On July 19, the chief administrator of the shrine of Hazrat Zainab (RA) in Syria was killed during shelling and some part of the shrine was damaged. This was a significant blow as the shrine of the granddaughter of Hazrat Mohammad (SAW) and the sister of Hazrat Hussain (RA) is dear to Muslims all around the world, and is considered as a sacred holy site by Shia Muslims. The attack was condemned and the loss mourned by people all around the world, including Pakistan, where key political figures spoke against it and calls for protests were made to stand up against such a cowardly attack. The shrine is now safe and reportedly under control of the Lebanon-based Shia militant group Hezbollah. The attack is seen as proof, along with some controversial fatwas from Salafi clerics that the on-going conflict in Syria is caused by “foreign-funded terrorists” to disrupt peace and dismantle the government of Bashar-al-Assad.
Looking at the bigger picture, more than 100,000 people have been confirmed as killed as a result of the Syrian civil war and 1.7 million Syrians have fled the country to seek refuge from this bloody conflict which started a little over two years ago as another uprising against dictatorial rule inspired by the Arab Spring.
The Syrian government and military led by the Assad family is familiar with bloodshed as they have fought with Sunni Muslims ever since the Ba’ath party took control of the country, at one point killing up to 40,000 Sunni Muslims. They also have experience in siege and occupation from their 29-year stay in Lebanon.
After suffering from the atrocities of the Assad regime for almost half a century, the people took inspiration from revolutions in near-by Egypt, Tunisia and Libya to stand up and demand that Bashar al Assad resigns as president. However, things took a bloody turn as the government resorted to the military to deal with the protests expecting to regain control as they had done on previous occasions; failing to realize that the Arab Spring had given people a new hope and strength. The protestors responded to the military attacks and siege with armed rebellion aiming to either over-throw the government and win, or die fighting.
In these two years the fighting has been violent and fierce, with stories of rape, torture, death, destruction and use of chemical weapons emerging continuously. Yet, for some reason the Syrians have found little support from the outside world. The Arab countries continue to give meaningless warnings to the Syrian government. The UN and USA, who were anything but slow in deciding to invade Iraq, can’t seem to decide whether to intervene or not. Attempts are being made to change the public opinion on the war by planting fabricated stories of “fatwas to rape captured Alawite women”, “the rebels being armed and funded by the Saudi Wahabis” and “the rebels being under-cover CIA agents aiming to plant a US-friendly ruler in Syria”. The recent attack on the shrine is icing on the cake for the propagandists.
Back in Pakistan, these fabricated stories are considered to be true by the people as the Shia-influenced social media and news media fails, as always, to show both sides of the picture. The people do not know about the attacks on Omari Mosque and Hazrat Khalid bin Waleed’s (RA) shrine. People do not know of the involvement of Iranian troops and the Shia-militant group Hezbollah as they stand with the Syrian government in raping, torturing and killing men, women and children. The people do not know about the worsening living conditions in areas under siege such as Homs and Aleppo. Hence, even though the people do condemn and protest against attack on Hazrat Zainab’s (RA) shrine, they choose to ignore the bigger picture and not condemn or protest against the atrocities being done by Bashar-al-Assad’s government and troops.
For a neutral observer such display of selective sympathy and negligence is surprising, especially when it comes from the people who claim to be the flag bearers of human rights, democracy, freedom of expression and speech, from people who took part in nation-wide protests against Shia killings in Quetta and Karachi, from people who were quick to show their solidarity with the Turkish people when the Turkish police used just rubber bullets to disperse the protesters. A neutral observer sees division under the flag of unity, irrational hatred and criminal negligence under the flag of humanity, bias and intolerance under the flag of freedom of speech. The observer begins to realize that these people only speak up when their family, friends or people with similar religious affiliations are attacked. Despite their claims, they have no interest in speaking up against injustices purely out of humanity and sympathy. These protests are only a false dawn for Pakistanis, they are still asleep.
