Alawism in the context of Christmas

Alawites (Arabic: العلويون, romanized: al-ʿAlawiyyūn) are an ethnoreligious group who live primarily in the Levant region in West Asia and follow Alawism, an offshoot of Shia Islam as a ghulat branch during the ninth century. Alawites venerate Ali ibn Abi Talib, the "first Imam" in the Twelver school, as a manifestation of the divine essence. It is the only ghulat sect still in existence today. The group was founded during the ninth century by Ibn Nusayr, who was a disciple of the tenth Twelver Imam, Ali al-Hadi, and of the eleventh Twelver Imam, Hasan al-Askari. For this reason, Alawites are also called Nusayris, although this term can be considered derogatory in the present day.

Surveys suggest Alawites represent an important portion of the Syrian population and are a significant minority in the Hatay Province of Turkey and northern Lebanon. There is also a population living in the village of Ghajar in the Golan Heights, where there had been two other Alawite villages (Ayn Fit and Za'ura) before the Six-Day War. The Alawites form the dominant religious group on the Syrian coast and towns near the coast, which are also inhabited by Sunnis, Christians, and Ismailis. They are often confused with the Alevis, a religious group in Turkey that shares certain similarities with the Alawites but has key differences.

Abu Shu'ayb Muhammad ibn Nusayr al-Numayri (died c. 883), commonly known simply as Ibn Nusayr, was an Arab religious leader who is considered the founder of Alawism. He was a contemporary of Ali al-Hadi and Hasan al-Askari, the tenth and eleventh imams in Twelverism.

Born in Basra to the Banu Numayr tribe, Ibn Nusayr is viewed by his followers as the bab (representative) of al-Askari and sometimes of Hujjat Allah al-Mahdi, during the Minor Occultation. A rival of his in claiming to be the Bāb (Door) to the Imams was Abu Yaqub Ishaq, founder of the Ishaqiyya.