The Role of Cem Houses in the Lifelong Education of Alevi-Bektashi Individuals

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-686-4_10How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Alevi; Bektashi; Cemevis; Lifelong Education

Abstract

Alevis and Alevism, both in terms of their activities and the mission they carry, are a social reality frequently discussed in our country. When we look at the historical process in broad terms, we see that Alevi organization began in the 13th to 15th centuries, occasionally gaining momentum, sometimes slowing down, and ultimately continuing to the present day. Alevi organizations have emerged in the form of religious and political structures. Throughout history, Alevis have shaped their religious organizations by establishing dervish lodges, associations, and cemevis, and they have managed to sustain their existence to this day. In identifying the educational activities of cemevis, we will also explore the purposes of cemevis, their historical origins, and their evolution over time. In this context, we observe that Alevi organizations in the past were centered around dervish lodges. However, with the closure of lodges and zawiyas during the Republican era, Alevis and Bektashis created new structures under names like village rooms and meydan houses to freely perform their religious rituals. Especially in large cities, to meet the growing needs of the Alevi community, associations, foundations, cemevis, and cultural houses became prominent. Since 1980, there has been a significant increase in the number of these associations, foundations, and cemevis. This organizational structure continues to be active today. Through these institutions, Alevis have found opportunities to preserve and transmit their beliefs and culture to the new generation, both domestically and internationally. The aim of this study is to determine the impact of cemevis on the transmission of Alevism and Bektashism to younger generations, the educational and cultural activities provided in cemevis, and the role and importance of “Cemevis,” an institution unique to Alevism, in the education of Alevi individuals. Our study is based on the foundational texts accepted by Alevis, sources written about Islamic sects, as well as recent research on Alevism.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Fevzi Rençber
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/04/28
TI  - The Role of Cem Houses in the Lifelong Education of Alevi-Bektashi Individuals
BT  - Proceeding of the 10th International Conference on Lifelong Education and Leadership for ALL (ICLEL 2024)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 108
EP  - 115
SN  - 2667-128X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-686-4_10
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-686-4_10
ID  - Rençber2025
ER  -