DW
December 28, 2024
Syria's ousted dictator Bashar Assad and his family were members of the secretive religious minority, and used the community's fears and desires to stay in power.
Syria's ousted dictator Bashar Assad and his family were members of the secretive religious minority, and used the community's fears and desires to stay in power.
A picture of Syria's first dictator, Hafez Assad, a member of the Alawite minority, was painted over after his son, Bashar, was ousted in December 2024
Image: SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP/Getty Images
Thousands of locals took to the streets in recent days to protest attacks on a shrine in Syria's second-largest city, Aleppo. The shrine is important to the Alawite religious minority, a group to which Syria's ousted dictator Bashar Assad also belongs.
The protests began after a video showing an attack on the Alawite shrine was circulated online. The video has been disputed — apparently it is not current — but protesters said those who had damaged the shrine must be held to account. Others demanded that Syria's newly appointed authorities act in a non-sectarian way, without prejudice against the country's Alawites.
"No to burning holy places and religious discrimination. No to sectarianism. Yes, to a free Syria," Doha-based media outlet Al Jazeera reported signs at the protests saying.
The conflagration is another aspect of the difficult path ahead for the evolving Syrian transition.
Members of Syria's Alawite minority fear they will be punished or persecuted because of their community's long-standing connections to the Assad family, who ruled Syria brutally for 54 years.
The Alawite minority is often described as having benefited from the Assad family's rule. But they have also paid dearly for that connection.
Who are Syria's Alawites?
Estimates suggest that, before the civil war started in 2011, Alawites made up somewhere between 10% and 13% of Syria's total population.
As a religious sect, the Alawites are often referred to as an offshoot of Shia Islam. But their background is more complex than that.
Alawi Islam emerged in the ninth century in northeastern Syria, a rich mixture of belief systems at the time, according to religious experts. The sect is notoriously secretive, but those who have been able to study it say Alawites have a differing interpretation of several pillars of Islam, which are considered foundational by orthodox Muslims.
Thousands of locals took to the streets in recent days to protest attacks on a shrine in Syria's second-largest city, Aleppo. The shrine is important to the Alawite religious minority, a group to which Syria's ousted dictator Bashar Assad also belongs.
The protests began after a video showing an attack on the Alawite shrine was circulated online. The video has been disputed — apparently it is not current — but protesters said those who had damaged the shrine must be held to account. Others demanded that Syria's newly appointed authorities act in a non-sectarian way, without prejudice against the country's Alawites.
"No to burning holy places and religious discrimination. No to sectarianism. Yes, to a free Syria," Doha-based media outlet Al Jazeera reported signs at the protests saying.
The conflagration is another aspect of the difficult path ahead for the evolving Syrian transition.
Members of Syria's Alawite minority fear they will be punished or persecuted because of their community's long-standing connections to the Assad family, who ruled Syria brutally for 54 years.
The Alawite minority is often described as having benefited from the Assad family's rule. But they have also paid dearly for that connection.
Who are Syria's Alawites?
Estimates suggest that, before the civil war started in 2011, Alawites made up somewhere between 10% and 13% of Syria's total population.
As a religious sect, the Alawites are often referred to as an offshoot of Shia Islam. But their background is more complex than that.
Alawi Islam emerged in the ninth century in northeastern Syria, a rich mixture of belief systems at the time, according to religious experts. The sect is notoriously secretive, but those who have been able to study it say Alawites have a differing interpretation of several pillars of Islam, which are considered foundational by orthodox Muslims.
Under French colonial rule, Latakia (pictured) became the capital of the 'state of the Alawites' in 1922 and only fully reintegrated back to Syria in 1944I
mage: AAREF WATAD/AFP/Getty Images
That includes the regular call to public prayer and the physical pilgrimage to Mecca. Alawites prefer to worship in private, at home or outdoors, believe the pilgrimage could be symbolic, don't think females needed to wear headscarves, use wine in their rituals and incorporate more nature worship, including the sun, moon and stars, into their belief system.
The Alawites do also have commonalities with Shiite Muslims. For example, they believe in the divinity of Ali ibn Abu Talib, cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, a caliph in the seventh century and considered the first leader of Shia Islam.
Still, as a result of the mixture of beliefs, they were regularly accused of heresy and discriminated against by everyone from the Christian Crusaders to the Ottomans from Turkey.
Emancipation through colonialism
That changed in the early 20th century during the French colonial period in Syria. As part of their "divide and conquer" policy, the French split local Alawite and Druze minorities from the Muslim majority and, in 1922, established a legally autonomous state for Alawites.
That includes the regular call to public prayer and the physical pilgrimage to Mecca. Alawites prefer to worship in private, at home or outdoors, believe the pilgrimage could be symbolic, don't think females needed to wear headscarves, use wine in their rituals and incorporate more nature worship, including the sun, moon and stars, into their belief system.
The Alawites do also have commonalities with Shiite Muslims. For example, they believe in the divinity of Ali ibn Abu Talib, cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, a caliph in the seventh century and considered the first leader of Shia Islam.
