Certainly I am alevi, and I believe and belong to all alevies over the world.
I know that there are some differences between alevies about the world. but I know too, there is no large difference, however the similarity is the large in comparison with believes.
What I want to say Is, I don't know any more about my brothers in turkey , Germany and other urbian countries .
I don’t know anything about their habits, customs, traditions, lines of their life, and political lifeway.
I need some information to post it In my website.
Regards
Alevi from Syria.

Hi, good luck to you. I am not the most knowledgeable about what you have asked. I am sure other people who know more will give you the information you are asking. On the other hand, Alevis from Turkey will not be able to tell you much about the differences because they do not know much about your rituels of Alevism. However, there is a great deal of information you may get from the net such as Wikipedia. What I would like to ask you is this; we know that Esad family are Alawi. How much have they remained unchanged in the power? I have also heard that most Alawis are quite distant to Esads and their life is unaffacted from the fact that an Alawi family rule the country.
One more thing is that I heard that the Syrian Poet Adonis is an Alawi. Is that true? Thanks very much for the cooperation.

I will answer your last question, Adonis is Pure Alawites, and he assured in more than an interview that he is proud of his of being Alawites .
And Coming to your question about the relation between Al Asad and him, well I say that all Alawites or you can say 98% of them have strong bond with Doctor Bashar Al Asad, though that D.Bashar Does not Rule Syria on the base that he is Alawites, he treats all people Equally.
Don’t mind what is said or mentioned in some forging newspapers, I am giving you accurate details.
Doctor Bashar is loved by All Alawites and Suni and all other Colts, even Christians in Syria , and Hafiz Asad (God Rest his soul) Ruled Syria for more than 37 years Till now .
And Coming to What u mentioned before that I can get details about Alawites through other sites like wikypedia, I assure you that this is so untrue because this site give a VERY Wrong idea about us

Hi, good luck to you. I am not the most knowledgeable about what you have asked. I am sure other people who know more will give you the information you are asking. On the other hand, Alevis from Turkey will not be able to tell you much about the differences because they do not know much about your rituels of Alevism. However, there is a great deal of information you may get from the net such as Wikipedia. What I would like to ask you is this; we know that Esad family are Alawi. How much have they remained unchanged in the power? I have also heard that most Alawis are quite distant to Esads and their life is unaffacted from the fact that an Alawi family rule the country.
One more thing is that I heard that the Syrian Poet Adonis is an Alawi. Is that true? Thanks very much for the cooperation.
Adonis is an Alawite,this is true!
regarding the way our lives have changed since Assad has come to power,our major gain was the ending of discrimination against us and other minority groups. Yet,up till now ,Alawites are still poorer than the other denominations.The Alawites are not recognized as a religious group distinct from Sunnis and other Islamic groups.For the past 30 years of my life I heard the word Alawite on the Syrian TV only once!
Our children are obliged to study The Islamic Education subject at schools.This subject teaches only the Sunni view of Islam.
In brief words,Assad's state has been quasi-secular under which all minorities (not only Alawites) have enjoyed rights that are denied to them in many other Arab states.Yet, when compared to the standards of the modern democratic countries ,Syria still has a lot to do in minority rights concern.

Adonis is an Alawite,this is true!
regarding the way our lives have changed since Assad has come to power,our major gain was the ending of discrimination against us and other minority groups. Yet,up till now ,Alawites are still poorer than the other denominations.The Alawites are not recognized as a religious group distinct from Sunnis and other Islamic groups.For the past 30 years of my life I heard the word Alawite on the Syrian TV only once!
Our children are obliged to study The Islamic Education subject at schools.This subject teaches only the Sunni view of Islam.
In brief words,Assad's state has been quasi-secular under which all minorities (not only Alawites) have enjoyed rights that are denied to them in many other Arab states.Yet, when compared to the standards of the modern democratic countries ,Syria still has a lot to do in minority rights concern.

Thanks very much for your response. I would like to ask further as to why Asads have not made more effort in terms of providing more equalitarian society, keeping in mind the fact that Asads are Alawites. The religous education is one of the most debated issues in Turkey for Alevis. Alevis think that this is the most vicious form of assimilation and therefore it is the most important point in Alevis' agenda in their struggle. We have got very strong Alevi Institutions, Federations, and hoping that the struggle will eventually lead to the full recognition of Alevi identity in Turkey.

