Brotherhoods, the basis of popular religion

Sufi brotherhoods (Sufi comes from the Arab sûf refering to the woollen garment which Muslim ascetics wore to show that they had chosen a life of humility and self-denial) consitute the most original aspect of Islam in Turkey. There are many fraternties which are solidly planted throughout the country. Brotherhood, tarikat in Turkish, "litterarily means way or path and originally refers to the route through which the mystical (sufi) travels, following different phychological stages (maqâmat, ahwâl), to arrive at direct knowledge of divine reality (haqîqa).
This path was therefore initially, the first and personal experience of a believer. With the evolution of the mystical trend in Islam, it has become a method, a body of rules and rites by which a spiritual guide (murshid, pîr), somewhat mechanically, allows the disciples he initiates (murîd) to attain a mystical experience.
Followers of the same way together form a tarîqa. They are headed by a Cheik, who succeeds the first initiator to whom is attached a spiritual descendance (sýlsýla) and whose supernatural qualities and powers he has inherited" Gilles Veinstein, "Avant propos" in Alexandre Popovic, Gilles Veinstein (ed.), Les ordres mystiques dans l’Islam, Paris, EHESS, 1985, p. 7.
In a way, these brotherhoods form one of the social pillars of the Anatolian society, representing ties of solidarity and mutual service but also serving as effective and indispensable pressure groups. It is all the more surprising that the Kemalists, considering them to be the major hindrance to anti-clerical reforms, banned them in 1925. However, when they were able to resurface in the 1950’s, the brotherhoods had not lost any of their dynamism. In fact, it was from the time of the first transition to a multi-party system in 1945 that they started to reassert their position in the political and social life of the Turkish society.

Sufism is the common spiritual foundation for these powerful brotherhoods. It is a practice by which revelations from the Koran are internalised and which considers music as a necessary aid in encountering God. The aim is to attain mystical union with God and annihilate the ego (fana’) in order to merge with Divinity. It is clear that people do not join brotherhoods for purely spiritual reasons. Other reasons may include family or tribal ties, situations of clientelism, geographical origins or simply a quest to climb the social ladder. A Sufi’s relationship with God is symbolised by the relationship between lover and beloved. Sufis are therefore less mindful of observing religious rules and have a very personal and sometimes very liberal relationship with Islam. While several brotherhoods are Sufi in origin, some are Shite and others Hanbalite.