'Alawite or 'Alawite, Sect or Blood Line?

The following excerpt was translated from 'Abbas Al-'Azzawi's "The Tribes of Iraq," Volume 4, page 229:

"It is difficult to account for the tribes which descend from Imam 'Ali and were born from his wife, the lady Fatima Al-Zahra' and from his children, amongst whom are the Imams Hasan and Al-Husayn. They are noble. The genealogy of those individuals who multiplied both in the cities and in rural areas tends to be kept secret. Their groups are few, and they are not related to either 'Adnanite nor Qahtanite tribes... And in view of the fact that this is kept from the eyes of the people, their status as nobility has increased."

'Azzawi goes on to list the following tribes as being 'Alawite:

1. ((Al-Hadidiyun))
2. ((Al-Samida'a))
3. ((Al-Mashahada)) aka ((Al-Mashhadani))
4. ((Al-Hiyaliyun))
5. ((Al-Na'im))
6. ((Al-Yasir))
7. ((Al-'Anakisha))
8. ((Al-Hasaniya))
9. ((Albu Sa'abir))
10. ((Al-Abi Tabikh))
11. ((Al-Al Sayid Mahdi))
12. ((Al-Zuwayn))
13. ((Al-'Adhariyun))

Of course, tribal affiliation is not to be confused with sect, right? Or, is it?

The 'Alawites of Syria are referred to mostly as a sect, however is it possible that the traditions of the sect are kept within certain tribes and not others? I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.

Is it possible that Syrian 'Alawite sectarian tribes are related to the 'Alawite tribes of Iraq? This wouldn't surprise me either considering the artificiality of the Iraqi/Syrian border, and the tendency of tribes to ignore borders in general.

Were 'Alawite Iraqi Arab tribes were a part of the sect at some point in time?

I have no idea, but I expect that Iraqi 'Alawite Arab tribes are either Sunni or Shi'ite, and they are not from the 'Alawite sect. So, I'm sticking with the theory that 'Alawite in Iraq means descended from the prophet Muhammad through Imam 'Ali and Fatima al-Zahra' only. And that is subject to change when somebody who knows better shows me.

The problem is that there is so little scholarship available about Iraqi Arab tribes. Does anybody know about scholarship on Syrian tribes?