{"id":31,"date":"2006-09-24T04:34:29","date_gmt":"2006-09-24T04:34:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/?p=31"},"modified":"2006-09-25T22:13:42","modified_gmt":"2006-09-25T22:13:42","slug":"bayanouni-improves-on-alawi-question","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/bayanouni-improves-on-alawi-question\/","title":{"rendered":"Bayanouni Improves on Alawi Question"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ali Sadraddin\u00a0Bayanouni, the leader of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, has been improving his answers to the Alawi Question. Does Bayanouni’s answer\u00a0provide\u00a0hope that Syria will find a way out of its sectarian dead end? Or\u00a0that the Muslim Brotherhood is making citizenship and\u00a0not religion the qualification for political equality?\u00a0\u00a0Do such pronouncements promise\u00a0a soft Syrian landing to democracy?\u00a0Is this the influence of V.P. Khaddam?
\n<\/font><\/font>\u00a0
\n<\/font><\/font>My good friend Khudr, who has written several times about the <\/font>Alawite predicament<\/font><\/a>\u00a0in Syria, has sent an interesting analysis of the Muslim Brotherhood’s changing language. He finds it promising.
\n<\/font><\/font>\u00a0
\n<\/font><\/font>Before reproducing\u00a0his analysis, let me\u00a0provide a baseline of one year ago.
\n<\/font><\/font>\u00a0
\n<\/font><\/font>When asked if Alawis are heretical sect by a\u00a0<\/font>Jamestown interviewer <\/font><\/a>on (August 11, 2005): Bayanouni answered:
\n<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

Ali Bayanouni<\/strong>: We do not discriminate against Alawis and as they say they are Muslims, we do not contest that. The problem of Syria remains political, a minority elite has seized a state and is oppressing the majority.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Bayanouni says that\u00a0the Muslim\u00a0Brothers will not contest the Islamic\u00a0bonafides of the Alawis, if they want to call themselves Muslims. Nevertheless, he refuses to say that they are Muslims himself. His followers and most Shaykhs would eat him alive if he did. Of course, there is no reason why he need believe Alawis are Muslims, if the Muslim Brotherhood were willing to separate religion from politics, something the Brotherhood has been expressly against. What is more, Bayanouni calls the Asad regime a “minority elite.”
\n<\/font><\/font>\u00a0
\n<\/font><\/font>Let us compare this language\u00a0of a year ago with today’s language. I now give you Khudr’s analysis as emailed me:
\n<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

Khudr
\n<\/font><\/font>Sept. 20, 2006
\n<\/font><\/font>Syria Comment
\n<\/font><\/font>\u00a0
\n<\/font><\/font>1. Here is a Bayanouni interview with el-Mustaqbal TV on the 31st of August (2006). It has been published\u00a0<\/font>here by\u00a0<\/font><\/a>Akhbar el-Sharq<\/font><\/a>, the Muslim Brotherhood publication and by <\/font>e<\/font><\/a>l-Mustaqbal newspaper site here<\/font><\/a>.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

Bayanouni\u00a0dismisses the notion that Syria could slip into civil war should the regime fall, arguing that Alawis have received their share of unfairness and torture. He claims that the Ikhwan, or Brothers,\u00a0do not differentiate between the various sectarian groups of Syrian society. Rather, he insists, citizenship is the base to deal equally with everybody. He refuses to label the regime either as Baathist or Alawi, claiming it is a “family ruled regime.”<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

The paragraph concerned is:
\n<\/font><\/font>??? ??????? ???? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ?????????: “?? ??? ?? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ?? ???? ???????”? ? ???????? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ????????? ??? ?? ???? ??? ???? ??????? ?????? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ???????? ?? ?????? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ??????. ? ?? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ?? ??? ??????? ??????? “??? ??? ?????<\/span>“.<\/span>?<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/font>Syrian blood is sacred<\/u>;
\n<\/span><\/font><\/font>He also repeats\u00a0the MB\u2019s willingness to stand in court and take responsibility for\u00a0any misdeeds of the past.
\n<\/font><\/font>He said one thing that I personally really liked because I have been repeating that sentence for the longest time. \u201cDam el-Souri Haram\u201d (Syrian blood is sacred).
\n<\/font><\/font>\u00a0
\n<\/font><\/font>?????? ?? ??? 2004 ???? ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ??? ?????????? ????? ??????????? ???????? ??????? ?????? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ????? ???? ??????. ??? ??? ??????? ?? “?????” ????? ??????? ???????? ????? ????? ?? ?? ??????? ?????? ??? ?? “???? ?????? ??? ?? ???? ??????”? ?”????? ??????? ????? ????”.?<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/font><\/font>\u00a0<\/font><\/p>\n

