Abstract
This article examines contemporary aspects of the identity construction of the ‘Alawi diaspora in Argentina. In the local context, the preservation of ‘Alawi singularity has so far been a key element in the group’s identity. The strategies for integration as legitimate Muslims in the wider Islam and the closeness to Shi’ism are relatively independent of how these processes took place in the homeland. I first describe the geography of the diaspora in Argentina, comprising the spaces and institutions where descendants settled all over the country. I analyze the factors that helped keep the nodes connected and I will demonstrate that these constitute a center/periphery logic for communities concerning the alleged degrees of preservation of the culture of origin they symbolize. I will try to show that ‘Alawis integrated into the diversity of Islam in Argentina while preserving their sectarian borders and, at the same time, stressing an “Arab” identity. I argue that these strategies should be understood in the local arena of an intra-Islamic pluralism that constitutes Muslim presence in Argentina, where the dynamics of sectarianisms assume idiosyncratic characteristics. Finally, I will show institutional closeness to Shi’ism as a recent development, promoted by the common political stance of both groups on the conflict in Syria. We will see that this closeness does not imply the dissolution of doctrinal boundaries between Shi’is and ‘Alawis and that it involves a redefinition of the diaspora in terms of increasingly claiming a Syrian national origin.
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Notes
For an analysis of Al-Khasibi’s role in the development and expansion of the sect, see Friedman (2001).
In their own religious books, ʿAlawis usually call themselves al-muwahhidun —“the monotheists”—, ahl at-tawhid —“the people of monotheism”— or simply al-muʾminun —“the believers” (Procházka 2016: 2).
According to Stefan Winter, the older history of the ‘Alawis is often treated in essentialist terms and reduced to a single overarching theme of religious deviance, marginality, and oppression. See recent analysis by Winter (2016).
The religion’s secret character, distinguishing between initiated and non-initiated members, favored the spread of fantasies and defamation about some of their beliefs and practices, as well as defensive responses by community intellectuals. The main components include: the belief in a triad made up of the parts of divinity (ma’na, ism and bab) and in metempsychosis, the non-prohibition of alcohol consumption, the rare attendance at mosques, the practice of taqiyya (religious dissimulation). The most thorough contemporary studies of these religious components are the books by Friedman (2010) and Bar-Asher and Kofsky (2002).
After a first period of dissemination of beliefs, there was a territorial retreat into “mountain refuge”; see Paoli (2013b). Rabinovich (1979), drawing from P. Rondot and A. Hourani the term “compact minorities”, compares ‘Alawis and Druzes based on their shared characteristics: among others, both inhabited mountainous areas where the largest portion of the community was concentrated and where that community constituted an absolute majority.
Brazil and Argentina are the Southern Cone countries with the largest Arab immigration. ‘Alawi presence in Argentina differs from the case of Brazil, where there are only two institutions with little activity: the ‘Alawi Muslim Charitable Society, established in 1931 in Rio de Janeiro, operating effectively until 2000 and comprising 400 members today, and the Muslim Charitable Society of São Paulo, founded in 1965, with 700 members (Onram 2015: 68–71). For an analysis of Muslim communities in Brazil see Montenegro & Benlabbah (2013). For an overview of Muslim presence in Latin America, see Logroño Narbona et al. (2015).
Although ‘Alawis may be considered Shi’is, the institutional and identity distinction between both groups in Argentina persists through, or is marked by, relations of proximity and distance. When I refer to Shi’is I then mean the Twelver Shi’ism that follows the Ja’fari School of Shari’a and that, in the case of Argentina, is connected with Iran as a reference center.
The Homs Club (club Homs), the Yabrudense Association (Asociación Yabrudense) and Aleppo’s Offspring (Los Hijos de Aleppo) are examples of entities based on regional origin. In a sample of 132 Arab immigration institutions in Argentina, with no religious reference, I counted 58 under the “Syrian-Lebanese” name; other 42 appealed to the Arab category, in a number that would exceed the former if we considered the Islamic entities also including “Arab” in their name; 19 entities identified themselves exclusively as “Syrian” and 13 as “Lebanese”.
Specific figures of Muslims in Argentina are difficult to obtain, as the national census does not include any question on religion affiliation. According to reports by the Islamic Office for Latin America, the number of Muslims in Argentina exceeds 700,000, some 160,000 of them living in Greater Buenos Aires alone. Other institutions, such as the Center for Islamic Studies, refer to 450,000 Muslims. The Islamic Center of Argentina prefers to estimate them at 500,000–700,000. There are no data available about the number of ‘Alawis; according to community’s own sources, during the first decades of the twentieth century they accounted for 40% of the Muslims who had arrived in Argentina.
In some locations where the number of ‘Alawis was not sufficient for establishing an autonomous entity, immigrants used to share spaces at non-religious institutions. For instance, ‘Alawis in the Argentine littoral city of Santa Fe stated that, until the 1950s, they and their parents shared spaces with immigrants and Lebanese descendants at the Syrian-Lebanese Club (Club Sirio Libanés), founded in 1924. In the 1950s, given many disagreements they established a separate institution they called Syrian Social Center Arab House (Centro Social Sirio Casa Árabe), where ‘Alawi Syrians prevailed, but they never managed to create a religious institution.
In Argentina there are 12 centers of the tariqa Naqshbandiyya Haqqaniya and 3 of the Yerrahiyya Order.
For a typological analysis of conversion to Islam in Argentina, see Montenegro (2015b).
