Syrian Civil War (Graphic Photos/Vid Not Allowed)

[GBU-28]

This conflict is not about religion. This is an anti terror operation ATO. The majority of Syrian soldiers are Sunnis. In fact, the defense minister is a Sunni.

Fahd Jassem al-Freij - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Of course it's about religion.

 

[soldier of Putin]

Of course it's about religion.

Pfffft hardly anyone is religious these days. These days it's all about money money money. All religions, whether Islam or Christianity, are like Communism and advocate equality of all men, that the rich must give to the poor.

 

[Ahmed Jo]

Islamism.
The problems in the Middle East are due to secularism. Islamism (implemented correctly) is the cure.

Most of the Middle East's problems are, in fact, linked to Islamism, if not the direct cause of them. Hundreds of groups and ideologies trying to "implement it correctly" have ravaged entire countries and populations. And please don't try to paint Assad as a secular guy as his blind supporters do, he is simply a psychopath and he'll wear any mask that helps him survive.

Islamism is the furthest thing from a cure.

 

[United]

Russia says Syria's Assad ready to share power| Reuters

 

[bdslph]

too many peoples die already divide Syria is the best way one is Assad and the other terrorist opposition rebel what ever they are called

 

[Dr.Thrax]

Most of the Middle East's problems are, in fact, linked to Islamism, if not the direct cause of them. Hundreds of groups and ideologies trying to "implement it correctly" have ravaged entire countries and populations. And please don't try to paint Assad as a secular guy as his blind supporters do, he is simply a psychopath and he'll wear any mask that helps him survive.

Islamism is the furthest thing from a cure.

Calling Al Qaeda Islamists is far from the truth. They have power hungry leadership. According to the US (and this should be taken as a grain of salt, as they might just be tarnishing his image to encourage defection,) Bin Laden had **** and wine collections. That makes him far from an Islamist leader.

Most of the problems come from nationalism, which causes racism, bigotry, etc.

 

[Saif al-Arab]

@Dr.Thrax

Im afraid that political Islamism has been a big failure in the Arab world. Wherever it has been tried it has ended in failure after being misused. Those so-called Islamists (the biggest self-proclaimed champion today being Al-Baghdadi, before it was OBL) do nothing more than kill Muslims (90% of all their victims are Muslims), ruin Muslim countries and help ruin the reputation of Islam.

No, secularism is not a problem at all. Why should it be? Would you rather live in the "Islamic Republic of Iran" or Turkey as an Muslim?

Saddam, Hafez, Bashar, Gaddafi etc. are not secular rulers at all. Yes, by name they claimed to be that but neither the societies were secular not the policies. How can dictatorships or one-party states where all opponents are oppressed be secular?

Unfortuantely even to this day, in this day and age of knowledge, too many Muslims are afraid of secularism and see it as a curse word.

Islam is used as a perfect tool for dictatorships to remain in power. In Iran ordinary Muslims who happen to be against the regime are executed for "being enemies of God". In the GCC (unfortunately) political opponents (Muslims too) are also combated by being silenced or jailed. All to protect the regimes in power.

 

[Dr.Thrax]

@Dr.Thrax

Im afraid that political Islamism has been a big failure in the Arab world. Wherever it has been tried it has ended in failure after being misused. Those so-called Islamists (the biggest self-proclaimed champion today being Al-Baghdadi, before it was OBL) do nothing more than kill Muslims (90% of all their victims are Muslims), ruin Muslim countries and help ruin the reputation of Islam.

No, secularism is not a problem at all. Why should it be? Would you rather live in the "Islamic Republic of Iran" or Turkey as an Muslim?

Saddam, Hafez, Bashar, Gaddafi etc. are not secular rulers at all. Yes, by name they claimed to be that but neither the societies were secular not the policies. How can dictatorships or one-party states where all opponents are oppressed be secular?

Unfortuantely even to this day, in this day and age of knowledge, too many Muslims are afraid of secularism and see it as a curse word.

Islam is used as a perfect tool for dictatorships to remain in power. In Iran ordinary Muslims who happen to be against the regime are executed for "being enemies of God". In the GCC (unfortunately) political opponents (Muslims too) are also combated by being silenced or jailed. All to protect the regimes in power.

I understand that, but secularism fosters nationalism. The dictatorships of Saddam, Assads, Gaddafi, were in a way secular, they used nationalism to suppress others. In the 80s Hafez's forces would raid cities and take off the Hijabs of women by force. Islamism, if implemented correctly (this is vitally important,) will solve a lot of the problems of the Middle East. Iran doesn't have an Islamism system, it's run by power-hungry Mullahs. They are just like the Church in Medieval times, using religion only as a cover to oppress and gain money.
According to hadith, the people of Bilaad al Sham (and this is mainly Syria) are a blessed people. They will go through hardship (as we can clearly see now) and they will be the saviors of the Islamic world. That is currently happening.

