{"id":10267,"date":"2011-06-18T09:36:27","date_gmt":"2011-06-18T13:36:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/?p=10267"},"modified":"2011-06-18T09:36:27","modified_gmt":"2011-06-18T13:36:27","slug":"what-do-sunnis-intend-for-alawis-following-regime-change-by-khudr-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/what-do-sunnis-intend-for-alawis-following-regime-change-by-khudr-2\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;What do Sunnis intend for Alawis following regime change?&#8221; by Khudr"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"width: 273px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.google.com\/imgres?imgurl=http:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/5\/50\/Alawite_men.jpg&amp;imgrefurl=http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Alawite_men.jpg&amp;usg=__YfznYEoWsIwDHSCNI25HGzA-npg=&amp;h=220&amp;w=263&amp;sz=36&amp;hl=en&amp;start=0&amp;zoom=1&amp;tbnid=srQRTuyOIUpvPM:&amp;tbnh=138&amp;tbnw=165&amp;ei=Zan8TePWKMru0gHsx5SUAw&amp;prev=\/search%3Fq%3Dalawite%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1600%26bih%3D738%26tbm%3Disch&amp;um=1&amp;itbs=1&amp;iact=hc&amp;vpx=886&amp;vpy=248&amp;dur=960&amp;hovh=176&amp;hovw=210&amp;tx=97&amp;ty=115&amp;page=1&amp;ndsp=34&amp;ved=1t:429,r:13,s:0&amp;biw=1600&amp;bih=738\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/5\/50\/Alawite_men.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"263\" height=\"220\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Two Alawis at the beginning of the 20th century<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The following article was first published on Syria Comment in August 2006. It is written by a Syrian Alawi friend who wrote under the pseudonym, Khudr. He authored\u00a0 it in response to President Bush&#8217;s pressure on Syria following the invasion of Iraq and killing of Rafiq Hariri. At the time, the US administration was casting about for a Syrian who could replace President Bashar al-Assad. Washington hoped to end Syrian influence in Lebanon, gain Syrian support for its occupation of Iraq, and extend its agenda for &#8220;Reform of the Greater Middle East.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In particular, Bush policy makers were looking for an Alawi general who could overthrow Bashar al-Assad and replace the Assad family, while maintaining stability.<\/p>\n<p>Today, Syrian opposition leaders believe a key to bringing down the regime is to divide the Alawi community. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ft.com\/intl\/cms\/s\/0\/5bdf4198-96b8-11e0-baca-00144feab49a.html#axzz1PMoNuXKI\">Bassma Kodmani<\/a> has suggested that &#8220;Alawite leaders have sought to establish contacts with Sunni imams to seek guarantees for the community in return for abandoning the Assad regime. This, rather than defections in the army, could herald the unraveling of the regime\u2019s powers of suppression.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/commentisfree\/2011\/may\/28\/syrian-alawites-protests\">Mohja Kahf <\/a>has similarly written that \u201cfour of seven major Alawite clans (Nuwaliya, Kalbiya,   Haddadiya,  Khayyatiya), issued statements dissociating   themselves from  the Assads.\u201d (See my response to this: &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/?p=10022\">Did Four Alawi Clans Dissociate themselves from the Assads, as the Opposition Claims? Not likely<\/a>.&#8221;)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/?p=14\"><strong>What do Sunnis intend for Alawis following regime change?<\/strong><\/a><br \/>\nby Khudr<br \/>\nfor Syria Comment<br \/>\nAugust 30, 2006<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;.. Radical  change in Syria can be achieved only with the help of the Alawis  themselves. Excluding a full-fledged mass uprising or a foreign  invasion, Alawi rule can be terminated only if it is approved by Alawi  Syrians or if they stand aside.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why don&#8217;t Alawi Syrians  terminate Assad\u2019s rule?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It is no exaggeration to say that many Alawis  are not happy, to say the least, with the present regime. The reasons  that are usually given for this discontent are the following:<\/p>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<ol>\n<li>Many Alawis live in poverty, such as those eking out an existence in the slums surrounding Damascus or the poor villages scattered about the coastal area, where unemployment and underemployment is so high.<\/li>\n<li>Political imprisonment awaits Alawis who dare to challenge the regime, such as befell the followers of Salah Jdeed and  the Communist Workers Party in the past or Aaref Dalilah today.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<p>There are also other important reasons that are rarely spoken of:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Most of us have not lived the unjust circumstances that our  fathers and grand-fathers were subjected to by the Sunnis. Thus, we  do not have the same appreciation for the Alawi rule that  the late president Hafiz Assad brought.