The ‘Alawī Religion
An Anthology
By (author) Meir Bar-Asher By (author) Aryeh Kofsky
The ‘Alawī religion, known for most of its history by the name Nuṣayriyya, emerged in Iraq over a millennium ago. An esoteric, syncretistic religion with a close affinity to Shī’ī Islam, its origins are shrouded in obscurity. Over time, beliefs and rituals deriving from paganism, Zoroastrianism and Christianity were grafted to the radical Shī’ī substrate, giving the religion its distinctive character. Throughout their history the ‘Alawites were a persecuted religious minority, but in the 1970s they came to power in Syria and retained absolute rule until recently. There is also a significant population in Hatai Province in southern Turkey. Arising from the authors’ long-standing interest in the ‘Alawī religion, this anthology offers for the first time a selection from the distinctive literature of the mysterious religion. The book opens with a detailed introduction setting the background for the themes it will cover: the mystery of the divinity in the ‘Alawī faith; rituals and ceremonies; calendar and festivals; the doctrine of reincarnation; initiation into the divine mysteries and the esoteric circle; and finally, the identity and self-definition of the religion’s followers vis-a-vis Islam and other religions.
- By (author) Meir Bar-Asher
- By (author) Aryeh Kofsky
Other Titles in this Series
Controverse judeo-chretienne en Ashkenaz (XIIIe siecle)
Florileges polemiques : hebreu, latin, ancien francais. Paris, Bnf Hebreu 712, Fol. 56v/57v - 66v/68v. Edition, traduction, commentaires
Volume 173
Le Dieu un
Problemes et methodes d'histoire des monotheismes: Cinquante ans de recherches francaises (1970-2020)
Volume 194
Reading the Church Fathers with St. Thomas Aquinas
Historical and Systematical Perspectives
Volume 189
Le college sacerdotal avestique et ses dieux
Aux origines indo-iraniennes d'une tradition mimetique (Mythologica Indo-Iranica II)
Volume 195
Protestantisme et islam. Regards croises (XVIe-XXIe siecles)
Actes du colloque organise par l'Institut Protestant de Theologie et l'Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, 19-21 janvier 2022
Volume 210
Le guide du monde imaginal
Presentation, edition et traduction de la Risala mithaliyya (Epitre sur limaginal) de Qutb al-Din Ashkevari
Volume 198
Livres et confessions chretiennes orientales
Une histoire connectee entre l'Empire ottoman, le monde slave et l'Occident (XVIe-XVIIIe siecles)
Volume 197
Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Naqdan’s Works and Their Reception
L'oeuvre de Berechiah Ben Natronai ha-Naqdan et sa reception
Volume 182
Les petits dieux des Romains et leurs voisins
Enquete comparatiste sur la hierarchie divine dans les cultures romaine, italiques et grecques
Volume 206
Une quete tibetaine de la sagesse
Prajnarasmi (1518-1584) et lattitude impartiale (ris med)
Volume 196
Gnose et manicheisme. Entre les oasis d’Egypte et la Route de la Soie
Hommage a Jean-Daniel Dubois
Volume 176
De la lettre a l’esprit / From the Letter to the Spirit
Travaux en hommage a Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi / Studies in Honour of Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi
Science et exegese
Les interpretations antiques et medievales du recit biblique de la creation des elements (Genese 1,1-8)
Volume 167
Similar Books
‘For You I Study, For You I Work, For You I Live, For You I Am Ready To Even Give My Life’
Essays in Honour of Francis (Frank) J Moloney, SDB
A Late Antique Harrowing of Hell and Its Medieval Reception
Eusebius of Alexandria's Sermons 15 and 17 (CPG 5524; 5526) and their Latin Rewritings
Volume 99
Ars Prophetica
Theology in the Poetry of Twentieth-Century Hebrew Poets Avraham Halfi, Shin Shalom, Amir Gilboa, and T. Carmi
Cities through Time
Glimpses into Urbanity and Community in Mediaeval to Modern West Asia and Egypt
Volume 1
Drunk the Potion, No Whit Charmed
The Doctrine of Pure and Perfect Souls from Iamblichus to Damascius
Extracanonical Traditions and the Holy Land
Texts, Rituals, and Material Culture in Late Antique Palestine
Fear, Fear of God, God-Fearers
Philological and Historical Perspectives on the World of Ancient Judaism and Christianity
Global Gulf
Geo-Economic, Geo-Political, and Geo-Technological Transformation in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar
Ismail Hakki Bursevi’s translation of and commentary on Fusus al-Hikam By Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi
Volumes 1-4
Legal Visuality
Exegesis, Ambiguity, and Dissimulation of the Donation of Constantine in the Early Modern Period
Liturgia semper reformanda
Adaptations and accommodations in the liturgy in light of canon 838 of the Code of Canon Law
Pre-Christian Religions, Rituals, and Beliefs in Central and Northern Europe
Interdisciplinary Investigations
Volume 5
Qatar’s Societal Security
Towards the Inclusive National Concept of ‘Baladna’ Identity, Migration and External Threats Since 2017
The Therapeutae as the Best Paradigm for the Contemplative Life
A Contextual Reading of Philo of Alexandria's De Vita Contemplativa
