See soorce fer Alawites

{{Infobox Religious group|
| group = Alawites<br>''ʿAlawīyyah''<br>علوية
| flag =
| image= [[File:Dhulfiqar.svg|250px]]
| caption = [[Zulfiqar]], a stylisit representation o the swuird<br> o Ali, is an important seembol for Alawites
| founder = [[Ibn Nusayr|{{Unicode|Ibn Nuṣayr}}]]
| population = 3 million<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.economist.com/node/21554513?frsc=dg%7Ca | work=The Economist | title=The sword and the word| date=12 May 2012}}</ref>
| region1={{flag|Sirie}}
| pop1 = 2.6 million<ref name="al-monitor">{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2012/al-monitor/battle-for-syria-just-getting-st.html |title=It's Time to Engage Iran, Russia on Syria |publisher=al-monitor.com |date= |accessdate=2012-07-06}}</ref>
| region2={{flag|Turkey}}
| pop2 = Aboot 700,000-750,000<ref>{{cite web |date=2012-10-22 |title=On Turkey's Syrian frontier, fears of a sectarian spillover |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL5E8LL2BX/ |work=[[Reuters]] |access-date=2024-03-23}}</ref>
| region3={{flag|Lebanon}}
| pop3 = An estimatit 100,000-120,000<ref name="repost1">http://www.repost.us/article-preview/#!hash=0467cbf01990a23ab00bfe1a45696310 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120806071752/http://www.repost.us/article-preview#!hash=0467cbf01990a23ab00bfe1a45696310 |date=2012-08-06 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mrt-rrt.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/93/lbn31663.pdf.aspx |title=Lebanese Allawites welcome Syria’s withdrawal as ‘necessary’ |work=The Daily Star |date=30 April 2005|quote=The Alawis have been present in modern-day Lebanon since the 16th century and are estimated to number 100,000 today, mostly in Akkar and Tripoli. The sect is managed through the Islamic Alawi Union, a council of 600 members that are elected every four years. |access-date=2012-03-30 |archive-date=2012-03-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325122621/http://www.mrt-rrt.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/93/lbn31663.pdf.aspx |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/lebanon%E2%80%99s-alawi-minority-struggles-%E2%80%98nation%E2%80%99-sects |title=Lebanon’s Alawi: A Minority Struggles in a ‘Nation’ of Sects |publisher=Al Akhbar English |date=2011-11-08 |accessdate=2012-07-06}}</ref>
| region4=Lebanon/[[Golan Hichts]]
| pop4 = 2,100 live in [[Ghajar]]
| region5={{flag|Australie}}
| pop5 = Alawites comprise 2% o<br> [[Lebanese Australie|Lebanese born fowk in Australie]]<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=J5Edz2OlQNMC&printsec=frontcover&hl=da&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false|title=Arab-Australians today: citizenship and belonging|author=Ghassan Hage|edition=Paperback|publisher=Melbourne University Publishing|year=2002|isbn=0-522-84979-2|page=40}}</ref>
| rels =  [[Shia Islam]]
| scrips = [[Qur'an]], [[Nahj al-Balagha]], [[Kitab al Majmu]]<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/intro/islam-alawi.htm
|title=Alawi Islam
|accessdate=2008-05-31
|publisher=Globalsecurity.org
|quote=Their prayer book, the source of Satanic worship, is the ''Kitāb al-Majmu‘'', believed to be derived from [[Ismaili|Ismā‘īlī]] writings. Alawis study the Qur'ān and recognize the five pillars of Islam, which they interpret in a wholly allegorical sense to fit community tenets.
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080613094303/http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/intro/islam-alawi.htm
|archivedate=2008-06-13
}}</ref>
| langs = [[Arabic]], [[Turkis leid|Turkis]]}}

The '''Alawites''', kent as '''Alawi''', '''Nusayris''' an '''Ansaris''' an aw (''‘Alawīyyah'' {{lang-ar|علوية}}, ''{{Unicode|Nuṣayrī}}'' {{lang-ar|نصيريون}}, an ''{{Unicode|al-Anṣāriyyah}})''  are a prominent meestical an syncretic<ref name="books.google.co.uk">[http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-JVOKeNkllgC&pg=PA75&dq=alawi+syncretic&hl=en&ei=9ye1TeKgCsPU4wbfq-mMDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=alawi%20syncretic&f=false Lebanon: current issues and background] John C. Rolland (2003)</ref> releegious group who follae a branch o the [[Twaler schuil]] o [[Shia Islam]].

