The Treachery of the Nusayriyyah Against the Muslims in the Past and Present

The Nusayriyyah never missed an opportunity, whether in the past or the present, to inflict the greatest possible harm on the Muslims. When they carry out such actions, they believe they are rewarded for these deeds that make humanity’s forehead sweat in shame. What happened in Lebanon, Tall al Za’tar^[1], and their siding with the Maronites is not far behind us. Moreover, the distinguished Mr. Sami al Jundi, who served as Syria’s ambassador to France during the Arab–Jewish war of 1967, revealed something of the treachery of the Nusayriyyah who rule Syria in his book Atahadda wa Attahim (I Challenge and Accuse), even though the stench of treason had already become unbearable.

As for the past, their betrayals of the Muslims living in their lands are too numerous to count. We shall content ourselves with citing one or two examples of such betrayals. The Nusayri Muhammad Amin Ghalib al Tawil justifies these betrayals in his book Tarikh al ‘Alawiyyin by saying:

ولما كان لابد للضعيف المظلوم من التوسل بالخيانة لكى يحافظ على حقوقه أو يستردها وهذا أمر طبيعي يساق إليه كل إنسان كان العلويون كلما غصب السنيون أموالهم وحقوقهم يتوسلون بغدر السنيين عند سنوح الفرصة

Since it is inevitable for the weak and the oppressed to resort to treachery in order to preserve or regain their rights—and this is a natural matter to which anyone in dire circumstances is driven—whenever the Sunnis seized the property and rights of the ‘Alawiyyah, the ‘Alawiyyah would resort to betraying the Sunnis whenever an opportunity arose.^[2]

An opportunity arose for them when the Tatars overwhelmed Baghdad, the capital of the Islamic world at that time. The author of Tarikh al ‘Alawiyyin says:

جاء تيمورلنك بجيوش لا يعرف مقدارها واستولى على بغداد وحاب والشام في سنة 822 – 823 هـ ويدعى أن تيمورلنك كان نصيرياً محضاً من جهة العقيدة إذ توجد له أشعار دينية موافقة لآداب الطريقة الجنبلانية النصيرية وأسباب دخوله في الطريقة هو ذهاب النصيري السيد بركة من خراسان إلى الأمير تيمور وهو في بلدة بلخ

Tamerlane came with armies whose number is unknown and seized Baghdad, Hab, and al Sham in the years 822–823 AH. It is claimed that Tamerlane was purely Nusayri in terms of creed, as he left behind religious poetry in harmony with the etiquette of the Junbulani tariqah.^[3] The reason for his joining this tariqah was that the Nusayri, al Sayed Barakah, traveled from Khorasan to Prince Tamerlane while he was in the town of Balkh.^[4]

He then adds:

وداوم تيمورلنك في الاستيلاء على البلاد وشيخه السيد بركة يبشره بدوام فتوحاته حتى جاء البغداد وأخذها من يد السلطان أحمد ثم أراق الخمور ومنع الملاهي والمقاهي منها وأخذ من كان من أرباب الصنائع في بغداد السمرقند واستولى على الموصل عام ٨٩٦ وبنى بها مراقد الأنبياء جرجيس ويونس عليهما السلام وجاء للرها واغتسل بمحل النبي إبراهيم ثم جاء الماردين وأعطاها الأمان ثم استولى على ديار بكر وعنتاب التي التجأ أميرها إلى حلب وعندما أرسل الخليفة تحاريره الجميع الملوك والأمراء المسلمين بأن يمدوا حلب بما يستطيعون من قوة جاءت الإمدادات من كل جانب من العالم الإسلامي

Tamerlane continued seizing lands, and his sheikh, al Sayed Barakah, gave him glad tidings that his conquests would continue. When he arrived at Baghdad, he took it from Sultan Ahmed, then he poured out the wine, banned musical entertainment and cafés, and took the craftsmen of Baghdad to Samarqand. He seized Mosul in the year 896 AH and built there the shrines of the prophets Jirjis and Yunus ‘alayh al Salam. He went on to Edessa and performed the ritual washing at the site of the Prophet Ibrahim. Then he proceeded to Mardin and granted it amnesty. He then seized Diyar Bakir and Gaziantep, whose amir had sought refuge in Aleppo. When the Khalifah sent his missives to all Muslim kings and princes, urging them to reinforce Aleppo with whatever strength they could muster, aid came from all corners of the Islamic world.

