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'''Sectarianism''' has been described as a characteristic of the [[2011–2012 Syrian uprising]]. The opposition is dominated by [[Sunni]] Muslims, whereas the leading government figures are [[Alawite]] [[Shiite]] Muslims.<ref>{{cite news |first=Kim |last=Sengupta |location=Antakya |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syrias-sectarian-war-goes-international-as-foreign-fighters-and-arms-pour-into-country-7216665.html |title=Syria's sectarian war goes international as foreign fighters and arms pour into country |work=The Independent |date=20 February 2012 |accessdate=22 February 2012 }}</ref> Assad reportedly is supported by most Alawites and many Christians in the country.
'''Sectarianism''' has been described as a characteristic of the [[2011–2012 Syrian uprising]]. The opposition is dominated by [[Sunni]] Muslims, whereas the leading government figures are [[Alawite]] [[Shiite]] Muslims.<ref>{{cite news |first=Kim |last=Sengupta |location=Antakya |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syrias-sectarian-war-goes-international-as-foreign-fighters-and-arms-pour-into-country-7216665.html |title=Syria's sectarian war goes international as foreign fighters and arms pour into country |work=The Independent |date=20 February 2012 |accessdate=22 February 2012 }}</ref> Assad reportedly is supported by many Christians in the country,{{fact}} though it is the Alawite sect that remains at the heart of the regime's fight to see off its challengers. <ref> The Observer, 16 June 2012 ''The fear filled minority sect that keeps Syria's struggling dictatorship alive'' [http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/16/minority-sect-syria-dictatorship] </ref>


Such sentiments of [[sectarianism]] amongst the Sunni population have been said to be rooted in that both [[Hafez al-Assad]] and [[Bashar al-Assad]] are Alawites, a minority many Sunnis see as [[heretics]], and who are placed in the majority of cabinet and government positions. Additionally, the Syrian government maintains a gang network known as the [[shabiha]], a shadow militia that anti-government activists allege to consist of smugglers and drug dealers, whose members primarily consist of Alawites.<ref>{{cite news|agency=Bloomberg|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-01/syrian-thugs-are-assad-s-tool-in-crackdown-on-dissent-rights-groups-say.html|date=1 June 2011|accessdate=11 March 2012|title=Syrian Thugs Assad’s Tool in Crackdown, Groups Say|first1=Nayla|last1=Razzouk|first2=Caroline|last2=Alexander}}</ref>
Such sentiments of [[sectarianism]] amongst the Sunni population have been said to be rooted in that both [[Hafez al-Assad]] and [[Bashar al-Assad]] are Alawites, a minority many Sunnis see as [[heretics]], and who are placed in the majority of cabinet and government positions. Additionally, the Syrian government maintains a gang network known as the [[shabiha]], a shadow militia that anti-government activists allege to consist of smugglers and drug dealers, whose members primarily consist of Alawites.<ref>{{cite news|agency=Bloomberg|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-01/syrian-thugs-are-assad-s-tool-in-crackdown-on-dissent-rights-groups-say.html|date=1 June 2011|accessdate=11 March 2012|title=Syrian Thugs Assad’s Tool in Crackdown, Groups Say|first1=Nayla|last1=Razzouk|first2=Caroline|last2=Alexander}}</ref>

Revision as of 23:41, 16 June 2012

Sectarianism has been described as a characteristic of the 2011–2012 Syrian uprising. The opposition is dominated by Sunni Muslims, whereas the leading government figures are Alawite Shiite Muslims.[1] Assad reportedly is supported by many Christians in the country,[citation needed] though it is the Alawite sect that remains at the heart of the regime's fight to see off its challengers. [2]

Such sentiments of sectarianism amongst the Sunni population have been said to be rooted in that both Hafez al-Assad and Bashar al-Assad are Alawites, a minority many Sunnis see as heretics, and who are placed in the majority of cabinet and government positions. Additionally, the Syrian government maintains a gang network known as the shabiha, a shadow militia that anti-government activists allege to consist of smugglers and drug dealers, whose members primarily consist of Alawites.[3]

Background

After hopes that an era of political liberalization might follow Bashar al-Assad's succession of his father these hopes flickered as Assad tightened his grip. He reined in Islamist opponents but sought to broaden his power base beyond minority sects. He promoted Sunnis to power and restored ties to Aleppo - a Sunni stronghold with which relations had been tense since the repression of the Muslim Brotherhood in the early 1980s. He adopted a more religious aspect, leaking videos of one of his sons reciting the Koran. While continuing to look to Iran for military supplies he improved ties with Turkey. Yet Assad's policy of adopting a jihadi discourse on Iraq and Palestine carried risks and "enabled previously latent ethnic and sectarian tensions to surface , Sunni groups to organize, and unsettled other sects and power clusters who had prospered under his father" Hafez al-Assad. [4]

