Japanese academic converts to Alevism

[Kemalisté]

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/images/news/201301/n_38086_4.jpg

A Japanese academic, who has been working in Turkey’s eastern province of Tunceli since 2009, has converted to the Alevi strand of Islam, which is also his academic research area.

Hiroki Wakamatsu, 35, from Tunceli University’s Department of Sociology, has spent many years studying Alevism, which is seen as a liberal strain within Islam. His studies focus on religious minorities, secularism, social change among Alevis in Turkey, Kurdish Alevi groups, and Turkish Muslims in Japan.

“While I was trying to find a research subject a teacher of mine suggested that I study Alevi groups in Turkey. Let’s call it destiny or ‘kismet,’ I had the chance to come to Tunceli, which is like a living laboratory for an anthropologist who studies Alevism,” Wakamatsu told Anatolia news agency.
According to him, Turkish and Japanese people share many cultural similarities.

Wakamatsu’s students expressed their admiration for him. “He is a professor who dedicates his life to his students, a perfect scientist,” said 22-year-old Sevgi Aker.

“My life has changed totally after getting to know him, he is so good in his field. Taking classes from a Japanese teacher is amazing,” said 22-year-old Mehmet Karanfil.

Wakamatsu is the vice director of the university’s Alevism Practice and Research Center, and he also teaches anthropology and “Far East Religions.”

He graduated from Tokai University’s Civilization Sciences Department in 1997 and completed his master’s studies at Sophia University in Japan. He was then accepted by Tunceli University to become an associate professor.

Wakamatsu is married to Turkish professor Nursen Wakamatsu, who graduated from the Japanese language and culture department, and they have one child named Deniz Tomoki Wakamatsu.

Along with Japanese, Wakamatsu speaks Turkish, French, Arabic and English.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/japanese-academic-converts-to-alevism.aspx?pageID=238&nid=38086

[TheMagnificent]

W5K0zkCbVr8

His Turkish is pretty good.

[Annihilus]

He talks about the Japanese religion as being a mix. I hope one day this professor learns enough to see that this religion is the same and the denominator is not islam.

[Hayalet]

Is conversion to Alevism even recognized?

[Kemalisté]

Is conversion to Alevism even recognized?

In spite of the general perception, there is no obstacle on that.

[Annihilus]

Is conversion to Alevism even recognized?

No there is no such thing, or there are developments that I am not aware of and Alevism has taken a turn for the worst.

[RussiaPrussia]

W5K0zkCbVr8

His Turkish is pretty good.

its speculated that long long long time ago mongolian, turkic, japanese, korean and uralic languages were all a single language founded in russia.

[Cannabis Sativa]

Is conversion to Alevism even recognized?

For traditional side of Alevism such thing is impossible since at least one of your parents ought to be Alevi. I can just respect this Japanese guy for his choice. But his Alevism is actually like Bektashism which is not an hereditary thing. Bektashism=Yoldan gelme, Alevism=Belden gelme.

[Erlikhan]

its speculated that long long long time ago mongolian, turkic, japanese, korean and uralic languages were all a single language founded in russia.

True.

[Turkophagos]

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/3553/japanxj6.jpg

Japs are weird anyway.

[Siberian Cold Breeze]

its speculated that long long long time ago mongolian, turkic, japanese, korean and uralic languages were all a single language founded in North East Asia .

fixed

Tell me about anakronism :rolleyes:

Altaic languages
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altaic_languages

[RussiaPrussia]

fixed

Tell me about anakronism :rolleyes:

Altaic languages
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altaic_languages

well then lets look what north asia is, oh its all russia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_asia

[Siberian Cold Breeze]

well then lets look what north asia is, oh its all russia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_asia

Oh really ? YAY

http://i.imgur.com/JzmWF.jpg

[LightHouse89]

He talks about the Japanese religion as being a mix. I hope one day this professor learns enough to see that this religion is the same and the denominator is not islam.

My Japanese aunt follows Shintoism and I dont think it has anything in common with Islam. Its literally closer to the old Norse religion or most old Pagan beliefs.

[Funda]

i'm really impressed, His Turkish is great!

[Siberian Cold Breeze]

It is practically animism+shamanism mixed or modified in Islam so if they share anything with Şintoism that would be the our old religion ,not Islam

[Maleficent]

This is the first time I ever hear of a Japanese person converting to Islam.

