Alawism

Alawism
'Alawiyya
Zulfiqar, the legendary sword of Ali, is an important symbol of Alawism
Region	Levant
Language	Arabic
Founder	Ibn Nusayr, Al-Khasibi
Origin	9th-century Iraq
Separated from	Shia Islam
Members	approx. 4 million

Alawism (Arabic: علوية, romanized: ʿAlawiyya), also known as Nusayrism (Arabic: نصيرية, romanized: Nuṣayriyya), is an offshoot of early Shia Islam with influences from ancient Iranian, Christian, and Gnostic traditions. Its adherents, called the Alawites, are estimated to number around 4 million and are primarily concentrated in the Levant. Alawites venerate Ali ibn Abi Talib, the "first imam" in the Twelver school, as a manifestation of the divine essence.

Alawite beliefs are centered in a divine Trinity, comprising three aspects of the one God, the ma'na (meaning), the ism (name), and the bab (door). These emanations are understood to have underwent reincarnation cyclically seven times in human form throughout history, the last seventh incarnation being that of Ali, Muhammad and Salman al-Farisi. Alawite practices include consecration of wine in the form of Mass, entombing the deceased in sarcophagi, observing cultural holidays such as Akitu, Christmas, Nowruz, Mawlid and Gazwela.

The Shrine of Khidr, located near the Syria-Turkey border, is a notable Alawite shrine.

Alawism originated in 9th-century Iraq as a ghulat sect that separated from Shia Islam led by Ibn Nusayr, a preacher from the aristocratic Banu Numayr clan. The Alawites were organized in Aleppo during Hamdanid rule in Syria by al-Khasibi, a missionary who had gained patronage from Emir Sayf al-Dawla (r. 945–967). In the 11th–12th-century, the Alawite community were budded to the Syrian Coastal Mountain Range with the help of the Banu Muhriz. Later, the Alawites faced severe persecution by waves of the Crusaders, Mamluks, and by Ottoman conquerors. In the aftermath of the First World War, the Alawite State was established in coastal Syria. Although the state was later dismantled, Alawite figures continued to play a pivotal role in the Syrian military and later in the Ba'ath Party. The Corrective Movement of 1970 led by Hafez al-Assad, an Alawite, resulted in an establishment of an Alawite-led establishment that continued under his son Bashar al-Assad, who was eventually overthrown during the Syrian civil war.

Alawism is one of the main religious groups in the Middle East, with over 4 million followers. They are primarily located in Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey. Alawism is the third largest-religion in Syria, accounting for 10% of the country. As the only ghulat sect alive, it faces persecution by Islamist extremists.

Etymology

The term Alawite is derived from the Arabic word Alawi, denoting the "followers of Ali". The community historically self-identified as Nusayrites, named after their religious founder Ibn Nusayr. However, the term "Nusayri" had fallen out of currency by the 1920s, as a movement led by intellectuals within the community during the French mandate sought to replace it with "Alawite". The term "Nusayrites" is now sometimes considered a religious slur. Another term applied to the group was Ansari, which, according to Samuel Lyde, was a term that the mid-19th-century Alawites used among themselves. However, others indicate that Ansari is simply a Western error in the transliteration of Nusayri.

The French were known to have popularised the term Alawite. The community also characterised the older name (which implied "a separate ethnic and religious identity") as an "invention of the sect's enemies", ostensibly favouring an emphasis on "connection with mainstream Islam"—particularly the Shia branch. As such, "Nusayrite" is now regarded as antiquated, and has even come to have insulting and abusive connotations. The term was frequently employed as hate speech by Sunni fundamentalists fighting against Bashar al-Assad's government in the Syrian civil war, who use its emphasis on Ibn Nusayr to insinuate that Alawi beliefs are "man-made" and not divinely inspired. Necati Alkan argued in an article that the "Alawi" appellation was used in an 11th-century Nusayri book and was not a 20th-century invention. The following quote from the same article illustrates his point:

