or Alawite or Nu 1E63; ayriyyah
Minority sect of Sh 012B; ite Islam.
The sect, which exists mainly in Syria, traces its roots to the teachings of Mu 1E25; ammad ibn Nu 1E63; ayr al-Nam 012B; r 012B; (fl. 850) and was chiefly established by 1E24; usayn ibn 1E24; amd 0101; n al-Kha 1E63; 012B; b 012B; (d. 957/958). Its basic doctrine includes a deification of Al 012B; and an interpretation of the five Pillars of Islam as symbolic. Some of the group's religious practices are secret; it celebrates some Islamic and some Christian holidays.