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The Alawites of Syria

The Alawites of Syria, numbering approximately 2,350,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnoreligious community rooted in the coastal mountains of northwestern Syria whose Alawite faith developed from medieval Shi'i traditions. They mostly adhere to Shia Islam and Levantine Arabic is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Alawites

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Syria
People Cluster: Arab, Levant
Primary Language(s): Levantine Arabic (apc)
Primary Religion(s): Shia Islam
Population: 2,350,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012176
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Pray for the Alawites of Syria

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Shia Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Shia Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Levantine Arabic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Arabic, Levantine Speakers

Media Resources in Levantine Arabic:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Levantine Arabic:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Sabeel Media✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Levantine Arabic bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Alawites are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Alawites:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Alawites of Syria

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
readRom 6:23

Pray that those who haven't heard yet will hear and believe that the wages of their sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.
readMatthew 13:8-9

Pray that they will have open hearts and minds to the Word of God, and that it will take root in their lives and bear fruit for His glory.

Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
readPsalm 51:9

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have confidence that God has turned His face from their sins and forgiven their iniquities.

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
readMatthew 6:9b-10

Pray that God will raise up Christians who are driven by a desire to see God's name worshiped, His kingdom come, and His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Ask Him to send them to the lost in this people group and sustain them.

Alawite Across Countries (ROP3 - 114499) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▲Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
AlawitesPG011727AlawitesIsrael2,400Engaged yet UnreachedLevantine ArabicShia Islam
AlawitesPG011810AlawitesLebanon82,000Engaged yet UnreachedLevantine ArabicShia Islam
AlawitesPG024573AlawitesTurkiye1,320,000Unengaged and UnreachedLevantine ArabicShia Islam
AlawitesPG012176AlawitesSyria2,350,000Engaged yet UnreachedLevantine ArabicShia Islam

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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