Syria is now reviving its Islamic roots, 40 years after the secular Baath Party came to power, according to an editorial on Gulf News.
The article, by Syrian political analyst Sami Moubayed, argues that Islam is gaining ground in Syria, and that religion is no more limited to the urban poor.
Syrians held onto Islam in the post-Ottoman era and the Islamic Caliphate. But they were greatly influenced by secularism, which was brought along with the French when they invaded Syria in 1920.
The great shift towards Islamic roots resulted from the clash between the Muslim Brotherhood and the regime in 1982. The consecutive defeats in Arab politics also pushed Syrians to turn to Islam when the Baath Party and Arab nationalism failed them.
The continued Israeli occupation of Palestine, the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and the 2003 U.S.-led war against Iraq convinced Syrians, as well as many Muslims across the world, that Islam is always the solution when everything else fails.
Another factor that hugely contributed to the rise of Islam in Syria is that Islamic resistance groups are gaining ground in the Middle East.
The Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah forced Israel to withdraw from South Lebanon in 2000 and anti-occupation movement Hamas came to power after the January Palestinian elections.
The fierce Iraqi resistance, mainly led by Sunni fighters seeking liberation from the U.S. invaders, is leading a relentless battle against occupation forces.
These developments led to the emergence of different schools of thought in Syria, including moderate Islamic leaders, who preach tolerance and are backed by the regime, fundamentalists and other groups that want to preserve the secularism of Syria.
The Baath regime is standing among these groups, struggling to strike an almost impossible balance: promoting secularism and winning the Islamic street to build a united front to resist growing U.S. pressure.
It's all very good alhamdulillah, but what is this?
These developments led to the emergence of different schools of thought in Syria, including moderate Islamic leaders, who preach tolerance and are backed by the regime, fundamentalists and other groups that want to preserve the secularism of Syria
Preserve the secularism of Syria? Islam and secularism dont go hand in hand.
It's all very good alhamdulillah, but what is this?
Preserve the secularism of Syria? Islam and secularism dont go hand in hand.
I'm thinking that a well organized secular government would allow for different religious beliefs to flourish in Syria. Perhaps Islam and secularism don't go hand in hand (I'm not the best judge). I am failing to see why it would be to Syria's advantage to have one religion supported over others.
Fear makes strangers of people who would be friends.
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