 

[Falcon29]

@Saif al-Arab @Dr.Thrax

We in the West should not worry or invest much time regarding the political state of the Middle east. It disrupts our studies and adds stress that we don't need, don't stress too much over other people's problems. There are many people there who study the situation and make calls to update/improve life/social systems there. It really is their problem and not ours. There is no specific solution at this moment and even if the whole region goings through revampment process, it will be a very ugly one that will last decades and see power hungry leaderships ruin lives over such a transition. The first results would be seen 30-50 years from now. So no point worrying about it unless you want to stress yourself out, don't be optimistic either because you'll be disapppointed. I no longer care about analyzing the situation, I just get latest news on things I care about, mostly about Palestinian affairs. I advise you do the same.

The people there are used to authoritarianism, therefore the process won't be undoed in the way we think. They need to stop relying on foreign advice and do what's best for them instead of changing their mind everytime. And guess who isn't changing their mind every several months? That's extremist militants like ISIS, hence their straightforward ideology will gain support because at least it is secure and not prone to change. The regimes in the Arab world use all kinds of parties(sometimes Islamists) and sell them out when they're no longer useful. And then they sudddenly begin preaching against Islamist movements. Hence what you're advocating won't work, because there is no secular foundation, unless regimes step aside and allow them to adopt one.

@Saif al-Arab

Your criticism of Islamists is invalid and rejected. Islamists never had a fair chance to rule when getting to power through legal means. A few examples, in Egypt the military orchestrated a coup, in Libya a military general disssolved the parliament and began militarily targeting the majority parties, in Gaza Israel besieged the strip making it impossible to judge Hamas's rule and come to conclusion. So in essence, Islamist rule is a failure because the conspiracies against them. Not because of their own intentions or performance. Therefore I can't accept your premise. Until you give them a fair opportunity to rule and allow us to see the results. So far we haven't had that.

I don't stand up for them for religious reasons, actually if you knew me in person you'd know I'm not that religious. I stand up for them because they have been wronged, it's that simple. I recognize the situation and context for what it is. If seculars had been wronged I would have sided with them.

 

[Saif al-Arab]

I understand that, but secularism fosters nationalism. The dictatorships of Saddam, Assads, Gaddafi, were in a way secular, they used nationalism to suppress others. In the 80s Hafez's forces would raid cities and take off the Hijabs of women by force. Islamism, if implemented correctly (this is vitally important,) will solve a lot of the problems of the Middle East. Iran doesn't have an Islamism system, it's run by power-hungry Mullahs. They are just like the Church in Medieval times, using religion only as a cover to oppress and gain money.
According to hadith, the people of Bilaad al Sham (and this is mainly Syria) are a blessed people. They will go through hardship (as we can clearly see now) and they will be the saviors of the Islamic world. That is currently happening.

All types of governance in the Muslim world, which is an extremely corrupt region of the world and ruled by mostly bad people, are corrupt. Let's be honest here for a second or just look at what is actually going on unfortunately in the Muslim world of today. It tells the whole story. Whether they claim to be secular, Islamist or nationalist.

What I am simply asking myself is where are all the supposed success stories that we can try to emulate? I am afraid that there are none currently.

Whether this will change in the future is up to people. I would be very good it this happened but I am afraid that we Muslims will ruin it and if not that outsiders.

But just look at this forum or the Western media today. Muslims are the new Jews and Gypsies of Europe. Some shocking comments really. All due (of course there are other reasons too) to a tiny retarded minority of "Muslims" and their actions. Just look at how much bad publicity the Daesh retards have given Islam and the ordinary Muslim.

 

[Ahmed Jo]

https://twitter.com/x/status/639870986238693376

The Druze may want to request some help from their buddies in Israel now, just some advice.

 

[Saif al-Arab]

@Saif al-Arab @Dr.Thrax

We in the West should not worry or invest much time regarding the political state of the Middle east. It disrupts our studies and adds stress that we don't need, don't stress too much over other people's problems. There are many people there who study the situation and make calls to update/improve life/social systems there. It really is their problem and not ours. There is no specific solution at this moment and even if the whole region goings through revampment process, it will be a very ugly one that will last decades and see power hungry leaderships ruin lives over such a transition. The first results would be seen 30-50 years from now. So no point worrying about it unless you want to stress yourself out, don't be optimistic either because you'll be disapppointed. I no longer care about analyzing the situation, I just get latest news on things I care about, mostly about Palestinian affairs. I advise you do the same.

