18 Facts About Alawites

Alawites have historically kept their beliefs secret from outsiders and non-initiated Alawites, so rumours about them have arisen.

The Alawite State was later dismantled, but the Alawites continued to be a significant part of the Syrian Armed Forces.

Alawites are distinct from the Alevi religious sect in Turkey, although the terms share a common etymology and pronunciation.

Alawites were later organised during Hamdanid rule in northern Syria by a follower of Muhammad ibn Nusayr known as al-Khasibi, who died in Aleppo about 969, after a rivalry with the Ishaqiyya sect, which claimed to have the doctrine of Ibn Nusayr.

The 19th century historian Elias Saleh described the Alawites as living in a "state of ignorance" and having the negative traits of "laziness, lying, deceitfulness, inclination to robbery and bloodshed, and backstabbing".

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Alawites's forces entered al-Ali's village of Al-Shaykh Badr, arresting many Alawi leaders; however, Al-Ali fled to the north.

French Mandate Administration encouraged Alawites to join their military forces, in part to provide a counterweight to the Sunni majority.

Alawites was executed by the Syrian government in Damascus on 12 December 1946, only three days after a political trial.

Alawites faced significant danger during the Syrian Civil War; particularly from Islamic groups who were a part of the opposition, though often denied by secular oppositionists.

Alawites tend to conceal their beliefs due to historical persecution.

Alawites hold that they were originally stars or divine lights that were cast out of heaven through disobedience and must undergo repeated reincarnation before returning to heaven.

Alawites have traditionally lived in the Coastal Mountain Range, along the Mediterranean coast of Syria.

Those Alawites are concentrated in the Latakia region of Syria, extending north to Antioch, Turkey, and in and around Homs and Hama.

In Cukurova, Alawites are known as Fellah and Arabusagi by the Sunni population.

In 1939, the Alawites accounted for some 40 percent of the population of the province of Iskenderun.

Turkish Alawites traditionally speak the same dialect of Levantine Arabic as Syrian Alawites.

Alawites are prominent in the sectors of transportation and commerce and a large, professional middle class has emerged.

However, according to Al-Marsad, Alawites were forced to undergo a process of naturalisation.