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Demographics
[citation needed]
Alevis in Turkey
The Alevi population has been estimated as follows:
• "approx. 15 million..." --Krisztina Kehl-Bodrogi. [4]
• In Turkey, 15 percent of Turkey's population (approx. 10.6 million) --David Shankland [5]
• "Most Alevi writers and spokespersons claim that Turkey's population today is one-third
Alevi-Bektashi, or more than 20 million. Lower estimates range from 10 to 12 million."--
John Schindeldecker. [6]
• "The Alevi constitute the second largest religious community in Turkey (following the
Sunnis), and number some 25% (15 million) of the total population (Alevis claim 30%-
40%!). Most Alevis are ethnic and linguistic Turks, mainly of Turkmen descent from
Central and Eastern Anatolia. Some 20% of Alevis are Kurds (though most Kurds are
Sunnis), and some 25% of Kurds in Turkey are Alevi (Kurmanji and Zaza speakers)." --
David Zeidan. [7]
• "15 to 20 million..." --Olli Rehn, from the 1996 (Camiel) "Eurlings Report" to the
European Commission (on the suitability of Turkish accession to the EU).
• "...a world total of between 15 and 25 million adherents. There is no independent data for
their numbers, so these statistics are estimates or conjectures." --"Alevism," from The
Encyclopedia of the Orient.
The majority of Alevis are ethnic Turks. Some are Kurds (a controversial ethnonym in Turkey,
whose government does not recognize Kurdish identity). Some are Zazaki, a group whose
members either consider themselves Kurds with a different language, or as a distinct
ethnicity.Some Alevis are Azeris. Despite universalist rhetoric (and in contrast with Islam in
general, or the Bektashi order), Alevi communities do not generally acknowledge the possibility of
conversion to Alevism.
Alevi communities are concentrated in central Anatolia, in a belt from Chorum in the west to
Mush in the east. The only province within Turkey with an Alevi majority is Tunceli, formerly
known as Dersim. Beginning in the 1960s, many Alevis have migrated to the large cities of
western and southern Turkey--as well as to western Europe, especially Germany--and are now
heavily urbanized.
There are also large communities of Alevis in some regions of Iranian Azerbaijan. The town of
Ilkhichi (İlxıçı), which is located 87 km south west of Tabriz is almost entirely populated by
Alevis. [citation needed] For political reasons, one of which was to create a distinct identity for these
communities, they have not been called Alevi since the early 20th century. [citation needed] They are
called various names, such as Ali Illahi, Ahl-e Haqq and Goran.
Groups with similar beliefs also exist in Iranian Kurdistan. Interestingly both the Dersim
(Kirmancki / Zaza) people and the Gorani, who are both considered as belonging to the
Hawramani branch of the proto-Kurdish language, adhere to a form of Alevi faith which