Introduction to Muslim diversity: Alawite Traditions

[علوي]

Introduction to Muslim diversity: Alawite & Alevi Traditions

The Australian Muslim Women's Centre for Human Rights
This project is supported by funding from the Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department under its Building Community Resilience Grants Program.

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The Alawites

Alawite (also known as Alawi or Alouite) and Alevi both mean ‘devoted to Ali’ or ‘followers of Ali’. Their roots are therefore considered to be in Shiism (see above), defined essentially by the traditions and reverence for Imam Ali and the belief that he was the rightful successor to the Prophet ((صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)) and should have been the first Islamic Caliph.
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It is important to note that scholarship on the Alawites is scarce and grossly misrepresents Alawite beliefs and practices. Some of this can be attributed to the Alawite community’s secretiveness due to a history of persecution... Additionally, Alawites have a complexity of thought and belief, which aims to achieve a highly historicised balance between the spiritual and the material (Islamic law).

Who are they?
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Most scholarship on Islam and the Alawites cite Ibn Nusayr (pupil of the 11th Imam) as the founder of the Alawites during the 8th and 9th centuries. Alawites themselves, however, strongly reject this. The Alawites believe that their branch of Islam was founded at the time of the Prophet ((صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)), by the Prophet’s ((صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)) declaration that Imam Ali would be the rightful heir to his leadership.
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History of persecution and conflict

Centuries of persecution of the Alawites by the Sunni majority in Syria is the foundation for the secretive and guarded nature of the Alawites.

This is why, even in this day and age, so little is actually known about the Alawites to outsiders and why so many myths about Alawite beliefs and practices continue to be widely circulated today.

The Alawites first fled to Syria from Iraq in the 10th century, in response to ongoing religious vilification. In the 11th century, they were forced out into the mountains of north-western Syria, which has remained their heartland right up to today. Throughout the centuries, several important Sunni fatwas (or Islamic clerical judgements) have declared that the Alawites are not Muslim... Ibn Taymiyyah declared Alawites ‘greater infidels than Christians, Jews or idolaters’ and called for a holy war against them. This was followed by a period of major repression by the Mamluks (CE 1250–1517) who ruled the region. Geographically isolated, Alawites maintained their religious identity in the face of continuous attacks and invasions.

...The systemic abuse against them continued with fervour until the end of the Ottoman dynasty, and even to varying degrees up to the present day.
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Beliefs and practices

Alawites believe in the five pillars of Islam...
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Alawites maintain the belief in Prophethood (from Adam to Muhammad, the latter being the final messenger of God), the four Holy Books (the Qur’an being the final holy book, and the source of truth), the Angels, and the Day of Judgement.
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Above all else, the Alawites consider themselves as followers of a religion of peace and respect all other faiths.

Why have Alawites faced persecution and accusations of heresy?

This is a complex question that is not adequately addressed by the actual beliefs and practices of Alawites. There are three already cited dynamics that apply to the Alawites: firstly, the tension and push within Islam itself for consistency and standardisation have left Muslim minority groups vulnerable to intolerance; secondly, because they are considered a sub-group of the Shia community, they have been particularly vulnerable to Shia and Sunni tensions; and lastly, political conflicts over land and power have been framed as theological or sectarian conflicts.

There are two other factors that may also be of relevance:

Syncretism
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Like all Muslims, Alawites believe in Islam’s insistence that it is not a new religion or new message but part of a longstanding narrative from God to humanity through many Prophets – starting with Judaism, moving through Christianity and then completing with Islam. The Alawites then pursue religious truths in other religions to add to their own Islamic understanding, teachings and practices. The Alawites, however, only integrate ‘Islamically consistent truths’ and only because the ‘holy Qur’an has compelled them to do so’. An example of this is where Alawites sometime celebrate or commemorate both Islamic and non-Islamic events and festivals (see Appendix 3)...

Alawites and spiritualism
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The Alawites have a complex spiritual system of beliefs that extends beyond Islam. It includes recognition of spiritual/veiled truths in other religions, where these truths are consistent with Islamic spiritual meaning. This complexity of thought, combined with a very long history of persecution, has meant that Alawites are very guarded about some of their teachings...

The Alawites believe that the manifest meaning of the Qur’an and its laws is a veil that covers truer, deeper meanings. The Alawites strongly believe that the Qur’an instructs Muslims very clearly to hold a balance between the spiritual and material worlds, between material (manifest) and spiritual (hidden/veiled) meaning and worship.

This strong commitment to the state of the spirit and hidden (or as yet ‘unrealised’ or ‘unrevealed’) meaning within the Qur’an and other sacred books (such as the Bible) is uncommon among the Muslim mainstream, but it is not uncommon in Islam. In fact, Sufism and the various Sufi traditions that exist across the Middle East have precisely this approach to Islam. Like Alawites, Sufis have also faced substantial persecution for heresy.

Alawites also assert that the Qur’an uses analogies and works on symbolic meaning. They believe that an understanding of the Qur’an’s esoteric meaning is essential to being a true Muslim.

As a protective mechanism, religious leaders generally provide education on Islam to all young Alawite youth (including girls). This includes a thorough education in Islam, plus information on Alawism, some of which is included in this guide. Although often accused of providing secret information to only initiated men, it is more correct to say that Alawite imams have students whom they assist to develop their spiritual and esoteric capacities. This practice, again while unusual among mainstream Muslims, is very common and continues to this day among Sufi Muslims and other religions, including spiritual/mystical strands of Christianity and Buddhism.

Myths

Myth: Alawites worship Imam Ali, the fourth Caliph, because he is a manifestation of the Divine.

Fact: The Alawites have been much maligned for their alleged deification of Imam Ali. This is a myth. An Alawite might respond to this claim by expressing one of their teachings: ‘Ali deserves obedience, but worship belongs only to God’.
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Myth: Wine is allowed, and is a part of religious rituals, much like Mass in Christianity.

Fact: Wine is strictly forbidden and clearly proscribed by Islam.
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Appendix 2
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Alawite events and festivals
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• Because of a history of profound persecution, Alawites have not typically maintained their own public or formal places for worship. This has gradually changed however, with a greater number of Alawite communities – both in Syria and as diaspora communities in the West – gaining a sense of confidence to declare themselves publicly. Alawite community centres usually have a mosque attached where Friday prayers and other community ceremonial requirements are carried out. Alawites may attend general Sunni mosques, depending on the mosque’s openness towards Muslim minorities and Shias. Today, some Alawites believe that Alawites stopped attending mainstream Sunni mosques because historically they had been immediately identified and killed as heretics.

• As with mainstream Shias, Alawites believe that each of the 12 imams had a gate serving as a pathway to him, and that the 12th Imam disappeared leaving no gate. For Shias, this means that there are 12 imams and 12 gates. The general Shia belief is that the 12th Imam will return on resurrection and judgement day. In contrast, the Alawites believe that there are only 11 gates, with the last two imams presiding over one gateway/path, and with the 12th Imam already a purely spiritual entity who will return on judgement day.

• In addition to the Hajj, and although not an unusual practice among mainstream Muslims (except for Orthodox Muslims), Alawites visit shrines that have been built in special memory of their leaders (sheikhs).

• It is often suggested that the Alawites also have a highly guarded volume of their own writings (‘The Book of Collections’, or Kitab al Majmu), which has been kept strictly secret and never published, and which is only available through initiation and ascent through the community’s leadership hierarchy. It has recently emerged that The Book of Collections/Kitab al Majmu was a fraudulent book aimed at disparaging the Alawites and presenting them as heretics.

[Emphasis added]

https://amwchr.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Understanding-Muslim-diversity.pdf