History, culture and faith of the Alawites, the lords of the Syrian coast and always considered a religion in its own right
The Alawites, an introduction
The Alawites are an ethnoreligious group of Shiite origin who live mainly in the coastal cities of Syria (especially Latakia and its surroundings), also representing a minority in the province of Hatay in Turkey (where they are mostly called Nusayri), in the far north of Lebanon and in some villages between the Golan Heights and Lebanon itself.
Although officially linked to the Shiite world, many of their beliefs and convictions have led them over the centuries to perceive themselves as autonomous and largely detached from the rest of the world’s Shiites, placing them in a position similar to that of the Druze. Although their origins date back to the 9th century, their importance has grown exponentially over the last century, as many of the coups that shook Syria in the 20th century were carried out by Alawites, and the Assad dynasty itself belongs to this faith.
Ibn Nusayr and the Origins of the Alawites
The Alawite epic began way back in the 9th century thanks to Ibn Nusayr, a follower of Ali al-Hadi and Hasan al-Askari, the 10th and 11th Shiite imams, respectively. The split between the Twelver Shiites (the most widespread sect in the world and practiced, for example, in Iran) and the future Alawites occurred precisely following the deaths of Ibn Nusayr’s two teachers. Ibn Nusayr claimed that the two had appointed him as spokesman for the 12th imam (for Shiites, the latter is hidden from the rest of the world and will appear on the Day of Judgment), but his claims were not accepted by the rest of the Shiite clergy, forcing him and his followers to live in hiding.
Ibn Nusayr’s successor, Al Khasibi, is particularly important because, in addition to precisely organizing the new Shiite movement, he was also the one who shifted its center of influence from Iraq to Syria, establishing its base in Aleppo, thanks in part to his deep ties with the Hamdanids, one of the greatest Aleppo dynasties of all time. This proximity allowed the Alawite faith to expand, especially in northern Syria; however, it would take almost 100 years before they settled in Latakia, today their largest global center.
From the arrival on the coast to the Ottomans
It was in fact Abu Sa’id Maymun al-Tabarani who brought the Alawites to the Syrian coast for the first time in 1032, where they would find their permanent home and stability. This was also facilitated by the fact that at the time there was already a significant Shiite presence and that many of the beliefs present in their faith today (such as reincarnation) were already present in the region, so much so that, within a few decades, a large part of the region became Alawite.
Worth mentioning is their very particular relationship with the Crusaders, who, having arrived here around 1097, initially persecuted them, but then, realizing their differences from other Muslims, began employing them permanently in their ranks, just like the Maronites. Contrary to what one might think, the first real tensions arose not so much with the Arab or Christian world, but with the Ottoman one.
The government of the Sublime Porte, in fact, maintained a certain distrust towards this faith for a long time, even giving rise to several persecutions confined mainly to the area around Aleppo; it was only at the beginning of the 19th century that the situation began to change, favoring a significant rapprochement between the Alawites and Istanbul.
The French Mandate and the Dawn of Independent Syria
With the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the subsequent French Mandate over Syria and Lebanon, the latter proved to be among the populations most supportive of the new rulers, partly due to the creation of the first Alawite state in history. The French plan was to further fragment the territory by creating ethnically based microstates, and while the majority of Syrian Sunnis viewed this with disdain, the Alawites saw it as an opportunity to finally emerge as an autonomous entity.
This independence sentiment was also linked to the extreme poverty that plagued the population; it is no coincidence that the majority of them were not landowners, but rather peasants, often forced to work as laborers on the vast Sunni estates, who at the time represented the ruling class even in the city of Latakia.
The Alawite state was, however, officially reincorporated into the newly formed Syrian Republic in 1937 and this, combined with Turkey’s annexation of Hatay in 1939, generated among the Alawites a desire for revenge that would lead some of them to change the fate of Syria forever.
Ba’athist Syria
I don’t believe this article is the right place to recount the rise of the Ba’athist regime, especially since there’s a serious risk of associating an entire population with the crimes committed by one particular family. Several members of that party, including Hafez al-Assad, were Alawites, and it’s undeniable that they gained access to previously undreamed-of positions and opportunities. However, it’s also clear that in this case, even more than religious affiliation, it was loyalty to the Assads that made the real difference.
However, it is precisely for these reasons that, as I am writing this article, hundreds of Alawites have been massacred in the province of Latakia and it is therefore essential to give at least a summary of how the role of many of them changed under the long Assad dictatorship.
The fatwa on the Alawites
Beyond an obvious choice to favor the latter economically and militarily, the true revolution brought about by the Assads in the long run would paradoxically be religious. In 1971, Hafez al-Assad took control of Syria, but at the time the constitution stipulated that the president’s religion must be Sunni Islam; even after the adjective “Sunni” was abolished, the problem remained, and because this creed is often seen as a separate entity rather than a branch of Islam.
To resolve this problem, in 1974 Hafez al-Assad used his political clout to push Musa al-Sadr, the founder of the Lebanese Amal party, to issue a fatwa officially and unequivocally declaring Alawism a branch of Shiite Islam. While this clearly benefited the Assad dictatorship, especially given its alliance with Iran, it also led many Alawites to view Tehran’s moves with even greater suspicion.
Although they are undoubtedly closer to the Shiites in history and philosophy, Alawism has always maintained its own identity and characteristics distinct from the Shiism practiced in Iran, and the regime’s proximity to that country has led to an increasingly evident shift towards such practices, something not always welcomed by many of them, who fear that their peculiarities will be absorbed by Tehran’s Islam.
The Alawite religion
The Alawite faith is extremely difficult to identify because, like that of the Druze or Yazidis, their sacred texts are not accessible to everyone, but only to a select few. This makes it extremely difficult to establish with certainty what their true beliefs are. Furthermore, it is nearly impossible to convert to this religion, as only certain aspects of it are made known.
One of the most striking characteristics is their absolute adoration of Ali ibn Abu Talib, a figure of primary importance especially in Shiite Islam, who is seen here as a true incarnation of God himself; the theme of reincarnation is a distinctive feature of this faith and fundamental to their concept of the Trinity.
According to the Alawites, God is composed of three distinct manifestations (Ma’na, meaning “meaning,” Ism, meaning “name,” and Bab, meaning “door”), and throughout history, God has reincarnated seven times in three different manifestations, the most notable of which is Ali for the Ma’na, Muhammad (pbuh) for the Ism, and Salma al-Farsi for the Bab. Furthermore, the Alawite religion has a strong internal syncretism that has allowed it over the centuries to develop traditions akin to various philosophies and faiths, among which several points of contact with the Christian world stand out.
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