Saving Syria From Its Saviours!

A rally in Washington Labor Day weekend to support the people of Syria exposed itself as a puppet show when influential Muslim scholars took the stage and started spewing imperialist propaganda.

"The leadership of the Shiites in Lebanon and Iran have revealed themselves to be the political Machiavellian people that they are," cried one of America's most popular Muslim scholars into a mic. "They have revealed themselves to side with the tyrants [Syria's President Bashar Assad] against the oppressed."

Syria--which has been on America's list of axis of evil nations since 2002 when U.S. Under Secretary of State John Bolton called it a "target,"-- has become a war zone after peaceful protests turned violent last year as imperialist countries and their Arab sidekicks started pumping in money, ammunition and fighters to force a Libyan-style regime change under the banner of "freedom" and "democracy."

Removing Assad for his alliance with the Islamic Republic of Iran in its resistance against the Zionist regime of Israel has been a longtime goal for America and its allies, who have been waiting in the lurch for the right opportunity to run over Syria on their "road to Persia" as they consider Iran the ultimate threat to continued Western hegemony in the region.

Here's a quote from Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer in 2005.

"Iran is the senior partner in the [Iran-Syria-Hezbollah-Hamas-Islamic Jihad] axis of evil. Syria is a crucial middle party...Iran is to too large, oil-rich and entrenched to be confronted directly...But Syria is different...the regime is weak, despised not only for its corruption and incompetence but also because of its extremely narrow ethnic base...Syria is the prize...If Syria can be flipped, the axis is broken." 

Members of the "axis of evil" were plugged in to this and when the bullets started flying in Syria last year, Iran and Hezbollah confirmed their support for a representative government in Syria, a situation that could be achieved by negotiations between an Assad regime ready to make changes and an indigenous opposition not serving the foreign policy objectives of imperialism and Zionism.

While this made sound geopolitical sense, it also conformed with the criteria (based on the Quran and traditions of Prophet Muhammad (S)) Iran created years ago on how to determine whether to provide political and diplomatic facilitation for a) the regime of a country not necessarily conforming to God and His Messenger (S) or for b) those in rebellion against it.

For Iran to provide diplomatic and political leverage for another government, that regime must take an anti-imperialist, anti-Zionist position and be open to reform. 

Syria's government met these criteria, according to Afeef Khan of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought. Earlier this year the Bashar government offered a new constitution, which allowed a multi-party system after 40 years of family rule, but violence continued as Western countries dismissed it as "laughable" and rebels called it a "sham."

"There are lots of shades of grey," Khan said. "One cannot be so naïve as to view political alliances, diplomatic support, and economic facilitation in binary [black and white] terms."

"In view of the political and ideological motivations of the various players in the region as well as those on the outside who pull their strings, the Islamic Republic of Iran has taken a bold and prescient political precedent in that it is the only Muslim government that has broadly communicated a criteria that defines who it will engage with and who it will not."

To be considered a legitimate people's uprising, on the other hand, the movement should exhibit three points, according to Iran's Supreme Leader Imam Khamanei: 1) take an anti-imperialist, anti-Zionist stand, 2) be an organic movement of the nation's people and 2) be of an Islamic character.

"If matters get mixed up then scrutinize the cause and you will know what the effects will be," advised Ali, husband of Fatima (one of the four perfect women of all times), who had sent their two sons Hasan and Hussain to defend Caliph Osman from rebels in the seventh century.

Unlike revolutionary movements in other Muslim countries, the rebel groups fighting Assad in Syria failed to meet the criteria.

The Syrian opposition is propped up by imperialists through economic, military, technological and other support, including intense media propaganda (BBC was caught using the photograph from Iraq pictured above for a story accusing Assad of a massacre in Houla.). Rebel leaders have even been linked to American neo-conservative and neo-liberal proponents of war ("The Syrian opposition: who's doing the talking?" The Guardian, 7/12/2012).

According to the group American Syrians, which helped organize the rally for Syria in Washington, local Syrians last month asked U.S. President Barack Obama and his Republican contender Mitt Romney to impose no-fly zones over Syria and increase arms and weapons to the rebels.

Their letter argued that, "More decisive action now will help protect American interests in the region and allow the United States to play a larger role in the shaping of a post-Assad Syria."

"When you claim to be running a war of liberation you fight imperialism, you don't piggyback on it, you don’t form an accommodation with it, and you certainly don’t allow it to fight your battles for you," Khan said. "Otherwise you will be creating a bunch of little Israels and Saudi Arabias all over the Muslim East."

Appealing for protection and support from power structures not aligned with God clearly defies His instructions on how to resolve problems.

"O you who have made a secure commitment [to God]! Do not take the deniers of God’s power as your [political and military] sponsors in preference to those who have made a commitment to God to maintain security and just rule! Do you want to give Allah a reason to place over you an imposing tyrant?" (4:144)

And, "The parable of those who take [beings or forces] other than God for their protectors [facilitators] is that of the spider which makes for itself a house: for, behold, the frailest of all houses is the spider's house. Could they but understand this!" (29:41)

Ironically, the Sheikh was standing in front of the White House while offering his passionate plea to world leaders for peace and justice. Yet, he didn't feel compelled to turn around and demand his own President stop the bombings that have for years been killing, injuring and displacing millions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, etc.

Unless our scholars cut their puppet strings, gain correct political insight and start speaking truth to power, the march to take out one Muslim country after another will sadly continue.