General issues

At the uprising's outset, some protesters reportedly chanted "Christians to Beirut; Alawites to the coffin".[5][6] The opposition accused the regime of agitating sectarianism.[7] Time Magazine reported that in Homs government workers were offered extra stipends of up to $500 per month to fan sectarian fears through a graffiti campaign. "The Christians to Beirut, the Alawites to the grave" was a common graffiti smear, according to the article. Other government workers were allegedly told to shout sectarian slogans at anti-government protests.[8]

Some commanders of the Free Syrian Army indicated that this is a religious Islamic struggle against a secular regime, one of them claimed that: "For the first time, we are able to proclaim the word of God throughout this land."[9]

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated that the primarily Sunni protesters "have a lot of work to do internally" in order to gain the broad public support needed to form a genuinely national movement. She added, "It is not yet accepted by many groups within Syria that their life will be better without Assad than with Assad. There are a lot of minority groups that are very concerned."[10] The opposition does include some prominent Alawites and Christians, but it is predominantly Sunni.[11]

Religious groups

Christians

Christians in Syria make up about 10% of the population and are fully protected under Syria's 1973 constitution, which has guaranteed their religious freedom and allowed them to operate churches and schools.[12] Their general feeling is reported to be that the Islamic-dominated governments that have emerged from the Arab Spring have become less tolerant towards recognizing equal rights for Christians.[13] Some fear that they will suffer the same consequences as the Christians of Iraq and Egypt if the government is overthrown.[14]

Most protests have taken place after Muslim Friday prayer, and the Archbishop of the Syriac Orthodox Church in Aleppo told the Lebanon-based Daily Star, "To be honest, everybody's worried, we don’t want what happened in Iraq to happen in Syria. We don't want the country to be divided. And we don't want Christians to leave Syria."[15]

Christians were present in early demonstrations in Homs ; the entire demonstration walked off when Islamist Salafi slogans were proclaimed.[9]

According to International Christian Concern, Christians were attacked by anti-government protesters in mid-2011 for not joining the then-burgeoning protests.[16]

According to a CBS News report, Christians are largely in favour of Assad because they think that their survival is linked to his government.[17]

Sources inside the Syrian Orthodox Church have claimed an "ongoing ethnic cleansing of Christians" is being carried out by the Free Syrian Army. In a communication received by Agenzia Fides, the sources claimed that over 90% of the Christians of Homs have been expelled by militant Islamists of the "al-Faruq Brigade" who went door to door, forcing Christians to flee without their belongings and confiscating their homes.[18] The Christian population of Homs had dropped from a pre-conflict total of 160,000 down to about 1000.[19] Jesuit sources in Homs said the reason for the exodus was the Christians' fears over the situation and that they had left on their own initiative to escape the conflict between government forces and insurgents.[20] However, other charitable organisations and some local Christian families confirmed to Fides that they were expelled from Homs because they were considered "close to the regime". Islamist opposition groups not only targeted those who refused to joined the demonstrations, but also other Christians who were in favour of the opposition.[21] According to the Catholic Near East Welfare Association opposition forces had occupied some historical churches in the old city district of Homs, leading to the Saint Mary Church of the Holy Belt being damaged during clashes with the Syrian army. Opposition groups have also vandalised icons inside some of the churches.[13]

Christians were given an ultimatum by the opposition to leave town of Qusayr.[22]

There have been claims that armed Sunni groups have perpetrated several massacres against Christians and Alawites in Qusayr, a town near Homs. The Vicar Catholic Apostolic of Aleppo, Giuseppe Nazzaro, was unable to confirm these reports but noted that Islamist and terrorist movements are becoming more visible. He recalls a car bomb which exploded near a Franciscan school in Aleppo narrowly missing children present there.[23]