He continues:

وكان نائب حلب هو الأمير النصيري العلوى تمور طاش الذى اتصل بتيمورلنك خفية واتفق معه على أن يدهم تيمورلنك حلب فهاجمها بالفعل ودخلها عنوة فأمعن في القتل والنهب والتعذيب مدة طويلة حتى أنشأ من رؤوس البشر تلة عظيمة وقد قتل جميع القواد المدافعين عن المدنية وانحصرت المصائب بالسنيين فقط

The deputy of Aleppo was the Nusayri ‘Alawi prince Timur Tash, who secretly communicated with Tamerlane and arranged that Tamerlane would attack Aleppo. He in fact attacked it, entered it by force, and ruthlessly carried out killing, looting, and torture for a long period, even piling up a huge mound of human heads. He killed all the commanders who defended the city, and the calamities fell exclusively on the Sunnis!

He goes on to say:

ثم سافر تيمور إلى الشام وقبل سفره جاءت إليه العلوية بنت سعد الأنصار ومعها النصيرية درة الصدف أربعون بنتاً بكراً من العلويين وهن ينحن ويبكين ويطلبن الانتقام لأهل البيت وبناتهم اللاتي جيء بهن سبايا للشام الأنصار هذا من رجال الملك الظاهر وسعد وهو مدفون بحلب وله قبر فوقه قبة فوعدها تيمور بأخذ الثأر ومشت البنات العلويات مع تيمور وهن ينحن ويبكين وينشدن الأناشيد المتضمنة للتحريض على الأخذ بالثأر فكان ذلك سبباً في نزول أفدح المصائب التي لم يسمع بمثلها بأهل الشام

Then Tamerlane traveled to al Sham and before his departure, the ‘Alawi woman, daughter of Sa’d al Ansar—accompanied by the Nusayri Durrah al Sadaf and forty other ‘Alawi virgin girls—came forward, lamenting and weeping as they appealed for vengeance for the Ahlul Bayt and for their womenfolk who had been taken as captives to al Sham in the past (al Ansar is among the men of al Malik al Zahir, and Sa’d is buried in Aleppo under a dome). Tamerlane promised her that he would exact retribution, so these ‘Alawi girls marched with Tamerlane, weeping and chanting songs urging him to take vengeance. That was the reason that the most severe calamities imaginable, worse than anything ever heard, befell the people of al Sham.

He continues:

ولم ينج من بطش تيمورلنك بالشام إلا عائلة واحدة من المسيحيين وأمر تيمور بقتل أهل السنة واستثناء العلويين النصيريين وبعد الشام ذهب تيمور لبغداد وقتل بها تسعين ألفاً

No one was saved from Tamerlane’s oppression in al Sham except one Christian family. Tamerlane ordered that the Sunnis be killed. He exempted only the ‘Alawiyyah (Nusayriyyah). Then, after leaving al Sham, he went to Baghdad again and killed 90 000 people there.^[5]

This is how it was during the Tatar invasion. As for the era of the Crusader offensive, the Crusaders entered the lands of the Muslims only through their help and from their areas of residence in Tarsus, Antioch, and other places under their influence. In fact, the city of Antioch fell into Crusader hands due to an agreement that took place between the Nusayri leader Fayruz and the Crusader commander Bohemond.^[6] These are examples of the disgraceful deeds and betrayals of the Nusayriyyah against the Muslims that took place in earlier times.

As for this reprehensible era, the evidence of their collaboration against the Muslims is too numerous to count. We can see it in what took place—and continues to take place—on the Lebanese front, as we have already mentioned, and in the events of the Arab–Jewish wars of 1967 and 1973. Indeed, the collaboration between the Nusayriyyah, represented by Zaki al Arsuzi, and the Christians, represented by Michel ‘Aflaq, along with Salah al Din al Bitar, to form the Ba’th (Arab Nationalist) Party—which played and continues to play a major role in corrupting the beliefs of the youth of the Muslim Arab nation and in persecuting Muslims in Syria and elsewhere—is the best proof of their enmity.

NEXT⇒ Nusayri Tribes and Their Homelands

^[1] A Palestinian refugee camp north of Beirut, Lebanon, which fell victim to a massacre by Christian militias and armed groups trained and supported by Hafez al Assad in 1976.

^[2] Al Tawil: Tarikh ‘Alawiyyin, pg. 407.

^[3] A Nusayri Sufi group. See the Chapter: The Nusayriyyah Sect under the section: On their Proliferation.

^[4] Ibid., pg. 334-339.

^[5] Al Tawil: Tarikh ‘Alawiyyin, pg. 334-339; Ghalib: Al Harakat al Batiniyyah fi al Islam, pg. 97-98; Al Khatib: al Khutut al ‘Aridah, pg. 28-29; al Nadwi: Gharat al Tatar ‘ala al ‘Alam al Islami, pg. 24.

^[6] Al Tawil: Tarikh ‘Alawiyyin, pg. 293.

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