section_path: Beliefs
section_name: Beliefs
paragraph_text: Beliefs
  
  Alawites and their beliefs have been described as "secretive". Yaron Friedman, for example, in his scholarly work on the sect, has written that the Alawi religious material quoted in his book came only from "public libraries and printed books" since the "sacred writings" of the Alawi "are kept secret". Some tenets of the faith are kept secret from most Alawi and known only to a select few. They have, therefore, been described as a mystical sect.
  
  Alawite doctrines originated from the teachings of Iraqi priest Muhammad ibn Nusayr who claimed prophethood, declared himself as the " Bāb (Door) of the Imams ", and attributed divinity to Hasan al-Askari. Al-Askari denounced Ibn Nusayr, and Islamic authorities expelled his disciples—most of whom emigrated to the Syrian Coastal Mountain Range, wherein they established a distinct community. Nusayri theology treats Ali, the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad, as a manifestation of "the supreme eternal God" and consists of various gnostic beliefs. Alawite doctrine regards the souls of Alawites as re-incarnations of "lights that rebelled against God."
  
  Alawites' beliefs have never been confirmed by their modern religious authorities. As a highly secretive and esoteric sect, Nusayri priests tend to conceal their core doctrines, which are introduced only to a chosen minority of the sect's adherents. Alawites have also adopted the practice of taqiya to avoid victimization.