It is narrated that Abdullah ibn Umar (May Allah be pleased with him and his father), said that: “I saw the Prophet (Peace be upon him) performing tawaf around the Ka’bah, saying (to the Ka’bah), ‘How pure you are! And how pure is your fragrance! How great you are! And how great is your sanctity! By He in whose hands lies the soul of Muhammad, the sanctity of a believer is greater with Allah than even your sanctity (i.e the Ka’bah). That is (the sanctity) of his wealth, his blood and that we think nothing of him but good.’” [Ibn Majah]. Nu’man bin Bashir reported Allah’s Messenger (May peace be upon him) as saying: “The believers are like one person; if his head aches, the whole body aches with fever and sleeplessness.” [Sahih Muslim: 6260].
To conclude, it is time for us as Pakistanis to decide and take a stance once and for all. I stand against oppression, torture, rape, murder and ethnic cleansing of the Syrian people, where do you stand?
References:
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23455760
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_civil_war
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Homs
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syria#Ba.27athist_Syria
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_occupation_of_Lebanon
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hama_massacre
- http://www.geo.tv/article-110350-Nationwide-protests-against-attack-on-Hazrat-Bibi-Zainabs-shrine
- http://muftah.org/khalid-bin-walids-shrine-destroyed-in-homs/
- http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/14/Historic-mosque-in-Daraa-destroyed-in-Syrian-army-shelling-.html
- https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/358471161610371074
- https://twitter.com/ShireenMazari1/status/358361597850292227
- https://twitter.com/HaiderRizviMQM/status/358355442340073472
- http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/new-fatwa-permits-rape-of-non-sunni-women-in-syria/
- https://www.facebook.com/ToTurkeyWithLovePakistan
- http://www.presstv.com/detail/2013/06/21/310156/syria-militants-receive-new-arms/
- http://rt.com/news/rebels-syria-us-cia-327/
the article speaks of the helplessness of the writer bu using the term Shia-influenced social media… Probably you need to improve your general knowledge; The shrine of Hazrat Khalid Bin Waleed was renovated by Assad regime.
can the writer name any istance where iranian troops are involved in killing raping syrian people. i can give you hundred instances where salafi jahadists are killing innocent people
@ Imran … Here is the problem I just found. You are talking about how salafis did bad, and the writer is saying how shiia are dominant (and doing rape, murder etc etc). Everyone talking his own tone and attached to his/her own thoughts developed from the incidents happening in the world. No one is going to see Quran and Sunnah, where there is no sunni, no shiia… just a Muslim.
The writer seems to be addressing the issue from a purely humanistic point of view. He is not attempting to deny one side of the reports but just saying that the other one also should be looked at. Does it make one Salafi or Wahabi just to talk of the atrocities of Shia? And the writer has not even named them or branded them as Shia but has only talked of the atrocities of the government. All he seems to say is; ‘All humans are equally important.’ Is he wrong??
All things mentioned here, including “shia-influenced social media” are facts. You should keep your emotions aside before reading what I wrote. Moreover, instead of arguing over facts, why don’t you ponder over the message of this post? If we can acknowledge and condemn shia genocide in Pakistan without needing proof or checking for facts, then humanity demands that we acknowledge and condemn the much bigger sunni genocide in syria and iraq when there is clear evidence of it in front of us. I am sure Hezbollah and syrian govt do not represent all shias in the same way LeJ and TTP don’t represent all sunnis.
Peace 🙂
the author needs to educate himself. the 1982 uprising was an armed muslim brotherhood (cia proxies) uprising and the assads in fact had the sunni population of hama’s blessing to take them out.
further more those fatwas relating to rape are all real. i don’t understand why he’s trying to justify them. he is being the propagandist not anyone else.
this is a foreign-funded mercenary attack on syria sponsored by israel, US and saudi arabia, as outlined by seymour hersh in 2007. if anyone has any doubt on this being anything other than a zionist attack than go through the links below. i’m sick and tired of seeing muslims blind to the fact that this is obviously a zionist attack on syria. what didn’t the fact that the zionist west, saudi arabia, qatar and israel are helping these so-called rebels give that away? are u ppl really that blind??
whatever assad has done, at the moment he is fighting of a zionist attack and so AT THE MOMENT he should be commended for fighting it off. after these thugs are dealt with THEN we can do something about the assad family and do it in a smart way. allying with zionists and playing to their tunes (like these so-called mujahideen have done) isn’t going to get the ummah anywhwere.
freetexthost.com/htbrmjr244
freetexthost.com/hzdrk04jpx
oh and pkkh stop publishing such propaganda filled stories. they’re nothing but misinformation and by toeing the zionist line u put a dent into your credibility.
oh and to the author i might have been harsh but it was nothing personal and is for your own good. next time you should take the time to do some actual research instead of going along with what cnn, bbc or al-jazeera say.
