Between 1995-6, I lived and studied in Damascus, at IFEAD and Damascus university. I travelled throughout Syria, visiting Aleppo, Homs, and Latakia, with the exception of Hama — a no-go place, not even spoken of.
I was told by my very close Syrian friends and confidantes,
“Never say the word ‘Assad’, as the walls have ears.”
They warned me that the ruthless Mukhābarāt (secret police) were everywhere.
Statue of Assad at peak of Mount Qāsiyūn
In fact, displaying a picture or statue of the tyrant was fard.
Shops, cars, homes, every single street corner, everywhere — if you didn’t display it, you were in trouble.
And even when I got to the top of Jabal Qāsiyūn (the mountain overlooking Damascus), to my amazement I found a statue of Hafez al-Assad!
The message was clear. The state was watching you wherever you are.
To live in a state of terror
I personally witnessed, experienced, and have seen what it was like to live under fear, terror, and a ruthless dictatorship.
Hence, Damascus and the events in Syria are very close to my heart for more than one reason.
The evil father-and-son duo of Hafez and Bashar al-Assad — may Allah (subḥānahu wa ta’āla) curse them both — have brutally slaughtered and oppressed their own people over the last five decades.
They are responsible for killing up to one million between them, just as callously as the Zionists have done in Gaza and Palestine over the decades.
Such regimes are the West’s rotten produce
Whether it is the Assads, the other brutal Arab dictators, or the Zionists: the common denominator is they are all rotten products of colonial powers.
The region consisting of Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine — referred to as Shām — was all one land, united under the Ottoman Caliphate ever since Islam entered in 632.
Early 20th century betrayal
It wasn’t until the 1916-18 Hussein-Sharif Arab revolt — and the collusion of the forefathers of “modern” Jordan and Saudi Arabia with the British and French colonial powers — that led to the collapse of the Ottoman Caliphate, break-up of these lands, and subsequent rule by Western proxy dictators.
And this was cemented by the 1916 Sykes Picot and 1917 Balfour Agreements, in which the French took and occupied Syria/Lebanon whilst the British took Palestine and Jordan.
Western political interests
The Ba’athist regime of Hafez and Bashar al-Assad descended from these rotten foul roots.
And like the Zionists and other begotten dictators — such as Gaddafi, Saddam, the House of Saud, Hussein, Mubarak, et al — they wrecked brutal and genocidal policies upon their people.
All to serve American and broader Western political interests.
Russian and Iranian axis through a political lens
Just like the colonial Western nations support, aid, and abet genocide in Palestine and support the Zionists, likewise, the Russian, Iranian, Iraqi militias and Lebanon’s Hezbollah have supported the Assad tyranny in Syria. They are collectively responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands.
As for some of the Arab regimes who have their own hands drenched in blood with slaughter in Sudan, Yemen, and elsewhere, they had been welcoming and supporting Bashar al-Assad into the political framework.
However, they are now petrified by recent events, just like they were with the Arab Spring as to the implications for their own tyrannical make-shift regimes which are only propped up because of Western support!
And yet, the Iranians talk about supporting the Palestinian resistance… The Russians criticise the West in Palestine and Gaza… Some of the Arabs talk about a representative government for all in Syria.
But they are all dictatorships and the West calls for what exactly? After all, it is the root cause of the problem!
Hence, we shouldn’t be misled into believing the empty rhetoric and neither be deceived but realise the agendas and political interests of these nations who only pursue their self-interests.
People and land of Shām blessed and irrigated by Islam
Shām are a people of Islam, who held onto their belief and persevered.
They are a people who love Allah (subḥānahu wa ta’āla) and His Messenger ﷺ.
And Allah and His Messenger ﷺ loved and gave them the special status of a land and people that are divinely blessed.
It is said that, along with al-Quds and al-Aqsa, the Qur’ān directly or indirectly refers to the land of Shām almost 70 times!
And there are scores of ahadīth from the Messenger ﷺ praising Shām and its people.
