Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Alawites [b] are an Arab ethnoreligious group [17] who live primarily in the Levant region in West Asia and follow Alawism. [18] A sect of Islam that splintered from early Shia as a ghulat branch during the ninth century, [19] [20] [21] Alawites venerate Ali ibn Abi Talib, the "first Imam" in the Twelver school, as a manifestation of the divine essence.
The second largest sect of Islam practiced in the country is the Shia branch; this includes Ismailis and Twelvers. Before 2011, they formed a sizeable minority. [ 12 ] These Muslim sects also include diverse ethnic groups, which included: the Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, and other smaller communities.
The Alawite sect of Islam has the second highest religious following in the Syrian Arab Republic and remains at the heart of the Syrian Government grassroot support; however, in April 2016 Alawite leaders released a document seeking to distance themselves from Shia Islam.
The Alawites are the second largest religious group in Syria, after the Sunni Muslims. [8] They are divided into two main groups: traditional Alawites, who form the majority, and the minority Murshid Alawites (which rose from a modern schism in the Alawite sect at the beginning of the 20th century). [8]
The Lebanese Shia Muslims are around 27% [20] –29% [26] [27] of the total population. Twelvers are the predominant Shia group, followed by Alawites and Ismailis. The Speaker of Parliament is always a Shi'a Muslim, as it is the only high post that Shi'as are eligible for.
Alawites are often considered a form of Shia Islam, that differs somewhat from the larger Twelver Shia sect. [178] During the 20th century, an Islamic uprising in Syria occurred with sectarian religious overtones between the Alawite-dominated Assad government and the Islamist Sunni Muslim Brotherhood, culminating with the 1982 Hama massacre.
Shia Islam is the second largest branch of Islam. [90] It is estimated that 10–13% [91] [92] [93] of the global Muslim population are Shias. They may number up to 200 million as of 2009. [92] As of 1985, Shia Muslims are estimated to be 21% of the Muslim population in South Asia, although the total number is difficult to estimate. [94]
Bahrain's Shia majority has often complained of receiving poor treatment in employment, housing, and infrastructure, while Sunnis have preferential status. [1] The Bahraini government has reportedly imported Sunnis from Pakistan and Syria in an attempt to increase the Sunni percentage.