May Allah guide us all.
You’re clearly, or conveniently missing out on stark evidences present that yell out this blatant barbarism being carried out by Assad.
Iran has been sending troops to Syria and has even granted a $3.6 billion credit facility to buy oil products. Oh my eyes!
You guys just like to throw spite at the KSA and love finding reasons to blame everything on them, where Iran’s so-called strong government is extending relations with Assad while his people are dying in scores, and what the hell is he doing?
You wanna know? sign up for instagram coz he just made an account there. Uploading selfies while hundreds and thousands of Syrians are camping out at the Jordan border during Ramadan.
His bombings have totally flattened Homs to dust.
If you’re so concerned, Talk to a Syrian rather using your own (lack of) intelligence to connect the dots from Israel to USA to KSA.
Peace!
i’m not going to argue with someone who has not done any research whatsoever. go ahead and cheer for your beloved zionist backed alciaduh mujahideen. i could care less. i have given more than enough sources to prove that assad is not trying to ethnically cleanse sunnis. it’s no wonder the ummah is in such a mess. people don’t bother using their brains…
SO biased. Even i could see the slight tilt to the sunni side even though I am a sunni.
KSA and Qatar sponsor the rebels, its common knowledge .-.
Why do we have to give a term to people? Shia genocide, Sunni cleansing. Innocent people died and such acts should be condemned. How hard is that to understand?
If you try to understand the article, that is what I am saying. Such acts should be condemned but they’re not. As for Sunni cleansing and shia genocide, these are facts, not bias.
The writer’s message needs to be understood – instead of labelling him uneducated or a hard core Sunni – he writes as a Muslim and is trying to tell the other side of the picture – with a common message that a life lost is a life lost – and condemns all atrocities irrespective of religious sect – this is where the Muslim world needs to unify and stop judging or acting GOD – Allah will decide whose sect or way of worship is right or wrong – for once we as a Muslim world need to focus on the propaganda and the division it tries to make – fuelling sectarian violence and or taking sides with one sect only whilst ignoring atrocities on the other – like American people are safe – but Iraqi people / afghans are dying coz of bombing, chemicals etc – peace to all
The comment writers who are too busy finding faults in this article probably forgot to notice their own bias while they were at it. I think you would have been happier if the writer had simply written something about Shia genocide because that’s the only thing that you guys like to shout about. It’s like “shia genocide” is the new black (or maybe it gets you more shia girlfriends, don’t know really) but your opinions will not change the sad reality, which I see clearly stated in this well-articulated article.
@ Imran, who said: “the article speaks of the helplessness of the writer bu using the term Shia-influenced social media… Probably you need to improve your general knowledge; The shrine of Hazrat Khalid Bin Waleed was renovated by Assad regime.”
Bro, you serious? Thanks for the education (not). I would like to know your interesting and ever-so-enlightening views about how they also destroyed it? While you’re at it, please also shed some light about who actually ruined the Umayyad mosque? Now since you’re sitting there commenting about how the writer is so one-sided in his opinion, I would also like to know how two-sided you are yourself. Somehow, whatever that is pure of bias also has to somehow be painfully and purely pro-shia. Sorry, but we don’t smoke crack like you. As for the dumb question that you asked, refer to http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/962665_insight-iran-syria-some-details-on-irgc-and-hz-presence-in.html. And do us a favor – educate yourself.