Still, as a result of the mixture of beliefs, they were regularly accused of heresy and discriminated against by everyone from the Christian Crusaders to the Ottomans from Turkey.
Emancipation through colonialism
That changed in the early 20th century during the French colonial period in Syria. As part of their "divide and conquer" policy, the French split local Alawite and Druze minorities from the Muslim majority and, in 1922, established a legally autonomous state for Alawites.
While the country's Sunni majority resisted joining French-controlled armed forces, the Alawites — who, for the first time, were part of a state that did not persecute them for their beliefs — had no such apprehensions.
By 1946, after France pulled out and Syria became an independent nation, "the Alawites had gained a political presence," researchers at US think tank,the Foreign Policy Research Institute, wrote. "By 1955, about 65% of the non-commissioned officers were Alawites."
After Syrian independence, Alawites continued to climb the military's ranks and, in 1963, when five officers launched a coup — one of several during Syria's tumultuous postcolonial period — three of them were Alawites. And one of those was Hafez Assad, who would go on to take power for himself in 1971.
"Hafez would emerge as his sect's sole representative and champion of a new Alawite identity," Alawite author Adnan Younes wrote in a 2021 text for New Lines Magazine. "This contrasted dramatically with the previous Alawite identity: opaque and recalcitrant, which has always been misunderstood," Younes explained. "Alawites now had to […] support the 'founder of modern Syria' [...] and be worthy of his trust."
By 1946, after France pulled out and Syria became an independent nation, "the Alawites had gained a political presence," researchers at US think tank,the Foreign Policy Research Institute, wrote. "By 1955, about 65% of the non-commissioned officers were Alawites."
After Syrian independence, Alawites continued to climb the military's ranks and, in 1963, when five officers launched a coup — one of several during Syria's tumultuous postcolonial period — three of them were Alawites. And one of those was Hafez Assad, who would go on to take power for himself in 1971.
"Hafez would emerge as his sect's sole representative and champion of a new Alawite identity," Alawite author Adnan Younes wrote in a 2021 text for New Lines Magazine. "This contrasted dramatically with the previous Alawite identity: opaque and recalcitrant, which has always been misunderstood," Younes explained. "Alawites now had to […] support the 'founder of modern Syria' [...] and be worthy of his trust."
Hafez Assad ruled Syria from 1971 until his death in 2000; statues of him were recently pulled downImage: Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images
Hafez Assad surrounded himself with loyal Alawites for his own protection. Members of the minority who were not loyal, such as communists, were imprisoned.
Assad also tried to downplay the differences between the Alawite minority and the Muslim majority. "He built mosques in Alawite towns, prayed publicly and fasted, and encouraged his people to do the same," Joshua Landis, a non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, who married into a Syrian Alawite family, has previously pointed out. Assad also tried to stop Alawites from celebrating holidays they previously had, like the Persian new year, Nowruz, and the Christian holiday, Christmas.
Dominating military and politics
Now when the Alawite minority was attacked, the state retaliated. Hundreds of Alawi soldiers and other members of the community were deliberately targeted for sectarian reasons between 1979 and 1981 by members of the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Muslim group with an Islamist ideology, during uprisings against the Assad regime.
After killing around 2,000 members of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Assad government laid siege to the city of Hama in February 1982. An estimated 10,000 to 25,000 civilians were killed as a result.
The Alawites saw the Islamists as a threat and generally preferred a secular government in Syria. Over ensuing decades, Assad and his son used that fear to manipulate the community, saying they were the only ones who would protect them. The community's concerns persist to this day.
Hafez Assad surrounded himself with loyal Alawites for his own protection. Members of the minority who were not loyal, such as communists, were imprisoned.
Assad also tried to downplay the differences between the Alawite minority and the Muslim majority. "He built mosques in Alawite towns, prayed publicly and fasted, and encouraged his people to do the same," Joshua Landis, a non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, who married into a Syrian Alawite family, has previously pointed out. Assad also tried to stop Alawites from celebrating holidays they previously had, like the Persian new year, Nowruz, and the Christian holiday, Christmas.
Dominating military and politics
Now when the Alawite minority was attacked, the state retaliated. Hundreds of Alawi soldiers and other members of the community were deliberately targeted for sectarian reasons between 1979 and 1981 by members of the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Muslim group with an Islamist ideology, during uprisings against the Assad regime.
After killing around 2,000 members of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Assad government laid siege to the city of Hama in February 1982. An estimated 10,000 to 25,000 civilians were killed as a result.
The Alawites saw the Islamists as a threat and generally preferred a secular government in Syria. Over ensuing decades, Assad and his son used that fear to manipulate the community, saying they were the only ones who would protect them. The community's concerns persist to this day.
Between 2000 and 2011, about 87% of high-ranking officers in the Syrian Army were Alawi, researchers say. (pictured: a Latakia reconciliation center on December 19, 2024)Image: Chris McGrath/Getty Images
Disillusionment with Assad
During the 13-year-long civil war, the Alawite community in Syria has been heavily affected by its military involvement. According to the EU's Agency for Asylum, in some Alawite-majority towns and villages between 60% and 70% of young men were either killed or wounded during the war. Many young Alawi males have also hidden or fled from conscription.