[LightHouse89]

It is practically animism+shamanism mixed or modified in Islam so if they share anything with Şintoism that would be the our old religion ,not Islam

True that's like old Norse Christianity and celtic Christianity which was mixed with old lore was considered heretical by the reformist Protestants in the North and the Catholic Vatican in the South. So the church banned it all. Well today if you go se an old stav church in Norway they have depictions of Jesus/God dressed up like Odin or Viking and doing battle and what not. Of course that is ridiculous but converting the norse and insular celts required a lot of time and patience with the church. We still have our mythologies and old stories copied down so not everything was lost. In Ireland though a major part of Celtic Paganism was destroyed because the Christians murdered the Druids who in a way kept many secrets of our histories and mythical lore. A huge loss but some rebellious monks recorded what they knew of their old religion down to be spared and hopefully remembered one day.

I think its cool my aunt and her brothers still have their ancestor's [one of them I believe] Samurai sword. I saw it when I briefly went to Japan. That country is cool except being a white person around a lot of Asians is a strange experience. They are a cool people though and I love that country :cool: I like the Mongol signature I own that film by the way

[LightHouse89]

This is the first time I ever hear of a Japanese person converting to Islam.

Same here very unusual. My aunt did not even convert to Christianity and married my uncle. My uncle though is a non practicing Catholic, he hates religion.

[Siberian Cold Breeze]

True that's like old Norse Christianity and celtic Christianity which was mixed with old lore was considered heretical by the reformist Protestants in the North and the Catholic Vatican in the South. So the church banned it all. Well today if you go se an old stav church in Norway they have depictions of Jesus/God dressed up like Odin or Viking and doing battle and what not. Of course that is ridiculous but converting the norse and insular celts required a lot of time and patience with the church. We still have our mythologies and old stories copied down so not everything was lost. In Ireland though a major part of Celtic Paganism was destroyed because the Christians murdered the Druids who in a way kept many secrets of our histories and mythical lore. A huge loss but some rebellious monks recorded what they knew of their old religion down to be spared and hopefully remembered one day.

I think its cool my aunt and her brothers still have their ancestor's [one of them I believe] Samurai sword. I saw it when I briefly went to Japan. That country is cool except being a white person around a lot of Asians is a strange experience. They are a cool people though and I love that country :cool: I like the Mongol signature I own that film by the way

Problem is ,those Abrahamic cults come with their institutonal add -ons and integrate into culture like a virus ,no way it can be reversed even you don't believe anymore , molded speech from psychology to law ,attached on everything ..These cults forces themselves to state management..and creates worst kind of teocratic oligarch ,even can shake kings ..

Wish Abrahamics were better warriors and didn't need these sinister methods to gain victory on lands ...

[LightHouse89]

Problem is ,those Abrahamic cults come with their institutonal add -ons and integrate into culture like a virus ,no way it can be reversed even you don't believe anymore , molded speech from psychology to law ,attached on everything ..These cults forces themselves to state management..and creates worst kind of teocratic oligarch ,even can shake kings ..

Wish Abrahamics were better warriors and didn't need these sinister methods to gain victory on lands ...

True for a time the Germanic, Celtic, Slavic and Baltic groups use to get along. Once one converted to Christianity it destroyed the others slowly. The Balts and Finns were the last pagan Europeans. How come the Turkish alphabet looks like Germanic runes?

[Kemalisté]

Alevism is heavily influenced by shamanic and tengriist values, so technically it has similarity with Shintoism. I think Japanese people can easily adopt Alevism without much shock. I would like Japanese people to be Alevi, I think it would really suit them.

[Siberian Cold Breeze]

In a novel ,based on Attila ,some Germanic tribes like Gepids were in close relation with Huns (Thomas Mielke )
I don't want to jump to easy conclusions about it but seems like runes were popular by then..

Still I need proper search.. Our runes might be made up by tamga's ( nomadic signs our tribes used to put on their livestock ).
Not sure Germanic ones and Gokturk ones similar or not.Any known research comparing them ?

[LightHouse89]

In a novel ,based on Attila ,some Germanic tribes like Gepids were in close relation with Huns (Thomas Mielke )
I don't want to jump to easy conclusions about it but seems like runes were popular by then..

Still I need proper search.. Our runes might be made up by tamga's ( nomadic signs our tribes used to put on their livestock ).
Not sure Germanic ones and Gokturk ones similar or not.Any known research comparing them ?

Germanic runes were used on property mostly but were used to tell short stories on giant rocks [Rune stones]. Vikings and other Germanic cultures named their swords and axes so if they lost them they could identify them after a battle. They used them for on property markers and I think maybe live stock. Not to sure about livestock though.

[StonyArabia]

Yeah that would make sense, probably the transition from Shintoism to Alevism is not much of a problem since they probably share a lot of similarities. Probably much easier than converting to Christianity or anything that lacks pagan-shamanic universal elements which are no doubt found in Alevism. Very interesting though first time I hear of a such case but also not strange when you really think about it. I think this particular religion will mold very well in the far east.