The Senegalese immigrants that have arrived to Argentina in the last decades (around 10,000) mostly belong to the tariqa Muridiyya, founded in 1883 by Amadu Bamba Mbacke (1850–1927) in Senegal.
Since the early 1990s, the revivalistic movement Tablighi Jamaat, established in 1927 in India by Muhammad Ilyas al-Kandhlawi, is visibly present in the country through missionaries who perform da’wa (invitation) among Muslims from different communities. They have a musalla in the city of Buenos Aires, a madrasa in the city of Quilmes and a mosque in the city of Mar del Plata. Like elsewhere in Latin America, the Turkish movement Hizmet (service) led by Fethullah Gülen arrived in Argentina in the late 1990s. It opened a Turkish language teaching center, in 2004 it established the Argentine-Turkish Friendship Association (Fundación de Amistad Argentino-Turca), later the Hercules school and the ALBA Center for Intercultural Dialog (Centro de Diálogo Intercultural ALBA) as spaces for spreading their interpretation of Islam.
Shaykh Ahmed Marhej, who died in 1943, was a prominent spiritual leader for the community, said to perform miracles and to have healing powers. His shrine became a sanctuary visited not only by ‘Alawis but also by other Muslims and some Christians.
As I was able to see in my visits to the institution, the prayer room carpets bear the logotype and the acronym of the Islamic Center of the Argentine Republic, a Sunni entity that has set itself up as the “representative of Muslims in Argentina” and as the “Mother entity”. CIRA assists with the infrastructure of some centers in the country, and its support is another token of the institutional acknowledgment of ‘Alawis as legitimate Muslims.
In Tucumán there are several institutions founded by immigrants, such as the Syrian-Lebanese Society (Sociedad Sirio Libanesa), 1925, the Lebanese Mutual Aid Association (Asociación Libanesa de Socorros Mutuos), 1937, the Señor del Milagro church, San Marón church, 1924, the Templo Asunción de María Santísima orthodox church, 1914. Other entities were established by descendants, such as the Arab-Argentine Institute (Instituto Argentino Árabe), 1984, a non-denominational school that offers optional Arabic language and Arab culture classes.
For example, in the city of Mar del Plata, ‘Alawi families participated in the creation of the Arab Union Charitable Association (Asociación Unión Árabe de Beneficencia), 1935, and later of the Darus Salam Islamic Center (Centro Islámico Darus Salam), 2006, today closer to Shi’ism.
Habi, the Stranger is a fiction film released in 2013, in which a young woman from the interior travels to Buenos Aires and, by adopting a false identity as an Arab descendant, integrates into an Islamic community. Shaykh Mohsen Ali participates in the film performing the religious services for the community.
La Angelita is located in the district of General Arenales, one of the 135 districts in the Buenos Aires province. Data from the National Institute of Statistics and Census (Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Censos) of Argentina show that the population decreased in La Angelita from 311 inhabitants in 1991 to 265 according to the last national census in 2010.
An article published by one of the largest circulation newspapers in Argentina, entitled: “Un pueblo bonaerense con mayoría de gente de origen árabe. Los Gauchos Musulmanes”, Clarín, September 23, 2001, page 38.
All the data about Little Syria were collected during my fieldwork in the town and thanks to the documents provided by Marta, who kindly allowed me to review the notebook where she herself and her ancestors preserve “the memory” of their town.
A typical “tropical” rhythm danced by popular sectors in Argentina and other Latin American countries.
In my ethnographic work at the sanctuary I confirmed the importance that the diaspora assigns to shaykhs, not only to those guiding communities in Argentina but also to ‘Alawi shaykhs in Syria, whose portraits are placed at the saint’s shrine.
In general, the institutions representing Syrian-Lebanese communities in Argentina adopt a similar, but not identical, view in terms of arguments and public expression of their positions. We cannot refer here to those nuances; for example, entities such as the Federation of Argentine-Arab Entities (FEARAB) have agreed with Shi’i’ and ‘Alawi’ discourse, for since 2001 its presidents and main officers have been members of the Shi’i community. Other community institutions issue public statements, for example, upon the celebration of Syria’s independence, praising the people’s courage in resisting the conflict but without mentioning actors or open supporters as Shi’i and ‘Alawi groups do.
Though not a widespread practice, some community members have traveled to visit relatives in Syria and ‘Alawi saints’ shrines, both before and after the conflict began, always in areas with ‘Alawi presence.
The term takfir refers to the practice of declaring other Muslims kuffar (unbelievers). In the context of the speeches analyzed, it is used to refer to intolerant groups that exert violence on others by claiming to be the only true believers.
An attack resulting in 85 deaths, not clarified yet; one of the prosecutors accused a group of Iranian citizens of planning the attack and requested their extradition. The investigation followed a complex process full of irregularities and disputes, still pending resolution.
FEIRA comprises 16 Islamic Shi’i and ‘Alawi entities.
Concerning the al-Asad clan and the ‘Alawi minority to which the family belongs, various studies show a complex relationship between them, which does not imply automatic support but different kinds of clientelistic relations not always beneficial to ‘Alawis. On this topic, see Farouk-Alli (2014) and Balanche (2006). For an analysis of the ‘Alawi’ dilemma regarding the conflict, both in terms of support/opposition and their destiny as a community, see Paoli (2013a).
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Montenegro, S. ‘Alawi Muslims in Argentina: religious and political identity in the diaspora. Cont Islam 12, 23–38 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11562-017-0405-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11562-017-0405-7