The Alawites

The largest religious minority in Syria is the Alawite (or Alawi) sect, a form of Shi'a Islam. The coast and the towns that surround it in Syria are the main locations of its adherents. The sect does not mandate that its adherents perform fundamental Islamic ceremonial obligations (the Five Pillars). For the full disclosure of the religion's tenets, one must be initiated into the sect.

The accounts and viewpoints of Alawites in Syria that are made public are typically political (either quite positive or negative). An Alawite family has been in power for almost 50 years. The authoritarian administration of Syria's current president, Bashar al-Assad, and that of his late father has long been decried as harsh and stifling.

The Assad family has favored the Alawite sect, hiring primarily Alawite individuals for positions in state security and the army to maintain support. The Alawites' engagement with and support of the dictatorship has aroused the resentment of many Syrians. Only approximately 10% of Alawites hold positions of power, and the majority frequently hold impoverished positions and lack access to educational possibilities, thus others may feel sorry for them. Young men of Alawite descent have lost about one-third of their lives in the Syrian Civil War.