Aliyyins

views updated

ALIYYINS

: A group formed at the end of the 1950s by Muhammad Umran, the Aliyyins included Syrian personalities who later became pillars of the regime of Hafiz al-Asad. The name was chosen to reflect its membership of mostly Alawite, and the frequency of "Ali" as a given name among them.

SEE ALSO Alawite;Asad, Hafiz al-.