"As to the change from "Nuṣayrī" to "ʿAlawī": most studies agree that the term "ʿAlawī" was not used until after WWI and probably coined and circulated by Muḥammad Amīn Ghālib al-Ṭawīl, an Ottoman official and writer of the famous Taʾrīkh al-ʿAlawiyyīn (1924). However, the name 'Alawī' appears in an 11th century Nuṣayrī tract as one of the names of the believer (…). Moreover, the term 'Alawī' was already used at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1903 the Belgian-born Jesuit and Orientalist Henri Lammens (d. 1937) visited a certain Ḥaydarī-Nuṣayrī sheikh Abdullah in a village near Antakya and mentions that the latter preferred the name 'Alawī' for his people. Lastly, it is interesting to note that in the above-mentioned petitions of 1892 and 1909 the Nuṣayrīs called themselves the 'Arab Alawī people' (ʿArab ʿAlevī ṭāʾifesi) 'our ʿAlawī Nuṣayrī people' (ṭāʾifatunā al-Nuṣayriyya al-ʿAlawiyya) or 'signed with Alawī people' (ʿAlevī ṭāʾifesi imżāsıyla). This early self-designation is, in my opinion, of triple importance. Firstly, it shows that the word 'Alawī' was always used by these people, as ʿAlawī authors emphasize; secondly, it hints at the reformation of the Nuṣayrīs, launched by some of their sheikhs in the 19th century and their attempt to be accepted as part of Islam; and thirdly, it challenges the claims that the change of the identity and name from 'Nuṣayrī' to 'ʿAlawī' took place around 1920, in the beginning of the French mandate in Syria (1919–1938)."

The Alawites are distinct from the Alevi sect in Turkey, although the terms share a common etymology and pronunciation. To avoid confusion with the ethnic Turkish and Kurdish Alevis, the Alawites call themselves Arap Alevileri ("Arab Alevis") in Turkish. The term Nusayrī, previously used in theological texts, has been revived in recent studies. A quasi-official name used during the 1930s by Turkish authorities was Eti Türkleri ("Hittite Turks"), to conceal their Arabic origins. Although this term is obsolete, it is still used by some older people as a euphemism.

Beliefs

Alawites and their beliefs have been described as "secretive". Yaron Friedman, for example, in his scholarly work on the sect, has written that the Alawi religious material quoted in his book came only from "public libraries and printed books" since the "sacred writings" of the Alawi "are kept secret".) Some tenets of the faith are kept secret from most Alawi and known only to a select few. They have, therefore, been described as a mystical sect.

Alawite doctrines originated from the teachings of Iraqi priest Muhammad ibn Nusayr who claimed prophethood, declared himself as the "Bāb (Door) of the Imams", and attributed divinity to Hasan al-Askari. Al-Askari denounced Ibn Nusayr, and Islamic authorities expelled his disciples—most of whom emigrated to the Syrian Coastal Mountain Range, wherein they established a distinct community. Nusayri theology treats Ali, the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad, as a manifestation of "the supreme eternal God" and consists of various gnostic beliefs. Alawite doctrine regards the souls of Alawites as re-incarnations of "lights that rebelled against God."

Alawites' beliefs have never been confirmed by their modern religious authorities. As a highly secretive and esoteric sect, Nusayri priests tend to conceal their core doctrines, which are introduced only to a chosen minority of the sect's adherents. Alawites have also adopted the practice of taqiya to avoid victimization.

Theology and practices

Alawite doctrine incorporates elements of Phoenician mythology, Gnosticism, neo-Platonism, Christian Trinitarianism (for example, they celebrate Mass including the consecration of bread and wine); blending them with Muslim symbolism and has, therefore, been described as syncretic.

Alawite Trinity envisions God as being composed of three distinct manifestations, the bab (door), the ism (name) and the ma'na (meaning). which together constitute an "indivisible Trinity". Ma'na symbolises the "source and meaning of all things" in Alawite mythology. According to Alawite doctrines, Ma'na generated the Ism, which in turn built the Bab. These beliefs are closely tied to the Nusayri doctrine of re-incarnations of the Trinity.