@ 321,
Now this guy is all about facts and whatnot. I would like to know if he can prove even one. If he can’t then he isn’t any better than what he condemns about the article. Sadly that is a problem with most people who sit at the comfort of their homes and comment on such globally pressing issues. You’re taking us back to 1982 and urging us to think over stuff while you cite Seymour Hersh your only credible reference. And then you blame us when we laugh at ‘intelligent’ people like you.
Even the most stupid of God’s creations can easily tell that Syria is a sectarian conflict. While I do not purely deny the involvement of Zionist elements in it, I think the main reason why people are being killed there is because they are Sunnis. Man up and accept the fact yaar.
@ Junaid, “SO biased. Even i could see the slight tilt to the sunni side even though I am a sunni. KSA and Qatar sponsor the rebels, its common knowledge.”
And how often are we deceived by common knowledge? Answer: all the time. If God gave you a brain, the best option is to exercise it and think for yourself. If you can’t prove facts, then you have no right to criticize the writer based on common knowledge alone. Please be more mature than that.
seymour hersh is my only credible reference? have u not actually bothered to take a look at the links i gave? were they not credible enough for u? what is credible to u? aljazeera? cnn and bbc? the zionist west? zionist stooge erdogan? or how about the great supporters of justice, democracy and freedom the gulf monarchs? is this what u find credible? i gave a plethora of sources and u have ignored them. that is not my problem.
no one is denying that it is sectarian. its pretty much wahabbi/salafi/alciaduh vs shia/alawi. of course innocent christians are also being targeted by the rebels. but then again the aleppo sunni community hates the rebels more than assad. they have said this themselves. recently many rebels have taken assad’s amnesty and are no longer fighting against the state. but don’t take my word for it. look it up yourself.
this didn’t start out of nowhere. the whole arab spring is put into question by the fact that the whole thing was orchestrated by zionists. who am i to say this? well they have admitted it so yes i have a right to say this. US politician has admitted that the US helped the so-called opposition protesters months before the protests broke out. it has been revealed that britain was put on war alert against syria before the arab spring even started. i could go on and on. the arab league report itself admits that assad was telling the truth when he said that he wasn’t attacking protesters but responding to provocations by armed elements. it doesn’t take a genius to be able to put 2 and 2 together…maybe if u had actually checked out all the links i gave then maybe u would have known this. or are they not credible enough?
btw don’t get me wrong. the reason that the sunni community doesn’t like assad is obvious. i don’t support assad myself, how could I? BUT allying urself with zionists is not the way to do things. did these protest organizers around the arab world actually believe that the zionists were working for their interests? its obvious that these ppl were used as unwitting tools to create a justification for their plan to install proxy regimes in syria and libya. in others they wanted to remove the old guard and replace them with new ones.
Lastly, I understand where the writer is coming from when he refers to Pakistani media as ‘Shia influenced’. Anyone who seeks to deny this obvious reality is either blind or has a nude disregard for what’s really happening around them. Syria is hardly ever covered by Pakistani media, my friends, because they’re too busy covering Katrina Kaif’s wedding with Ranbir Kapur. And that’s only when they’re not covering the news of shias dying in Pakistan under their ever-so-ghissa pitta rubric of “shia genocide”. So once in a while it would be better for you guys to actually watch Geo to know what the writer’s saying.
You pretty much covered everything and were spot on. However my emphasis was on SOCIAL media, the news media is flawed and has always been like that. But we as people are no better than them, all the big pakistani pages I know of always highlight shia killings but criminally ignore everyone else dying in Pakistan which is really shameful especially coming from the flag bearers of “humanity”.
Excellent piece, Emad. I think it’s safe to assume that you’ve hit em below the belt.
Those who deny that the social media is biased are clearly no more intelligent than a Beiber fan.
People need to stop criticizing just for the sake of criticism and actually read what the author it trying to portray, for a change.
Keep it up! You’ve nailed it quiet well. 🙂
Thanks. I agree with you that people should talk to a Syrian rather using your own (lack of) intelligence to connect the dots from Israel to USA to KSA.
I spent more time reading the comments rather than the article. The article is straight forward and very neutral, the writer demands the world to take notice of the immense lives lost rather than being selective, highlights the role of Pakistani media which hasn’t been displaying a complete picture and it is true that Syria is an Island cut off from the world.
