Alevi as European Islam?

A Danish author, Henrik Nordbrandt (who’s not himself a Muslim), living in Turkey has suggested that the Alevi branch of Islam could function as the grain around which a European/modern form of moderate Islam could be formed. There are some 20-30 millions Alevi Muslims, mostly in Turkey.

Would that be possible? Or are they considered outcast by other Muslims?

I guess… one of the big problems with that, though, is that Alevi are Twelver Shi’ites. Most Muslims are Sunni.

Are the Alevi related to the Alawi of Syria?

Not directly, as far as I know, except that they both come out of the Shi’a tradition. The Syrian Alawis come from the teachings of ibn Nusayer, and added a bunch of Christian and native pagan beliefs to Islam.

The Turkish Alevis are a predominately Kurdish group that draws from various Sufi groups and traditional Turkish beliefs and folkcustoms.

This sounds about as plausible as a left-wing group in America suggesting that Unitarianism be promoted as a way of combatting the religious right.

What makes you think an Islamic fundamentalist Arab living in Copenhagen or Amsterdam is going to be eager to abandon his beliefs to embrace the “softer” Islam secular Europeans prefer? And why would he care that secular Europeans prefer it?