Thanks very much for your response. I would like to ask further as to why Asads have not made more effort in terms of providing more equalitarian society, keeping in mind the fact that Asads are Alawites. The religous education is one of the most debated issues in Turkey for Alevis. Alevis think that this is the most vicious form of assimilation and therefore it is the most important point in Alevisgh' agenda in their struggle. .

Why didn't Assad try harder?
First of all Hafez Alassad was a deeply secular man.
I think he came to a conclusion that it was better for him not to come into direct collision with the deeply religious and extremist Sunni majority of the country.
He made a brave attempt in 1971 when he proposed a permanent constitution draft.
That draft unlike all the former Syrian constitutions since 1950 didn't provide that the president had to to be a Moslem (Syria has a significant Christian minority).
This led to angry violent reponse from the extremist street and riots erupted all over the country and Assad was forced to propose an amendment that again provided that the president should be a Moslem.
Concerning the need of the Alawite denomination to emphasize itself as a distict religious group,Assad didn't try to make any move because the Alawites have been silent so far and if he made any move the Sunni's would probably not be that quiet.
Why are the Alawites so silent.
I think this can be attributed to the nature of the Alawite community and the belief they hold.
like most Shia groups " Altakkiya= avoiding direct clashes with other religious groups" is a pillar of the Alawite faith.
For example,regarding the Islamic Education subject,an Alawite man would tell his son to " memorize,get good marks,don't ask,don't believe" and he will teach him Islam from the Alawite point of view at home.This way seems to work fine so far because Alawites don't seem being assimilated into the Sunni majority.
In a word ,the Alawite community didn't exert any pressure on Assad to do any thing about it and ,on the hand if he did any thing the Sunnis wouldn't be that much easy with the issue.

We have got very strong Alevi Institutions, Federations, and hoping that the struggle will eventually lead to the full recognition of Alevi identity in Turkey
This is not that easy in Syria.The government discourages the foundation of any kind of societies and keeps a close eye on the already existing ones.Especially if a society has a "sectarian" inclination,it will probably not be allowed.

Dear Syrian,

It is my understanding that Alawites are happy as they are at the moment and that there is no need to create a problem pressing for the acknowledgement of the Alawite identity. This is understandable. The problem in Turkey was and has always been that Alevis have always been a peaceful society and never aggressive but that has not been enough for some people and Alevis have always been persecuted, both pyschologically and physically. Alevis have faced many massacres throughout the history. Only now Alevis are getting organised and formulating and forming the necessary means of struggle against the oppressor. Having said that that does not mean that Alevis are free of assimmilation, persecution, inequalitity etc..
Again for you, you are experiencing a relatively liberal atmosphere under Asads, but what would happen if a more religious group (such as pro-sunni, pro-islamic) would take the power?

Hi again Syrian,
I have not heard from you for a while now. I would like to add that, as you may have already known, Ayn-i Cem is the most characteristic ritual for Alevis. Music (semah, deyiş, etc.) and Semah are integral part of Cems. I was wondering whether Alawis have Ayn-i Cem and the accompanying Music and Semah. If so, I would like to listen to your musics. So, please send us songs or give us links where we can listen to. Thanks very much.

Dear Syrian,

It is my understanding that Alawites are happy as they are at the moment and that there is no need to create a problem pressing for the acknowledgement of the Alawite identity.
Not really! Happy isn’t the word for describing that. It is more accurate to say that they fear to fall into the worse if they try out of the bad.

Alevis have always been persecuted, both pyschologically and physically
I understand that ! The Alawites of Syria had also been through very similar circumstances!
Again for you, you are experiencing a relatively liberal atmosphere under Asads, but what would happen if a more religious group (such as pro-sunni, pro-islamic) would take the power?
This is a widely disputed point among the Alawites of Syria. Some Say that this will turn the clock back to the middle ages when Alawites were being subjected to horrible racial cleansing and mass massacres. Others argue that the time has changed and the Sunni political Islamists are not all that extreme and that those who tend to violence among them are no more than a small minority. Indeed, the Turkish ”Justice and development party” is always quoted by them as an example of how an "Islamic party" can be modern ,civil, and democratic. As for me ,I don’t think that the Turkish model can work in Syria. Turkey has got a rich secular heritage since the time of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ..Also the Turkish culture is European in some of its aspects. This is not the case of Syria where the Sunni street is generally very extremist and believes in nothing but the one color theocratic state.

