Who are Syria's Alawites, how are they different form other Muslims? Why are they being targeted?

Though Syria's Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has appealed for peace and unity among different sects of the country, violence and revenge killings have continued in small and scattered pockets under the influence of ousted former leader Bashar al-Assad.

Media reports suggest, that hundreds of the people fled the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus, strongholds of Assad support. 

Massacre In Latakia? 

According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, more than 740 people, almost all civilians, were killed when the rebels loyal to the present regime stormed their villages and attacked them in the coastal cities of Latakia, Jableh and Banias. 

Besides, more than 300 members of the security forces and remnants of the Assad regime have been killed in the clashes. 

If media reports are to be believed, most of these people were Alawites, the sect to which former ruler Bashar Al Assad and most of his supporters and fighters belong. 

Who Are Alawites?

Alawites are an Arab ethnic and religious group, with distinct cultures, language and religious beliefs. They live mainly in 
in the Levant region in West Asia. 

They have a different religious belief as they follow Alawism, an Islamic sect, launched by Ibn Nusayr, a disciple of the tenth Twelver Imam, Ali al-Hadi, and of the eleventh Twelver Imam, Hasan al-Askari. 

They follow Ali ibn Abi Talib, the "first Imam" in the Twelver school, considered to be the manifestation of the divine essence. The sect was set up in ninth century. 

Alawites Living Out Of Syria

Besides the coastal areas of Syria, the Alawites also live in the Hatay Province of Turkey and northern Lebanon. They live in small numbers in scattered areas of the Golan Heights.

Though the Alawites follow a Shiite sect of Islam and the Quran is their religious book like other Muslims, they are different in religious practice.

Is Liquor Allowed In Alawite Sect?

It can be understood by the fact that liquor, branded as "haram" in all other sects of Islam, is allowed in the Alawite sect. Many of their rituals involve the drinking of wine.

The religious beliefs of Alawites are different from other Islamic sects also because their doctrine has roots in the teachings of Iraqi priest Muhammad ibn Nusayr.

The Muslims of other sects reject Alawites as Nusayr claimed prophethood and declared himself as the "Bāb (Door) of the Imams".

He was denounced and expelled, following which, most of his disciples emigrated to the Syrian Coastal Mountain Range.

How Different Alawites Are From Other Muslims?

They are also different because the Alawites treat Ali, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad, as "the supreme eternal God" and consist of various gnostic beliefs. 

Contrary to Islamic doctrine, Alawite doctrine regards the souls of Alawites as re-incarnations of "lights that rebelled against God".

Different Language

Alawites living in Syria speak a special dialect, that is part of Levantine Arabic. However, their dialect also has borrowings from Turkish and French as they have been under their rule and control for a long time. 

Do Alawites Back Bashar Al Assad?

Analysts believe, most of the Alawites living in the coastal areas of Syria are poor, with no connection whatsoever to the deposed ruler Bashar Al Assad. 

However, immediately after the fall of Bashar Al Assad, thousands of the Alawites held angry demonstrations in Latakia, Tartus, Jableh and Homs.

However, the immediate provocation was a video showing an attack on the Alawite shrine of Al-Khasibi in Aleppo's Maysaloon district. At least five people were killed and the shrine was vandalized and set on fire.