I saw some intense comments where the writer is being targeted as being ‘lacking knowledge’. At the very same time, I wouldn’t mind saying that you guys are either ‘biased’ or maybe you run in the similar ‘god mode’ cheat code of the video games; where a ‘shia’ is a victim with all actions justified no matter what and every opposition should be termed as coming from the roots of zionism.
As for the ‘shia influenced’ Pakistani media is concerned, It’s so true. I have personally seen tweets of journos who are entirely tilted towards the Assad regime and always mentioning about ‘zionism’, ‘zionist attack’ and how poor Assad is dealing with it. It’s even more surprising that they NEVER say a word related to the high death count. Syrians do not want Assad (who is a hated ruler unlike other Arab states), please do not justify his actions as struggle against zionism.
Believe it or not, I have even seen people trying to equate ‘the Mahdi’ out of Bashar Assad (Astaghfirullah). The writer’s message is clear in the very last line:
To conclude, it is time for us as Pakistanis to decide and take a stance once and for all. I stand against oppression, torture, rape, murder and ethnic cleansing of the Syrian people, where do you stand?
I guess these people have made it very clear where they stand 🙂
Those seeing tilts in this writeup should wake themselves up out from reverie – they are hallucinated!
The subsequent commentators went at great length, justifying Alawiite tyranny – in complicity with Hezbollah, Abu al Fadal Abbas militia, Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Govt of Iran.Seymour Hersh shouldn’t be taken prima facie, as an alternative viewpoint; these heroes of yester years were their best until the end of cold war & yeah in bashing Neocons at Capitol Hill!
Although I don’t agree with all what the author stated, but I would do like to highlight that the social media is FACTUALLY BIASED when it comes to Syrian plight.
Firstly, the genocide of Sunnis by the Syrian armies and pro Assad militia did happen. The uprising against the government began after the repressive crackdowns on Sunni populace. The demands put forth were ‘of wider representation’ in political system, but Assad blew it out of proportion by committing intentional crimes whose evidence is conclusive. There are corraborated reports of this!
Even Vladimir Putin – Assad’s ally criticized him for the way he dealt with protestors!
Eventually this escalated into insurgency, but still Al Qaeda didn’t stepped in! For atleast 6-8 months, the regime forces battled with Free Syrian Army, which aimed to depose Assad and reform political system. Al Qaeda affliated groups joined the conflict much later!
The rebels are outrightly potrayed as savages, although it has been established that the greater number of Syrian rebels are made up of diff brigades working under the umbrella of FSA, which doesn’t toe the ideology of Al Qaeda! AQ fighters bought bad reputation to Syrian rebels, due to their involvements in 2-3 highly controversial actions.
Undoubtedly, the sons of Zion have some nefarious designs up their sleeves, but it doesn’t mean that the Sunnis who are being hammered by Assad thugs be outrightly abandoned. They have the right to fight back and their cause should be supported.
Here the social media label all of em as Zionist stooges, which is quite perplexing. It is giving a bad name to those fighting for their liberation.
it’s really sad to see how many pakistanis are . the shias are not being ethnically cleansed in the sense that the media portrays it. it’s foreign backed terrorists who are killing them to divide pakistani society. the only reason the media creates such a hullabaloo out of it is b/c it wants to portray pakistan as being a failed state. how have u ppl not realized this by now? not to say it shouldn’t be condemned b/c it obviously should but that is what the media is trying to do.
and i’m sorry but assad didn’t just wake up one day and decide “hey i’m bored. let’s ethnically cleanse the sunnis.” No. there is a ton of proof out there that he is responding to a terrorist attack sponsored by zionists. if you ignore the evidence than that is your problem.
