Article

2006-05-01 Syria-Lebanon-Iran

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Posted by Steve 2006-05-01 10:54|| || Front Page|| [7 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Gang wars. That oughta clue in some folks, but of course it won't.

Posted by mojo">mojo 2006-05-01 12:54|| 2006-05-01 12:54|| Front Page Top

#2 "Jund al-Sham, which means Soldiers of Syria, is a Sunni Muslim group of Syrian, Palestinian and Jordanian militants with links to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of al-Qaida in Iraq. The group was founded in Afghanistan and emerged in Ein el-Hilweh in 2004. Its estimated 50 members, who brand Christians and Shiite Muslims as "infidels," have had tense relations with Fatah guerrillas who control the camp, and have clashed with them in the past."

Veddy interesting. IIRC, from reading Pipes, Al Sham is a name used to refer to Greater Syria, including Jordan-Palestine-Lebanon. Shur is normally used for "lesser Syria" But Greater Syrianism was historically a secular ideology - Sunni Islamists in Syria leaned toward either Pan Islamism, Pan Arabism, or lesser Syrian nationalism - since a Greater Syria would include more Christians, Allawis, Druze, and Shiia, thus endangering Sunni control. That there is a Sunni extremist group with a greater Syrian identity, is an interesting element in the pot.

Posted by Liberalhawk 2006-05-01 12:54|| 2006-05-01 12:54|| Front Page Top

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