Another indication of Baynouni’s\u00a0softer approach is:
\n<\/font><\/font>2. Bayanouni interview with El-Jazeera TV on the 17th of August (2006).
\n<\/font><\/font>You can find it on <\/font>MB website, here.<\/font><\/a>
\n\u00a0
\n<\/font><\/font>The paragraph concerned is:<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0???????? ?? ????? ??? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ???? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ???????, ?????? ?????? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ??????? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ?? ?????? ??????? ??????, ??? ????? ?? ???? ???? ????? ?? ??????? ??????? ?? ?????? ????? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ???????? ???? ??? ????? ?? ????? ?? ????? ????? ?? ????? ????? ???? ?? ????? ???? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ??????? ???????<\/span>.<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

3. Bayanouni interview with Al-Arabiya TV on the 29th of April (2006).
\n<\/font><\/font>You can find it on the <\/font>MB website, here<\/font><\/a>.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

Here Bayanouni appreciates the diversity of Syrian society and says it should be preserved and is beneficial. <\/font><\/font>The paragraph concerned is:<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0??? ????? ?? ????? ??? ??????? ???????? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ??????? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ??????? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ??????? ?? ???????? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ?? ??? ???????? ?? ????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ????? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ??? ?? ????? ??????? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ??????? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ????????? ??????? ??????????? ???? ????? ????? ????? ??????<\/span>.<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font> <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

I have the following to say about the above:<\/font><\/font>\u00a0<\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

1. Many people would say\u00a0Bayanouni is just paying lip service to Syrian diversity and tolerance. They will insist that we not believe him. I think that what we should\u00a0appreciate that he has\u00a0started talking like a politician. This is a great step forward. It distances the MB from\u00a0the ideological approach that it adopted in the past. In the 20th century, his words might have been\u00a0dismissed as lies, but in the 21st century, given the power of the\u00a0Internet and media, he cannot escape such formulations. He\u00a0will be bound by what he has said. It would seem that the MB has overcome its\u00a0urge\u00a0to take revenge on the Alawis. Perhaps the anger and hatred remain, but its policy is no long one of revenge and death.\u00a0One reason for their change in policy is because they want to capitalize on the chances of being the major\u00a0political party and best\u00a0organized entity that has the greatest chance of winning a good chunk of parliamentary seats in an open election.
\n<\/font><\/font>\u00a0
\n<\/font><\/font>I strongly believe this is the influence of Mr. Khaddam.\u00a0The MB’s language has\u00a0changed considerably since Khaddam allied with it. Mr. Khaddam is certainly a clever politician.
\n<\/font><\/font>\u00a0
\n<\/font><\/font>2. It is well known that Bayanouni represents the moderate faction in the MB. There are much more hardliner members of the Brotherhood\u00a0in the back seats. However, re-electing Bayanouni\u00a0as a head of the organization for a third term testifies to the\u00a0willingness of the membership as a whole to side with the moderate faction. The MB of Syria is trying to take, as I mentioned above, a political position more suitable to Syria\u2019s circumstances. Even if this puts the Syrian branch of the\u00a0MB in disagreement\u00a0with the MB of other countries. Bayanouni’s decision to ally with Khaddam\u00a0not only produced considerable turmoil in his own party, but disturbed the other branches of the MB with\u00a0which Syria\u00a0maintains very close relations, such as the Jordanian MB.\u00a0The Jordanian MB was completely against the alliance with\u00a0Mr. Khaddam and establishment of the National Salvation Front. <\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

The <\/font>following article<\/font><\/a>, by someone from within the MB talks about these disagreements.<\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font> <\/font><\/font><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ali Sadraddin\u00a0Bayanouni, the leader of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, has been improving his answers to the Alawi Question. Does Bayanouni’s answer\u00a0provide\u00a0hope that Syria will find a way out of its sectarian dead end? Or\u00a0that the Muslim Brotherhood is making citizenship and\u00a0not religion the qualification for political equality?\u00a0\u00a0Do such pronouncements promise\u00a0a soft Syrian landing to democracy?\u00a0Is […]<\/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":[11,10,14,6,7,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alawites","category-islam","category-muslim-brothers","category-opposition","category-politics","category-rel-ethn"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nBayanouni Improves on Alawi Question - 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\/bayanouni-improves-on-alawi-question\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bayanouni Improves on Alawi Question - Syria Comment\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ali Sadraddin\u00a0Bayanouni, the leader of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, has been improving his answers to the Alawi Question. Does Bayanouni’s answer\u00a0provide\u00a0hope that Syria will find a way out of its sectarian dead end? 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