[Nogbad]

I didn't know about the Assad family belonging to the Alawi sect,
rather than Islam itself.
How does this affect Syria's position with respect to Dar al-Islam
and calls for Islamic unity, and the like?

It is amazing how Hafez al-Assad
managed to take over Syria.
He comes from a region near Latakia
where most of the Alawi are located.
I guess that he got into the military
and built up a power base there
from which he was able to obtain political power.

The whole brutal action in Hama
in 1982
in which 10,000 or more died
was a repression
of the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood
which deeply resented his authority.

Obviously the Assads do not support Islamic fundamentalism,
for that exactly is what the Muslim Brotherhood represents.

However,
I suppose his strong support for Palestinian terrorists
is a way of gaining favour amongst the orthodox Moslems.


I also didn't know about the Alevi sect in Turkey.
You mentioned the Alevi singers, musicians, and poets.
Do Alevi generally place great emphasis on the arts?

I suspect they represent the ancient folk tradition
that dates back even to the pre-Islamic Turks.

The Alevi come from regions of Eastern
and Northern Turkey
which were inhabited by Turkish tribes
that arrived late in Turkish history
after the foundation
of the early Selcuk empire.

It is interesting
that there are many Kurdish Alevi
(the culture of the Middle East
is MUCH more complicated
than most people realize).

These Kurdish Alevi,
thus,
are twice alienated
in mainstream Turkish society.

[Mitchell]

Fascinating. I had no idea how important these offshoots of Islam (if that's a correct description of them) are.

[okie01]

One can learn so much by just hanging around this place.

Thanks for the insights.