Islam in Syria
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Several different denominations and sects of Islam are practised within Syria, whom collectively, constitute approximately 87% of the population and form a majority in most of the districts of the country.[1]
The
The Sunnis are mainly of the
History
In 634–640, as part of the
As in other areas conquered by the Arabs, the spread of Islam was also accompanied with the spread of Arab culture, which culminated in the Arabization of the Levant and the replacement of Aramaic with Arabic.[5]
Throughout Syria's Islamic history, the region was a province of many Islamic empires, formed of various ethnic and Islamic sects. The first successors to the Sunni
Official censuses
Sects
Albert Hourani published statistics from a general census of Syria in 1943 giving details of religious groups of the population and the rate of growth of each (citizens were not allowed to declare their ethnicity or mother tongue):
1943 census[6][7] | 1953 census[6] | Growth[6] | |
---|---|---|---|
Sunnis |
1,971,053 (68.91%) | 2,578,810 (70.54%) | 31% |
Shias (Twelvers) |
12,742 (0.45%) | 14,887 (0.41%) | 17% |
Alawites | 325,311 (11.37%) | 398,445 (10.90%) | 22% |
Ismailis |
28,527 (1.00%) | 36,745 (1.01%) | 29% |
Druze | 87,184 (3.05%) | 113,318 (3.10%) | 30% |
Yezidi |
2,788 (0.10%) | 3,082 (0.08%) | 11% |
Total Muslims | 2,427,605 (84.87%) | 3,145,287 (86.03%) | 30% |
Sunni
The largest religious group in Syria is the
Arabs
The
Kurds
The
In 1973 Professor Moshe Ma'oz said that the non-
Turkmen
The Turkish-speaking Turkmen are the third largest ethnic group in the country (approximately 4% to 5% of the country's population) and are mainly Sunni Muslims.[11] They mainly live in the urban centres and countryside of the following six governorates: the Aleppo Governorate, the Damascus Governorate, the Homs Governorate, the Hama Governorate, the Latakia Governorate and the Quneitra Governorate.[11]
In 1973 Professor Moshe Ma'oz said that the non-
However, the Sunni Turkmen population is believed to be considerably higher if
Circassians
Most Circassians in Syria are Sunni Muslims.[1] They form the fifth largest ethnic group in the country but the fourth largest Sunni Muslim community in Syria. They live mostly in three Syrian governorates: Hama, Homs, and Quneitra.[11]
In 1991 Professor Alasdair Drysdale and Professor Raymond Hinnebusch said that less than 1% of the country was formed of Sunni Muslim Circassians.[9] In recent decades, the population of other religious minorities (particularly Christians and Jews) has decreased, therefore, estimates on the proportion of Sunni Circassians has increased. For example, a more recent estimate suggested that Sunni Circassians formed 1.5% of Syria's population.[11]
Alawites
The Alawites are the third largest religious group in Syria, after the Sunni and Shi'a Muslims.[8] Hafez al-Assad and his son, President Bashar al-Assad, belong to the Alawite sect.[8]
Alawites 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]
In 1991 Professor Alasdair Drysdale and Professor Raymond Hinnebusch said that Alawites formed approximately 11.5% of the country's population.[9] More recently, Dr. Pierre Beckouche said that 11% of the country's population was Alawite before 2011.[10] The CIA has estimated Alawites at 15% of the Syria's population.[2]
The Alawites mainly live in the Syrian Coastal Mountain Range, particularly in the countryside of the Latakia Governorate and the Tartus Governorate on the western side of the mountains, and in the countryside of the Homs Governorate and Hama Governorate on their eastern side.[8] They form a majority (around 60%) in Latakia and Tartus. In the Homs and Hama areas, they make up around 10% of the population in both the countryside and the cities, living in Talkalakh, Al-Mukharram, Al-Qabu, Shin, Al-Riqama, the Houla plain, Maryamin, Qarmas, Al Muhani, and the areas of Zahra and Naziha.[8]
Alevis
In northern Syria there are some Kurdish and Turkmen Alevi. The town of Maabatli in Afrin district is majority inhabited by Kurdish Alevis.[15] In 2014 Hêvî Îbrahîm, an Alevi, became the Prime Minister of the Kurdish-controlled Afrin Canton. Thousands of Turkmen Alevis are living in Aleppo, though many of them fled to Turkey.[16]
Shia
The second largest sect of Islam practiced in the country is the
Ismailis
The Shia
Ismailis are divided into two major groups: the
According to Professor
Twelver
Forming the smallest of the Islamic sects in Syria at 2%, the
Druze
The
There are many Syrian Druze that are also living abroad, particularly in Latin America, who have been living there for over the past hundred years.[21] In Venezuela alone there are approximately half a million Druze of Syrian origin.[21]
Ahmadiyya
The history of the movement in Syria begins in the 1920s, when the second caliph of the Community, Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad visited Damascus, as part of his tour of Europe and the Middle East. The caliph appointed Sayyid Zayn al'Abidin Waliullah Shah and Jalal al-Din Shams to be sent for missionary work in Damascus. Along with Maulvi Abu'l-'Ata Jalandhari, who arrived for a mission in Jerusalem, the three missionaries spent their time spreading Ahmadi teachings in major towns and cities across the Middle East, including Haifa, Beirut and Cairo.[28]
Quraniya
There is also a
See also
References
- ^ a b c Khalifa 2013, p. 5
- ^ a b c "Middle East :: Syria — The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Archived from the original on 2021-01-09. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
- ISBN 978-0-86531-185-5.
