Jawbat Burghal

Jawbat Burghal (Arabic: جوبة برغال) is a town in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Latakia Governorate, located east of Latakia in an-Nusayriyah Mountains. Nearby localities include Qardaha, al-Fakhurah, Istamo and Shatha. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Jawbat Burghal had a population of 959 in the 2004 census.[1] Its inhabitants are predominantly Alawites.[2]

Jawbat Burghal جوبة برغال
Town
Jawbat Burghal
Coordinates: 35°29′19″N 36°10′36″E
Country	Syria
Governorate	Latakia
District	Qardaha
Subdistrict	Jawbat Burghal
Population  (2004 census)[1]
• Total	959
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)

The village was the birthplace and base of the controversial Syrian religious leader, Sulayman al-Murshid. Al-Murshid was encouraged by the French mandate authorities to establish a new sect, and made Jawbat Burghal his base where he became a proponent of Alawite independence. He acquired livestock from his followers and built a western villa in the town. After Syria's independence, however, the central Syrian government in Damascus cracked down on separatist movements including Murshid's. He surrendered to the authorities after a short confrontation with Syrian Army units at his headquarters. Sulayman al-Murshid was executed in a public square in Damascus for treason in November 1946.[2]