also no one is saying that the loss of life isn’t heartbreaking. you ppl are acting as if those who criticize the rebels don’t give a damn about human life. certainly assad could be criticized for not trying his best to keep it as low as possible. for example before every siege he could make an announcement that every resident of the city that wants to leave can do so and give them time to do so. in fact why no conventional army fighting guerrilla soldiers has ever done this i don’t know. also the army could definitely be more precise in where its rockets,etc land. but understand this: in fighting a guerrilla army the common people will die b/c the guerrilla army naturally is obsolete in open warfare. plus the conventional army will cause more destruction. but if a mosque is destroyed in an attack on a rebel stronghold that is not ethnic cleansing. and i don’t see why u some ppl are bringing that up. just rebuild the mosque. it wasn’t deliberately targeted. it’s not like they destroyed it b/c they wanted to build a mall or something or out of spite.
if there is one group that is being killed for who they are it is the christians. they are being deliberately targeted by the rebels n syria b/c they are christians. THAT is what ethnic cleansing. when ure targeted for your religion, sect or ethnicity.
i will always support the syrians against the assad regime BUT i have to commend him for fighting off a zionist attack. muslims should stop bickering amongst themselves and realize that this is an attack on the ummah by our enemy. stop thinking of this as a shia vs sunni conflict. internal problems of the ummah can be solved AFTER external threats are dealt with. is this really that hard to understand?
@321…here is the part that you don’t understand…there is no external threat…there is no war on Islam by the west…it is not a Zionist conspiracy…it is only Muslim on Muslim violence for numerous reasons..the enemy is within and Muslims alone have to solve this problem …no one from the west or anywhere else can solve this problem for you…unfortunately no one in the ummah have any idea about how to stop it either…but it the Ummah who must resolve this conflict within Islam that is tearing it apart…it must be done for the good of all mankind…especially for Muslims…
eddied i’m not going to listen to a compulsive liar like u. there is documented evidence that Israel, US and their stooges in the arab world are supporting alciaduh in syria. they supported alciaduh in libya. they’re supporting terrorists in pakistan. etc,etc. i don’t care if these terrorists are muslims. they wouldnt be where they are today if it wasn’t for zionist brainwashing.
The author should respect the comments being put forth.
Constructive criticism shouldn’t be rebuked with sentences like,
“I guess these people
have made it very clear
where they stand”
Overall, the author’s efforts are COMMENDED, but he is advised to maintain impartiality when talking about militants who wreak havoc, plunder and kill innocents without any reason.
Rest, Allah knows best.
Appreciate your comments. I have not shown disrespect to the people commenting. I just said what I understood from them as they are clearly ignoring the message of this post.
@ 321,
What exactly are you trying to say? At one point you’ve written in your reply to Amethystress:
‘i have given more than enough sources to prove that assad is not trying to ethnically cleanse sunnis.’
And at another point, in reply to my post, you wrote:
‘no one is denying that it is sectarian. its pretty much wahabbi/salafi/alciaduh vs shia/alawi.’
Technically after such display of confusion on your part, I should not even be addressing this debate any further, but I would still like to say a few things.
Do you see how confused you sound? Or let me rephrase my question: Are you aware of the fact that you do not know what you’re talking about? Now if you’re going to persist in arguing over something which is so blatantly obvious, at least construct a good argument and STICK TO ONE THING. I see now that you’re only tailoring your argument according to the posts that you reply too. Buddy, that’s no good.
It is amusing for someone to say that I take CNN and BBC as credible sources – because I don’t. I am as much a believer in the involvement of Zionist catalysts in the quagmire in which most ummah finds itself in today. But I have said it before and I will say it again: as much as I agree to the fact that Zionist elements are involved in the Syrian conflict, I completely disagree when with you when you say that Assad is not wiping out Syrian Sunnis because on the basis of their faith. The very conflict started on the basis of sectarian differences, have you not educated yourself over this issue in the least? Are you unaware of the history of this conflict that stretches back to not years but decades?
Plethora of sources? Yaar yeh plethora hai kidher, mujhe to nahi dikha. But I can only say in the end that your argument about Zionism is pretty sound but it does not apply in this particular situation. You’re exaggerating.
Those two statements are not contradictory if u think about it. Ethnic cleansing is when ure deliberately trying to remove a certain ppl. The only sectarian part is that the Assad regime is fighting extremists majority of which are no doubt wahabbis/salafi. But he is not carrying out a genocide as some commentator and the author are suggesting. He was merely responding to provocation by terrorists as CONFIRMED BY THE ARAB LEAGUE and it turned into a full blown civil war. The protesters were just tools used to create a justification. If they thought that the west would actually work to their benefit they were mistaken.