Alawites

Following the development of the 2011–2012 Syrian uprising, Alawites in Syria have been subject to a series of growing threats and attacks coming from Sunni Muslims, who are the majority of the Syrian population. Alawites in Syria are a minority, accounting for about 12 percent of the 23 million residents in Syria. Journalist Nir Rosen, writing for Al Jazeera, reported that members of the Alawite sect are afraid of Sunni hegemony, as they were oppressed by Sunnis during Ottoman times and in the early years of the 20th century, the Sunni merchant class held much of the country's wealth and dominated politics, while Alawites generally lived as poor peasants.[24] Following Hafez al-Assad's coup, Alawites' position in the society improved under the secular regime of Assad, himself an Alawite.[25][26] In the 1980s, Alawites were the main target of the Sunni-dominated Muslim Brotherhood during the Islamic uprising in Syria.[citation needed]

Reuters investigated the mood and the condition of the Alawite community in early 2012. Several Alawites said that they have been threatened during the uprising for their religion and that they feared stating their names in cities where Sunnis are the majority. Some with distinguishable accents have tried to mask their speech patterns to avoid being identified as Alawites, Nir Rosen reported at around the same time, a phenomenon he suggested was not unique to Alawites in the increasingly sectarian conflict.[27] An Alawite originally from Rabia, near Homs, claimed that if an Alawite leaves his village, he is attacked and killed. Reuters reported that the uprising appeared to have reinforced support for President Bashar al-Assad and the government among ordinary Alawites, with a group of Alawites witnessed by its reporter chanting for Maher al-Assad to "finish off" the rebels. They were also convinced that if Assad fell, they would be killed or exiled, according to the investigation. Several claimed acts of sectarian violence had been committed against Alawites, including 39 villagers purportedly killed by Sunnis. Some also said that in cities like Homs, Alawites risked being killed or abducted if they ventured into Sunni neighbourhoods.[25] Many are fleeing their homes in fear of getting killed.[28]

The Globe & Mail reported that Turkish Alawites were becoming increasingly interested in the conflict, with many expressing fears of a "river of blood" if Sunnis took over and massacred Alawites in neighbouring Syria, and rallying to the cause of Assad and their fellow Alawites, though the report said there was no evidence that Alawites in Turkey had taken up arms in the Syrian conflict.[29]

A Syrian opposition member said privately that all Alawite men were murderers, while an anti-Assad cleric living in exile in Saudi Arabia said that the Sunnis would feed Alawites to dogs if they seized power.[25] A voice purported to belong to Mamoun al-Homsy, one of the opposition leaders, warned in a recorded message in December 2011 that Alawites should abandon Assad, or else "Syria will become the graveyard of the Alawites".[30] Amateur video posted online and aired on French television appeared to show Abdul Baset Sarut, former goalkeeper in the Syrian national football team and a leader of the opposition in Homs, calling for the extermination of the Alawites during a demonstration.[31]

Within the opposition

While there are Alawite activists opposed to Assad, the group Reuters spoke to described them as isolated.[25] In March 2012, The Jerusalem Post, citing the global intelligence group Stratfor, documents obtained by Wikileaks, and a number of YouTube videos, reported that the rate of Alawite defections from the Syrian Army was increasing. The Post report suggested that some Alawite officers were concerned that Assad would abandon them and did not want to be perceived by Sunnis who might come to power if the government fell as having been complicit in the violent crackdown. One unverified YouTube video mentioned by the Post announced the formation of the "Free Alawites" brigade of the Free Syrian Army in early March, while a second video posted a day later purported to show Shi'ites forming their own resistance unit and pledging loyalty to the Syrian opposition.[32]

Sunnis

The areas that have fallen under rebels control are mostly Sunni.[33] Shabiha have been known to carry out killings of Sunnis, prompting kidnappings and killing of Alawites by the Sunni side.[34][35]

There have been numerous reports, which are difficult for independent media to verify due to tight restrictions on access to areas in which Syrian forces are conducting military operations, of sectarian violence against Sunnis by the shabiha. In one incident in late January 2012, Reuters reported that 14 members of a Sunni family were killed by the shabiha along with 16 other Sunnis in a formerly mixed neighbourhood of Homs that Alawites had purportedly fled four days prior.[36] Other reports of security forces targeting Sunni districts and villages date back virtually to the start of the uprising, including the apparent shelling of Sunni neighbourhoods in Latakia by gunboats of the Syrian Navy in August 2011.[37][38]

