{"id":17595,"date":"2013-02-03T17:09:59","date_gmt":"2013-02-03T22:09:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/?p=17595"},"modified":"2013-02-04T09:23:50","modified_gmt":"2013-02-04T14:23:50","slug":"syrias-islamic-militias-and-how-they-think-about-minorities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/syrias-islamic-militias-and-how-they-think-about-minorities\/","title":{"rendered":"Syria’s Islamic Front Militias and How They Think about Minorities"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Abdal Qadr al-Salih<\/p><\/div>\n

C.J. Chivers of the New York Times in his, A Rebel Commander in Syria Holds the Reins of War<\/a>, describes the virtues of the veteran commander of al-Tawhid, Mr Saleh, the most powerful rebel leader in Aleppo. He has a record of tactical success and is by all accounts revered by his men. Chivers explains that “For Western governments, outreach [to men like Saleh] is problematic, in part because of Washington\u2019s policies, which… [are] shaped by fears of Islam.”<\/p>\n

Not only are Washington’s policies shaped by fears of Islam, but they are also shaped by support for Israel. Many will hesitate to arm Mr. Saleh because of his enmity toward Israel. In this Arabic video<\/a>, he insists that after liberating Damascus, Syria’s revolutionaries will liberate Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

He conjectures that support for Israel is the principal reason that Washington has refused to arm his militia and destroy Assad. He posits that the US still backs Assad in its desire to protect Israel.<\/p>\n

Abdel Kader al-Saleh and the Tawhid brigades do not belong to the Islamic Front; rather he belongs to the Supreme Military Command established shortly after the Syrian National Coalition was established in Doha in December of 2012. He is Assistant Deputy to the Commander-in-Chief for the Northern Region of the Supreme Military Command. See their order of battle.<\/a><\/p>\n

A much clearer view of the ideology and organization of the Islamic Front militias is emerging thanks to the hard work of analysts like Sam Heller<\/a>, Pieter Van Ostaeyen<\/a>, and Aaron Y. Zelin.<\/a><\/p>\n

Interesting characteristics of the Militias of the Islamic Front are:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. They are Syrian nationalists and do not call for the unification of the Syrian Umma under a Caliph. This is different from Jabhat al-Nusra, whose help they welcome.<\/p>\n

2. They adhere to a fairly dogmatic Salafist view of how Syria should be ruled. They insist on a “shura” council and abjure dictatorship. They do not call for democracy because God’s law and will must remain supreme. The state is to be theocratic but not intolerant. “The reference for all the actions of the Front is the Leadership Council (majlis al-qiyada<\/i>). The Legitimate Body (al-hai\u2019a al-shar\u2019iya<\/i>) is the legitimate governor of all the actions of the Front and its decisions are binding for the Front.”<\/p>\n

3. The Islamic Front militias have a narrow attitude toward tolerance. The “avoidance of rule over Muslims through unbelief or heresy (bid’a)” suggests that the ghuluw<\/em> [exaggerators or extremist sects] or gnostic sects, such as the Druze, Ismailis or Alawis may well be unacceptable and beyond the pale of religion, which is standard dogma of main-stream Islamic theology.<\/p>\n

Here is\u00a0 a bit from the Charter:<\/p>\n

Non-Muslims:<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    \n
  1. \n

    Islam is the religion of the state, and it is the principal and only source of legislation. We will work through all legitimate and possible means to ensure that there is no law that contradicts the set and confirmed principles (al-thawabit al-mu\u2019tamada<\/i>) of Islamic shari\u2019a<\/i>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    Coexistence between the sons of one nation, however their schools [of thought] or creeds might differ. That entails mutual responsibilities and rights. It makes the principle of the sanctity of blood, money, and honor something shared by all and something upon which there can be no infringement except according to the rulings of Islamic shari\u2019a<\/i> and through [its] conclusive judicial rulings.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

  3. \n

    Justice and fairness are the basis of the relationship in dealing with non-Muslims. Difference of religion is not a justification for injustice against anyone.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

  4. \n

    All members of society can participate in realizing its general interest, however their schools [of thought] and creeds might differ.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

  5. \n

    The call for the integration and mixing of religions and sects is rejected according to [religious] law. Moreover, it contains a kind of aggression against those religions and communities and is a sort of religious and cultural adulteration.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    [Landis commentary<\/strong>: The phrase, “Difference of religion is not a justification for injustice against anyone,” would seem to be liberal and suggest that all religions should be treated well, but in actuality standard Syrian religious texts view any creed other than the three “revealed” monotheistic religions as not religions at all. Thus they are not covered by the phrase: “Difference of religion is not a justification for injustice”.<\/p>\n

    In Syrian textbooks, required in the religion class of all schools and read by all Syrians, creeds other than Judaism, Christianity and Islam are not considered religions and are forbidden. The ninth grade textbook states that all other belief systems [than the revealed religions of the Abrahamic tradition], \u201ccontradict the principle of freedom of belief.\u201d This is because \u201cIslam gives freedom of belief only within the limits of the divine path,\u201d or the religions revealed by God, i.e., Judaism, Christianity and Islam. People following “inferior” forms of belief that reflect an “animal consciousness” must “convert to Islam” or “be killed.” (9 grade textbook: p. 128).] Not too much ambiguity there.<\/p>\n

    Here is an excerpt from my article: “Islamic Education in Syria: Undoing Secularism,<\/a>” which should have increased importance today because Islamic norms will take on new importance in Syria. The religion textbooks taught from first to twelfth grade have formed notions of identity in Syria.<\/p>\n

    Atheists and Pagans<\/strong>
    \nAt the very bottom of the hierarchy beneath the revealed religions of the \u201cpeople of the book,\u201d are the belief systems of the rest of humanity, who are categorized as \u201cAtheists and Pagans.\u201d Only one paragraph is devoted to them in the twelve years of Syrian schooling and it is tucked away in the ninth grade text under the subtitle, \u201cIslam Fights Paganism and Atheism.\u201d<\/p>\n

    It explains that \u201cpagans are those who worship something other than God, and atheists are those who deny the existence of God.\u201d Islam must fight these two belief systems because they \u201care an assault to both instinct and truth.\u201d We are told that these belief systems \u201ccontradict the principle of freedom of belief.\u201d This is because \u201cIslam gives freedom of belief only within the limits of the divine path,\u201d which \u201cmeans a religion descended from heaven.\u201d Because pagan religions were not revealed by God, they are considered an \u201cinferior\u201d form of belief that reflects an \u201canimal consciousness.\u201d How should Muslims deal with these peoples who comprise half of humanity? Students are instructed that \u201cIslam accepts only two choices for Pagans: that they convert to Islam or be killed (9 grade textbook: p. 128).\u201d<\/p>\n

    The Islam of Syrian texts does not have a happy formula for dealing with non-believers. Perhaps in recognition of this failing, the ministry of education has buried a mere six sentences on the subject into the middle of its ninth grade text.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    \"Said

    Said Hawa<\/p><\/div>\n

    To understand how the Muslim Brotherhood defined Alawites and other gnostic sects of Syria as worse than unbelievers, one should read these two articles by Itzchak Weismann about Sa’id Hawwa, the Brotherhood’s principal ideologue of the last century.[They were first published here]<\/a><\/p>\n

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