ABSTRACT
The present state of scholarship on Syrian minorities, and in particular the Alawites stands at an important departure point. Keeping in mind that much work is required to tap these [re]emerging sources, this chapter gives a brief introduction to the defining characteristics of the Alawites, efforts to integrate them into a Syrian nation-state, and major challenges facing the Alawite community going forward. Yet, despite this super-diverse background, the issue of integrating subnational identities into a coherent state has been one of the most pressing problems in the Syrian context. The majority populations – whether considered on religious or ethnic grounds – generally accepted the heterogeneous nature of Syrian society and coexisted with minorities as long as established political and social norms were upheld. As the Mamluk state expanded and consolidated its authority in the thirteenth to fourteenth centuries the geopolitical and religious landscape of the Levant shifted toward a majoritarianism based on Sunni Islamic identity.
