Can Syria Restore Its Rich Cultural Diversity?
Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani (or Abu Mohammed al-Golani; born Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa in 1982) and his Sunni Islamist political and paramilitary organisation Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) stunned the global community by triggering the fall of the Bashar al-Assad Regime in Damascus on December 8, 2024. As expected, the Syrians celebrated the fall of the 53-year-long authoritarian regime of the Ba’ath Party as they were fed up with the fallen regime’s oppression and brutal torture that had prompted over 5.4 million people to leave the country. Death toll estimates from the 13-year-long civil war are as high as 620,000, a staggering number in a country with a pre-war population of 22 million. Now, the Interim Government of Syria is facing a tough challenge: to overcome the politics of revenge and to revive its rich cultural diversity.
After this spectacular victory, political foresight and skill, as well as tolerance, are required to unite the inhabitants of the conquered territories and to ensure the betterment of people. Mohammad al-Bashir, the caretaker Prime Minister of Syria, recently told an Italian journalist that the primary objective of his government was to strengthen security and to maintain stability across the West Asian nation. According to al-Bashir, the Interim Government is also keen to repatriate a large number of Syrian refugees and to restore the law and order in an attempt to normalise the situation. However, striking a balance between ensuring justice and punishing the perpetrators of the fallen regime is not an easy task. In fact, it is quite easier to trigger the fall of an authoritarian regime than to build a comprehensive alternative system based on absolute tolerance and non-hatred.
The current population of Syria is estimated at 24,672,760 and 80% of them are Arab Muslims, while 9-10% are Kurds, 3% Assyrians and 2% are Armenians. There are also ethnic Albanians, Greeks and Chechens. Among the followers of Islam, 31% are Sunnis and 17% are Shias. In addition, there are Druze, Ismaili, Yazidi, Christian and Jewish people. In fact, the continuous migration of people from different civilisations and cultures (who tried to occupy and control the region) has increased the demographic diversity of Syria over the past 5,500 years. Be it Alexander the Great or the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman Empires… all campaigns have had an impact on Syria. Mongols and Turks, too, had arrived in Damascus. The Syrian capital came under the control of British and Arab troops only after the First World War (1914-18). The French took over most of the region in 1920 and Syria finally gained Independence after the withdrawal of French troops in 1964.
Political unrest and coups have been common phenomena in Syria since its independence. Hafez al-Assad seized power in November 1970 through a coup and served as the 18th President of Syria from 1971 until his death in 2000. Syria experienced the rule of the al-Assad Family, as well as brutal persecution of opponents, rebels or protesters, for the next five decades. When Bashar al-Assad came to power after the demise of his father, he was initially considered as a moderate and relatively tolerant person by many. His education in the West might have created this misconception among people. However, Bashar followed his father’s footsteps.
When the tide of the Arab Spring reached Syria from Tunisia and Egypt in 2011, the Bashar al-Assad Regime escalated its crackdown on protesters, triggering a nationwide civil war. Since 2011, around 0.6 million people have perished in Syria. While seven million people have become homeless, nearly six million have become refugees who have taken shelter in neighbouring Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and other countries. During Angela Merkel‘s tenure as the German Chancellor, her government’s relatively lenient attitude allowed the Western European country to host many displaced Syrians. However, the unexpected political shift in Syria has made the future of new asylum seekers in countries, like Germany or Austria, uncertain.
One has to consider the past of Syrian rebel leader al-Julani who has served as the chief of HTS since 2017. His previous closeness to organisations, such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (ISIS), or to ideologues, such as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leaves Syria with doubts about his future role. Some still have doubts whether al-Julani has really changed his political and social views or left the path of extremism.
On the other hand, external powers continue to influence Syria even after its liberation from colonial rule almost eight decades ago! Although Russia has withdrawn forces from its military bases in Syria, Moscow is concerned about the existence of the US naval and air bases there. President-elect Donald John Trump has claimed that the US is not interested in Syria and in its internal issues! However, opportunistic Israel has repeatedly attacked chemical and other arsenal sites to weaken the Syrian defence strength. The Zionist Regime has taken control of the demilitarised zone of the Golan Heights, ignoring the advice of the UN.
In this context, the geopolitical balance of North-West Asia on the eastern side of the Mediterranean Sea is gradually changing. The ongoing events in West Asia have weakened various Arab Nations, while Israel has started enjoying a political advantage. The global community is eagerly waiting to see whether the new political leadership in Syria could reconstruct the war-torn country, apart from restoring its rich cultural diversity. Else, the politics of counterinsurgency would further ruin its future.
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Boundless Ocean Of Politics 