Alawites are an Arab ethnoreligious group who live primarily in the Levant region in West Asia and follow Alawism. A distinct religon that splintered from early Shia as a seperate religon 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 also the only
ghulat sect still in existence today. The group was founded during the ninth century by Ibn Nusayr, who was a disciple of the tenth Twelver Imam, Ali al-Hadi, and of the eleventh Twelver Imam, Hasan al-Askari. For this reason, Alawites are also called
Nusayris.
