Sounds from Syria

The defeat and departure of Bashar al-Assad from Syria marks an end of the era of ‘secular’ nationalists in Arab politics who could trace their forebears beginning to the process that began after the Second World War. The nationalist leaders who, in the decades beginning with the 1950s, captured the imagination of Arab elites and masses beyond their own countries did not turn their back on the Islamic faith but placed an emphasis on secular learning, modernism in governance, industrialization and agricultural development. They were no democrats; indeed, most of them had their roots in the military forces. Some were also attracted to socialism, especially those aspects which emphasized the elimination of feudalism and an equalitarian distribution of material wealth. They considered them in harmony with Islamic ideals of equality. These leaders opposed the political Islam of Muslim Brotherhood as well as the Wahhabi mazhabs of the Arab peninsular.

The first Arab leader who rose like a colossus was Egypt’s Gamal Abdul Nasser. He came to power in 1953 and became an Arab hero after he nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956 and was seen to successfully thwart the military action of the Britain, France and Israel to compel him to reverse the decision. The fact is that it was the US which did not countenance these military adventures and compelled them to stop. Meanwhile Nasser who along with Jawaharlal Nehru and the erstwhile Yugoslavia became a founder of the Non-aligned Movement actually became close to the Soviet Union. In that era of the Cold War the lines became clearly drawn: the West led by the US supported Israel and the conservative Arab countries while the forces of Arab nationalism began to be sustained by the Soviet Union.

One issue which found sympathy across the Arab and Islamic world and Non-aligned countries was that of the Palestinians. The foundations of the issue lay in the partition of Palestine and the creation of Israel which had led to the massive displacement and exile of the Palestinian people from their homes. For the Arabs the creation of Israel itself was unacceptable and many, in the 1950s and till 1967 considered it feasible to end the state of Israel. This was simply not possible because of the West, especially the US’s unshakeable support for the Jewish state but that did not stop them from dreaming.

That dream was shattered in 1967 when in the Arab-Israel war the Jewish state comprehensively defeated the combined military forces of Egypt, Jordan and Syria. Israel occupied the Sinai Peninsular of Egypt, Syria’s Golan Heights and in Palestine, all of Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. Nasser became a broken man and died at the age of 52 in 1970 to be succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat while remaining firm in opposing the Muslim Brotherhood turned away from the Soviets towards the US but not before trying to restore Egyptian and Arab pride by attacking Israel in 1973. After initial success the Egyptian army suffered reverses but it was not the defeat of 1967. The international community came in to restore peace. It was at this time just after Nasser’s death that Hafez al-Assad, a military officer and a firm believer in Baathism, who assumed power in Syria in 1971. Assad maintained close ties with the Soviets but power within the Arab world began to shift towards the Conservative states when after the 1973 war, under Saudi Arabia’s leadership, the Oil Exporting Countries cartelized to raise this vital commodities price manifold. This began a process of bringing great wealth to the Arab Peninsular states and with that a process of their rapid development with the help of foreign expertise and labour, including from India.

As this process was underway the Iranian Islamic Revolution occurred under the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini. This compelled the Arab Peninsular states who were Sunni to become assertive in pushing their Wahhabi Mazhab. Over the decades beginning with the 1980s the winds began to shift in the Arab world in favour of conservatism and Arab nationalism begin to wane. This was also because of the growing financial clout of the oil rich Peninsular countries.

Meanwhile in Syria Hafez al-Assad held back the forces of conservatism and sought to maintain the unity of his country. One of his problems was that he belonged to the minority Alawite sect in an overwhelmingly Sunni country. He mainly relied on his control of the military but concentrated power in his own community members. He succeeded in holding on to power and also succeeded in preparing his son Bashar al-Assad to take over after his death which occurred in 2000.

Bashar proved to be a forward-looking leader but the iron fisted methods of rule continued. The economic situation of the country took a hit in the global recession of 2008. And, in 2011 as demands for democracy spread from Tunisia to Egypt and other countries they also came to Syria. Bashar cracked down brutally on demonstrators and the country went into civil war. The West demanded his ouster but Russia with which the Assad had maintained good ties and had allowed them a naval base came to his assistance along with Iran. The civil war had reached a stalemate and Bashar had, it seemed to all observers, weathered the storm.  But that was not to be. The Hayat Tahrir as-Sham which has taken over power is an Islamist force which will seek to get rid of elements of Western cultural influences. How far will it succeed? That remains to be seen because the traditions of the Levant are not that of Afghanistan or the Arab Peninsular.