The people there are used to authoritarianism, therefore the process won't be undoed in the way we think. They need to stop relying on foreign advice and do what's best for them instead of changing their mind everytime. And guess who isn't changing their mind every several months? That's extremist militants like ISIS, hence their straightforward ideology will gain support because at least it is secure and not prone to change. The regimes in the Arab world use all kinds of parties(sometimes Islamists) and sell them out when they're no longer useful. And then they sudddenly begin preaching against Islamist movements. Hence what you're advocating won't work, because there is no secular foundation, unless regimes step aside and allow them to adopt one.

@Saif al-Arab

Your criticism of Islamists is invalid and rejected. Islamists never had a fair chance to rule when getting to power through legal means. A few examples, in Egypt the military orchestrated a coup, in Libya a military general disssolved the parliament and began militarily targeting the majority parties, in Gaza Israel besieged the strip making it impossible to judge Hamas's rule and come to conclusion. So in essence, Islamist rule is a failure because the conspiracies against them. Not because of their own intentions or performance. Therefore I can't accept your premise. Until you give them a fair opportunity to rule and allow us to see the results. So far we haven't had that.

I don't stand up for them for religious reasons, actually if you knew me in person you'd know I'm not that religious. I stand up for them because they have been wronged, it's that simple. I recognize the situation and context for what it is. If seculars had been wronged I would have sided with them.

Wise words Falcon. In my case it's just hard not to do considering that I have lived in the MENA region for years, have most family there and that I am frequently visiting. Several times a year for extended periods even when the studies allow me to.

I have tried to ignore almost everything outside of the main events that are almost impossible to ignore but I have failed. Some part of me is happy about this because I used to despise the lot in the MENA region that just did not care about making any concrete changes but only complained and complained thinking that rights, achievements etc. will fall down from the sky just because they complain.

Regarding Islamists of today or people who claim to be it (groups and states) then I am not against them per se (the just ones who try to emulate the best of Muslims in history) at all just like I am not against secularists provided that the latter respect our religion, customs, culture, traditions etc. Of course this does not mean that we should never develop rather the contrary, it just means that I have respect for people who respect themselves. All this does not prevent political, social, technological etc. changes from occurring.

My criticism is aimed at terrorist groups like Daesh, AQAP, Houthi's etc. (the list is long)and certain Muslim regimes who have done great harm not only for Muslims that live in the region but also for the reputation of Islam. They are shooting themselves in the foot. That and clerics who are embarrassing us. You probably have heard about that cleric of Pakistani origin in the UK (don't recall his name right now) or many other ones across Europe. It's almost as if they are working undercover to ruin the name of Muslims, Islam and make non-Muslims hate us.

It's a worrying situation because when they meet like-minded idiots from the other side (right-wing radicals, racists etc. in Europe) something really ugly can kickstart and it will hurt all us "normal" people who just want to live our life's in peace. I think that you can relate to that living in the US. I personally won't have to fear anything but many others will if shit hits the fan.

 

[Dr.Thrax]

After the Druze protests against Assad, regime assassinated a popular Druze leader. Now Druze are protesting even more and flying the revolution flag. Oh how things can change in an instant.
They also destroyed a Hafez statue.

 

[Hussein]

Most of the Middle East's problems are, in fact, linked to Islamism, if not the direct cause of them. Hundreds of groups and ideologies trying to "implement it correctly" have ravaged entire countries and populations. And please don't try to paint Assad as a secular guy as his blind supporters do, he is simply a psychopath and he'll wear any mask that helps him survive.

Islamism is the furthest thing from a cure.

100% agree .

 

[Saif al-Arab]

https://twitter.com/x/status/639870986238693376

The Druze may want to request some help from their buddies in Israel now, just some advice.

What is it with those Druze? They are changing sides constantly. They seem like real opportunists although I know that they are divided among themselves as well. I got nothing against them as people but they would do wisely and start to cooperate with the Jordanian government and turn against the Al-Assad regime completely. They would win a lot by doing that. If they continue their support (or fractions among them) they will have everything to lose once the inevitable happens and Al-Assad will lose the control of Damascus and eventually most if not all of Syria. From what I recall most are living next to the Jordanian border and Southern Syria in general. How is Jordan dealing with them? And do you really think that Israel are willing to help them just because some Druze in Israel/occupied Palestine are allied with the Israeli regime?

I stopped following their role in the conflict as they are changing horses all the time. One day they are allies the next day they are fighting against the Al-Assad regime. Reminds me of the Houthi's and Saleh in Yemen today. After being enemies for 20 years and fighting against each other they are now "best buddies".