ebooks Racism: A Short History (Princeton Classics) by George M. Fredrickson in History

Description

The ‘Alawis; or Alawites; are a prominent religious minority in northern Syria; Lebanon; and southern Turkey; best known today for enjoying disproportionate political power in war-torn Syria. In this book; Stefan Winter offers a complete history of the community; from the birth of the ‘Alawi (Nusayri) sect in the tenth century to just after World War I; the establishment of the French mandate over Syria; and the early years of the Turkish republic. Winter draws on a wealth of Ottoman archival records and other sources to show that the ‘Alawis were not historically persecuted as is often claimed; but rather were a fundamental part of Syrian and Turkish provincial society.Winter argues that far from being excluded on the basis of their religion; the ‘Alawis were in fact fully integrated into the provincial administrative order. Profiting from the economic development of the coastal highlands; particularly in the Ottoman period; they fostered a new class of local notables and tribal leaders; participated in the modernizing educational; political; and military reforms of the nineteenth century; and expanded their area of settlement beyond its traditional mountain borders to emerge from centuries of Sunni imperial rule as a bona fide sectarian community. Using an impressive array of primary materials spanning nearly ten centuries; A History of the ‘Alawis provides a crucial new narrative about the development of ‘Alawi society.