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Concept
Alawites
Summary
The Alawites (علوية), or pejoratively Nusayris (Nuṣayriyya), are an Arab ethnoreligious group that live primarily in the Levant and follow Alawism, a sect of Islam that originated from Shia Islam. The Alawites venerate Ali ibn Abi Talib, revered as the first Imam in the Twelver school, as the physical manifestation of God. The group is believed to have been founded by Ibn Nusayr during the 9th century. Ibn Nusayr was a disciple of the tenth Twelver Imam, Ali al-Hadi and of the eleventh Twelver Imam, Hasan al-Askari. For this reason, Alawites are also called Nusayris.
Surveys suggest Alawites represent an important portion of the Syrian population and are a significant minority in the Hatay Province of Turkey and northern Lebanon. There is also a population living in the village of Ghajar in the Golan Heights. Alawites form the dominant religious group on the Syrian coast and towns near the coast, which are also inhabited by Sunnis, Christians, and Ismailis. They are often confused with the Alevis, a distinct religious sect in Turkey.
Alawites identify as a separate ethnoreligious group. The Quran is only one of their holy books and texts, and their interpretation thereof has very little in common with the Shia Muslim interpretation but is in accordance with the early Batiniyya and other ghulat sects. Alawite theology and rituals sharply differ from mainstream Shia Islam in several important ways. For instance, various Nusayrite rituals involve the drinking of wine and the sect doesn't prohibit the consumption of alcoholic drinks on its adherents. As a creed that teaches the symbolic/esoteric reading of Qur'anic verses, Nusayrite theology is based on the belief in reincarnation and views Ali as a divine incarnation of God. Moreover, Alawite clergy and scholarship insist that their religion is also theologically distinct from Shi'ism.
Alawites have historically kept their beliefs secret from outsiders and non-initiated Alawites, so rumours about them have arisen. Arabic accounts of their beliefs tend to be partisan (either positively or negatively).
Official source
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