An Examination of Written Sources on Alaw?-Bekt?sh? Classics

Abstract

The vitality and intergenerational continuity of a nation's cultural heritage, encompassing all aspects of culture, values, traditions, norms, and beliefs, representing its historical connection to the past, present, and future, can only be sustained through the presence of written sources. While during the period referred to as the primary oral culture, people passed on their knowledge and experiences orally from generation to generation, only products that appealed to collective consciousness were retained in memory and transmitted. With the transition to written culture, texts containing the codes that bind communities together have not only expanded their spheres of influence but have also been more readily embraced and accepted. This is because preserving cultural memory, ensuring its complete transmission, and meeting the needs of the emerging generation within it without written sources for research is quite challenging. Alevism, which has emerged within Islamic culture and historically maintained its continuity through oral tradition, is one of the formations facing similar challenges today. However, the main problem here is not the lack of written sources for Alevism, but rather the absence of serious research on the subject, or if available, the lack of sensitivity in their publication. With this concern in mind, the Alevi-Bektashi Classics project initiated and continued by the Turkish Religious Foundation represents a significant and well-founded step in bringing written literature related to the Alevi-Bektashi tradition to light and incorporating it into Islamic culture. However, the written sources published in a simplified form to fit modern Turkish, while of great importance for learning the terminology, imagery, metaphorical teachings, language, and style of Alevism-Bektashism, have been found to have certain issues in terms of authenticity when examined in terms of content. At the forefront of these problems is the gathering of all works under the umbrella of Alevi-Bektashi Classics. Such a situation has led to the perception that some works belong to this tradition even though it is known that they do not. In fact, it is known that some of these works are embraced by various Sufi groups. Furthermore, errors in the naming of some works published within the framework of the Alevi-Bektashi Classics project are also noteworthy. The publication of these works without considering their content has resulted in a discrepancy between their titles and content. In addition, the failure to thoroughly research and publish these works with scholarly scrutiny has adversely affected the objectivity of such a comprehensive project. Indeed, what should be done here is to complete the research by gathering and comparing manuscript copies found in various libraries and with individuals, rather than relying solely on transcribed works. Another noticeable issue related to the mentioned study is the translation errors made during the translation process. In fact, it has been identified that there are certain spelling errors related to the usage of the name Ali, which is one of the cornerstones of Alevism. Such uses can potentially lead to the formation of deep rifts between communities rather than contributing to the culture of coexistence in Muslim societies. Our research, conducted in the context of the publications titled Alevi-Bektashi Classics, aims to identify potential errors related to this literature. In this regard, we have examined and analyzed the aforementioned issues in our study, providing explanations with examples. Additionally, we have presented solutions to these problems with supporting arguments.