Alawite community of Egypt before the establishment of Fatimids

Egypt’s Alawite community was a noteworthy one before Fatimids established themselves in Egypt. This paper aims to find out what factors and motives made Alawites immigrate to Egypt from various cities of the Muslim World. Finally, it tries to see what objectives and motives contributed to the bilateral policies between Alawites and the ruling class. Examining the data from variegated historical sources indicate that the policy implemented by rulers and governors vis-à-vis Alawites was not of a religious nature before Fatimids began to take root in Egypt. Rather, it was mainly based on the political, social and secular traditions. Contrary to popular belief, Alawites did not form a monolithic society with certain religious, ethnic or political purposes. Hasanids, for instance, were more precautious than their Husainid or Jaʿfarid relatives. In various periods, Hasanids sought to cooperate and reconcile with the ruling system, and with Umayyad and Abbasid governors under the cover of taqiya (precautionary dissimulation of religious belief and practice). They were thus able to both partake of the political, economic and social benefits and pave the way, in propitious moments, for their Fatimid relatives to take power.