References

  1. ^ Sengupta, Kim (20 February 2012). "Syria's sectarian war goes international as foreign fighters and arms pour into country". The Independent. Antakya. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  2. ^ The Observer, 16 June 2012 The fear filled minority sect that keeps Syria's struggling dictatorship alive [1]
  3. ^ Razzouk, Nayla; Alexander, Caroline (1 June 2011). "Syrian Thugs Assad's Tool in Crackdown, Groups Say". Bloomberg. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  4. ^ Peter Mansfield, A History of the Middle east, p.476-477
  5. ^ "Mideast church leaders worried about Christians if Syria has civil war". Catholic News. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  6. ^ May, Cliff (21 July 2011). "The Great Alawite Hope". Townhall. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  7. ^ May, Cliff (25 October 2011). "Syrian Refugees: Itching for a Fight with Assad and His Regime". Time magazine. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  8. ^ Baker, Aryn (1 March 2012). "Eyewitness from Homs: An Alawite Refugee Warns of Sectarian War in Syria". Time Magazine. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  9. ^ a b "Syria's slide towards civil war". BBC. 12 February 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  10. ^ Klapper, Bradley (11 October 2011). "Clinton says it will take time to help stabilize Egypt, start new pages in Syria, Yemen". 660 News. Washington D.C. Associated Press. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  11. ^ A Tour Inside Syria's Insurgency Paul Wood. December 29, 2011
  12. ^ "Exit Plan: Armenians of Syria may need escape if Assad regime collapses" http://www.armenianow.com/social/human_rights/35541/armenia_syria_community_civil_strife_assad
  13. ^ a b Gallagher, Tom (29 March 2012). "Christians in Syria struggle amid violent clashes". Retrieved 7 April 2012.
  14. ^ Brown, Hannah (18 May 2011). "Syria Christians fear for religious freedom". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  15. ^ "Syrian Christians concerned about instability at home". The Lebanon Daily Star. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  16. ^ "Christians Under Attack From Anti-Government Protesters in Syria, Christian News". Christian Post. 5 May 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  17. ^ "Syria's Christians stand by Assad". CBS News. CBS Interactive. 6 February 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  18. ^ "Abuse of the opposition forces, "ethnic cleansing" of Christians in Homs, where Jesuits remains". Agenzia Fides. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  19. ^ The Jesuits: "Christians have fled from Homs, not thrown out by Islamists" http://www.news.va/en/news/asiasyria-the-jesuits-christians-have-fled-from-ho
  20. ^ "Are Islamists targeting Christians in Homs? Catholic groups dispute cause of exodus". catholicCulture.org. March 27, 2012. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
  21. ^ "ASIA/SYRIA - Christians being targeted by armed Islamist gangs". Fides Agenzia. 30 March 2012. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
  22. ^ http://www.fides.org/aree/news/newsdet.php?idnews=31694&lan=eng
  23. ^ "ASIA/SYRIA - Abuse of the opposition forces, "ethnic cleansing" of Christians in Homs, where Jesuits remains". 21 March 2012. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
  24. ^ Rosen, Nir (10 October 2011). "Assad's Alawites: The guardians of the throne". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  25. ^ a b c d Karouny, Miriam (1 February 2012). "Against Syrian anger, Assad's sect feels fear". Damascus. Reuters. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  26. ^ Heneghan, Tom (31 January 2012). "Syria's Alawites, a secretive and persecuted sect". Reuters. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  27. ^ Rosen, Nir (18 February 2012). "Q&A: Nir Rosen on Syrian sectarianism". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
  28. ^ McDonald-Gibson, Charlotte (18 February 2012). "Syrians flee their homes amid fears of ethnic cleansing". London. The Independent. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  29. ^ Smith, Graeme (16 February 2012). "Assad's fellow Alawites in Turkey pose threat of counter-uprising". The Globe & Mail. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  30. ^ Behari, Elad (23 December 2011). "Syria: Sunnis Threatening to Massacre Minority Alawites". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
  31. ^ "Demonstration in Homs calls for extermination of Allawite, Shiite minorities". The Arab Digest. March 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  32. ^ Kessler, Oren (8 March 2012). "Alawite defections from Syrian army may be on rise". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  33. ^ "The long road to Damascus". The Economist. 11 February 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  34. ^ Shadid, Anthony (19 November 2011). "Sectarian Strife in City Bodes Ill for All of Syria". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  35. ^ Williams, Clive (17 January 2012). "Syrian security: can Bashar prevail?". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  36. ^ Oweis, Khaled Yacoub (26 January 2012). "Sectarian attack kills 14 of same family in Syria". Reuters. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  37. ^ Al-Khalidi, Suleiman (24 April 2011). "Security forces kill 9 Syrians in Sunni district". Reuters. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  38. ^ "Syrian gunboats fire on port city Latakia in fresh assault to quell dissent". London. The Daily Mail. 14 August 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
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