The separatist Alawi petition to the French Prime Minister Léon Blum (1936): reliability, background and aftermath

This article focuses on a controversial document that has not yet been studied in depth. It is a petition sent by an Alawi separatist leader from Latakia (Syria) to the newly elected French prime minister in 1936. Its aim was to persuade the French that their decision to grant Syria independence and to incorporate the Alawi district to Syria would be a mistake that could endanger the safety of the sect. This article presents for the first time in research the authentic petition and compares it with the distorted version of this document that has been available until now in Arabic literature and media. In addition, the article presents the historical background of the petition and demonstrates its relevance to recent Syrian politics. Two appendices appearing at the end of the article include a table summarizing the comparison between the original document and the previously available unreliable version, and a copy of the original petition from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs Archive.