We, the undersigned, affirm the undeniable right of the Syrian people to resist the genocidal regime of Bashar al-Assad, just as we support the rights of the Palestinians to struggle for freedom.
The Syrian Revolution, which emerged in 2011 as part of the broader Arab Spring, was a response to decades of brutal repression.
al-Assad’s war of extermination against his own people has resulted in over 600,000 killed, the displacement of more than 14 million, the arrest of over 130,000, and the torture and murder of over 15,000 in Assad’s dungeons in the most inhumane conditions imaginable.
The atrocities perpetrated by al-Assad and his allies are well-documented: the indiscriminate use of barrel bombs, chemical weapons, deliberate starvation, systematic rape, summary executions, protesters buried alive, mutilation, and more.
This reign of terror echoes the legacy of his father, Hafez al-Assad, who slaughtered up to 40,000 civilians in the city of Hama in 1982, following an uprising.
Ruthless national security industrial complex
Syria’s regime is not an anti-imperialist post-colonial state.
Rather, it embodies the very practices and structures of colonial oppression through its ruthless national security industrial complex.
Far from opposing imperialism, Bashar al-Assad was a complicit partner in the West’s so-called “War on Terror”. The CIA outsourced — through kidnap and rendition — several individuals to Bashar.
Former CIA officer Robert Baer said of their relationship,
“If you want them tortured, you send them to Syria.” [2]
Notable survivors of this collaboration include Canadians Maher Arar, Abdullah Almalki, Muayyad Nureddin, Ahmad Abou El-Maati, German citizen Mohammed Haydar Zammar, and Spanish citizen Mustafa Setmariam Nasar.
Histories of Syria and Palestine deeply intertwined
The denial of the Syrian people’s agency by some on the Left, through the recycling of conspiracy theories, securitised discourses, and Islamophobic narratives that are championed by neoconservatives and Zionists alike, is a profound betrayal.
The histories of Syria and Palestine are deeply intertwined; an attack on one is an attack on all the peoples of the Levant.
Signatories
| Name | Position/Organisation |
|---|---|
| Muhammad Jalal | The Thinking Muslim |
| Dr. Asim Qureshi | CAGE International |
| Zahid Akhtar | Documenting Oppression Against Muslims (DOAM) |
| Dr. Salman Butt | Head of Islamic Thought, Islam21c |
| Abu Eesa Nematullah | Scholar |
| Umar Muqaddam | Imam and khatīb |
| Zeeshan Siddiqui | Chairman, Human Aid & Advocacy |
| Moazzam Begg | CAGE International |
| Yusuf Patel | Muslim Family Initiative |
| Abdullah Jabbar | War journalist |
| Azhar Qayum | MEND |
| Robin Yassin Kassab | Writer |
| Muhammad Ahmad | Ummah Welfare Trust |
| Abdus Saboor | The Muslim Identity |
| Muhammad Uddin | Newham Muslim Forum |
| Ammaar Domun | Darul Ihsaan Barking |
| Mohammed Abubakar Saleem | Imam and scholar |
| Ibrahim Moiz | Researcher and historian |
| Mufti Ismail ibn Nazir Satia | Integrative counsellor |
| Shaykh Hammad al Madani | Scholar, author, and researcher |
| Mohammed Patel | Imam |
| Dr. Mufti Yusuf Shabbir | Islamic Portal |
| Muhammad Tahir | Imam |
| Mohammed Anas | Teacher and Imam |
| Farook Kazi | Imam and faith leader |
| Mohammed Rahman | Scholar |
| Mufti Dilwar Hussain | Headteacher |
| MD Al Amin | Skilled worker |
| Abdul Mateen Khandoker | Jamiate Ulama Islam Europe, Milton Keynes branch |
| Deen Sooklall | Chaplain |
| Khabbaab Ahmad | Imam, Batley |
| Abdullah Al Mawdud | Imam, Newbury Park Masjid |
| Suhail Akubat | Imam |
| Ismail Rawat | Chair, Preston Muslim Forum |
| Bodrul Hussain | Khatīb and Imam |
| Mufti Yousaf Baig | Teacher and therapist |
| Abdul Ghafoor Salloo | Imam |
| Kazi Abdul Kadir | Imam, chaplain, and TV presenter |
| Fadel Soliman | Director, Bridges Foundation |
| Majid Freeman | Citizen journalist and activist |
| Ismail Patel | Imam |
| Zaid Tootla | Madrasah Al Furqan |
| Nazmul Islam | Imam, Turners & Locksley Community Centre |
| Shamoly Hoque | Community organiser |
| Raza Ali | Imam |
| Sa’id Looch | Hirasah |
| Misbah Chowdhury | Imam and teacher |
| Mohammed Atiq | Imam |
| Shaykh Ibrahim Ali | Scholar |
| Shaqur Rehman | Islamic scholar and Imam |
| Misbah Waziri | Director, Lighthouse Advocacy |
| Zein Khalifa | Newham Muslim Youth |
| Shah Hamzah Ahmed | Teacher and Imam, Motala Foundation |
| Eleanor Pritchard | Human rights activist |
| Rana Kabbani | Writer |
| Tahmid Ahmed | Chaplain |
| Hamid Mahmood | Headteacher, Fatima Elizabeth Phrontistery |
| Mohammed Abu Amirah | Imam |
| Sarah Shahbazi | The Advocacy Academy |
| Mufti Salim Patel | Imam |
| Ayaat Yassin Kassab | Journalist |
| Nadeem Attar | Consultant |
| Wahid Azizi | Khatīb |
| Ismail Y Syed | Jurist and former lecturer in Islamic Studies |
| Hafizur Rahman | Khatīb |
| Ridwan Rashid | Muslim Youth Network |
| Anisa Islam | Trainee clinical scientist and Head of Safinah Collective |
| Taslima Begum | Nakheel Women’s Group |
| Abu Faaris | Bromley by Bow Ikhwah |
| Umair Zulfiqar | World Islamic Forum |
| Umer Suleman | Islamic finance expert |
| Moinul Abu Hamza | Jurist and community worker |
| Razaull Ahmed | Ikhwa |
| Atif Hussain | The Muslim Collab |
| Syed Nizamul Hoque | As Subah Academy |
| Shaykh Sikander Iqbal | Voice Of Truth |
| Shaykh Abbas Ali | Voice Of Truth |
| Usman Iqbal | Imam |
| Mehboob Khan | Editor, R3run Luton |
| Taji Mustafa | Islamic activist |
| Ahmad Yasin | Enterprise data architect and lecturer |
Source: Islam21c
Notes
[1] https://sunnah.com/bukhari:7094
[2] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/aug/31/extraordinary-rendition-backstory
