The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought

‘Alawis

‘Alawis are a religious group who live in the southeast of Turkey and Lebanon, as well as in Syria, where they are both the largest religious minority and the ruling political elite. They emerged as a distinct religious movement in the tenth-century Shi‘i milieu of Iraq and were later transplanted to Syria. During the French mandate of Syria after World War I, the French army included large numbers of ‘Alawis, whose military experience enabled them to take power in Syria after France’s withdrawal.

The name of the sect (Arabic, ‘Alawī) refers to their deification of the first Shi‘i imam ‘Ali b. Abi Talib (d. 661). Originally, however, they were called Nusayris, after their eponymous founder Muhammad b. Nusayr, who lived in the second half of the ninth century. He was succeeded by Husayn al-Khusaybi (d. 957 or 969), who played an important role in the formulation of the Nusayri doctrine. ‘Alawi teachings were preserved in a considerable number of medieval and early modern treatises written by members of the sect, together with accounts of its critics.

Before the second half of the 20th century, ‘Alawis never held political power, so their doctrines pay little attention to the state and politics, mainly focusing on the supernatural realm and man’s relation to it. The core of their belief is the divine nature of ‘Ali, who in different texts is depicted as either God or His manifestation in human form. The creation of the human race is followed by their sin, causing them to fall from the luminous divine realm into the evil material world. However, virtuous believers are able to return to the divine realm along a path (ṣirāṭ) that includes numerous degrees of spiritual perfection. Conversely, the sinful are punished by being reborn into other human bodies (naskh), or worse, by undergoing transformation (musūkhiyya) into animals, plants, and inanimate objects, according to the degree of their sins.

God is imagined as a triad, consisting of the supreme member called Meaning (ma‘nā) and His two emanations—His Name (ism), also called Veil (ḥijāb), and His Gate (bāb). The Meaning is utterly transcendent. His first emanation has two functions: to name and conceal Him, hence his two epithets, Name and Veil. The second emanation, the Gate, is called so because he serves as a link between the Meaning and the believers. The divinity’s three aspects are not completely detached from the world of humans but appear to them from time to time in the form of various persons. Most commonly, they appeared to humans in the forms of, respectively, ‘Ali, the Prophet Muhammad, and Salman al-Farisi, Muhammad’s well-known Companion. Besides the triad, there are a number of other spiritual beings, the most important of whom are the five Unique Ones (aytām, sing. yatīm) who have emanated from the three divine persons.

The three personifications of God are manifested in the material world in seven historical cycles, called Domes (qibāb, sing. qubba), centered on the persons of biblical and Islamic characters, including prophets and imams. The present cycle is called the qubba Muḥammadiyya, referring to the Prophet Muhammad. Some ‘Alawi authors have viewed human history as finite. Thus, according to a 19th-century catechism, at the end of time ‘Ali will appear to free the souls of believers from their graves and return them to the luminous realm. But others believe that the cycles are endless: this world will come to an end, but another will be created thereafter. Despite the numerous common elements between ‘Alawi teachings and mainstream Islam (especially in its Shi‘i form), many of their beliefs have appeared scandalous to both Shi‘i and Sunni Muslims, who have consistently accused them of heresy and immoral practices. Charges of heresy and the lack of political power led ‘Alawis to view secrecy as an essential part of their belief and a condition for belonging to the community. Divulging religious secrets to outsiders became equal to unbelief and led to banishment.