Cycle of fear : Syria's Alawites in war and peace /
Goldsmith, Leon T.,author.
"In early 2011 an elderly Alawite shaykh lamented the long history of 'oppression and aggression' against his people. Against such collective memories the Syrian uprising was viewed by many Alawites, and observers, as a revanchist Sunni Muslim movement and the gravest threat yet to the unorthodox Shi'ah sub-sect. This explained why the Alawites largely remained loyal to the Ba'athist regime of Bashar al-Assad. But was Alawite history really a constant tale of oppression and the Syrian uprising of 2011 an existential threat to the Alawites? This book surveys Alawite history from the sect's inception in Abbasid Iraq up to the start of the uprising in 2011. Goldsmith shows how Alawite identity and political behaviour have been shaped by a cycle of insecurity that has prevented the group from achieving either genuine social integration or long term security. Rather than being the gravest threat yet to the sect, the Syrian uprising, in the context of the Arab Spring, was quite possibly a historic opportunity for the Alawites finally to break free from their cycle of fear."--Book jacket.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 267-279) and index.
Introduction -- 1. IBN KHALDUN'S  'ASABIYYA AND THE CYCLE OF FEAR. A Definition of 'Asabiyya and its Sectarian Dimension; How a Group Develops High 'Asabiyya; The Nature and Influence of a Group with High 'Asabiyya; How a Dynasty Maintains 'Asabiyya; Variables for the Success of a Dynasty; How a Group's 'Asabiyya Declines -- 2. ORIGINS. Foundations of the Sect; Golden Period; Becoming Ibna' al-Jabal (Sons of the Mountain); Fatwas and Officialdom; Ottoman Rule: Continued Alawite Marginalization -- 3. INTEGRATION. Saving Alawite 'Souls'; New Horizons; Resistance and Receptivity; Artificial Integration; Genuine Integration?; Independent Syria and the 'Problem' of Pluralism; Suspicions of Sectarianism; Alawites Ascendant -- 4. APOGEE & DECLINE. Early Asad Rule; The Muslim Brotherhood Rebellion; The Hama Tragedy; The Spoils of Power; Struggle for the Asad Dynasty; The Alawite-Iranian Axis; Preparing for Succession -- 5. RAPID DESCENT.  A Modernising Reformer?; New Challenges; Losing Lebanon; Regime Consolidation and Isolation; Alawite Socio-Economic Conditions under Bashar al-Asad;  The 'Precarious' Security of the Lebanese Alawites -- 6. RUMBLINGS OF REVOLUTION. Regime Restoration; Elite Infighting; A Confident Bashar al-Asad; Rising Internal Challenges; A Rising Islamic Tide?; Integration at Last? -- Conclusion -- Appendix.
"In early 2011 an elderly Alawite shaykh lamented the long history of 'oppression and aggression' against his people. Against such collective memories the Syrian uprising was viewed by many Alawites, and observers, as a revanchist Sunni Muslim movement and the gravest threat yet to the unorthodox Shi'ah sub-sect. This explained why the Alawites largely remained loyal to the Ba'athist regime of Bashar al-Assad. But was Alawite history really a constant tale of oppression and the Syrian uprising of 2011 an existential threat to the Alawites? This book surveys Alawite history from the sect's inception in Abbasid Iraq up to the start of the uprising in 2011. Goldsmith shows how Alawite identity and political behaviour have been shaped by a cycle of insecurity that has prevented the group from achieving either genuine social integration or long term security. Rather than being the gravest threat yet to the sect, the Syrian uprising, in the context of the Arab Spring, was quite possibly a historic opportunity for the Alawites finally to break free from their cycle of fear."--Book jacket.
Nosairians