 The town was a destination for farmers from al-Annazah, Talin and al-Shaykh Badr and exported the agricultural products of the area to major cities like Hama, Tripoli and Beirut.While most of the Ismailis in Syria transferred their allegiance to the Qasim Shahi line of Aga Khan III in 1887, the Ismailis of Qadmus and Masyaf remained affiliated with the Muhammad Shahi line.They are known as the "Ja'afariya" sect and by the 1990s they numbered around 15,000.