Which Muslims are in Syria?
Which Muslims are in Syria?
Sunni Muslims
The Sunni Muslims make up the overwhelming majority in the country (74% of Syria’s total population). The Alawites are the minority group (10% of the country’s population), followed by Shia Ismailis (1%) and Shia Twelvers (2%). There are also some Kurdish and Turkmen Alevi in northern Syria.
What is the main religion in Syria?
Sunni Muslims form the majority in Syria. In Syria and Lebanon, they tend to support the rebels and oppose the Assad regime, and Syrian Sunnis have been subject to ethnic cleansing at the hands of the Alawite minority in recent months.
What is the difference between Shia and Alawite?
Alawites identify as Shiite Muslims, but the sect carried over older beliefs that predate Islam. Although most Muslims have five pillars of faith, the Alawites have seven. They believe in the divinity of Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad; other Shiites revere Ali but do not believe he was divine.
Do Syrians drink alcohol?
Syria, Lebanon and Iraq have long produced their own alcoholic beverages, from beer to wine to the anise-based arak. Syria’s constitution uses Islamic jurisprudence as a primary source of law, but the Baathist regime has kept alcohol legal, available and cheap.
Can a Syrian travel to USA?
USA has moderate restrictions for travel. Most visitors from Syria need to provide a negative COVID-19 test result to enter USA. No quarantine is required. Find travel restrictions, quarantine and entry requirements to travel USA.
Who are Syria’s Alawites?
This population includes a disproportionately high percentage of the upper echelons of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), as well as the current President, Bashar al-Assad. In the West, Alawites are often presented as an offshoot of Shia Islam.
Are Alawites Shia or Sunni Muslims in Syria?
However, in private, Alawites view themselves as neither Sunni nor Shia, but as a different strand of Islam. In order to understand this important religious minority and its relationship to the Syrian regime, let us first understand what differentiates Alawites from other Muslims.
What is the Syrian branch of the Baath Party?
The Syrian branch of the party is the largest organisation within the Syrian-led Ba’ath Party. Hafez al-Assad became the secretary of the Syrian Regional Command of the party in 1970 and Secretary General of the National Command in late 1970. Despite being deceased, Hafez al-Assad was the official Secretary General of the National Command.
How did France treat the Alawites and Sunnis in Syria?
This change made the Alawites and Sunnis seem more equal. By creating the impression of equality, France was able to foster sectarian divisions between the Sunnis and Alawites as well as grant the Alawites an independent state to counter nationalist and independence movements in Syria.
