Intrafaith Debates among Alevis Analyzed in the Light of Thomas Bauer’s Theory of Ambiguity (In)tolerance

In contradistinction to the Alevi faith’s historical heritage of multifariousness, the last decade has witnessed the rapid rise of an intra-faith intolerance manifested by different Alevi groups who make claims to representing the one and only true authoritative form of Alevism. In A Culture of Ambiguity and Die Vereindeutigung der Welt, Thomas Bauer examines the question of tolerance for ambiguity in the Islamic World and describes the contemporary state of ascending intolerance as linked to the rise of a fundamentalist set of paradigms propagating 1) the singularity of Truth 2) that is beyond historicity 3) and maintained in a state of purity. In order to expose the nature of the rising intra-faith intolerance among Alevis as a contemporary desire reminiscent of “fundamentalist” intolerance for ambiguity, I intend to focus mainly on some highly active Alevi social media pages and a selection of recent books (by both “traditionalists” and “reformists”) that display the desire for mastery over the Alevi faith.