The Alawites venerate Ali as the physical manifestation of God. The Alawite testimony of faith (shahada) translates as "there is no God but Ali". The Alawite trinity envisions God as being composed of three distinct manifestations, the bab (door), the ism (name) and the ma'na (meaning); which together constitute an "indivisible trinity". Ma'na symbolises the "source and meaning of all things" in Alawite mythology. According to Alawite doctrines, Ma'na generated the Ism, which in turn built the Bab. These beliefs are closely tied to the Alawite doctrine of reincarnations of the trinity. The final trinity of reincarnation in the Alawite trinity consists of Ali (Ma'na), Muhammad (Ism) and Salman the Persian (Bab). Alawites depict them as the sky, sun and moon respectively. Alawites deify Ali as the "last and supreme manifestation of God" who built the universe, attribute to him divine superiority, and believe that Ali created Muhammad and gave him the mission to spread Qur'anic teachings on earth.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World classifies Alawites as part of extremist Shia sects referred to as the ghulat which are unrelated to Sunni Islam; owing to the secretive nature of the Alawite religious system and hierarchy. Due to their esoteric doctrines of strict secrecy, conversions into the community were also forbidden.

Alawites do not believe in daily Muslim prayers (salah). The central tenet of the Alawite is their belief of Ali ibn Abi Talib being an incarnation of God. The Alawite testimony of faith is translated as "There is no God but Ali."

Reincarnation

Alawites hold that they were originally stars or divine lights that were cast out of heaven through disobedience and must undergo repeated reincarnation (or metempsychosis) before returning to heaven. According to Alawite beliefs, females are excluded from re-incarnation.

Alawite theologians divided history into seven eras, associating each era with one of the seven re-incarnations of the Alawite Trinity (Ma'na, Ism, Bab). The seven re-incarnations of the Trinity in the Alawite faith can be summarized in the following table.

The seven eras in Alawite theology

Era	Ma'na (Meaning)	Ism (Name)	Bab (Gate)
1	Abel	Adam	Gabriel
2	Seth	Noah	Yail ibn Fatin
3	Joseph	Jacob	Ham ibn Kush
4	Joshua	Moses	Dan ibn Usbaut
5	Asaph	Solomon	Abd Allah ibn Siman
6	Simon Peter	Jesus	Rawzaba ibn al-Marzuban
7	Ali	Muhammad	Salman al-Farisi

The last triad of reincarnations in the Nusayri Trinity consists of Ali (Ma'na), Muhammad (Ism), and Salman al-Farsi (Bab). Alawites depict them as the sky, the sun, and the moon, respectively. They deify Ali as the "last and supreme manifestation of God" who built the universe, attributing him with divine superiority and believing that Ali created Muhammad, bestowing upon him the mission to spread Qur'anic teachings on earth.

The Israeli institution of Begin–Sadat Center for Strategic Studies describes the Alawite faith as Judeophilic and "anti-Sunni" since they believe that God's incarnations consist of Israelite Prophet Joshua who conquered Canaan, in addition to the fourth Caliph, Ali. This institution also denies the Arab ethnicity of Alawites even though Alawites themselves self-identify ethnically as Arabs and assert that Alawites claim to be Arabs because of "political expediency."

Other beliefs

An Alawite man in Latakia, early 20th century.

Other beliefs and practices include: the consecration of wine in a secret form of Mass performed only by males; frequently being given Christian names; entombing the dead in sarcophagi above ground; observing Epiphany, Christmas and the feast days of John Chrysostom and Mary Magdalene; the only religious structures they have are the shrines of tombs; the book Kitab al-Majmu, which is supposedly a central source of Alawite doctrine, where they have their own trinity, comprising Muhammad, Ali, and Salman the Persian.

In addition, they celebrate different holidays such as Gazwela, Akitu, Eid al-Ghadir, Mid-Sha'ban and Eid il-Burbara. They also believe in intercession of certain legendary saints such as Khidr (Saint George) and Simeon Stylites.

Development

Further information: Al-Khasibi, Ibn Nusayr, and Schools of Islamic theology § ‘Alawism

Yaron Friedman and many researchers of Alawi doctrine write that the founder of the religion, Ibn Nusayr, did not necessarily believe he was representative of a splinter, rebel group of the Shias, but believed he held the true doctrine of the Shias and most of the aspects that are similar to Christianity are considered more a coincidence and not a direct influence from it, as well as other external doctrines that were popular among Shia esoteric groups in Basra in the 8th century. According to Friedman and other scholars, the Alawi movement started as many other mystical ghulat sects with an explicit concentration on an allegorical and esoteric meaning of the Quran and other mystical practices, and not as a pure syncretic sect, though later, they embraced some other practices, as they believed all religions had the same Batin core.

