I don't have a clue about Metawileh. The book stated that they are the Syrian Shiites.
Google doesn't return good results for this search term. It points back to the book I am currently reading.
Their belief system is not really controversial. Everything mentioned in the book seems to be based on the belief of the Shia Ithna Ashari (twelver).
Their leader is a mujtahid, a kind of doctor of divinity, who has completed his studies in Irak, and has returned with satisfactory testimonials of his having attained a high degree of learning and piety.The Metawileh rejected the doctrines of the Trinity and the divinity of Jesus. They believe Jesus to be a mere man, a prophet, like Muhammad, sent by the God to teach men the knowledge of God.
I recently came across a firsthand account of the Metawileh who lived in the Galilee and Mt Carmel area in 1863-64 in an old book entitled "The Land of Israel; A Journal of Travels in Palestine, Undertaken with Special Reference to Its Physical Character" pg 107-8, published in 1865 and available through reprints or online. It says they are Shiah (Shi'ite), with ties to the Shah of Persia.
ReplyDeleteShias in midst of Palestinian Sunnis? That's interesting.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.