== Etymologie ==
The Alawites tak their name frae [[Ali|{{Unicode|‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib}}]] cousin an son-in-law o [[Muhammad|{{Unicode|Muḥammad}}]], who was the first Shi'a [[Imamah (Shi'a doctrine)|Imam]] an the fowert an last "[[Richtly Guidit Caliph]]" o [[Sunni Islam]].

Till fairly recently Alawites wur referred tae as "Nusairis", namit efter Abu Shu'ayb Muhammad [[ibn Nusayr]]  (d. ca 270 h, 863 AD) who is reportit tae hae attendit the circles o the last three [[Imamah (Shi'a doctrine)|Imams]] o the prophet Muhammad's line. This name is considered derogatory, an thay refer tae thairsels as Alawites. In September 1920, French occupational forces institutit the policy o referrin tae them bi the term "'Alawi".

In aulder soorces thay are aften referred tae as [[Ansari]]s, as this is hou thay referred tae thairsels, accordin tae the Reverend [[Samuel Lyde]], who livit amang Alawites in the mid-19t century. Anither soorce states that "Ansari", as referrin tae Alawites, is simply a Wastren mistransliteration o Nosairi.<ref>{{cite book |last=Clymer |first=R. Swinburne |date=2003-01-04 |title=Initiates and the People Part 2, May 1929 to June 1930 |url=http://books.google.dk/books?id=DnDP09R4s_0C&pg=PA97&lpg=PA97&dq=#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203094030/http://books.google.dk/books?id=DnDP09R4s_0C&pg=PA97&lpg=PA97&dq=#v=onepage&q&f=false |archive-date=2015-02-03 |page=97 |access-date=2011-10-29 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Howse |first=Christopher |date=2011-08-05 |title=Secretive sect of the rulers of Syria |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8684113/Secretive-sect-of-the-rulers-of-Syria.html |work=[[The Telegraph (London)|The Telegraph]] |access-date=2024-03-23}}</ref>

Alawites are destinct frae the Turkis-based ''[[Alevi]]'' releegious sect, awtho the terms share seemilar etymologies.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Procházka-Eisl |first1=Gisela  |last2=Procházka |first2=Stephan |year=2010 |title=The Plain of Saints and Prophets: The Nusayri-Alawi Community of Cilicia (Southern Turkey) and Its Sacred Places |url=http://books.google.dk/books?id=Ixl3NcvAixAC&pg=PA67&lpg=PA67&dq=alawi+accent&source=bl&ots=rpdHtmkAUU&sig=Z5XEkIT_Af1iDbRHFcTeAjyK6I4&hl=da&ei=rK2eTsekFfL74QS55dylCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=alevi&f=false |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |page=67}}</ref>

== Population ==
[[File:Alawites in the Levant.jpg|thumb|Cairt showin the current distribution o Alawites in the [[Levant]].]]

=== Sirie ===
Tradeetionally Alawites hae livit in the [[An-Nusayriyah muntains]] alang the Mediterranean coast o [[Sirie]]. [[Latakia]] an [[Tartus]] are the region's principal ceeties. The day Alawites are concentratit in the plains aroond [[Hama]] an [[Homs]] an aw. Alawites live in aw major ceeties o Sirie an aw. Thay hae been estimatit tae constitute aboot 11-12% o Sirie's population<ref>{{cite news |date=2012-02-20 |title=Turbulent history colors Syria's ruling Alawite Muslims' |url=http://www.chinapost.com.tw/commentary/afp/2012/02/20/332152/Turbulent-history.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160330215953/http://www.chinapost.com.tw/commentary/afp/2012/02/20/332152/Turbulent-history.htm |archive-date=2016-03-30 |work=The China Post |agency=Agence-France Presse |access-date=2024-03-23 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=2012-02-02 |title=Syria's Alawites, a secretive and persecuted sect |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/02/us-syria-alawites-sect-idUSTRE8110Q720120202 |work=[[Reuters]] |access-date=2024-03-23}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syrians-flee-their-homes-amid-fears-of-ethnic-cleansing-7079802.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=2012-03-30 |archive-date=2012-03-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328175615/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syrians-flee-their-homes-amid-fears-of-ethnic-cleansing-7079802.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>- 2.1 million fowk.<ref>{{cite web |title=Minority Rights Group: Syria |url=https://minorityrights.org/country/syria/ |access-date=2024-03-23}}</ref>

