Alawites: what Wikipedia removed
Alawites are an Arab ethnoreligious group centered in the Levant, whose theology diverges from mainstream Shia Islam. Through the October 6, 2023 snapshot the opening said the Ba’athist security apparatus, operated by Alawite loyalists of the al-Assad family, launched sectarian crackdowns such as the Hama Massacre. Today the opening carries none of this, though the word survives 17 times in the body. A reader arriving now learns about Alawite theology and demographics, and not that Alawite-led security forces carried out the Hama Massacre.
The word “massacre” appeared 1 times in this article’s opening at its peak, in 6 October 2023. Today the opening carries none; the body carries 17. Checked against the full current article on 2026-08-01.
The tracked words, snapshot by snapshot
Section titled “The tracked words, snapshot by snapshot”| word | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2020 | 6 October 2023 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| massacre | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| islamist | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| jihad | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| occupation | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Counts are of the opening paragraph only, the part most readers, search engines and AI training sets ever quote.
What was taken out
Section titled “What was taken out”- An earlier short description calling Alawites an Islamic sect centered in Syria was replaced by the current ethnoreligious group description.
- The sentence on venerating Ali ibn Abi Talib was reworded with minor phrasing changes.
- The sentence on the group’s founding by Ibn Nusayr was reworded into the current sentence naming the ninth century and his Twelver Imam teachers.
- The sentence distinguishing Alawites from Alevis was reworded with minor phrasing changes.
- The sentence on Alawites identifying as a separate ethnoreligious group is gone from the opening.
- The sentence on Alawite theology differing from mainstream Shia Islam was reworded with minor phrasing changes.
How it opened then, and now
Section titled “How it opened then, and now”2005 (revision 16286218):
Note : The terms Alawi and Alevi although related refer to different religious groups, the latter based in Turkey . The Alawites form a Middle Eastern religious group prominent in Syria . Alawites call themselves Alawi ( Template:Lang-ar ), after Ali , the son-in-law of the prophet Muhammad . The term Alawi was recognized by the French when they occupied the region in 1920 . Historically they had been called Nusairis , Namiriya , or Ansariyya . Nusayri had become a term of abuse and they preferred to be called Alawis to show their reverence for Ali. To avoid confusion, this article uses the modern term.
2025 (revision 1298030605):
Ethnoreligious group centered in the Levant For the religion which the Alawites follow, see Alawism . For mainly Turkish Shia religious group, see Alevism . For descendants of Ali ibn Abi Talib, see Alids . For other uses, see Alawi (disambiguation) . Alawites ( Arabic : العلويون , romanized : al-ʿAlawiyyūn ) are an Arab ethnoreligious group who live primarily in the Levant region in West Asia and follow Alawism , an offshoot of Shia Islam as a ghulat branch during the ninth century. Alawites venerate Ali ibn Abi Talib , the ” first Imam ” in the Twelver school, as a manifestation of the divine essence. It is the only ghulat sect still in existence today. The group was founded during the nin…
Related
Section titled “Related”- The drift report: what changed across all 61,944 watched articles
- The case file for this article, with every snapshot and every marked removal
- Who made the cuts: removals grouped by the account that made them
- The live article on Wikipedia
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