As sectarian tensions rise in Syria following the collapse of the Assad regime, a minority sect fears for its future amid calls for mass slaughter. The feeling is a new one for the Alawites, a group that was powerful and influential during the dictator's rule.
The Alawites are a minority esoteric sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam. Between 10% and 12% of Syrians currently belong to the group.
Although they were "historically marginalized," they "gained significant influence" after Hafez al-Assad's rise to power in 1970, moving from "isolated mountain communities" to cities and "assuming a dominant role" in government and security institutions, said New Lines magazine. They "dominated the ruling class and upper ranks of the military," said The New York Times.
But many insist they were also "oppressed" under the Assad and his son, ousted leader Bashar al-Assad, and "deny that they were a favored class," said the Times. They point to "ramshackle homes" and low salaries as "proof" that they suffered.
As the country emerges from dictatorship, the wider "cry for justice" and atmosphere of reckoning has left the Alawite community with a "deep sense of anxiety," the Times said. The Alawites have repeated "like a mantra" that they "need the same things: safety and security."
Extremist factions have circulated calls for mass violence against them. Nevertheless, some Syrians haven't given up hope that this moment can be unifying. Activist Hassan G. Ahmad told France 24 that Syria needs a government that "includes all parts of society," describing himself as "not Muslim, Alawite, atheist, Sunni or anything else" but "Syrian, above all." | 
