Entry of Ja’ferism to Anatolia

Abstract

In order to know when and under what conditions Jafarism entered Anatolia, it is necessary to know well the historical relations between Turkey and Iran, which are neighbors and have deep-rooted histories. While the historical origins are examined in the studies on the entry of some Jafarism beliefs into Anatolia, quite different and contradictory ideas and historical justifications are made; different opinions are put forward about the place of Jafarism within these ideas. Some understandings of Jafarism were first introduced to Anatolia through Safavid propaganda in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Because the Safavids used Shiism as a political tool in order to ensure the state order they established, and they tried to spread this understanding to the extreme points of Anatolia in order to gather supporters for themselves. However, since the Seljuks there had been a dominant understanding of Sunni Islam in Anatolia and  this  has  turned  into  state  policy,  Jafarism  did  not  have  the  opportunity  to  spread  in Anatolia; The sect could not exist as an identity in Anatolia. During these periods, there were only manifestations of some Jafarism concepts in Anatolia, such as the Love of Ahl al-Bayt, the Twelve Imams, Karbala, tevella and teberrâ. Jafarism entered Anatolia as a sectarian identity in very recent times due to the migration of people from countries such as Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia to settle in Turkey. In this study, which we’ve carried out by literature review and document analysis method, evaluations have been made regarding some claims about the entry of Jafarism into Anatolia. In this article, which we have started with the Safavid period, when Anatolia was exposed to the influence of Shiism, and then have tried to evaluate the process until today, the historical periods related to the subject are discussed without going into deep analysis within the scope of the article.