Syria: Murshidis [Murshidiyya], including their treatment, particularly in the city of Latakia (2014-April 2016)

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. The Murshidiyya Religious Community

1.1 Overview

Sources report that the Murshidis are a religious community, a subgroup of the Alawite branch, from whom they split in the 20th Century (Director, University of Denver 11 Apr. 2016; Sevruk Jan. 2013, 80). An article in the daily newspaper Le Monde states that it is a [translation] "dissident Alawite sect, which itself is a minority branch of Shia" (Le Monde 16 Nov. 2012). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, Dmitry Sevruk, a doctoral student in Islamic studies at the University of Bamberg, whose doctoral thesis focuses on the Murshidiyya community (Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg n.d.), said that "the Murshidis do not consider themselves a part of the Alawis" (Sevruk 11 Apr. 2016). In an article on the Murshidiyya community published in 2013, the same source explains that "[t]he Murshidis consider themselves a branch … within Islam, but their interpretation of the word 'Islam' is much wider than usual" (ibid. Jan. 2013, 90).

Sources estimate that the Murshidiyya community has increased to approximately 100,000 members (Director, University of Oklahoma 12 Apr. 2016) or 300,000 members (Sevruk Jan. 2013, 80).

According to some sources, the Murshidiyya now live in the areas of Latakia, Homs and Hama (Director, University of Denver 11 Apr. 2016; Director, University of Oklahoma 12 Apr. 2016; Sevruk 11 Apr. 2016). The doctoral student in Islamic studies noted that there are also a few Murshidiyya neighbourhoods in Damascus (ibid.). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a professor of modern Middle East history at the University of Toronto stated that the Murshidis are currently found in most major cities under the control of the Bashar al-Assad regime (Professor of modern Middle East history 11 Apr. 2016).

According to Dmitry Sevruk, the current "unofficial leader of the Murshidiyya community," Nur al-Mudi al-Murshid, mentioned, in his book Lamahat hawla al-Murshidiyya published in 2007, the existence of two branches of Murshidiyya: "al-Qabala" in Homs, Masyaf the suburbs of Damascus, and "al-Shamala" in Latakia and al-Ghab (Sevruk Jan. 2013, 81, 93).

1.2 Brief History

Sources indicate that the Murshidis are followers of Salman [Sulayman] al-Murshid, an Alawite who, in the 1920s, claimed to have received a message from God (Director, University of Denver 11 Apr. 2016; Sevruk Jan. 2013, 82).

According to sources, in 1936, in addition to his religious activities, Salman al-Murshid became a deputy (Professor of history, Dickinson College 11 Apr. 2016; Sevruk Jan. 2013, 85) of the Representative Council of the Alawi State, and then in 1937, in the National Parliament in Damascus (ibid.).

Sources note that Salman al-Murshid maintained relations with the French occupying power (ibid.; Director, University of Denver 11 Apr. 2016). According to Dmitry Sevruk,

Salman tried to manoeuvre between the French Mandate and the Syrian national government to secure his own position and that of his community generally but he was not successful: soon after the withdrawal of the French forces from Syria he was arrested ..., sentenced to death in December 1946 and executed in Damascus. (Sevruk Jan. 2013, 85)

The Professor of modern Middle East history at the University of Toronto explained that "[a]fter experiencing some persecution in earlier decades, the Murshidiyya established good relations with the regime of Hafez al-Assad" (Professor of modern Middle East history 11 Apr. 2016). Similarly, Dmitry Sevruk notes that it was only after Hafez el-Assad became the leader of Syria [in 1970] that the Murshidis were allowed to openly practise their faith (Sevruk n.d.).

In addition, according to Dmitry Sevruk, since the death of Saji al-Murshid (Salman's son) in 1998, the Murshidis have not officially had a leader (Sevruk Jan. 2013, 86, 90).

2. Treatment by Government and by Society

2.1 Treatment by the Bashar al-Assad Government

In a telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the Director of the Center for Middle East Studies (CMES) at the University of Oklahoma, who has a published a work on the Syrian crisis and several articles on Syria, stated that "the regime has an affinity for [Murshidis] and sees them as potential allies" (Director, University of Oklahoma 12 Apr. 2016). However, the same source also stated that there is "some distrust" between Bashar al-Assad and the Murshidis because a number of Murshidis supported Rifaat al-Assad when he tried to take power from his brother Hafez al-Assad in the 1980s (ibid.). Dmitry Sevruk explains that the Murshidis initially supported Rifaat al-Assad, before lending their support to Hafez al-Assad (Sevruk n.d.). Additional information on whether the Bashar al-Assad government considers the Murshidis to be allies could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Without providing more details, the director of the CMES at the University of Oklahoma stated that the current situation of the Murshidis in Syria is "not worse than anybody's [including in] Latakia" (Director, University of Oklahoma 12 Apr. 2016). In a telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the Director of the Center for Middle East Studies (CMES) at the University of Denver, who has published several articles on the Syrian crisis, said that he did not think that "the authorities would arrest someone on the ground that he is a part of the [Murshidi] community" (Director, University of Denver 11 Apr. 2016). Corroborating information, as well as information on Latakia in particular, could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

2.2 Treatment by Society

The Director of the CMES at the University of Denver stated the following with respect to how Syrian society views the Murshidis:

Anyone who claims to be a member of this subgroup is seen with deep suspicion not only by the Alawites … but also by most Syrian Sunnis, who form about 70 percent of the Syrian population. (Director, University of Denver 11 Apr. 2016)

Some oral sources explained that Sunnis generally consider the Murshidis to be heretics (ibid.); Director, University of Oklahoma 12 Apr. 2016). According to Dmitry Sevruk, "[u]ntil today al-Murshid is accused by opponents of the Murshidiyya to have claimed to be an incarnation of Divinity - a point which is flatly denied by the members of the community" (Sevruk Jan. 2013, 85).