<\/li>\n<li>Hafiz made huge improvements to our rural areas after centuries of utter neglect by successive Syrian governments,  whether Ottoman or Syrian. (A negligence that the Assad regime is sadly  repeating in the Jazeera and the north-eastern parts of Syria). However,  these improvements, made by the Baath during its early days, have long since come to a halt. Actually, the condition of Alawis has been sliding backwards and not forwards for more than a generation.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">In our fathers\u2019 youth, cities at the foot of the Coastal  Mountains, such as Tartous, Banias, Jabla, Latakia, were transformed  from purely Sunni communities with some Christian inhabitants to organized multi-sectarian modern cities  (of course relatively speaking). During our generation these nice cities have become run down and dirty places due to corruption,  bad-planning, and patronage. We have watched them become a playground for the  cowboys of the present generation, the Assad clan in Kurdaha, sometimes  called the Shabbiha.<\/p>\n<p>3. Our fathers\u2019 support for Hafiz al-Assad was driven largely by their  resentment against the wealthy bourgeoisie of Syria. The Baath Party claimed to  oppose this wealthy class which seemed to monopolize trade and land. Most Syrians believed that they had acquired their advantages and wealth through nefarious and often violent means under the Ottomans. The Baathist movement won much of its legitimacy among the rural poor because it claimed to stand up for the little guy against the feudalists. The  followers of Rifa`at al-Assad used to recount to us in the seventies  how they admired him because he would pick up a dirty, used tuna can from  the floor and drink tea from it.<\/p>\n<p>Not any more. I wonder what those people would say about  him now that he eats his foie gras with golden utensils in his multi-million dollar villas  in France and Spain? An earlier generation of Alawis honestly admired the Alawis who took power.\u00a0 I still have not met a single person who has the  slightest admiration for Rami Makhlouf or Asaf Shawkat, for example. Unfortunately, in our day, the Alawi rulers and their children are  becoming the epitome of the bourgeoisie that we were taught to despise.<\/p>\n<p>4. It is a fact that Alawis still control the important positions in  the security systems in Syria. However, it is also a fact that this  control serves only a small circle at the top of the pyramid and is  becoming less and less beneficial or responsive to the poor members at  the base.<\/p>\n<p>5. Seeing that most of the leading members of the Assad regime have made full-fledged  alliances with Sunni families. Many have done this through marriage, such as the president  himself or Muhammad Nassif\u2019s daughters; others have done it through monopoly enterprises, such as Maher al-Assad, Bahjat Suleiman, Asaf Shawkat, and many others. The regime has lost its  claim to representing the Alawi sect or to defending its rights. The  claims that Hafiz and his generation have used to gain our fathers&#8217; support and admiration are largely gone.<\/p>\n<p>6. The direction Syria is now heading in does not look good. The last  thing Alawis want or need is to have a group of people leading Syria to catastrophe in their name, while they get so little advancement out of it.\u00a0 All of Syria accuses the Alawi sect of being responsible for the lamentable state of affairs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>So why then don\u2019t Alawis do anything about the situation? Why are  we silent? Why doesn\u2019t an Alawi Army General carry out a coup?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Reasons general to all Syrian citizens:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1. The culture of fear has been deeply planted in every Syrian person regardless of their sect or race.<\/p>\n<p>2. We have been deeply conditioned to mistrust and be suspicious of  everyone, making it extremely hard for any two Syrians to work together,  not to mention organize in a group. To see how deep this problem has  become, look at how much the Syrians in the Diaspora are fragmented even  when they are away from the regime and its influence. No two Syrian  expatriates are able to organize a cultural gathering, not to mention a  political party. No sooner does a new party emerge than its members, who  are from the same sect and race and background, start to split apart  into uncountable factions.<\/p>\n<p>3. The external animosity of the United States paralyzes internal  movements, organized to act against the regime, no matter how well  intentioned they are. No one wants to risk a serious move against the  regime while there is an enemy at the door. The United States has not  shown any signs that it is interested in improving Syria\u2019s internal  situation or helping Syria. What the U.S. is asking for clearly and  loudly are changes in external policies, period. Most of those policies  are not attractive to the Syrian opposition. The regime is popular on  most of these issues, such as the occupation of Palestine, the Golan, or  Iraq.