RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY "MURSHIDIYYA" IN SYRIA: EMERGENCE, HISTORY AND RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
In 1923, a young “prophet” appeared in Ǧawbat Burġāl, an Alawi village in Western Syria. His name was Salmān Murshid, he spoke about the arrival of Judgment Day and called the Alawis to find salvation through repentance. Quite soon, his religious message transformed into an egalitarian political and social movement. Gradually Salmān Muršid became one of the most influential Alawi chiefs and an influential Syrian politician. Even after his execution in 1946 the tribe al-Ġasāsina, founded by him from various Alawi clans, has not disappeared but was transformed by his sons Muǧīb (1930- 1952) and Sāǧī (1932-1998) into an independent religious community called “Murshidiyya”. After Ḥāfiẓ al-Asad came to power, the new community was recognized and instrumentalized by the new regime. However, the history of Salmāns message, its transformation into a political movement and then into an independent religious community is inseparable from the history of Syria in the 20th century. The description of religious doctrines and analysis of the Murshidi history are largely based on the results of fieldwork undertaken by the author in 2010.