For centuries, Turkey's social and political fabric has been shaped by the struggle of different identities, beliefs and cultures to coexist. Within this mosaic, the Alevi-Bektashi community has experienced both historical and political invisibility and marginalization.
In the late Ottoman period, Alevis were excluded from the central authority and had to rely on the mechanisms of cem and dedelik to protect themselves in a social structure dominated by the pressure of the Sunni majority and religious norms. This invisibility is not only an attempt to preserve a religious identity, but also a process of marginalization that prevents political participation and social representation.
For the Alevi community, the proclamation of the Republic and the establishment of modern Turkey marked not only a regime change, but also a turning point that provided equal citizenship, security and visibility. The fact that Atatürk visited Hacıbektaş on his way to Ankara during the War of Independence and stayed there for two nights is the most concrete indication of the Alevi-Bektashi community's support for the establishment of the new state.
The hospitality and participation in cem ceremonies in Hacıbektaş is a symbol of the logistical and moral support provided by the local community to the War of Independence, as well as the embrace of the fundamental values of the Republic by the Alevi-Bektashi community. This historical connection shows how the backbone that the CHP has established with the Alevi community since its foundation has been shaped as a guarantee of secularism and the enlightenment of the republic.
In the early years of the Republic, Alevis not only provided social support but also constituted the ideological and social backbone of the party. The CHP's historical backbone was shaped by a party tradition of equal representation of different identities and was based on secular and enlightenment values.
During Kılıçdaroğlu's 13-year presidency, this historical bond and social backbone has been constantly tested by ideological conflicts and representation debates within the party. Those who accuse Kılıçdaroğlu of “Alevizing the CHP” actually ignore the party's historical mission and aim only to create a polarizing perception for political gain.
The low proportion of Alevi members in the MYK, the imposition of candidates by some Party Assembly members and the debates over cemevis show that Alevi identity is still a sensitive and controversial issue within CHP politics. This situation reveals that representation in political parties is not only limited to winning elections or collecting votes, but also a vital element of inter-identity justice and visibility mechanisms.
Kılıçdaroğlu in 2023 “I am an Alevi, a sincere Muslim raised with the belief of Hak-Muhammad-Ali” His statement made this historical connection visible again and drew attention to the long-standing problem of invisibility between the Alevi community and the CHP. This statement symbolizes the historical continuity of the Alevi community's support for the Republic and the CHP, and makes visible the problems of representation within the party.
However, in the same period, Ekrem İmamoğlu and his circle tried to overshadow this visibility with hate speech targeting Alevi representation in the CHP. Social media trolls and some circles within the party systematically launched attacks against Kılıçdaroğlu on the basis of Alevism. “Alevi lobby” and “He Alevized the CHP” Hateful discourses such as these can be read not only as criticism of the leader, but also as a systematic operation of invisibilization carried out on the Alevi community and its representational mechanisms.
During the 38th Ordinary Congress “We erased Alevis” Their rhetoric clearly revealed the hatred and ideological conflict against the party's historical mission and the principle of equality between identities. In the crises in Istanbul and Ankara, Alevi mayors and party leaders were deliberately pushed to the background and their visibility was limited.
Particularly in districts such as Bahçelievler, CHP executives labeled cemevi projects opened by AK Party municipalities as “pirate cemevi” and party leaders who would defend them remained silent. On social media, Kılıçdaroğlu's Alevism was constantly targeted by organized troll accounts and circles.
“Manipulative posts such as ”The Alevi lobby is running the party“ and ”The CHP has Alevized the CHP" both shaped public perception and deepened polarization within the party. The nominations of candidates for the youth branches and local administrations were discussed on the basis of these manipulations; allegations of recruiting members from cemevis and pushing Alevi representatives to the background coincided with the attacks on social media.
Unfortunately, those who have come to the party leadership under the name of change, while applauding and internalizing Adnan Beker, Cemal Enginyurt and the most left-wing names, ignore the Alevi voters who have been the backbone of the party since its foundation and who are the guarantee of secularism and the enlightenment of the republic.
Historically, Alevism has not only been a belief system, but also one of the most vibrant, courageous and resilient veins of social opposition in Turkey. This is not an accidental political reflex, but a natural consequence of the Alevi doctrine of non-consent against oppression, equality against hierarchy and objection against injustice. In this context, the fact that all seven young people who lost their lives during the Gezi Resistance were Alevis cannot be read as a coincidence; this is a painful but striking indication of the historically decisive role of Alevis in the fearless, revolutionary and costly social opposition line. The Alevi community has always been the bearer of a political ethic that does not compromise with the government, but confronts injustice, does not remain silent and protests.
The main question to be asked in the face of this picture is this: Is the demonization and liquidation of Alevis through Kılıçdaroğlu a deliberate operation to break the strongest intra-party resistance to the strategy of pulling the CHP to the right-conservative line with Özgür Özel and Ekrem İmamoğlu?
This is because the Alevi base, which historically constitutes the backbone of secularism, republican values and the social democratic line, represents the strongest ideological and organizational resistance to the new marketist, conservative and rightward political orientation. The Alevi-based lynching against Kılıçdaroğlu is not just a purge of a leader; it also means the dismantling of the secular, egalitarian and enlightenmentist resistance points within the CHP, the erasure of the party's historical memory and the removal of the social barriers in front of the drift to the right. For this reason, the attacks on Alevi identity should not be read as personal or periodic debates, but as a systematic and political liquidation process aimed at transforming the ideological axis of the CHP.
This article was written to remind us that Alevism is not only the political conscience of the past, but also of the present and the future. Because when Alevis are silenced, not only a faith is silenced, but also the most moral voice of social opposition.