<\/p>\n<p>A coup-d\u2019etat at this moment risks being labeled &#8220;made in America&#8221; even if it does not have the slightest connection to America.<\/p>\n<p>The present sentiment in the Syrian street is anti-American. This  means that any opposition that seeks support from the Syrian street will  be anti-American and will be spurned by the West, as happened with  Hamas. Any opposition that seeks external support will lose the street,  as is the case with Khaddam. We are in a tricky situation; the regime  understands this well and has exploited with skill.<\/p>\n<p>4. The organization of the Army and security forces was masterminded  by the late president Hafiz Assad to prevent coups similar  to those that rocked Syria during the three decades after Syrian  independence. The Syrian forces capable of carry out a coup-d\u2019etat &#8211; the Army, Special Forces, Police Force, and Security Apparatuses &#8211; are all burdened with a complex command structure,  purposefully designed to frustrate plotters.<\/p>\n<p>Lateral communication is  absolutely forbidden between units; all communications between units  must travel through a cumbersome vee, first ascending up the command  structure to the top level of one unit before descending down again  through the ranks of the other unit. Most importantly, the many units  and departments have an interlocking command structure so that no entity  is autonomous. They cannot act without several other departments  knowing about it. For example, any air force unit is under the influence  of aerial-security (Mukhabarat Jawiyyah), army-security (Mukhabarat  Askariyyah), the morale-guidance headquarters (Idarat el Tawjih  al-manawi), military police, air force headquarters, army general  headquarters, the Republican Guards, and the Palace. Officers with  loyalties to theses various branches of security are sprinkled liberally  throughout the security forces. This command structure makes the  military practically useless against foreign enemies but extremely effective at  guaranteeing internal stability. Any attempt to rebel is quickly  thwarted by the stultifying array of conflicting loyaltiesand can be dealt with on the spot.<\/p>\n<p>5. Most Syrians, as unhappy as they are with the present regime, see  no point in changing the regime without a solid alternative. The  opposition has yet to present a clear vision for the future that would  inspire people to risk the few joys of Syrian life that they have,  security being at the top of the list. Vague and generalized talk about  democracy and a better life are the only promises made by present  regime-change advocates. They aren\u2019t reassuring.<\/p>\n<p>6. We have to admit that corruption has insinuated itself deep into the  souls of almost every Syrian. It is highly questionable that any form of  regime-change is going to achieve real economic or social change,  without being preceded by a long process of grass roots reform and  cultural revival.<\/p>\n<p>We do have a corrupt leadership, but even an honest leadership would  find it impossible to overcome the pervasive culture of bribery,  disrespect for hard work, and indifference to public interest that is  shared by state, and indeed, private sector employees. Most Syrians\u2019  sense of virtue has become so crooked that fooling a customer is defined  as cleverness, &#8220;<em>shatara<\/em>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Can change really be enforced from the top down? The regime changers  avoid this thorny question, but it must be aired and debated. Are we  willing to act, think, and work differently when the regime is changed?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Reasons specific to Alawi Syrian citizens:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The main reason that prevents Alawis from being active in supporting  any regime change plans is their fear of the \u201cother.\u201d Those who propose  regime change without explaining to us what the end of Alawi rule will  mean for thousands of ordinary Alawis will get no where.<\/p>\n<p>There are two sorts of \u201cothers\u201d in Syria:<br \/>\na. First are the Sunni religious and Kurdish opposition leaders who say bluntly and clearly: \u201cWe want to end the Alawi rule\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>b. Second is everyone else, who says shyly and elliptically: \u201cThe  monopoly over top army and security posts by one sect should end.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Not a single Syrian intellectual, political leader, or plain  good-will writer, has ever dealt with the following fundamental  question:<\/p>\n<p><strong>What exactly are your plans for the Alawis after we give up power?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Why do answers to this question have to be vague and general? What  are your plans for the tens of thousands of Alawis who work in the army  and other security apparatuses? What are your plans for the republican  guard and the special forces that are staffed primarily by Alawis? Are  you going to pay them pensions if you decide to disband their forces? Or  will they be fired and dumped on the streets, humiliated, and ostracized  as were the Sunnis and Baathists of Iraq were following the American invasion? Do you have any idea of the impact on  security such dismissals would engender? Will you be satisfied with a  scenario by which these forces remain in their positions in exchange for  their giving up political power?