Seyit Derviş Tur (born 10 November 1936 in Başköy, Çayırlı district, Erzincan province, Turkey) is an Alevi dede (hereditary spiritual leader) from the Babamansur (Şah Mansur) lineage, an author, and one of the founders of Alevi community organisation in Germany. He chaired the Federation of Alevi Communities in Germany – the forerunner of today’s Alevi Community of Germany (AABF) – from 1990 to 1993 and its Council of Dedes from 1994 to 2003.
Life
He grew up in a seyyid family and learned the Alevi path and its rituals in the cem ceremonies led by his father, Seyyid Haydar Dede. After training as a car mechanic in Ankara (1951–1954), he emigrated to Cologne, Germany, in 1966. He later became self-employed and has been based in Rüsselsheim am Main since 1979, where he ran a travel agency and export and food trading businesses.
Founding the Alevi organisation in Germany
- 1987–1988: The first meeting of the founding circle took place on 23 February 1987 in Rüsselsheim. The association covering Mainz, Rüsselsheim and Wiesbaden was officially registered on 1 December 1988; Derviş Tur served as its deputy chairman.
- 1990: On 19 May 1990 the founding board of the federation was formed and its statute adopted in Astheim (Trebur); on 25 May 1990, nine associations meeting in Dortmund resolved to found the Alevi Cemaatleri Federasyonu (Federation of Alevi Communities).
- 1990–1993: Chairman of the federation, which was entered in the register of associations at the Mainz district court on 17 January 1991 with Tur as chairman. During this period he represented the federation in Germany and Turkey, including in a delegation received by Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel and Deputy Prime Minister Erdal İnönü in December 1991.
- 1994–2003: At his proposal, a Council of Dedes was established within the federation (first meeting in March 1994, Krefeld). He chaired it until March 2003.
- 2002: On behalf of the AABF, he took part in the interreligious Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi convened by Pope John Paul II.
Views
The anthropologist Martin Sökefeld describes Derviş Tur as one of the leading proponents of the view that Alevism is the mystical, inner path of Islam. In his main work Erkânname he presents Alevism not as a sect or an ethnic identity but as a Sufi interpretation of Islam rooted in the line of the Twelve Imams.
Books
- Erkânname – Aleviliğin İslam Yorumu ve Alevi Erkânları (2002; extended 3rd edition 2012; ISBN 975-6791-52-7) – a comprehensive handbook of Alevi belief and ritual.
- Avrupa’da İlk Alevi Yapılanmasının Tarihi Gerçekleri ve Seyit Derviş Tur’un Hatıraları (2016) – memoirs and documents on the first Alevi organisations in Europe.
- Arzuhâl – Erenler Meclisinin Çilekeş Kemteri (2022) – autobiographical and mystical writings.
- Alevi İslam Şah’a Giden Yol and İmam Rıza Türbesi.
In the press and in research
- Milliyet, 27 May 1990 – report on the founding of the federation; 22 May 1991 – “Alevilerden tepki”; 28 October 1997 – series “Dönemecin Eşiğinde: Aleviler”.
- Hürriyet, 25 January 1991 – interview by Suat Türker, “Aleviler örgütleniyor”.
- Anadolu Agency, 23 June 2013 – appeal for calm between Alevis and Sunnis.
- TRT Haber, 2016 – documentary series “Ömür Dediğin”, episode 108, on his life with his wife Zöhre Tur.
- Academic works citing him include Martin Sökefeld (2005), Zeynel Gül (2002), Burak Gümüş (2008) and Bülent Keleş (2024).
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