The reason why I find ur sources questionable is that what u say is exactly what the Zionist west says. Do u not find that disconcerting? Would u actually take their opinion over that of alternative and independent media? If the Zionist media is saying one thing i for one would be sure to go online and confirm if they are telling the truth. And they’re not.
As i said before I am we’ll aware of the Assad regimes actions in the past and I do agree that the Sunni community has legitimate grievances. What I am saying however is that this Arab spring is manufactured by zionists whether u believe it or not. It wasn’t out of nowhere that this started. I’m not exaggerating. I believe that’s are just being naive which I find mind boggling.
And I have given tons of sources. Look in one of my above comments. I have linked to the freetext site which holds a ton of links.
Let’s just agree to disagree.
yea sure. why not.
For once I find myself agreeing with 321. Not all of what he says but the following two sentences
‘assad is not trying to ethnically cleanse sunnis.’
‘no one is denying that it is sectarian. its pretty much wahabbi/salafi/alciaduh vs shia/alawi.’ They may seem contradictory but allow me to explain. I think we all agree it is sectarian, so lets leave the second sentence and come to the first. Wiping out sunnis is different from trying to prevent them from coming to power. Here it is a question of survival. If the sunnis do come to power you can be sure there will be no more alawites/shias left in Syria.
@321 There is no zionist conspiracy. Where do you get all such crap from?
i find it hilarious that even though i have given countless links for u to go over, u morons still have the nerve and audacity to say that there’s no zionist conspiracy. go believe whatever makes u sleep better at night. or whatever keeps bread on the table.
@”He was merely responding to provocation by terrorists as CONFIRMED BY THE ARAB LEAGUE and it turned into a full blown civil war.”
This is mind boggling! Fancy highlighting something said by The Arab League while talking of credibility! When did The Arab League turn credible if I may know??!! Or let me rephrase my question. When did The Arab League even exist at all? When did it ever have an opinion or a particle of knowledge of facts or even the will to acquire it? What has it ever done other than giving speeches? In the Arab World, it is common knowledge that The Arab League assembles with the only goal of planning on when to assemble again.
I am sorry to say that to many, unfortunately though, the whole of your argument runs the risk of crumbling down just because you highlight The Arab League and quote it as evidence!
Wow it’s mind boggling how many muslims don’t know how to think for themselves. But i made a mistake. Not the Arab league but the Arab league report from observers who went to Syria. U see there’s a wonderful thing called google and if u know how to use it u can research things urself. The Arab league is backing the “rebels” and to prove that Assad was massacring his own ppl an arab league observer mission was sent to Syria. They found out that Assad was telling the truth about armed elements and wrote it in their report. Of course the Arab league and those who control it (Qatar, Saudis) didn’t like it one bit so ever since then they have completely ignored the findings of the report.
But let me ask u this question. I asked another person the same thing. Why are u so convinced the opposition is telling the truth? Do u not know that the one who supports the opposition is the zionists? Go look at any western media ad their stooges in the Arab world (Qatar, saudi,etc) and u will see that it is them, not independent alternative media that supports the opposition narrative. And u expect me to believe the opposition? A little critical thinking can do wonders don’t u think?
@321 Humour me with the links you speak of. I couldn’t find them in your comments. (PS. I hope the names of the sites are not obviously biased, ex: pakistankakhudahafiz.com or anti-israel.com, etc) Please give wikipedia, bbc, al-jazeera, wiki-leaks etc).
First of all I would like to thank the Author for writing such an articulate piece about Syrian Conflict which is very rare everywhere, especially in Pakistan due to heavy infestation of Pro-Iranian biased minds who often roam around to blame others for being prejudiced. We have a proverb in Pashtu which can be translated as “Before truth reaches, Lies will destroy villages”. We have same situation here, Lies travelling faster than the truth, especially when the whole experienced Propaganda Machineries of countries like Iran & Russia are backing the atrocities and genocides and covering it with the fake stories which neither had any base nor any logic. From day one, Rebels have been blamed to be foreign proxies and it’s not that Damascus doesn’t know it’s a real uprising but it has been used as a tool to cover their atrocities and legitimize their crushing tactics but barbarism also have limits, which Bashar and those backing him have crossed. Iran is backing Syria to save their arch of influences which has been jeopardized with rebels taking arms.