Bless our Shām
It was narrated by Ibn `Umar (radiy Allahu ‘anhu) that the Prophet ﷺ said,
“O Allah! Bestow Your blessings on our Shām. O Allah! Bestow Your blessings on our Shām. O Allah! Bestow Your blessings on our Shām.” [1]
Ibn Taymiyyah (rahīmahullah) said,
“The Prophet ﷺ highlighted the distinct character of the people of al-Shām by noting that they will continue to comply with the commands of Allah until the end of time, and that the victorious group will remain among them until the end of time.
“This is speaking of an ongoing matter that will remain with them, that they will be numerous and strong.
“This description does not apply to anyone in the Muslim world except the people of al-Shām… knowledge and faith are still present in that land, and whoever fights in that land to support the faith will be victorious and will be granted divine help.” [2]
Rich in Islamic history, resistance, and conquests
The Muslims first entered Shām during the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ in the Battle of Mu’tah.
The conquests began during the leadership of the first Caliph, Abu Bakr al-Siddīq (radiy Allahu ‘anhu). All the cities of Syria were conquered during the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattāb (radiy Allahu ‘anhu).
It is the land of prophets, including Zakariyyah, Yahya, and the graves of the prominent Sahāba: Khālid ibn Walīd, Bilāl, Abu Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah, Abu Darda, and Mu’āwiya. Salāh al-Dīn al-Ayyubi is also buried there. May Allah (subḥānahu wa ta’āla) have mercy upon them all.
Hence, it was the foundation for centuries of Islamic society and administration and owes it to itself — and its rich history, legacy, and praise that Allah (subḥānahu wa ta’āla) and His Messenger ﷺ gave it — that it restores its former glory through the implementation of Islam once again.
As we know, all glory and honour is through the implementation of Islam.
Joy of Syrians soon to be joined by Gaza and Palestine
By Allah (subḥānahu wa ta’āla), the joy of and for our Syrian brothers and sisters returning to their homes and families — freed from the oppressive regime — brings tears to my eyes.
It is reflective of the Qur’ānic depiction of the great victory and opening of Makkah, when Allah (subḥānahu wa ta’āla) says,
“And that day, the believers will rejoice.” [3]
We all rejoice and celebrate with our brothers and sisters in Shām!
Today, our brothers and sisters in Syria rejoice. And tomorrow — inshāAllah — it will be the turn of our Palestinian brothers and sisters.
Six action points
Alhamdulillāh.
However, our duty is not over yet… neither for the people of Shām, or for us as Muslims around the world.
At this critical juncture, we need to remember:
- Glorify Allah (subḥānahu wa ta’āla) much, Who allowed this Ummah to rid herself of another pharaoh. However, many other pharaohs still exist, so our duty is not over.
- Honour and dignity is through holding onto and implementing Islam. It is time now to show gratitude and implement the Islamic guidance and teachings to allow humanity to see the mercy and justice of Islam.
- Don’t look to the colonial West for guidance; it is ideologically, morally, spiritually bankrupt. It has no principles of justice or law, and its colonial legacy is a direct reason for most of the world’s conflicts.
- Secular capitalist “solutions” have failed the West, never mind the Muslim world. We must realise Islam and the Prophetic system (ﷺ) of socio-political rule is the best system for mankind.
- Continue to be the voice for change, justice, and for the weak and oppressed. Be that voice against colonialism, occupation, and apartheid.
- Be a call for Islamic change in the Muslim lands, let’s start with Shām so as to work for change and unity of the Ummah with the fall of the other pharaohs and the unification of our land as it was before the collapse of the Ottoman Caliphate.
May Allah (subḥānahu wa ta’āla) allow the opening of Syria and wider Shām to be a true victory for this Islamic Ummah, āmīn.
Source: Islam21c
Notes
[1] Sahīh al-Bukhārī, 7,094; https://sunnah.com/bukhari:7094
[2] Majmū‘ al-Fatāwa, 4/449
[3] al-Qur’ān, 30:4
Response to comment from DM – It seems clear that the writer is equating the brutality and depravity of the two regimes – not an action-by-action comparison of two governments. The main takeaway for me is that they all of Shaam is governed by rulers who are not there to serve their people, but to serve their Western colonial masters.
How could this writer compare This Father and Son Dictatorship and crime wars to Israel. Unbelievable. Unacceptable. These father and son killed thier own people to stay in power.