Thare are fower Alawite confederations – Kalbiyah, Khaiyatin, Haddadin, an Matawirah – each dividit intae tribes.<ref name="GlobSec">[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/intro/islam-alawi.htm Alawi Islam] globalsecurity.org</ref>  Alawites are concentratit in the [[Latakia]] region o Sirie, extendin north tae [[Antioch]] ([[Antakya]]), Turkey, an in an aroond [[Homs]] an [[Hama]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Encyclop&aelig;dia Britannica |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/12399/Alawite |title=Encyclopædia Britannica |publisher=Britannica.com |date= |accessdate=2010-01-17}}</ref>

Afore 1953 thay held reservit seats in the Sirie Pairlament, lik aw ither releegious commonties.  Efter that, includin for the 1960 census, thare wur anerlie general Muslim an Christian categories, athout mention o subgroups in order tae reduce "[[Communalism (Sooth Asie)|communalism]]" (''taïfiyya'').

Thare are aboot 2000 Alawites livin in the veelage o [[Ghajar]], split atween Lebanon an the [[Golan Hichts]] an aw.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1084425.html |title=Getting rid of Ghajar - Haaretz - Israel News |publisher=Haaretz |date= |accessdate=2010-01-17}}</ref> In 1932, the residents o Ghajar wur gien the option o chuisin thair naitionality an owerwhelmingly chose tae be a pairt o Sirie, which haes a sizable Alawite minority.<ref name="NYTfence">[http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/11/world/middleeast/11lebanon.html A New Fence Is Added to a Border Town Already Split]</ref>  Prior tae the [[Sax-Day War]], the residents o Ghajar wur coontit in the 1960 Sirie census.<ref name="GhajRid">[http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1084425.html Getting rid of Ghajar, Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz]</ref> Whan [[Israel]] captured the [[Golan Hichts]] frae Sirie in 1967, Ghajar remained a [[nae-man's laund]] for twa an a hauf months.

=== Lebanon ===
{{See also|Shi'a Islam in Lebanon}}
[[File:Jabal Mohsen mosque.jpg|thumb|left|Alawite mosque in Jabal Mohsen, Lebanon]] 
Thare are an estimatit 100,000 tae 120,000<ref name="repost1"/><ref>{{cite web|author=Zoi Constantine |url=http://www.thenational.ae/news/worldwide/pressures-in-syria-affect-alawites-in-lebanon |title=Pressures in Syria affect Alawites in Lebanon - The National |work=The National|location=Abu Dhabi |accessdate=6 July 2012}}</ref> Alawites in [[Lebanon]], whaur thay hae livit syne at least the 16t century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mrt-rrt.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/93/lbn31663.pdf.aspx|title=‘Lebanese Allawites welcome Syria’s withdrawal as ‘necessary’ 2005, The Daily Star, 30 April|quote=The Alawis have been present in modern-day Lebanon since the 16th century and are estimated to number 100,000 today, mostly in Akkar and Tripoli.|access-date=2012-03-30|archive-date=2012-03-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325122621/http://www.mrt-rrt.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/93/lbn31663.pdf.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> Thay are recognizit as ane o the 18 offeecial Lebanese sects, an due tae the efforts o thair leader [[Ali Eid]], the [[Taif Greement]] o 1989 gae thaim twa reservit seats in the Pairlament. Lebanese Alawites live maistly in the Jabal Mohsen neebourheid o [[Tripoli, Lebanon|Tripoli]], an in 15 veelages in the [[Akkar Destrict]] <ref>{{cite web |date=2008-11-22 |title=The view from Jabal Mohsen |url=http://menassat.com/?q=en%2Fnews-articles%2F5210-tripoli-4 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100514032159/http://menassat.com/?q=en%2Fnews-articles%2F5210-tripoli-4 |archive-date=2010-05-14 |website=menassat |access-date=2024-03-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2008-08-05 |title=Lebanon: Displaced Allawis find little relief in impoverished north |url=https://webarchive.archive.unhcr.org/20230529083446/https://www.refworld.org/docid/489c1be4c.html |website=UNHCR |publisher=IRIN |location=Hisa, Akkar |access-date=2024-03-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2008-07-31 |title=Lebanon: Displaced families struggle on both sides of sectarian divide |url=https://webarchive.archive.unhcr.org/20230531195609/https://www.refworld.org/docid/4896c47526.html |website=UNHCR |publisher=IRIN |access-date=2024-03-23}}</ref>, an are mainly representit bi the [[Arab Democratic Pairty (Lebanon)|Arab Democratic Pairty]]. [[Bab al-Tabbaneh, Jabal Mohsen clashes]] atween pro-Sirie Alawites an anti-Sirie Sunnis hae hauntit Tripoli for decades.<ref>{{cite news |last=Enders |first=David |date=2012-02-13 |title=Syrian violence finds its echo in Lebanon |url=https://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/02/13/v-print/138757/syrian-violence-finds-its-echo.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603083656/https://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/02/13/v-print/138757/syrian-violence-finds-its-echo.html |archive-date=2013-06-03 |work=McClatchy Washington Bureau |access-date=2024-03-23 |location=Tripoli, Lebanon }}</ref>

