Alawites are an Arab religious minority in Syria, also found in northern Lebanon and Turkey. Their religion is a blend of Shi’ism, pagan, Gnostic, and Christian elements. They have faced persecution and poverty, but have gained political power in Syria. Their beliefs include rebirth and a triune God. Hafez al-Assad was the first Alawite president of Syria.
An Alawi is an Arab person who lives mainly in the Jubal al-Nusayriyah mountains in northwestern Syria near the Mediterranean Sea. Alawites comprise a sect similar to Shia Islam. Also called Nasayris, they are a politically powerful religious minority in Syria. Arabic-speaking Alawites also inhabit northern Lebanon and Turkey. There are over two million Alawites in the world.
Historically, Alawites have lived in the mountains of Jubal al-Nusayriyah since around 300 BC. After Syria became independent after World War II, Alawite provinces joined Syria. A closed tribal society, Alawites for a long period of their history worked as indentured servants and tenant farmers for Sunni landowners.
Alawites have lived in poverty outside of Syrian culture for hundreds of years. While there is no single ruling family among Alawi tribes, individual Alawites have earned positions of power in the military as officers. After the political upheavals of the 1960s, Alawis finally secured a foothold in government power.
The religion of the Alawites has always been problematic for them. As Syria’s largest religious minority, they were persecuted by the Ottomans until the French gave them limited freedom regarding their religious practices and other affairs. Freedoms were curtailed again in 1936. Many Alawites call themselves Muslims, but most Sunnis do not accept them as true Muslims.
The Alawi religion is secret, and their faith is not discussed with outsiders. It is believed to be a blend of extreme Shi΄a, also called Ghulat, ancient pagan, Gnostic and Christian elements. Although the Alawite religion is sometimes thought to be a sect of Shi’ism, it is a distinct religion.
There are no mosques in the Alawite religion. They maintain both Persian and Christian holy days, celebrating Christmas, Easter and Epiphany. An Alawi attends a ceremony similar to a Catholic mass and believes in a triune God. Although Alawites do not follow the five pillars of Islam, they interpret them allegorically to conform to their own beliefs.
Alawites believe that each person started out as a star in the world of light, but fell to earth through disobedience and became human. Each person must be reborn seven times before they can claim their place among the stars. Sometimes a person is reborn as a Christian until his atonement is complete. People outside the faith come back as animals.
In 1971 Hafez al-Assad became the first Alawite president of Syria. This has eased some of the Alawites’ religious concerns and may also explain the administration’s policy of maintaining an alliance with Shia Iran.
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