Alawi

Alawi and also called by these other names, viz. Alawi Shias, Alawites, Nusayris and Ansaris. They are predominantly live in Syria, but there are kno populations in Lebanon about 40,000 to 120,000 and Turkey estmated population 400 000, but this is not certain. The four Alawi confederations, each divided into tribes, are Kalbiyah, Khaiyatin, Haddadin, and Matawirah. Their religion, though known to be Shia, is very secretive, and contains mixture of extreme Shi'a (Ghulat), ancient pagan, gnostic and Christian elements.  i will try to find who is who as we go about. I can understand their stand on more liberal and leftish attitudes. But read on.

Alawis are not very favourable with the other Islamic people. they beleave in incarnation. they have 'Ali as the incarnation of God in flesh. now we in the normal world can dispute this. According to about.com.

The first is the belief in incarnation - the idea that God can be made flesh, for example in the case of Ali. Ali is believed to have created Muhammad, who in turn created Salman, an early Shi'ite saint. These three form a Trinity.


Thus, Ali is the "Meaning"; Muhammad, whom Ali created of his own light, is the "Name"; and Salman is the "Gate." Alawi catechesis is expressed in the formula: "I turn to the Gate; I bow before the Name; I adore the Meaning."

It is like the Buddhist belifs of Baddha, Sanga and Dharma. Is it coincidence that  they all look at a trinity. I got so confused i went out for a wee smoke.

Just like the Jews, North Americans etc, who think they are persecuted by others, they think they are the only one's who have seen the light. Ha ha init?

One famed trail of this sect is that they are good fighters. The French when they ruled that area used Alawi people in top positions in the military. So we can see how they have organised into control of Syria. They had a strong power base in Lebanon one time but their power has been weaned out. If you are "an input maniac" you can go to this for more feeding.

Another good form of intelligent information can be gathered in this article.

There are so many confusing accounts of this sect, I am not very happy writing this. OK now I will point you in the direction of another person Daniel Pipes.  I have heard good, bad and ugly of this person, but I reserve judgement and let you the reader absorb the material he has forwarded on Alawi sect and how they come to power in Syria..

There is a reasonable debate over the assumption that Alawi sect has been down trodden by various conquerers and they managed to salvage a minority rule. Aha haha says the man in here, when he postulates thus:

For centuries, the Alawis constituted Syria's most repressed and exploited minority. Most were indentured servants and tenant farmers or sharecroppers working for Sunni landowners. However, after Alawi President Assad and his retinue came to power in 1970, the well being of the Alawis improved considerably.

For me I find Alawis as  a sect of people who has ben modulated by various outside super powers then and now. But they did allow that to happen. politics huh?





















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Bahrain

According to Wikipedia:

Bahrain (i /bɑːˈreɪn/, Arabic: ‏البحرين‎‎ Al Baḥrayn), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain (Arabic: مملكة البحرين‎ Mamlakat al Baḥrayn Arabic pronunciation (help·info), English: Kingdom of the Two Seas), is a small island country near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals.[1]



Bahrain is an archipelago of 33 islands, the largest being Bahrain Island, at 55 km (34 mi) long by 18 km (11 mi) wide. Saudi Arabia lies to the west and is connected to Bahrain by the King Fahd Causeway. Qatar is to the southeast across the Gulf of Bahrain. The planned Qatar Bahrain Causeway will link Bahrain and Qatar and become the world's longest marine causeway.[8]

The country has been ruled by  Khalifah family, members of the Bani Utbah tribe, who are Sunnis. But majority of the country population is Shia. From 1861 to 1971 the country was a British colony. Oops "protectorate" I stand corrected.

In 2001 the new Emir made the country into a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament and an independant judicary. In 2002 they had elections and out of 40 Council Of Deputies 12 were Shia.

For years country prospered with new freedom of speech etc and Human Rights groups were satisfied. but in 2011 Shia community thought we had enough and started demonstration with vigour, after Tunisia and Eigypt. Emir got the Saudi and Qatar military to help quell the disturbance. Torture and murder is been reported right through last year. The medical teams who helped the injured and tortured demonstrators, were arrested, tortured and imprisoned by a military court.

Some of the above facts were taken from BBC country report.











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This place is inhabited in ancient times and has a strategic port in the area. Bahrain means "Two Seas". Sumerians thought that the wise and the brave go to Bahrain for eternal life. Nice. I think I will wait until I get wiser but not brave huh?