Alevism (Alevilik) ) is a group identity which is variously interpreted as

The size of the Alevi population is likewise disputed, but most estimates place them somewhere between ten and twenty million people, primarily in Turkey.

Alevi worship and other social activities takes place in assembly houses (cemevi). The ceremony (âyîn-i cem, or simply cem) features music and dance (sema) in which both women and men participate. Rituals are performed in Turkish, Zazaki, and other local languages--not in Arabic, as in other Muslim groups.

"Alevi" is generally explained^{[by whom?]} as referring to ‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib, the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad. The name represents a Turkish form of ‘Alawī (Arabic: علوي‎) "of or pertaining to ‘Alī".

Even though the term Alevi is simply the Turkish derived form of Arabic ‘Alawī, the Arab form of the term today refers to the distinct group of the Arabic-speaking ‘Alawī of Syria.

Alevi used to be grouped as Kızılbaş ("redheads"), a generic term used by Sunni Muslims in the Ottoman Empire for the various Shi'a sects from the 15th century. Many other names exist (often for subgroupings), among them Tahtacı "Woodcutters", Abdal "Bards" and Çepni.^{[citation needed]}