According to the Director of the CMES at the University of Denver, the Murshidis currently face "multiple forms of discrimination" (Director, University of Denver 11 Apr. 2016). He also stated that a person who publicly proclaims that they are Murshidi or who try to organize a Murshidi public event could face discrimination or violence (ibid.). The same source explained that the Murshidis "would probably not be allowed to publicly have their own religious institutions" (ibid.). Corroborating information, as well as information referring specifically to Latakia, could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

The February 2016 report from the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arabic Republic, published by the UN Human Rights Council, states the following:

[UN English version]

In October [2015], the remains of 22 men belonging to the minority Murshidi Muslim sect were discovered in the Al-Ghab valley of Hamah, an area against which Jabhat al-Nusra and anti-government armed groups had launched a coordinated attack in August. All victims bore signs of severe torture, and many were found with their hands bound and teeth pulled. It is unclear whether the dead were civilians or captured fighters, and the extent to which their religious background motivated the attack (UN 11 Feb. 2016, para. 108).

Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

2.3 Fear of Mistreatment

Sources stated that if current Syrian president Bashar al-Assad were overthrown by armed opponents, the consequences for the Murshidis would be "very" negative (Director, University of Denver 11 Apr. 2016; Director, University of Oklahoma 12 Apr. 2016). According to the same sources, the Murshidis would then have a "legitimate" fear of "persecution" (ibid.; Director, University of Denver 11 Apr. 2016). The Director of CMES of the University of Oklahoma stated that, in his opinion, if the Islamist factions were to come to power, they "would wipe [the Murshidis] out" and, as a result, the fear of "genocide" would be "legitimate" (12 Apr. 2016). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

The Director of the CMES at the University of Denver explained that if there is a change of government in Syria, the Murshidis would be viewed with suspicion by the new government because they would be perceived both as a breakaway faction of the Alawite community and as having collaborated with the French (11 Apr. 2016). The doctoral student in Islamic studies indicated that he "suppose[d] that even a usual member of the community can be identified now by a part of the Syrian society with the Assad regime, in spite of his (this member's) real political views" (Sevruk 11 Apr. 2016). Similarly, according to Le Monde, [translation] "Sunnis in Syria consider the Murshidis to be Alawites" (Le Monde 16 Nov. 2012).

The same Le Monde article also states that the Murshidis, [translation] "who are considered to be favoured by the Bashar Al-Assad regime … are trying to remain neutral" (ibid.). The journalist, Lewis Roth, reports in the article that he noted that in the Murshidi village of Kdin, [translation] "which has fallen to the Free Syrian Army (FSA)," government officials "[were] still receiving their pay, even though they [could] not go to work," whereas "in general, the government has stopped paying all employees who remain in the FSA occupied area, in retaliation" (ibid.). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Director, Center for Middle East Studies (CMES), University of Denver. 11 April 2016. Telephone interview.

Director, Center for Middle East Studies (CMES), University of Oklahoma. 12 April 2016. Telephone interview.

Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg. N.d. "Dmitry Sevruk." [Accessed 15 Apr. 2016]

Le Monde. 16 November 2012. Lewis Roth. "À Kdin, en Syrie, la cohabitation délicate d'une secte alaouite avec les rebelles." [Accessed 19 Apr. 2016]

Professor of history, Dickinson College. 11 April 2016. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Professor of modern Middle East history, University of Toronto. 11 April 2016. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Sevruk, Dmitry, Doctoral student in Islamic studies, Universität Bamberg. 11 April 2016. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

_____. January 2013. "The Murshidis of Syria: a Short Overview of their History and Beliefs." The Muslim World. Vol. 103.

_____. N.d. "Dmitry Sevruk." [Accessed 15 Apr. 2016]

United Nations (UN). 11 February 2016. Human Rights Council. Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arabic Republic. [Accessed 20 Apr. 2016]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Center for Middle Eastern Studies, University of California at Berkeley; Center for Middle Eastern Studies, University of Chicago; Center for Middle Eastern Studies, University of Harvard; Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies; Department of Middle Eastern Studies, University of Texas at Austin; Free Syria's Silenced Voices; Gulf Centre for Human Rights; Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Edinburgh; Liaison Office Syria; Middle East Studies Association of North America; Middle East Studies Program, George Mason University; Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, New York University; Syria Relief Network; Syrian Forum; Syrian Network for Human Rights; Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Internet sites, including: Amnesty International; ecoi.net; Factiva; Freedom House; Human Rights Watch; UN - Refworld; US - Department of State.