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Alawites in Syria and Alevis in Turkey: Crucial Differences

(Gatestone Institute) Stephen Schwartz - In Syria, Assad's state, military, and irregular militias draw significantly on a variant of Shia Islam known as Alawites. Of Syria's population of 22 million, at least two million are Alawites, some 12% of the country's inhabitants. In Turkey, another Shia sect, the Alevis, comprise a quarter of the Turkish census, or 20 million out of 80 million. Superficially the Alawites and the Alevis may seem closely related. Alawite and Alevi both mean "devoted to Ali," the son-in-law and cousin of Prophet Muhammad. Shiism is defined essentially by reverence for Ali. Alawites speak Arabic; Turkish Alevis speak Turkish. But most significant is the political difference between them. Although both Alevis and Alawites are opposed to Islamist ideological governance, Alawites support a brutal dictatorship, while Turkish and Kurdish Alevis defend electoral democracy.
2012-08-24 00:00:00
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