The Religion of the Syrian Alawites, Or the Nuşairis
.· ALEVI IDENTITY CULTURAL, RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES Papers Read at a Conference Helci at the Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul, November 25-27, 1996 Edited by Tord Olsson, Elisabetb Özdalga and Catbarina Raudvere SWED ISH RESEARCH INSTITUTE IN ISTANBUL TRANSACTIONS VOL. 8 .· The Gnosis of. Mountaineers and Townspeople. ·The Religion of the Syrian Alawites, or the Nuşairis TORDOLSSON T he Syrian Nuşairls, or the Alawites ('Alawiün), as they are presently called, are an ethnic and religious minority group of great interest taday, not least politicaily.The majority of the Syrian people are Sunni Muslims, but the leading stratum of the Ba'th party and the politicaily important corps of officers consis~ of Alawites, among them the most powerful men in Syria, such as the president of the Republic, I:Hif4 al-Asad, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Anned Forces. Members of his family have played, and play, a prominent role in the politicallife of the country, such as his brother Rif'at, who has been the Commander of Sariiyti d-Difti', the Defence Units that surraund Damascus and control its access routes; further his brother Janül al Asad, who has bad anather leading position within the defence forces that are respon sible for the security of the Alawites, and his cousin 'Adnan al-Asad, who has been Commander of the Struggle Units, Saraya ş-Şirti'. The turns and alterations of Syrian politics often consist of transfers and regroup ings of persons in the Asad family. Recently (January 1997), Janül al-Asad has been transferred to Geneva, and I:I~ al-Asad's son Bashar al-Asad has gained reputation as the coming man, and is the object of considerable massmedial speculation.
[Show full text]