<\/p>\n<p>What are your plans for the tens of thousands of Alawis who work as  government employees in many non-functional establishments? Are you  going to close these establishments? Do you have any idea of the social  impact of such closures? Are you going to stop improvement projects in  the coastal area as all past Sunni governments have done since  independence?<\/p>\n<p>Are you going to reverse confiscation laws to return land  taken from Sunni landlords and distributed among tens of thousands of  farmers?<\/p>\n<p>Are you going to demand that security officials stand trial for their  actions during the last 35 years? What is the highest rank that you are  going to hold responsible? Are you going to ask for trials for past  deeds? How about the present leading elite? Who exactly are the people  you want to hold responsible? And If you do bring them to trial, are you  going to hold the Sunni elite to the same standard? Will Sunni families  who have benefited from the regime through monopolies and sweet-heart  deals, such as the Nahhas family in Damascus and the Jood family in  Latakia, be treated as Alawis are?<\/p>\n<p>These questions should be answered not only by opposition  intellectuals, but also by every non-Alawi Syrian. What do you want to  do with us if we give you back political power? Are you really willing  to live side by side with us, to cherish Syria\u2019s diversity, and consider  the past 40 years merely another failed episode in our long history of  failed revolutions.<\/p>\n<p>A change for the better must include all sectors of Syrian society,  including Alawi Syrians. Because Alawis control all the main security  forces of the state, regime change will not happen without assuring them  that they too will have a place in Syria\u2019s new future. Without such  assurances, there will be no Alawi Musharif, nor will any other army  General carry out a coup d\u2019etat that will bring anything other than  chaos to Syria.<\/p>\n<p>Syrians refuse to speak openly and honestly about our most important  challenges; so much is kept in the dark. But this is no time for  \u201cshatara\u201d or dissembling. We must confront and discuss religious and  communal issues directly and honestly. If Sunnis really want regime  change, then they have to address the Alawi issue head on. Unless the  answers to these questions are cleared up by all concerned, Alawis, no matter how dissatisfied and disappointed with  the present leadership, will not entertain the idea of regime change;  they will not relinquish the ramparts of power.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The following article was first published on Syria Comment in August 2006. It is written by a Syrian Alawi friend who wrote under the pseudonym, Khudr. He authored\u00a0 it in response to President Bush&#8217;s pressure on Syria following the invasion of Iraq and killing of Rafiq Hariri. At the time, the US administration was casting [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11,96],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alawites","category-syria-revolution-2011"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.8.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>&quot;What do Sunnis intend for Alawis following regime change?&quot; by Khudr - Syria Comment<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/what-do-sunnis-intend-for-alawis-following-regime-change-by-khudr-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"&quot;What do Sunnis intend for Alawis following regime change?&quot; by Khudr - Syria Comment\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The following article was first published on Syria Comment in August 2006. It is written by a Syrian Alawi friend who wrote under the pseudonym, Khudr. He authored\u00a0 it in response to President Bush&#8217;s pressure on Syria following the invasion of Iraq and killing of Rafiq Hariri. At the time, the US administration was casting [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/what-do-sunnis-intend-for-alawis-following-regime-change-by-khudr-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Syria Comment\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-06-18T13:36:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/5\/50\/Alawite_men.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Joshua\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@joshua_landis\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@joshua_landis\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Joshua\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"12 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/what-do-sunnis-intend-for-alawis-following-regime-change-by-khudr-2\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/what-do-sunnis-intend-for-alawis-following-regime-change-by-khudr-2\/\",\"name\":\"\\\"What do Sunnis intend for Alawis following regime change?