- ^ "Umar (634–644)". The Islamic World to 1600. Archived from the original on 2012-03-29. Retrieved 1 March 2007.
{{cite book}}
:|work=
ignored (help) - ISBN 978-0-7614-7677-1.
- ^ a b c d e Khalifa 2013, 3.
- ^ Hourani, Albert (1947), Minorities in the Arab World, Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e f g Khalifa 2013, 6.
- ^ ISBN 0876091052
- ^ ISBN 978-1786431493
- ^ a b c d e f Khalifa 2013, 4.
- ^ ISBN 0391002589
- ^ ISBN 9780856647031
- ^ ISBN 0300046049
- ^ "Angriff auf Afrin: Vertreibung vom "Berg der Kurden"". DER STANDARD (in Austrian German). Archived from the original on 2021-09-17. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
- ^ odatv4.com. "Tek suçları Alevi olmak..." www.odatv4.com. Archived from the original on 2022-11-28. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ISBN 9780759101906.
- ^ Khalifa 2013, 7.
- ^ "Report: Hizbullah Training Shiite Syrians to Defend Villages against Rebels". Naharnet. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
- ^ Theodorou, Angelina E. "5 facts about Israeli Druze, a unique religious and ethnic group". Pew Research Center. Archived from the original on 2021-03-19. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
- ^ a b c Khalifa 2013, 6-7.
- ISBN 9781788315593.
- ISBN 9781906999254.
[Druze] often they are not regarded as being Muslim at all, nor do all the Druze consider themselves as Muslim
- ^ "Are the Druze People Arabs or Muslims? Deciphering Who They Are". Arab America. 8 August 2018. Archived from the original on 20 October 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
- ISBN 9781135980795.
Most Druze do not consider themselves Muslim. Historically they faced much persecution and keep their religious beliefs secrets.
- ISBN 9780199862634.
While they appear parallel to those of normative Islam, in the Druze religion they are different in meaning and interpretation. The religion is considered distinct from the Ismaili as well as from other Muslims belief and practice... Most Druze consider themselves fully assimilated in American society and do not necessarily identify as Muslims..
- ISBN 9780030525964.
Theologically, one would have to conclude that the Druze are not Muslims. They do not accept the five pillars of Islam. In place of these principles the Druze have instituted the seven precepts noted above..
- ISBN 978-0-253-01529-7.
- ^ Jafarli, D. "The rise of the quranist movement in Egypt (19th to 20th ctnturies): a historical approach." Гілея: науковий вісник 126 (2017): 181-185.
Bibliography
- Drysdale, Alasdair; Hinnebusch, Raymond A. (1991), Syria and the Middle East Peace Process, ISBN 0876091052
- Khalifa, Mustafa (2013), "The impossible partition of Syria", Arab Reform Initiative, archived from the original on 2016-10-09, retrieved 2018-08-02
- Khan, Adil Hussain (2015), From Sufism to Ahmadiyya: A Muslim Minority Movement in South Asia, ISBN 978-0-253-01529-7
- Ma'oz, Moshe (1973), "Syria", in Milson, Menahem (ed.), Society and Political Structure in the Arab World, ISBN 0391002589
- Munson, Henry (1988), Islam and Revolution in the Middle East, ISBN 0300046049
- Pierre, Beckouche (2017), "The Country Reports: Syria", Europe's Mediterranean Neighbourhood, ISBN 978-1786431493
- Van Dam, Nikolaos (1979), The Struggle for Power in Syria, ISBN 9780856647031