Journalist Robert F. Worth argues that the idea that the Alawi religion as a branch of Islam is a rewriting of history made necessary by the French colonialists' abandonment of the Alawi and departure from Syria. Worth describes the "first ... authentic source for outsiders about the religion", written by Soleyman of Adana – a 19th-century Alawi convert to Christianity who broke his oath of secrecy on the religion, explaining that the Alawi, according to Soleyman, deified Ali, venerated Christ, Muhammad, Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle, and held themselves apart from Muslims and Christians, whom they considered heretics. According to Tom Heneghan:

Alawite religion is often called “an offshoot of Shi’ism,” Islam’s largest minority sect, but that is something like referring to Christianity as “an offshoot of Judaism.” Alawites broke away from Shi’ism over 1,000 years ago.

Alawite children in Antioch, now in Turkey, 1938.

According to a disputed letter, in 1936, six Alawi notables petitioned the French colonialists not to merge their Alawi enclave with the rest of Syria, insisting that "the spirit of hatred and fanaticism embedded in the hearts of the Arab Muslims against everything that is non-Muslim has been perpetually nurtured by the Islamic religion." However, according to associate professor Stefan Winter, this letter is a forgery. According to Worth, later fatwas declaring Alawi to be part of the Shia community were by Shia clerics "eager for Syrian patronage" from Syria's Alawi president Hafez al-Assad, who was eager for Islamic legitimacy in the face of the hostility of Syria's Muslim majority.

Yaron Friedman does not suggest that Alawi did not consider themselves Muslims but does state that:

The modern period has witnessed tremendous changes in the definition of the ʿAlawīs and the attitude towards them in the Muslim world. ... In order to end their long isolation, the name of the sect was changed in the 1920s from Nusạyriyya to ʿAlawiyya'. By taking this step, leaders of the sect expressed not only their link to Shīʿism, but to Islam in general.

According to Peter Theo Curtis, the Alawi religion underwent a process of "Sunnification" during the years under Hafez al-Assad's rule so that Alawites became not Shia but effectively Sunni. Public manifestations or "even mentioning of any Alawite religious activities" were banned, as were any Alawite religious organizations, and "any formation of a unified religious council" or a higher Alawite religious authority. "Sunni-style" mosques were built in every Alawite village, and Alawis were encouraged to perform Hajj. It's also worth noting that the grand mosque in Qardaha, the hometown of the Assad family, being dedicated to Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq who is venerated by Sunnis but not Shi'ites.

Islamic opinions

The Alawites have historically regarded themselves a separate religious group. Similarly, classical Shia Muslims and Sunni Muslims considered Alawism to be out of the fold of Islam. Syrian historian Ibn Kathir categorized Alawites as non-Muslim and mushrikeen (polytheists), in their writings. Ibn Taymiyya, Ibn Kathir's mentor and arguably the most polemical anti-Alawite Sunni theologian, categorised Alawite as non-Muslims and listed them amongst the worst sects of polytheists. Through many of his fatawa, Ibn Taymiyya described Alawites as "the worst enemies of the Muslims" who were far more dangerous than Crusaders and Mongols. Ibn Taymiyya also accused Alawites of aiding the Crusades and Mongol invasions against the Muslim World. Other Sunni scholars, such as Al-Ghazali, likewise considered them as non-Muslims. Benjamin Disraeli, in his novel Tancred, also expressed the view that Alawites are not Shia Muslims.

Twelver Shia scholars (such as Shaykh Tusi) did not consider Alawites as Shia Muslims while condemning their heretical beliefs.

However, during the Ba'athist rule, Hafez al-Assad and his son and successor Bashar al-Assad pressed their fellow Alawites "to behave like 'regular Muslims', shedding (or at least concealing) their distinctive aspects". During the early 1970s, a booklet, al-'Alawiyyun Shi'atu Ahl al-Bait ("The Alawites are Followers of the Household of the Prophet") was published, which was "signed by numerous 'Alawi' men of religion", described the doctrines of the Imami Shia as Alawite. The relationship between Alawite-ruled Ba'athist Syria and Khomeinist Iran has been described as a "marriage of convenience" due to the former being ruled by the ultra-secularist Arab Socialist Ba'ath party and the latter by the anti-secular Twelver Shi'ite clergy. The alliance was established during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, when Hafez al-Assad backed Iran against his Iraqi Ba'athist rivals, departing from the consensus of the rest of the Arab world. Iranian-backed militant groups like Hezbollah, Fatemeyoun, etc., have been acting as proxy forces for the Assad regime in various conflicts in the region, such as the Lebanese Civil War, the 2006 Lebanon War and the Syrian civil war.

