Are the Syrian Rebels Mostly Religious Fanatics Who Want to Impose a Theocracy?

 

By David Starr

 

In August of 2021 the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan. It has been a nightmare for the Afghani people, especially for women and girls. A report by the Centre For The Responsibility To Protect (CFTRTP) details the brutal crackdown by the Taliban. In its Risk Assessment,  the CFTRTP noted the following abuses: 

 

“Decades of serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law; institutionalized large-scale and systemic gender-based discrimination by Taliban de facto authorities against women and girls; widespread and systemic targeted attacks perpetrated by ISIL-K and the Taliban against ethnic and religious authorities; lack of independent media and crackdown on civil society and human rights defenders; weakness of state structures to protect vulnerable populations and an unwillingness of the de facto authorities to uphold obligations under international law.”

 

But why mention the Taliban? Because it’s really possible that the Syrian rebels who took over Syria are like them.  There are numerous factions in the Syrian opposition which overthrew the Bashar al-Assad, secular government. That includes right-wing, Islamic groups. A prominent group is the Hayat Tahrir al-sham (HTS or the Organization for the Liberation of Greater Syria) which has held, as NPR puts it, “a consequential but checkered role in the country’s more than 13 years of civil war.”

 

It was a surprise that the Hayat Tahrir al-sham and the rest of the opposition took over so quickly in its offensive. That’s because government forces could only hold on for so long due to their weakness by a shattered country which has been under United States sanctions. 

 

NPR states that HTS “has transformed repeatedly, with name changes, personnel splits and an expanded role in the country’s northwest province of Idlib, where it has largely governed undisturbed for several years.” It used to be called Jabhat al-Nusra and formed an alliance with Al-Qaida. 

 

HTS adheres to “very conservative religious foundations.” But it says it has no plan to impose Sharia law. That remains to be seen. Nevertheless, it has cooperated with other rebel groups in Northern Syria and has received “international assistance” to the point where it has a “diversified economy.” HTS has proto governance in Aleppo city and surrounding areas, establishing a monopoly for “goods and services for taxation.” 

 

HTS insists it has changed, “evolving” into a professional organization, having alliances with other Syrian factions.

 

Other factions are as follows:

 

• National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change (NCCDC) – This is a political coalition of 13 left-wing and Arab nationalist parties, as well as independent political and youth activists. It has been opposed by other factions for wanting to negotiate with the al-Assad government. The NCCDC has been called a “front organization” for the government. It has been, however, the main umbrella group as part of the internal opposition.

 

• Al-Qaeda – This group is of course well-known. It was created by Osama Bin Laden in 1988. And of course it was evidently involved in 9/11. Al-Qaeda has been fighting a “holy war” or jihad, and has been involved in several violent acts. It has an alliance with other groups that have fought in the Syrian civil war.

 

• Al-Nusra Front/Jabhat Fateh al-Sham – These groupings were other names for the HTS. As the al-Nusra Front, it was the most violent and aggressive within the Syrian opposition, until ISIL came along to participate in the civil war. ISIL declared that al-Nusra was its branch in Syria. The relationship between al-Nusra and “the indigenous Syrian opposition” was the cause of tension between them. Many Syrians were uncomfortable with al-Nusra, since it could impose Sharia law, similar to the Mujahideen. Al-Nusra eventually changed its name to Jabhat Fateh al-Sham in 2016 and in 2017 it aligned with other groups to form the HTS.

 

• Hayat Tahrir al-Sham – The HTS supposedly became a “moderate” organization. It fought ISIL and eventually defeated it. Another group it cracked down on was Hurras a-Din, which had ties to Al-Qaeda.

 

• Hurras al-Din – A jihadist group that was formed when several al-Qaeda factions merged in 2018. But, Hurras al-Din eventually severed ties with al-Qaeda. Compared to other opposition groups, Hurras al-Din is a rather small entity and has only about 2,500 fighters, many who are foreign. 

 

• Islamic State (ISIL or ISIS) – A highly fanatical group that wants to establish a caliphate worldwide. It is intolerant of “disbelievers.” ISIL had control in Northern Syria, starting in 2013 and as of mid-2014, and imposed strict Sharia laws that are probably comparable to the fanatism of the Taliban. ISIL has been considered as the strongest opposition group in Syria. ISIL particularly has committed “gruesome abuses of human rights and for not tolerating non-Islamist militia groups, foreign journalists or aid workers, whose members it has expelled, imprisoned or executed.” But in 2017, Russia declared that ISIL was defeated in Syria; likewise, the United States declared that it was defeated. 

 

Foreign interference has been significant in Syria, where, according to the People’s World, Israel’s PM Netanyahu has “taken advantage of the instability he helped create in Syria to potentially seize vast swaths of territory in that country.” 

 

The USA has, not surprisingly, also interfered in Syria’s internal affairs. Rather than exporting freedom and democracy, the USA has gotten control of Syria’s oil fields, where 900 U.S. troops have been stationed since 2014. “By holding onto the oil, the Pentagon pursued a long-term strategy of starving the Assad government of revenues and aiding rebel forces [including groups comprising Islamic fanatics]. 

 

The USA spent billions of dollars supporting rebel groups, a large number eventually joining al-Qaeda and ISIS-connected factions. “The effort was the largest covert CIA operation since the 1980s anti-Soviet campaign in Afghanistan backing groups that became al-Qaeda and the Taliban.”

 

In the aftermath of the takeover of Syria, the USA, Israel, and Turkey ( who was involved in the overthrow) started to bomb Syrian military targets. The bombings were extensive, with USA bombing 75 sites, and Israel bombing over 480 targets in a span of 48 hours!

 

Netanyahu, meanwhile, boasted that he was responsible for the overthrow of Assad. Netanyahu called the Assad government “a central link in Iran’s axis of evil.” He also was delighted that Israel has what he declared as “new, and very important opportunities for the State of Israel.”   

 

Netanyahu and his fascist associates started a ground war in the Golan Heights, which was annexed by Israel in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Most countries, however, and not the USA, recognize the Golan Heights to be Syrian territory.

 

Will HTS be like the Taliban, eventually showing its true colors? Time will tell what HTS’s goal will be in “governing” Syria.