Claim: The Alawite State, a territory populated by a sect of Shia Islam, was created out of French control over parts of Syria in the early 1900s.
Evidence: When the French began to occupy Syria in 1920, an Alawite State was created in the coastal and mountain country comprising most Alawite villages; the French justified this by citing differences between the "backwards" mountain people and the mainstream Sunnis. The Alawis, or Alawites (Arabic: علوية‎ Alawīyah), are a sect of Shia Islam. It gave the French the power to recruit Syrian civilians into their armed forces for an indefinite period and created exclusive areas for minorities, including an Alawite State.