from ABOUT.COM -- Taken from a longer article I posted several days ago... Heretical (in relation to Orthodox Islam) T eachings of the Alawi -- These are doctrines which are part of the faith of the President of Syria. There are three Alawi doctrines which cause them to be rejected by most Muslims as a valid form of Islam. The first is the belief in incarnation - the idea that God can be made flesh, for example in the case of Ali. Ali is believed to have created Muhammad , who in turn created Salman, an early Shi'ite saint. These three form a Trinity. Thus, Ali is the "Meaning"; Muhammad, whom Ali created of his own light, is the "Name"; and Salman is the "Gate." Alawi catechesis is expressed in the formula: "I turn to the Gate; I bow before the Name; I adore the Meaning." An Alawi prays in a manner patterned after the shahada: "I testify that there is no God but Ali," which gives rise to the idea that they worship Al...