tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6719362718346107647.post678016656905745428..comments2024-03-16T09:11:27.097-04:00Comments on GrEaT sAtAn"S gIrLfRiEnD: Sectarian StrugglesGrEaT sAtAn'S gIrLfRiEnDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760252542953109449noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6719362718346107647.post-61359120183207056722012-01-04T10:55:33.031-05:002012-01-04T10:55:33.031-05:00As a point of order, the Alawis aren't Shia. T...As a point of order, the Alawis aren't Shia. They're one of those far-out islamic sects that went out on it's own. They also don't allow people to convert into the Alawite faith and hold their ceremonies in secret. Because of this they've been labeled at times as non-muslims (sort of like the Druze, but of course the Druze don't consider themselves muslims anyway). In fact when Europeans first started coming into contact with the Alawis in the modern era, they weren't even sure that they were muslims, they were sometimes considered a surviving pre-islamic, even pre-christian pagan-neo-platonic sect.<br />Some people even still call them 'nosairis' today because of this.<br /><br />The Alawis /want/ to be considered a mainstream muslim sect, and I was actually under the impression that they were courting the Sunnis (Iran and recent events notwithstanding).Schenckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10802843636373254323noreply@blogger.com