted into a mythological personality which

is far from his historical identity.46

We can also say that this form of religiosity feeds on sectarian differences within

Islam. Influenced by Shiʿism, lineage became added to the institution of awliya, which was

identified with God in the context of God’s manifestation and even incarnation and became

the center of almost all religious practices. After which, in terms of holiness, being

descended from the prophets has also become a very important condition, if not the only

condition. Again under the influence of Shiʿism, the understanding that esoteric knowl-

edge is transferred not through learning but through lineage, and therefore, holiness is also

related to this election, has been subsequently added to folk religiosity.47 In addition to the

mystical and sectarian influences in the beliefs of the shaykhs as holy men, the effects of

many non- Islamic elements should also be taken into account, especially in some rituals

and belief motifs. For example, the miraj motif (the prophet Muhammed’s ascension) in

the cem rituals, the form of the semah (ritual dances), the transformation of Ali into a

cosmic figure, inspirations from the ancient beliefs of Mesopotamia and Iran, as well as

the cult of nature and ancestors, shows that the folk religiosity in question is quite multi-

dimensional.48 When looking at this folk religiosity from this perspective or considering

the transformative power of localization or public perception, it would be misleading to

equate the dervish religiosity of the 13th and 14th centuries, which we have depicted

through the examples of Yunus Emre and Kaygusuz Abdal, with the folk religiosity that is

a product of the process.

46 Ertan Ürkmez, Tarihten Mitosa Türkiye Kültür Tarihinde Mitolojik Ali Tasavvurları, Hacettepe University,

Social Sciences Institute, Phd thesis, Ankara, 2020, chapter 3.

https://tez.yok.gov.tr/Ulusa lTezM erkez i/tezSo rguSo nucYe ni.jsp

47 Karamustafa, ‘Anadolu’nun İslamlaşması Bağlamında’, 47- 49; Yıldırım, Geleneksel Alevilik, 54, 159.

48 Criticisms about the construction of folk religiosity on pre- Islamic beliefs or syncretism are justified but

it does not mean that the said effect does not exist at all. As some examples of non- Islamic influences in

Anatolian folk Islam, see Köprülü, Osmanlı Devletinin Kuruluşu, 47; Anadolu’da İslâmiyet, 45, 48- 49;

Abdülkadir İnan, ‘Müslüman Türklerde Şamanizm Kalıntıları’ Makaleler ve İncelemeler I, Ankara: TTK

Yayınları, 1968, 469- 472, 476- 479; Irène Mélikoff, Uyur İdik Uyardılar Alevîlik- Bektaşîlik Araştırmaları,

trans. into Turkish by Turan Alptekin (İstanbul: Cem Yayınevi, 1994), 151- 158; Ocak Alevî ve Bektaşi

İnançlarının İslâm Öncesi Temelleri (İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları, 2005). Hamzeeh’ee, who has done a very

comprehensive study on Ahl al- Haqqs, connects almost all the rituals and creed elements of the sect with

non- Islamic ancient Iranian beliefs. In this context, he attributes special importance to Yazidism and

Mithraism, especially to Zoroastrianism and Mazdeism. Of course, it also refers to the Galiyya sects of the

Islamic period, albeit weakly, see M. Reza Hamzeh’ee, The Yaresan: A Sociological, Historical and Religio-

Historical Study of a Kurdish Community. (Berlin: Klaus Schwarz Verlag, 2008, 38- 41. For other studies

attributing the non- Islamic origins of the Ahl al- Haqq and even their difference from Islam, see Jean During,

‘A critical Survey On Ahl- e Haqq Studies in Europe and Iran’ Alevi Identity: Cultural, Religious and Social

Perspectives, ed. T. Olsson, E. Özdalga, C. Raudvere, (London: Taylor &Francis e Library, 2005), 130- 133;

Ziba Mir- Hosseini ‘Faith, Ritual and Culture among the Ahl- e Haqq’, Kurdish Culture and Identity, ed.

Philip G. Kreyenbroek, C. Allison, (London: Zed Books, 1996), 132, footnote 19.

The Problem of early IslamIc DIversITy In anaTolIa

The tendency to associate Anatolian Islam with the ‘high Islam’- ‘popular Islam’ distinc-

tion as a reflection of Köprülü paradigm, and the debates on the externality or alienity of

popular Islam to high Islam, as well as its shamanic and syncretic nature,49 probably originate

from seeing dervish piety and folk piety as one and the same. Neither Yunus Emre nor

Kaygusuz Abdal, nor even other familiar abdals such as Otman Baba, draw a profile different

from the Sufi typology of their own time, equipped with Sufi teachings. While it may be pos-

sible to look for a typology of religiosity closer to the Köprülü paradigm in the typology of

local clergy that folk religiosity reproduced over time, here too it is difficult to talk about a

certainty and a strict categorical typology.

Conclusion

Even though the definition of Islamic diversity in Anatolia through non- Shari‘a attitudes

sounds plausible, the mystical thoughts or experiences behind this attitude such as identifica-

tion with God seems more descriptive for this diversity. Non- Shari‘a character and the other

features mostly originated from Malamiyya and Qalandariyya are seen only as complemen-

tary elements. Experienced the unity in existence or somehow identified himself with God,

the Sufi (or abdal) considers himself exempt from the Shari‘a obligations in the sense of ser-

vitude to God, since he does not attribute to himself a separate being from God. Whether it is

based on mystical experience or a learned teaching, the relationship of the abdals or dervishes

with religion or their piety, which is the subject of Islamic difference in Anatolia, is shaped

by this background of thought.

