Book review: The Nusayrt-Alawis: an introduction to the religion, history and identity of the leading minority in Syria

Click on the DOI link to access the article (may not be free).This monograph by Yaron Friedman is the result of a dissertation and presents a study of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs, a secret religion that historically was called Nuṣayrīyyah by outsiders but became known early in the twentieth century as ʿAlawīyyah, as was used by its members. It is currently the most comprehensive study based on recently published primary sources pertaining to their system of beliefs. In his monograph, Friedman has the ambition to counter the most common views on the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs found in Western publications that tend to reiterate Orthodox Sunni perspectives by depicting them as heretics, even though they would perceive themselves as true Muslims. Analyzing all available historical sources, Friedman documents thoroughly the religious tradition of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs, who originated in Iraq during the ninth century