Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Alawites" in English language version.
The state – even "Assadism" – supplanted the Alawite religion as the focus of their identity...To be accepted as leader, Assad had to persuade Sunnis and Alawites alike that Alawites were, in fact, mainstream Muslims... Alawites struck a bargain; they lost their independence and had to accept the myth that they were "good Muslims".. Assadism then filled the gap left by the negation of traditional Alawite identity. The loss of the traditional role of community leaders fragmented Alawites, preventing them from establishing unified positions and from engaging as a community with other Syrian sects – reinforcing sectarian fears and distrust.
They don't necessarily understand or publicly present themselves as 'Arabs', doing so only when it seems politically expedient.
The Alawis are a sect of extremist (ghuluw) Shiism, so called because of their doctrine of the deification of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the nephew of the prophet Muhammad. The movement was founded in the mid-ninth century by Muhammad ibn Nusayr al-Namiri, who also proclaimed that the 10th of the 12 Shiite imams, Ali ibn Hadi, possessed a divine nature. Alawi doctrine is secret, esoteric, and Gnostic in nature.
Alawi doctrine is secret, esoteric, and Gnostic in nature. They believe that Ali ibn Abi Talib is the supreme eternal God...
...for nearly a millennium the term by far most often used in both Oriental and Western sources for this group has been 'Nusayri'.
The Alawite shahada (testimony) is that there is no God but Ali
The Alawites celebrate the Christian festivals of Christmas, Easter, and Epiphany and believe in reincarnation (though not for women).
The state – even "Assadism" – supplanted the Alawite religion as the focus of their identity...To be accepted as leader, Assad had to persuade Sunnis and Alawites alike that Alawites were, in fact, mainstream Muslims... Alawites struck a bargain; they lost their independence and had to accept the myth that they were "good Muslims".. Assadism then filled the gap left by the negation of traditional Alawite identity. The loss of the traditional role of community leaders fragmented Alawites, preventing them from establishing unified positions and from engaging as a community with other Syrian sects – reinforcing sectarian fears and distrust.
They don't necessarily understand or publicly present themselves as 'Arabs', doing so only when it seems politically expedient.