The reflection of this form of religiosity on the public is a different issue and the

subject of a different process. Of course, we cannot expect the public to have the same

mystical experience. The religiosity model of the Sufis, which is the product of mystical

experience or learned teaching, is also adopted by the people as a model of religiosity.

But here we encounter a fundamental difference. In this religiosity, the attitude against the

rules of Shari‘a or religious rituals do not form the center of this religiosity. The meaning

attributed to the Sufi, who is regarded as a saint or awliya, and the relationship established

with him constitutes the main focus of religiosity. The relationship normally established

with God is established here with the saint. He is somehow attributed with divinity or

seen as a representative of God. Therefore, serving the awliya or praying for him takes the

place of Shari‘a worship. He also becomes a source of fear, hope, love and expectations.

Of course, in this process, many faith elements other than Sufi teachings are added to these

forms of piety. In this sense, their piety stems from Sufism, but it emerges as something

different from Sufism.

49 For a general critique on Köprülü’s conceptualization and paradigms, see Marcus Dressler, ‘How to

Conceptualize Inner- Islamic’ 241- 260. And also, see Ahmet T. Karamustafa, ‘Early Sufism in Eastern

Anatolia’ Classical Persian Sufism From Its Origins to Rumî (Ed. Leonard Lewisohn) (New York: Khaniqahi

Nimetullahi Publications, 1993, 196- 197; Ahmet T. Karamustafa, ‘Yesevîlik, Melâmetîlik’, 74- 84; Ahmet T.

Karamustafa ‘Anadolu’nun İslamlaşması Bağlamında, 47- 49.

ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.

Geleneksel Alevilik, 54; for the dervish or Saint image in society, and relations with people, see Ay, Anadolu'da Derviş ve Toplum

151-152

İslamlaşması Karamustafa 'anadolu'nun
Bağlamında

Karamustafa 'Anadolu'nun İslamlaşması Bağlamında', 47-49; Yıldırım, Geleneksel Alevilik, 54; for the dervish or Saint image in society, and relations with people, see Ay, Anadolu'da Derviş ve Toplum, 139-149, 151-152.

Otman Baba Vilâyetnamesi, vr

Küçük Abdal

Küçük Abdal, Otman Baba Vilâyetnamesi, vr. 109a-b.

About the reflection of the meaning attributed to human on Shari'a rituals such as prayer and pilgrimage, see Piri Er

Jan 1998
503-504

For the meaning attributed to human in Alevism, see Rıza Yıldırım, Geleneksel Alevilik: İnanç, İbadet, Kurumlar, Toplumsal Yapı, Kolektif Bellek (İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları, 2018), 174-178; About the reflection of the meaning attributed to human on Shari'a rituals such as prayer and pilgrimage, see Piri Er, Geleneksel Anadolu Aleviliği (Ankara: Evrak Yayınları, 1998, 16-21; Cenksu Üçer, 'Geleneksel Alevilikte İbadet Hayatı, Bazı Âdap ve Erkân' Anadolu'da Aleviliğin Dünü Bugünü, Ed. Halil İbrahim Bulut (Sakarya: Sakarya Üniversitesi Yayınları, 2010, 487-490, 503-504.

Anadolu'nun İslamlaşması Bağlamında

47-49

Karamustafa

Karamustafa, 'Anadolu'nun İslamlaşması Bağlamında', 47-49;

Criticisms about the construction of folk religiosity on pre-Islamic beliefs or syncretism are justified but it does not mean that the said effect does not exist at all. As some examples of non-Islamic influences in Anatolian folk Islam, see Köprülü

48-49

Geleneksel Yıldırım
Alevilik

Yıldırım, Geleneksel Alevilik, 54, 159. 48 Criticisms about the construction of folk religiosity on pre-Islamic beliefs or syncretism are justified but it does not mean that the said effect does not exist at all. As some examples of non-Islamic influences in Anatolian folk Islam, see Köprülü, Osmanlı Devletinin Kuruluşu, 47; Anadolu'da İslâmiyet, 45, 48-49;

Müslüman Türklerde Şamanizm Kalıntıları' Makaleler ve İncelemeler I, Ankara: TTK Yayınları

Jan 1968
476-479

Abdülkadir İnan

Abdülkadir İnan, 'Müslüman Türklerde Şamanizm Kalıntıları' Makaleler ve İncelemeler I, Ankara: TTK Yayınları, 1968, 469-472, 476-479;

Uyur İdik Uyardılar Alevîlik-Bektaşîlik Araştırmaları

Jan 1994
151-158

Irène Mélikoff

Irène Mélikoff, Uyur İdik Uyardılar Alevîlik-Bektaşîlik Araştırmaları, trans. into Turkish by Turan Alptekin (İstanbul: Cem Yayınevi, 1994), 151-158;

The Problem of Early Islamic Diversity in Anatolia: Rethinking Dervish Piety Through Pantheistic Ideas

Abstract

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