Alawites and the Fate of Syria

The Syrian Independence Flag, official flag of the country from 1932 to 1958, has been taken up by the Free Syrian Army.

Syrian President Hafez al-Assad of Syria greets President Nixon on his arrival at Damascus airport in 1974.

President Hafez al-Assad with his family in the early 1970s. From left to right: Bashar, Maher, Anisa Makhlouf, Majd, Bushra, and Basil.

The Assad family around 1994. Bashar, current president of Syria, is second from the left on the back row. Then-president Hafez al-Assad is seated at right. 

An Alawite falconer in Banyas, Syria, during World War II. Photo by Frank Hurley.

This French post card from around 1900 pictures an Alawite man from Latakia with a hatchet, sword, and rifle. 

Alawite women photographed in Syria in the 1920s.

Billboard with portrait of Bashar al-Assad and the text "Allah protects Syria" on the old city wall of Damascus in 2006. Photo by Bertil Videt.

A pro-Assad demonstration in Latakia in June 2011

A Syrian stamp pays tribute to the Alawites.

The official Syrian flag

A section of Hama after the government attack that killed 30,000 civilian Muslims

Syrian First Lady Asma al-Assad was widely criticized for wearing a calorie watch bracelet while distributing food to homeless Syrians.

Alawites revere Ali as a Jesus-like incarnation of the divine.

Bashar al-Assad in prayer. He cultivated ties to Shi'ite Islam to take advantage of a trend among Alawites converting to the mainstream relgion. 

Syrians celebrate their independence in 1946

A protestor marks the 30th anniversary of the Hama massacre in 2012.