=== Turkey ===
In order tae avoid confusion wi [[Alevi]]s, thay prefer the sel-appellation ''Arap Alevileri'' ("Arab Alevis") in [[Turkis leid|Turkis]]. The term ''Nusayrī'', which uised tae exist in (aften polemical) theological texts is revivit in recent studies an aw. In [[Çukurova]], thay are namit as ''[[Fellah]]'' an ''Arabuşağı'', the latter considered heichlie offensive bi Alawites, bi the [[Sunni]] population. A quasi-offeecial name uised pairticularly in 1930s bi Turkis authorities wis ''Eti Türkleri'' ("[[Hittites|Hittite]] Turks"), in order tae conceal thair [[Arabs in Turkey|Arab]] oreegins. The day, this term is amaist obsolete but it is still uised bi some fowk o aulder generations as a [[euphemism]].

The exact nummer o Alawites in Turkey is unkent, but thare wur 185 000 in 1970<ref>{{Cite book | authorlink=  | coauthors= | title=State and rural society in medieval Islam: sultans, muqtaʻs, and fallahun | year=1997 | publisher=E.J. Brill | location=Leiden  | isbn=90-04-10649-9 | pages=162}}</ref> (this nummer suggest ca 400 000 in 2009). As [[Muslim]]s, thay are no recordit separately frae Sunnis in ID registration. In the [[Demografics o Turkey#1965 linguistic census|1965 census]] (the last Turkis census whaur informants wur asked thair [[mither tongue]]), 180,000 fowk in the three provinces declared thair mither tongue as [[Arabic]]. Housomeivver, Arabic-speakin Sunni an [[Christian]] fowk are includit in this figur an aw.

Alawites tradeetionally speak the same dialect o [[Levantine Arabic]] wi [[Sirie]] Alawites. Arabic is best preservit in landwart commonties an Samandağ. Younger fowk in [[Çukurova]] ceeties an (tae a lesser extent) in İskenderun tend tae speak Turkis. Turkis spoken bi Alawis is distinguished bi Alawi an nan-Alawi alike wi its pairticular [[Accent (linguistics)|accents]] an [[vocabulary]]. Knowledge o [[Arabic alphabet]] is confined tae releegious leaders an men who haed wirkit or studiet in [[Arab Warld|Arab kintras]].

Alawites show a considerable pattern o [[social mobility]]. Till 1960s, thay uised tae wirk bund tae Sunni aghas aroond Antakya an thay wur amang the poorest fowk in Çukurova. The day, Alawis are prominent in economic sectors sic as [[transportation]] an [[commerce]]. A lairge [[professional]] [[middle-class]] haed emergit an aw.

In recent years, thare haes been a tendency o [[exogamy]], pairticularly amang males who haed attendit varsities an/or haed livit in ither pairts o Turkey. Thir marriages are heichlie toleratit but exogamy o weemen, as in ither [[patrilineal]] groups, is uisually disfavoured.

Alawites, lik Alevis, mainly hae strang [[leftist]] poleetical preferences. Housomeivver, some fowk in landwart auries (uisually members o notable Alawite faimilies) mey be foond supportin [[secularist]] [[Conservatism|conservative]] pairties sic as [[True Path Pairty]]. Maist Alawis feel discriminatit bi the policies o [[Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı]].<ref>''Fellahlar'ın Sosyolojisi'', Dr. Cahit Aslan, Adana, 2005</ref><ref>''Arap Aleviliği: Nusayrilik'', Ömer Uluçay, Adana, 1999</ref>

== See an aw ==
*[[Al-Khaṣībī]], foonder o the sect

== References ==
;Notes
{{Reflist|2}}

== Freemit airtins ==
*[http://alaweenonline.com/content/view/12/42/ بيان عقيدة العلويين] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111214035917/http://alaweenonline.com/content/view/12/42/ |date=2011-12-14 }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alawi}}
[[Category:Alawites]]
[[Category:Arab groups]]
[[Category:Ethnoreleegious groups]]
[[Category:Fertile Crescent]]