[Lurker]

This is the first time I ever hear of a Japanese person converting to Islam.

I remember seeing some youtube videos of Japanese women talking about converting (they were wearing scarfs and all the other stuff).

[StonyArabia]

I remember seeing some youtube videos of Japanese women talking about converting (they were wearing scarfs and all the other stuff).

Yes there is a minority of Korean and Japanese Muslims. Though they usually convert mostly to Sunni Islam or mainstream 12er Shias. Islam came to Japan via Kazakh and Tatar immigrants, so their not that unfamiliar with Islam. Also there is large Iranian community in Japan as well which brought Islam and some of them have intermarried with the locals. That said mainstream Islam lacks the Shamanistic/Tengrist influence so it's harder transition then to one like Alevism which is very Shamanistic/Tengristic influenced faith. Some Japanese are married to Middle Eastern men and have converted via marriage. I know an Iraqi guy who is married to a Japanese woman and all the family is Muslim. Islam is a very universal religion, so are it's sects, as this example proves.

[Lurker]

japanese's beliefs are more like Ancient Roman beliefs (being more superstitious rather than religious). Japanese in general believe in ghosts, spirits and all other strange stuff. Don't know islam's attitudes towards beliefs in these creatures.

And nabatea, christianity has a very long history in Japan, going back to the 1550s, San Francis Xavier, the 26 martyrs, etc. Even though only 1% of Japanese are christian nowadays, 8 out of 57 prime ministers were christian. That's a very high number. And 5 of them were Protestant! If not for Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieiasu and the closing of the ports, Japan could be Christian today (like the Phillipines or Korea).

[Yaroslav]

Idiot.

[LightHouse89]

Idiot.

yaroslav sometimes people need hugs........ you need a bear hug! :p

[Petros Houhoulis]

Oh really ? YAY

http://i.imgur.com/JzmWF.jpg

Classify me!

http://images.sodahead.com/polls/002715043/312935561_87824d1322524912_famous_things_californi a_troll_food_answer_1_xlarge.jpeg

Don't forget to pay your tribute either:

http://itsjustpicturs.webs.com/troll%20food.png

[Petros Houhoulis]

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/images/news/201301/n_38086_4.jpg

A Japanese academic, who has been working in Turkey’s eastern province of Tunceli since 2009, has converted to the Alevi strand of Islam, which is also his academic research area.

Hiroki Wakamatsu, 35, from Tunceli University’s Department of Sociology, has spent many years studying Alevism, which is seen as a liberal strain within Islam. His studies focus on religious minorities, secularism, social change among Alevis in Turkey, Kurdish Alevi groups, and Turkish Muslims in Japan.

“While I was trying to find a research subject a teacher of mine suggested that I study Alevi groups in Turkey. Let’s call it destiny or ‘kismet,’ I had the chance to come to Tunceli, which is like a living laboratory for an anthropologist who studies Alevism,” Wakamatsu told Anatolia news agency.
According to him, Turkish and Japanese people share many cultural similarities.

Wakamatsu’s students expressed their admiration for him. “He is a professor who dedicates his life to his students, a perfect scientist,” said 22-year-old Sevgi Aker.

“My life has changed totally after getting to know him, he is so good in his field. Taking classes from a Japanese teacher is amazing,” said 22-year-old Mehmet Karanfil.

Wakamatsu is the vice director of the university’s Alevism Practice and Research Center, and he also teaches anthropology and “Far East Religions.”

He graduated from Tokai University’s Civilization Sciences Department in 1997 and completed his master’s studies at Sophia University in Japan. He was then accepted by Tunceli University to become an associate professor.

Wakamatsu is married to Turkish professor Nursen Wakamatsu, who graduated from the Japanese language and culture department, and they have one child named Deniz Tomoki Wakamatsu.

Along with Japanese, Wakamatsu speaks Turkish, French, Arabic and English.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/japanese-academic-converts-to-alevism.aspx?pageID=238&nid=38086

Wait until 'rrrDOGan finds out. His love of these Atheist Alevis is legendary, like the old ad "Dog, hungry, very fond of children!!!"

[StonyArabia]

Wait until 'rrrDOGan finds out. His love of these Atheist Alevis is legendary, like the old ad "Dog, hungry, very fond of children!!!"

Alevism is not atheistic religion

[Siberian Cold Breeze]

http://itsjustpicturs.webs.com/troll%20food.png


01-02-2013
Outdated troll food...:rolleyes:

[Kemalisté]

Alevism is not atheistic religion

Though many Alevis are atheist. Alevism is generally more of an ethnicity or cultural identity rather than religion, like Judaism.

[Dengizik]

Good, Alevism becomes world-wide known