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Syriaâs uneasy truce with radical Islam
More Syrians are going to the mosque, more women are wearing the hijab and underground womenâs religious discussion groups are mushrooming even though they are banned. The austere Wahhabi brand of Islam practised by Osama bin Laden is also growing more popular and clerics are calling for jihad in Iraq and Palestine.So when the Baâathists eventually do fall, the Wahabis will be in a good position to take advantage of the power vaccum. And I bet they donât think to highly of Assadâs Alwati Islamic sect. In April last year, Asif Muhammad Hanif, a British Muslim who had studied Islam and Arabic in Damascus, blew himself up in an Israeli pub in Tel Aviv. After the bombings in Turkey last year against British and Jewish targets, Syria expelled 22 Turks, three of whom had been studying at the Abu Nour foundation. Sheikh Kuftaro said the foundation and other Islamic institutes could not be held responsible for the actions of every person that once attended the school. Although this has also been the official line, in March Syria announced it would no longer allow new foreign students to register at the Islamic schools, a sign that that the authorities are worried. For now, the regime is still tolerating the growing Islamist trend in Syria as it diverts peopleâs frustrations towards the outside world - specifically the Israelis and the Americans. At a time when Damascus is facing intense pressure to reform and Washington has just slapped sanctions on Syria, the regime can also hold up its Islamists as a more unruly alternative to the Baath regime and hope it will be able to keep them under its control. Well, itâs worked so well for other Muslim countries... Posted by: Paul Moloney 2004-05-12 |
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