The Difference Between Alawites and Sunnis in Syria

The differences between Alawites and Sunnis in Syria have sharpened dangerously since the beginning of the 2011 uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, whose family is Alawite. The reason for the tension is primarily political rather than religious: Top positions in Assad’s army are held by Alawite officers, while most of the rebels from the Free Syrian Army and other opposition groups come from Syria’s Sunni majority.​

The Alawites in Syria

Lamenting muslims in mosque
Scrofula / Getty Images

As for geographical presence, Alawites are a Muslim minority group accounting for a small percentage of Syria’s population, with a few small pockets in Lebanon and Turkey. Alawites are not to be confused with Alevis, a Turkish Muslim minority. A majority of Syrians belong to Sunni Islam, as do almost 90% of all Muslims in the world.

Historical Alawite heartlands lie in the mountainous hinterland of Syria’s Mediterranean coast in the country’s west, next to the coastal city of Latakia. Alawites form the majority in Latakia province, although the city itself is mixed between Sunnis, Alawites, and Christians. Alawites also have a sizeable presence in the central province of Homs and the capital city of Damascus.

As to doctrinal differences, Alawites practice a unique and little-known form of Islam that dates back to the ninth and 10th centuries. Its secretive nature is an outcome of centuries of isolation from the mainstream society and periodical persecution by the Sunni majority.

Sunnis believe that succession to the Prophet Muhammad (d. 632) rightly followed the line of his most able and pious companions. Alawites follow the Shiite interpretation, claiming that succession should have been based on bloodlines. According to Shiite Islam, Muhammad’s only true heir was his son-in-law Ali bin Abu Talib.

But Alawites go a step further in the veneration of Imam Ali, allegedly investing him with divine attributes. Other specific elements, such as the belief in divine incarnation, permissibility of alcohol, and celebration of Christmas and Zoroastrian New Year, make Alawite Islam highly suspect in the eyes of many orthodox Sunnis and Shiites.

Related to Shiites in Iran?

Teheran protest
Keystone / Getty Images

Alawites are often portrayed as religious brethren of Iranian Shiites, a misconception that stems from the close strategic alliance between the Assad family and the Iranian regime (which developed after the ​1979 Iranian Revolution).

But this is all politics. Alawites have no historical links or any traditional religious affinity to Iranian Shiites, who belong to the Twelver school, the main Shiite branch. Alawites were never part of the mainstream Shiite structures. It wasn’t until 1974 that the Alawites were officially recognized for the first time as Shiite Muslims, by Musa Sadr, a Lebanese (Twelver) Shiite cleric.

Moreover, Alawites are ethnic Arabs, while Iranians are Persians. And although attached to their unique cultural traditions, most Alawites are staunch Syrian nationalists.

Syria Ruled by Alawite Regime?

Syrian President Hafez al-Assad gestures

AFP / Getty Images

The media often refers to an “Alawite regime” in Syria, with the inevitable implication that this minority group rules over a Sunni majority. That brushes over a much more complex society.

The Syrian regime was built by Hafez al-Assad (ruler from 1971 to 2000), who reserved top positions in the military and intelligence services for the people he most trusted: Alawite officers from his native area. However, Assad also drew the support of powerful Sunni business families. At one point, Sunnis constituted the majority of the ruling Baath Party and rank-and-file army and held high government positions.

Nevertheless, Alawite families over time cemented their hold on the security apparatus, securing privileged access to state power. This generated resentment among many Sunnis, especially religious fundamentalists who regard Alawites as non-Muslims, but also among the Alawite dissidents critical of the Assad family.

Alawites and the Syrian Uprising

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
Sasha Mordovets / Getty Images

When the uprising against Bashar al-Assad kicked off in March 2011, most Alawites rallied behind the regime (as did many Sunnis.) Some did so out of loyalty to the Assad family, and some out of fear that an elected government, inevitably dominated by politicians from the Sunni majority, would take revenge for the abuse of power committed by Alawite officers. Many Alawites joined the feared pro-Assad militias, known as the Shabiha, or the National Defense Forces and other groups. Sunnis have joined opposition groups such as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, Ahrar al-Sham, and other rebel factions.

Format
mla apa chicago
Your Citation
Manfreda, Primoz. "The Difference Between Alawites and Sunnis in Syria." ThoughtCo, Sep. 1, 2021, thoughtco.com/the-difference-between-alawites-and-sunnis-in-syria-2353572. Manfreda, Primoz. (2021, September 1). The Difference Between Alawites and Sunnis in Syria. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/the-difference-between-alawites-and-sunnis-in-syria-2353572 Manfreda, Primoz. "The Difference Between Alawites and Sunnis in Syria." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/the-difference-between-alawites-and-sunnis-in-syria-2353572 (accessed March 19, 2024).