Het grondgebied van Syrië lag in het centrum van het Grote Historische Gebeuren of bevond zich aan de rafelrand. Dat heeft gezorgd voor een grote diversiteit in de religieuze affiliaties van de bevolking. Overal zie je Islamitische moskeeën en Christelijke kerken (door de politieke situatie in de regio zijn helaas de Joodse Synagogen verdwenen). Dat wil echter niet zeggen dat er een simpele tweedeling is. Zowel de Islamieten als de Christenen zijn verdeeld in zeer vele sekten. Syrië is als een granaatappel: een stevige schil beschermt enorm veel kleine sappige vruchtjes. Op deze tekening zie je rechtsboven een kerk en midden onder een moskee. Op de heuvel in de verte staat ook nog een heiligdom van de één of ander. Welke sekten hier precies vertegenwoordigd zijn is niet duidelijk voor de tekenaar.
De belangrijkste minderheid in Syrië is moment de sekte van de Alawi’s. Uit hun midden komt de president, Bashar Al Assad, en de andere leiders van de regerende Ba’ath Partij, zoals de leider van de Veiligheidstroepen.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenThe Alawis are a religious group who constitute a branch of Shia Islam. Traditionally Alawis live in the mountains along the Mediterranean coast of Syria. Latakia and Tartous are the region's principal cities. Alawis are also concentrated in the plains around Hama and Homs. They constitute about 10% of the Syrian population. The Alawis take their name from ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib cousin and son-in-law of Muḥammad, who was the first Shi'a Imam and the fourth and last "Rightly Guided Caliph" of Sunni Islam. According to some sources, Alawis "as a small, historically beleaguered ethnic group, absorbed elements" from the different religions that influenced their area from Hellenistic times onward, while maintaining their own beliefs, and "pretended to adhere to the dominant religion of the age. The Alawis believe that the Shariah has both an esoteric, allegorical and a literal meaning and that only the hidden meaning is intended. Alawis are reported to celebrate certain Christian festivals, "in their own way", including Christmas, Easter, and Palm Sunday, and their religious ceremonies make use of bread and wine. They also practice Naw Ruz the Persian New Year. Under the Ottoman Empire the Alawis resisted an attempt to convert them to Sunni Islam. They revolted against the Ottomans on several occasions, and maintained virtual autonomy in their mountains. T. E. Lawrence wrote: "The sect, vital in itself, was clannish in feeling and politics. One [Alawi] would not betray another, and would hardly not betray an unbeliever." Syria became independent on April 17, 1946. Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Syria endured a succession of military coups. Finally in 1970 Hafez al-Assad, an Alawite, of the Ba'ath Party took power: an unprecedented development shocking to the majority population of Sunnis, which had monopolized power for so many centuries. After his death in 2000, his son Bashar al-Assad maintained the outlines of his father's regime. Although the Alawis predominate among the top military and intelligence offices, the civilian government and national economy is largely led by Sunnis, who represent about 70% of Syria's population. The Assad regime is careful to allow all of the religious sects a share of power and influence in the government. (bron: Wikipedia)