Islam in Syria
Several different denominations and sects of Islam are practised within Syria, who collectively constitute approximately 87% of the population and form a majority in most of the districts of the country.
Prior to the Muslim conquest of the Levant in 634, Syria was a center of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, the state religion of the Byzantine empire.
In 635, Damascus surrendered to the Muslims and its inhabitants on conditions of security for their lives, property and churches, with the payment of a poll tax (Jizya).
[4] The Umayyads made Damascus their capital, relying on the Syrian Arab tribes as their core military force, who ruled over a predominantly Aramaic-speaking population.
The majority are formed of indigenous Syrian but there is also a significant number of Sunni Kurds, Turkmen/Turkoman, and Circassians, as well as refugees who have arrived in the country, such as Iraqis and Palestinians.
[11] More recently, Dr. Pierre Beckouche also said that the Arab Sunni Muslims formed 60% of the population, including 500,000 Palestinian refugees.
[14] By 1979 Dr. Nikolaos van Dam claimed that the Syrian Kurds (forming 8.5% of the population at the time) were almost exclusively Sunni Muslims.
[11] In recent decades, the population of other religious minorities (particularly Christians and Jews) has decreased, therefore, estimates on the proportion of Sunni Kurds has increased.
[11] In recent decades, the population of other religious minorities (particularly Christians and Jews) has decreased, therefore, estimates on the proportion of Sunni Turkmen has increased.
[11] In recent decades, the population of other religious minorities (particularly Christians and Jews) has decreased, therefore, estimates on the proportion of Sunni Circassians has increased.
The Ismaili power in Syria was stamped out by the Mamluk dynasty of Egypt, after the former offered the Crusaders their allegiance and conversion to Christianity – which were rejected by the Knights Templar.
In addition, Ismailis also live in the Tartus Governorate, particularly in the town of Qadmus and its surrounding countryside and in the district and villages of Nahr al-Khawabi.
[20] Forming the smallest of the Islamic sects in Syria at 2%, the Twelver Shia play only a minor role in Syrian politics.
[21] The Syrian Druze community constitute the third largest Islamic influenced sect in the country, they are not traditionally considered as Muslims,[22] forming approximately 4% of the population of Syria.
[23] The history of the movement in Syria begins in the 1920s, when the second caliph of the Community, Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad visited Damascus, as part of his tour of Europe and the Middle East.
The caliph appointed Sayyid Zayn al'Abidin Waliullah Shah and Jalal al-Din Shams to be sent for missionary work in Damascus.
Along with Maulvi Abu'l-'Ata Jalandhari, who arrived for a mission in Jerusalem, the three missionaries spent their time spreading Ahmadi teachings in major towns and cities across the Middle East, including Haifa, Beirut and Cairo.
However, Ahl al-Qur'an adherents precede these 19th century developments in the form of Mu'tazilites such as Ibrahim al-Nazzam, who lived for some period in these environs.