Alawi women in Syria, early 20th century

Some sources have discussed the "Sunnification" of Alawites under the al-Assad regime. Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies, writes that Hafiz al-Assad "tried to turn Alawites into 'good' (read Sunnified) Muslims in exchange for preserving a modicum of secularism and tolerance in society". On the other hand, Al-Assad "declared the Alawites to be nothing but Twelver Shiites". In a paper, "Islamic Education in Syria", Landis wrote that "no mention" is made in Syrian textbooks (controlled by the Al-Assad regime) of Alawites, Druze, Ismailis or Shia Islam; Islam was presented as a monolithic religion. Alawism currently number around 4 million in the world.

Bibliography

• "Erdogan, Iran, Syrian Alawites, and Turkish Alevis". The Weekly Standard. 29 March 2012. Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
• Procházka-Eisl, Gisela; Procházka, Stephan (2010). The Plain of Saints and Prophets: The Nusayri-Alawi Community of Cilicia (Southern Turkey) and Its Sacred Places. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 978-3-447-06178-0.
• "The Politics of Sectarian Insecurity: Alawite 'Asabiyya and the Rise and Decline of the Asad Dynasty of Syria - University of Otago". www.otago.ac.nz.
• "The 'secretive sect' in charge of Syria". BBC. 17 May 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
• "Syria's Alawites, a secretive and persecuted sect". Reuters. 2 February 2012. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
• Howse, Christopher (5 August 2011). "Secretive sect of the rulers of Syria". The Daily Telegraph.
• Alkan, Necati (2012). Fighting for the Nuṣayrī Soul: State, Protestant Missionaries and the ʿAlawīs in the Late Ottoman Empire. Die Welt des Islams, 52.
• al-Tamimi, Aymenn Jawad (24 January 2013). "Anti-Islamism in an Islamic Civil War". The American Spectator. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
• Ayse Baltacioglu-Brammer (November 2013). "Alawites and the Fate of Syria". Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective. The Ohio State University. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
• Carlos BC, Juan (9 December 2021). "The Assad Family Has Been Shaping Syria for 50 Years". Fair Observer. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021.
• Landis, Joshua (15 December 2013). "Zahran Alloush: His Ideology and Beliefs". Syria Comment. Archived from the original on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
• Atwan, Abdel Bari (2015). Islamic State: The Digital Caliphate. Oakland: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-28928-4.
• Cosman, Madeleine Pelner; Jones, Linda Gale (2009). "The Nusayriyya Alawis". Handbook to Life in the Medieval World, 3-Volume Set. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4381-0907-7.
• Clymer, R. Swinburne (1 April 2003). Initiates and The People Part 2, May 1929 to June 1930. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7661-5376-9.
• Friedman, Yaron (2010). The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs : An Introduction to the Religion, History and Identity of the Leading Minority in Syria (PDF). Islamic History and Civilization. Vol. 77. Leiden, Boston: Brill. doi:10.1163/ej.9789004178922.i-328. ISBN 978-90-04-178922. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
• Ismail, Raihan (2016). Saudi Clerics and Shī'a Islam. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-023331-0.
• Moosa, Matti (1987). Extremist Shiites: The Ghulat Sects (1st ed.). Syracuse University Press. ISBN 0-8156-2411-5.
• Nisan, Mordechai (2002). "6: Alawites: To Power and the Unknown". Minorities in the Middle East (2nd ed.). McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-1375-1.
• Pipes, Daniel (1992). Greater Syria. Oxford University Press. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-19-536304-3. "Every village built a mosque far from the houses, which the villagers neither enter nor maintain. They often shelter cattle and asses in it. Often a stranger arrives and goes to the mosque to recite the [Islamic] call to prayer; then they yell to him, 'Stop braying, your fodder is coming.' " [Ibn Battuta]
• van Dam, Nikolaos (2017). "Introduction: Greater Syria or Bilad al-Sham". Destroying a Nation: The Civil War in Syria. New York, USA: I. B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-78453-797-5.