Analyzing the Attitude and Method of Imams and other Alawites in Confrontation with Rulers

Imams and the Alevis are from the branch of the Imam Ali’s (PBUH) family. After the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (PBUH) there were differences in the attitude and method of the Alevis in terms of governance and leadership as well as political encounters with the rulers. The attitudes of these two groups on the state and the caliphate, in particular the role and duties of the Imam, had significant differences, which caused each of these two spectra in different ways to confront the rulers at the micro and macro levels. The root of these differences was the issue of Imamate and the succession of the Prophet. The Alevis, claimed to have succeeded him because of his assignment to the Prophet, claiming imamate and caliphate; although the main reason for this claim was from the Alevis, most of the time due to the oppression and aggression of the rulers against the Prophet’s family and Taqiyya and the silence of the Imams. Comparing the attitude of the Imams and the Alevis towards the category of government and leadership, we conclude that the attitude of the Imams to this category is a divine political viewpoint which, while preserving the divine position of the Imam and installing it from God, has a completely objective, social and political look And Imam is the leader in religion and the people of the world. Having the theological, political and spiritual significance of Imamate as the three main attributes of the existence of the Imam, makes him a distinguished leader and distinct from any ruler and leader other than him, and considers Imamate with respect to this exclusivity in the Imams. But in the attitude of the Alevis, we are confronted with the social status of the Imam whose most important political act is Jihad, and the struggle against oppression and the affair with the good and forbidding the evil. The methods of the Imams and other Alawites also differed in the face of the rulers. Relying on their divine knowledge, the Imams, instead of a cross-sectional struggle, took into account the general interests of Islam and Muslims, but the Alevis were more likely to pursue short-term goals, which was to fight the rulers and overthrow them in the shadow of the uprising. However, these struggles also brought victories and sometimes led to achievements such as the formation of local governments that, from their point of view, were an achievement that was acceptable or even desirable, but gave limited results compared to the methods of the Imams in their encounters with the rulers. This thesis describes historical events from authoritative sources in a descriptive and analytical way.