Iran’s dreams are shattered, dreams to form a Shia block in the region to further expand their ideological plans which has already shown its negative effects in many countries after its so called “Islamic” revolution in 1979, the country directly affected was and is Pakistan. We have a situation where minatory is propelled to challenge the majority which definitely will spark conflicts and we can see wave of Sectarian Clashes all over Pakistan. It’s not a secret anymore to say that Iran has been directly involved in the Killing of Ahle Sunnah Scholars all over Pakistan.
If Bashar thinks he will regain control of the Country and if Tehran thinks it will be able to erect the fallen regime by crushing them or tagging them being CIA proxies then I must say they will be the most stupid ones on planet as both tactics aren’t working. Will of the majority of Syrians will dominate and Shias all over the world are hypocrite because they side with CIA and support them by all means in Iraq and Afghanistan while then chant Anti American slogans on Quds days, I call it hypocrisy at its peak. Let’s be mature enough to see things wearing reality goggles and not act like a bunch of duechbags like some of the commentators here.
May ALLAH help the victims of Bashar Atrocities, our abandoned Mujahideen in Syria, In sha ALLAH victory is the their destiny and humiliation is the destiny of Bashar and those supporting its illegitimate regime.
Like one of the commenters above said, the comments consumed more of my time than the article itself.
I admire the writer for trying to show the other side of the picture without much bias. Most of what I would have liked to say has been said by others in comments and I thank them for it. Those who accuse the writer of bias apparently missed his point. I perfectly understand this; it is extremely unlikely not to be accused of bias when you try to highlight the often untold truth. In fact, it seems to be easier to be clearly biased than try to keep a balanced opinion and not ignore the faults of one while condemning the crimes of another. Most of those who take the former approach are commended, and all who try to take the latter one are accused of bias.
I thank the writer and request him to continue writing. We absolutely need this balanced approach in many issues. I would suggest that he comments on the Egyptian scene as a common observer. That is another issue that is turning into a catastrophe.
I would agree that this article was balanced and fair…my compliments to the writer, he has done an admirable job…
Thank you both. Insha Allah I will write something about Egypt after Eid.
waiting for your article about Egypt. Please publish it asap. 🙂
To the author of above article and rest of the commenting SHEEPLE, except 321.
Have you folks heard of ‘Yinon Plan’, if not then hers is a website for the SHEEPLE to read.
http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/articles/article0005345.html
Have a nice time reading.
The only thing I like about the article is the Hadith. Yep, narrate this Hadith to Musharraf the Terrible, Zardari the inverted Robin Hood and Shariff Badmash the Fool.
Some Hadiths for the Muslim Sheeple:
(57) Narrated Abdullah: Allah’s Apostle said to us, “You will see after me, selfishness (on the part of other people) and other matters that you will disapprove of.” They asked, “What do you order us to do, O Allah’s Apostle? (under such circumstances)?” He said, “Pay their rights to them (to the rulers) and ask your right from Allah.” (Book #88, Hadith #175)
(58) Narrated Ibn Abbas: The Prophet said, “Whoever disapproves of something done by his ruler then he should be patient, for whoever disobeys the ruler even a little (little = a span) will die as those who died in the Pre-lslamic Period of Ignorance. (i.e. as rebellious Sinners). (Book #88, Hadith #176)
(59) Narrated Ibn ‘Abbas: The Prophet said, “Whoever notices something which he dislikes done by his ruler, then he should be patient, for whoever becomes separate from the company of the Muslims even for a span and then dies, he will die as those who died in the Pre-lslamic period of Ignorance (as rebellious sinners). (Fateh-Al-Bari page 112, Vol. 16) (Book #88, Hadith #177)
Now ask Question:
Syrian war; where do we stand?