I have not heard from you for a while now

The nature of my work takes me away from civilization and dictates my access to the web.

Semah

Alawites of Syria don’t do Semah. Semah in Syria is a very well known practice of the dervishes of a certain Sunni Sufi group called “ mawlawiyya”. It is a Sunni Sufi group that exists especially in the northern city of Aleppo. It’s name refers to the Turkish religious leader ” Mawlana Jalal Eldeen El rumi” .
Ayn-i Cem
The idiom "Cem" isn’t known in Syria. The Syrian Alawites have mosques as houses of worship, yet, as many Alawites are not very much observant, the mosque attendance is less than that of the Sunnis. However, the Alawites greatly venerate the shrines of their major sheiks and visit them regularly. Yet, these buildings cannot be accurately classified as houses of worship because people don’t “pray” in them.

Indeed, the Turkish ”Justice and development party” is always quoted by them as an example of how an "Islamic party" can be modern ,civil, and democratic.

This is a very unfortunate misconception. ”Justice and development party” is not at all what some believe. Indeed they are as religious, extremist, undemocratic etc as any extremist you can find. It is only that they have to hide their real intentions because of the status quo in Turkey at the moment. But everyone knows that AKP undermines all what are believed to be secular.

Alawites of Syria don’t do Semah. Semah in Syria is a very well known practice of the dervishes of a certain Sunni Sufi group called “ mawlawiyya”. It is a Sunni Sufi group that exists especially in the northern city of Aleppo. It’s name refers to the Turkish religious leader ” Mawlana Jalal Eldeen El rumi” .

The rituel of “mawlawiyya” is called "sema" whereas the rituel of Alevis' is "semah". They sound like similar but they are so different. I am sure you must have seen "semah". What I wonder is that do not you have any kind of Alawite music. I cannot imagine Alevis without their music.

Do the names such as "Pir Sultan Abdal, Haci Bektas Veli, etc", who are the most venerated saints for Alevis, mean anything for Alawites?

The rituel of “mawlawiyya” is called "sema" whereas the rituel of Alevis' is "semah". They sound like similar but they are so different. I am sure you must have seen "semah". What I wonder is that do not you have any kind of Alawite music. I cannot imagine Alevis without their music.
I was referring to that dancing during which the dervishes wear in long white garments with high caps and they perform a whirling dance.
Most Syrians know this dance simply as " Almawlawiyyah dance".The word "Sema" isn't known for everybody.
The Arab Alawites don't have any kind of ritual music.

Do the names such as "Pir Sultan Abdal, Haci Bektas Veli, etc", who are the most venerated saints for Alevis, mean anything for Alawites?
I learned first about Haci Becktas Veli when I was looking on the web for some information about Anatolian Alevism. I have been very interested to learn more about this great character but the information about him in English is scarce and vague.I have come to a conclusion that I need to learn Turkish if I want to know more about him.I do intend to start learning Turkish when I get a chance (I hope it will be within two or three years).I think it will be great to discover Turkey in depth.I keep saying to my friends "isn't it really strange that Turley is only on the other side of the borders and our information about it is less than our information about ,say ,venzuella or Brazil.
As for "Pir Sutan Abdal " I have only now heard about him and I'll be honoured to learn about him.

The Arab Alawites revere many men.One certain man has become a symbol of the Alawite belief although he was not the most significat Alawite Character in history and was not the founder of the Alawite faith.This man is " Alhusein ibn Hemdan Alkhaseebi".The Alawites love and revere this man very much.

I have just checked out this name "Alhusein ibn Hemdan Alkhaseebi" on google but it has not returned anything worthy. So, I can understand your frustration with the Alevi saints. Although my search returned some basic information on Pir Sultan Abdal and I am sure you would have plenty of information on "Haci Bektas Veli" because he is highly known also amongst the western Scholars such as Irene Melikoff.
It would be really appreciated if you could give us just some basic information on "Alhusein ibn Hemdan Alkhaseebi" so that we can proceed from that point.
I could not agree with you more on the fact that we are almost complete strangers to our neighboors. Though I personally have lots of Alawite friends, who are from Antakya or Iskenderun. Actually rather than Alawite they are usually named as "Arab Alevis" in Turkey. Even though, Arab Alevis have their own version of practices and beliefs, overall, from the philosophical point of view, they are just like Alevis. They also enjoy Alevi music, revere Alevi saints as well as their owns, etc..