Recent surveys show how, over the past few years, many Alawis had become increasingly disillusioned with the Assad regime, researchers at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation wrote, after conducting surveysof the Alawite community in Syria in early 2024.
Unless they were members of a small Syrian elite, Alawites dealt with the same economic hardships as other Syrians. However, given the authoritarian nature of the Assad regime, many did not feel they could speak out either, the researchers said.
That is why a binary portrayal of the Alawites as either pro- or anti-Assad "fails to capture the nuanced spectrum of views within the Alawite population, ranging from staunch regime loyalists to discreet dissenters," the researchers concluded.
"Nor does it adequately account for the socioeconomic hardships that have affected them similarly to other Syrian communities," or the "disproportionate losses" the community has suffered, they noted.
Edited by: Martin Kuebler
KCDK-E called on everyone to protest against the attacks against the Alawites in Syria.
ANF
NEWS DESK
Saturday, 28 December 2024,
The European Kurdish Democratic Societies Congress (KCDK-E) issued a written statement to protest the attacks against the Alawites in Syria.
‘Democratic unity is the strongest alternative’
The statement said: "Massacres similar to those of Maras, Roboski, Madımak and hundreds of others carried out by the Turkish state are being planned against the peoples of Syria.
The HTS administration in Syria, ISIS gangs called Syrian National Army (SNA), with the support of the Turkish state, are targeting all opponent groups. Hakan Fidan, the Turkish Foreign Minister, wants to pave the way for further provocations and attacks by targeting various beliefs, women and Kurdish people, in Northern and Eastern Syria.
The women-led democratic nation system, which is the Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria, has been gaining the support of the peoples for a long time despite all the pressures and obstacles.2
The statement added: "The AKP-MHP fascist government carried out killings and attacks to prevent the common life model of the peoples, the Middle East and Turkey, and to prevent the spread of these ideas in this region by using the SNA.
The women-led, ecological, democratic nation, which is the common life model of differences, stands as the strongest alternative in Syria."
'A crime against humanity'
The statement continued: "The Turkish state has started to carry out attacks against the Alawite population using its gangs who are committing a crime against humanity. Attacks were registered in many places, especially in Tartus, Latakia, Hama and Homs.
These attacks against the Alawites targeted their culture, history, beliefs and existence. If not prevented, other faiths will be targeted next, together with all social segments, especially women. For this reason, Kobanê is also targeted."
'There is a serious threat of genocide'
The statement said that “international organizations such as the United Nations and the Council of Europe, instead of intervening and using their sanctioning power, are watching what is happening. We believe that there is a serious danger of genocide.
As KCDK-E, we condemn the Maras and Roboski Massacres on their anniversaries, and commemorate the martyrs with respect. We call on all our people, friends and progressive organizations to increase the resistance and struggle against the attacks carried out by the AKP-MHP government and its gangs in Syria, and to actively participate in the protests to be organised."
ANF
NEWS DESK
Saturday, 28 December 2024,
The European Kurdish Democratic Societies Congress (KCDK-E) issued a written statement to protest the attacks against the Alawites in Syria.
‘Democratic unity is the strongest alternative’
The statement said: "Massacres similar to those of Maras, Roboski, Madımak and hundreds of others carried out by the Turkish state are being planned against the peoples of Syria.
The HTS administration in Syria, ISIS gangs called Syrian National Army (SNA), with the support of the Turkish state, are targeting all opponent groups. Hakan Fidan, the Turkish Foreign Minister, wants to pave the way for further provocations and attacks by targeting various beliefs, women and Kurdish people, in Northern and Eastern Syria.
The women-led democratic nation system, which is the Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria, has been gaining the support of the peoples for a long time despite all the pressures and obstacles.2
The statement added: "The AKP-MHP fascist government carried out killings and attacks to prevent the common life model of the peoples, the Middle East and Turkey, and to prevent the spread of these ideas in this region by using the SNA.
The women-led, ecological, democratic nation, which is the common life model of differences, stands as the strongest alternative in Syria."
'A crime against humanity'
The statement continued: "The Turkish state has started to carry out attacks against the Alawite population using its gangs who are committing a crime against humanity. Attacks were registered in many places, especially in Tartus, Latakia, Hama and Homs.
These attacks against the Alawites targeted their culture, history, beliefs and existence. If not prevented, other faiths will be targeted next, together with all social segments, especially women. For this reason, Kobanê is also targeted."
'There is a serious threat of genocide'
The statement said that “international organizations such as the United Nations and the Council of Europe, instead of intervening and using their sanctioning power, are watching what is happening. We believe that there is a serious danger of genocide.
As KCDK-E, we condemn the Maras and Roboski Massacres on their anniversaries, and commemorate the martyrs with respect. We call on all our people, friends and progressive organizations to increase the resistance and struggle against the attacks carried out by the AKP-MHP government and its gangs in Syria, and to actively participate in the protests to be organised."
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