“My Lord! Increase me in knowledge.” (Qur’an 20:114)
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Most people, when they think of Turkey, do not think of it as a bastion of Shi’ism.
What makes obtaining numbers difficult in the case of Turkey is that they conduct census based only on religion, not on sects, races or ethnicity because according to the law, only religions are recognized, not sects. Additionally, another law states that everyone living in Turkey is considered a Turk.
Did you know that the Alevi Shi’a community is estimated to be between as low as 4 million and as high as 20 million of Turkey’s 80 million citizens?!
In fact, did you know that the bulwark of the Ottoman Military Machine, the famed Janissaries, were not Sunni Muslims?!
They cursed Muaviya, and they believed in the 14 infallibles, The Blessed Prophet (saw), Fatima (ra) and the 12 imams! They held that Ali was superior to the other companions. They were Shi’i; however not in the traditional sense. They were part of a Sufi order that was strongly influenced by Shi’i ideas and beliefs.
Bekta-Shism: A Sufi order that originated in Anatolia in the 13th century and named after their Saint: Haji Bektsah Veli.
Yeniçeriler gelsin!
Once that Shofar horn is blown, the only thing that awaits the opponent is swift and merciless death.
We don’t know if it was genius or mischievous of the Ottomans to send people who had heterodox views to be shock troops knowing they would take the brunt of the causalities. In a sense: canon fodder.
It must have been terrifying for Christian armies to see legions of soldiers basically dressed like Orthodox Christian Bishops coming to kill them! Just an unstoppable juggernaut chanting Allah, Allah, Allah, Allah has they charge forth.
Genius or diabolical would be a matter of perspective here.
Psychology is just as much a part of war as the weapons we wield!
The Daily Sabah says:
“Alevis, who make up the second-largest religious community in the country with approximately 20 million followers.”
“The number of Alevis is a matter of contention. Estimates from different sources range considerably – from around 10 percent to as much as 40 percent of the total population – but recent figures suggest Alevis number in the region of 20 to 25 million.”
Not surprising is that Sunni Muslims opposed to Shi’ism altogether would opt for polls or data that suggest that their population is not divided.
Recently, on X (Twitter), one Turkish Muslim we engaged with on the subject favoured KONDA Research, which suggests a very low 4% of the Turkish population to be Alevi Shi’a.
“Leaders of the Alevi Foundation estimate Alevi Muslims comprise 25 to 31 percent of the population. KONDA Research and Consultancy estimates the Alevi community at approximately 6 percent of the population, almost 5 million individuals. The Shia Jafari community estimates its members make up 4 percent of the population.”
Source: https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-report-on-international-religious-freedom/turkey/
Curious as to why that individual quoted KONDA research, we asked the individual what he thought about Tarhan Erdem’s view that Turkey was responsible for the genocide of Armenians, of which he offered no engagement on the question.
Turkey is allies with Shi’a Azerbaijan against Christian Armenia and Shi’a Iran.
Azerbaijan facts:
Religions:
Shi’i Muslim 97.3%, Christian 2.6%, other <0.1, unaffiliated <0.1 (2020 est.)
Source: (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/azerbaijan/factsheets/)
Why many Turks unfortunately feel sour about Palestine and Palestinians.
Why do many Turks unfortunately feel sour about Palestine and Palestinians?
We have had many religiously observant Turkish Muslim friends express to us that they felt betrayed by Palestine.
One Turkish brother shared with us a picture from X (Twitter) that says: “I stand with Armenia forever. From Palestine.
To which he replied: “This is what makes me angry. My people and my nation support them. Going against Israel and having economic problems. And these shameless people support our enemies! Brother, there are Turks who support Israel, but those Turks are not Muslims. But these Palestinians claim to be Muslim and oppressed but still support Armenia and China. I have not seen a single Palestinian or Pan-Arab or supports other Muslims. Those oppressed in Myanmar, China or elsewhere.”
A Palestinian had said in response to such sentiment:
“I’m sorry for the Turks. We need to kiss their feet because we lived with Armenians in our neighborhoods when we were kids. And they were good people. I’m so sorry, Brother Turk, you have every right to feel sour and not care about us being subject to genocide. Empires rise and fall. The Turks betrayed the Ottoman Empire way before any Arab did.”
As you can see, our brothers from Turkey and Palestine equally have valid points. My point to the Turkish brother is that the Palestinians as a whole should not be made to suffer because of the statements or actions of Mahmoud Abbas or those in the past.
This unfortunately is the sad state of our Muslim Ummah.
If we had a word of caution for my brothers in Turkey it would be this.
“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”
This seemingly innocuous Bekta-Shism state being carved out of Albania (with EU approval) might not be as innocent as one thinks.
You may be interested in reading the following:
An exploration of the many Mahdi claimants (quite a number of them from Turkey).
May Allah (swt) free Palestine and put Jerusalem firmly in the hands of the Muslims.
May Allah (swt) aid the Turks in their conflict with Armenia.
May Allah (swt) bring justice to the Uyghurs Muslims in China.
May Allah (swt) bring justice to the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.
May Allah (swt) bring peace, justice and stability to Syria.
May Allah (swt) aid the people of Yemen.
May Allah (swt) be with the people of Sudan.
May Allah (swt) be with our brothers in the Horn of Africa, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea.
May Allah (swt) help the ummah to put love of Islam and Muslims above the love for nations, or tribal affiliations.
May Allah (swt) aid the Ummah.
May Allah (swt) forgive the Ummah.
May Allah (swt) guide the Ummah.
Prima Quran 