\\\" by Khudr - Syria Comment\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/what-do-sunnis-intend-for-alawis-following-regime-change-by-khudr-2\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/what-do-sunnis-intend-for-alawis-following-regime-change-by-khudr-2\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/5\/50\/Alawite_men.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-06-18T13:36:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/3b31d23576e1b8c0928811e638957c80\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/what-do-sunnis-intend-for-alawis-following-regime-change-by-khudr-2\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/what-do-sunnis-intend-for-alawis-following-regime-change-by-khudr-2\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/what-do-sunnis-intend-for-alawis-following-regime-change-by-khudr-2\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/5\/50\/Alawite_men.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/5\/50\/Alawite_men.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/what-do-sunnis-intend-for-alawis-following-regime-change-by-khudr-2\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"&#8220;What do Sunnis intend for Alawis following regime change?&#8221; by Khudr\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Syria Comment\",\"description\":\"Syrian politics, history, and religion\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/3b31d23576e1b8c0928811e638957c80\",\"name\":\"Joshua\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.joshualandis.com\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/joshua_landis\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/author\/syriacomment\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\"What do Sunnis intend for Alawis following regime change?\" by Khudr - Syria Comment","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/what-do-sunnis-intend-for-alawis-following-regime-change-by-khudr-2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\"What do Sunnis intend for Alawis following regime change?\" by Khudr - Syria Comment","og_description":"The following article was first published on Syria Comment in August 2006. It is written by a Syrian Alawi friend who wrote under the pseudonym, Khudr. He authored\u00a0 it in response to President Bush&#8217;s pressure on Syria following the invasion of Iraq and killing of Rafiq Hariri. At the time, the US administration was casting [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/what-do-sunnis-intend-for-alawis-following-regime-change-by-khudr-2\/","og_site_name":"Syria Comment","article_published_time":"2011-06-18T13:36:27+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/5\/50\/Alawite_men.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Joshua","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@joshua_landis","twitter_site":"@joshua_landis","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Joshua","Est. reading time":"12 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/what-do-sunnis-intend-for-alawis-following-regime-change-by-khudr-2\/","url":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/what-do-sunnis-intend-for-alawis-following-regime-change-by-khudr-2\/","name":"\"What do Sunnis intend for Alawis following regime change?\" by Khudr - Syria Comment","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/what-do-sunnis-intend-for-alawis-following-regime-change-by-khudr-2\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/what-do-sunnis-intend-for-alawis-following-regime-change-by-khudr-2\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/5\/50\/Alawite_men.jpg","datePublished":"2011-06-18T13:36:27+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/3b31d23576e1b8c0928811e638957c80"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/what-do-sunnis-intend-for-alawis-following-regime-change-by-khudr-2\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/what-do-sunnis-intend-for-alawis-following-regime-change-by-khudr-2\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/what-do-sunnis-intend-for-alawis-following-regime-change-by-khudr-2\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/5\/50\/Alawite_men.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/5\/50\/Alawite_men.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/what-do-sunnis-intend-for-alawis-following-regime-change-by-khudr-2\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"&#8220;What do Sunnis intend for Alawis following regime change?&#8221; by Khudr"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/","name":"Syria Comment","description":"Syrian politics, history, and religion","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/3b31d23576e1b8c0928811e638957c80","name":"Joshua","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.joshualandis.com","https:\/\/x.com\/joshua_landis"],"url":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/author\/syriacomment\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p38J3A-2FB","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10267\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}