Between Rapprochement and Demarcation: The Bektashis' Ambivalent Approach to Sunnism in the Long Nineteenth Century

The Bektashi Order faced significant challenges in the nineteenth century following its official ban in 1826 during the abolition of the Janissary Corps. The Ottoman state cited religious grounds for this prohibition and, in collaboration with ulema scholars, engaged in discursive exclusion, portraying the Bektashis as heretical, morally corrupt, and politically dangerous. This discrimination was coupled with religious disciplinary attempts to assimilate Bektashism into Sunnism. The Bektashis responded to this religious discrimination and efforts at Sunnitization in varied ways. Some reinforced their distinct boundaries from Sunni Islam, emphasizing their nonconformist traditions. Others, especially in the latter half of the nineteenth century, sought to integrate Bektashism with Sunni Islam, adapting ritual catechisms, doctrines, and historical narratives to align more closely with Sunni perspectives. This paper examines these negotiation processes within the Bektashi Order, exploring the dynamics between conformism and nonconformism.