Alevis currently make up 25 million people, which is about 30% of the total population of 85 million in Turkey.
Alevis hold a magnificent ceremony every year during Muharram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alevis have a considerable presence in Turkey today and are considered among Anatolian minorities. Alevi\u2019s mourning for Sayyed al-Shohada, peace be upon him, is mostly held in the form of quiet crying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mourning is actually performed as a form of worship, and in the form of fasting and abstinence from food and refraining from doing certain things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One is fasting on the first 10 days of Muharram, with many considering this practice as a great act of worship.
Some people also fast for 12 days, each day for one of the imams as the story of Imams’ lives is one of continuous martyrdoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among some Alawite sects, the fasting of Muharram lasts up to 15 days; 12 days because of the 12 imams and three days in honor of Muslim bin Aqeel and his two sons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to abstinence, the people of this region sometimes give up many routines, such as using soap, shaving the beard, looking in the mirror, using perfume, laughing and having fun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The majority of those fasting refrain from drinking water from the beginning of day 9 or from Ashura afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the night of Ashura, they gather and sing elegies and laments in memory of Imam Hussain (peace be upon him).
Another activity of Alevis during Muharram is cooking pottage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ashura special food is boiled in large cauldrons called “Qazaan” and distributed among the devotees of Imam Hussain (peace be upon him).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The spiritual life of Alevis is significantly related to Ashura. That is, the issue of Ashura and Imam Hossein, peace be upon him, is more of an ontological issue than a ritual for the Alevis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They distinguish their identity from others based on the rituals they perform for Ashura. This is why the rituals of the Muharram period have a central place in the Alevi identity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Alevis currently make up 25 million people, which is about 30% of the total population of 85 million in Turkey.Alevis hold a magnificent ceremony every year during Muharram. Alevis have a considerable presence in Turkey today and are considered among Anatolian minorities. Alevi\u2019s mourning for Sayyed al-Shohada, peace be upon him, is mostly held in …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":95512,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_108372464460192_245495985553329":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[2928,31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ahlulbayt-occasions","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n