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DEFINITIONS
OF THE NAME: ALAWI, ALAWITE, etc.
Alawites
Definition: One of a Syrian Islamic sect who
believe in the divinity of Ali, the brother
of
Mohammed.
Alawites ... Arabic: calawî (sing.), calawîya
(pl.) ... Alawites have often been in conflict with the rulers as
well as other Muslims, who often
have...
From: http://www.lexicorient.com/e.o/alawites.htm
Alternate Spellings: Alawai,
Alawis
Meaning "of Ali" in Arabic, the Alawites are a sect of
Shii Muslims who live in Syria. Alawites consider
themselves Muslim, though they incorporate tenets that fall
outside orthodox Islam. Foremost among these is a belief
that Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, was
an incarnation of the deity and that praying in the name
of Ali
is the only way to communicate with Allah.
Many members of the ruling political party of Syria
are Alawites, including President Bashar al-Assad.
Alawites also live in
parts of Turkey and Lebanon.
Alawites -
a Brief History
Syrian President Hafez Assad comes from the Alawite
religious
minority which, though considered a sect of Shiite Islam,
bears little
resemblance to Islam in doctrine or practice. The secretive
faith -- in
name indicating followers of Ali, son-in-law of Islam's
founding
Prophet Mohammed -- also combines elements of Christianity
and
astrology. It is believed to date to the 9th
century.
Alawites, unlike
Muslims and Christians, believe women do not
have
souls. Astrological phenomena also takes on special meaning.
There
is a belief, for example, that the Milky Way is made up of
deified souls
of believers.
Alawites are estimated to number in the hundreds of
thousands,
living mainly in Syria, where they account for about 6
percent of the
17 million population, but also in Lebanon and
Turkey.
A Look at Alawite Religious Sect, Las Vegas Sun/AP, June 12,
2000
The Alawites, at about 1.5 million strong in Syria and
representing
about 12 percent of the country's population, are considered
by some
to be a distant offshoot of the Shiite branch of Islam. Most
members
of the sect live in Syria, although there are scattered
communities in
Turkey as well.
Their belief system has been a matter of speculation, rumor
and
suspicion from more orthodox Muslims of both the Shiite and
Sunni
sects almost from their beginnings in the ninth century, when
the
branch was founded by a man named Ibn Nusayr, who
declared
himself the gateway to
truth.
Only a small group within the sect are initiated into Alawite
rituals
and doctrine. But researchers who have studied the group say
they
drink
wine in some ceremonies, incorporate elements of
Phoenician
paganism, and hold that Ali, the son-in-law of the
Prophet
Muhammad, is a divine. All of that is anathema to
conventional Islam.
Assad Patronage Puts a Small Sect on Top in Syria, New York
Times,
June 22, 2000
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