The Nusairiyeh number a quarter of a million souls or more and are
perhaps the most degraded of all of the races in Turkey. They are
also most difficult to classify religiously or ethnologically. Their
religion is a mixture of ancient heathenism, the survival of certain
Gnostic beliefs, tinged strongly with Mohammedanism. The Mohammedans
claim them, as they do the Koords and Albanians. They dwell in the
mountains north of Syria and along the Mediterranean coast as far north
as Cilicia. Their origin is lost in obscurity. At present they are
decidedly a mixed race. Their name comes from Nusair, who led them in
their separation from the Shiites, of which they were a branch. The
Nusairiyeh are most reticent upon the subject of their religion. It is
regarded as an unpardonable sin to reveal their religious beliefs and
rites. They worship the moon, which they think is the throne of Ali,
and the sun, which is the throne of Mohammed. They also worship fire,
the waves of the sea, and anything that manifests power. They believe
in transmigration of the soul, progress being upward or downward
according to the life of the individual.
It is, in short, a rude, primitive, rough, and ignorant race,
absolutely under Turkish sway and terribly oppressed. Little progress
has yet been made in the line of mission work among them. The Turks
guard them with a jealous eye, and the severest persecutions await all
who profess Christianity, and every effort is made to prevent their
education and general enlightenment.