海角大神

When Mahmoud al-Ahmed returned to his听battle-scarred听village in the Aleppo countryside after seven months away, he found it听filled with people he didn鈥檛 recognize 鈥� some of them foreigners, and almost all of them conservative Islamists.

Even though he鈥檚 now safe in Gaziantep, Turkey, he鈥檚 reluctant to speak openly with strangers about the Islamists he encountered in his village.

At first, all he will say is, 鈥淭hey are very friendly. I wish more people are like them.鈥� It is only after talking for some time that he opens up and speaks freely about bans they鈥檝e imposed on cigarettes and alcohol, and women being forced to were a full niqab, which covers the entire face. His once moderate hometown no longer feels like home.

鈥淚 agree with them about forbidding alcohol, but if I鈥檓 not praying or fasting [during Ramadan] they鈥檒l come and make me. I just wish it was the way it was before the war,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檓 afraid that if I talk badly about the Islamists, not them personally, but their ideology, they will arrest me and maybe beat me. First there was Assad and now we have the Islamists.鈥�

US President Barack Obama called on Saturday for Congress to approve military action against the government of Bashar al-Assad for what US officials allege was a chemical weapon attack on civilians on Aug. 21. But Obama has also insisted that any attack will be limited, and not designed to remove Assad from power. The growing strength of jihadi groups within Syria's rebellion against Assad is a key reason for Obama's ambivalence.

Syria has a reputation as one of the more religiously moderate countries in the region, making a shift like the one observed by Mr. Ahmed particularly jarring for many Syrians. As conservative groups have become entrenched in northern, opposition-controlled areas, many now worry that they've traded one dictator for another.

Rebel military groups like the Islamic state of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have become the de-facto government, replacing President Assad's regime and often imposing new forms of repression, say many residents. 听听

鈥淢ost civilians don鈥檛 accept the Islamists. In many areas the Islamist groups impose themselves by force,鈥� says Abu Hamam, an unemployed merchant now living in Gaziantep. Like all Syrians in this article, he uses a nickname for security reasons.

In the past year, conservative Islamic groups have听experienced听a meteoric rise in influence within the Syrian opposition. Protests against the government began in March of 2011, but it wasn鈥檛 until last summer that serious and sustained fighting erupted 鈥� three-quarters of those killed in Syria have died within the last year alone.

In the early days of fighting, rebel military groups reflected the country鈥檚 history of secular politics. At the time听the opposition had no shortage of recruits, but it lacked significant outside backing to get the ammunition, weapons, and the supplies it needed to advance.

Meanwhile, hardline Islamist groups on the sidelines of the conflict began to make significant battlefield gains, thanks in large part to support from ideologically motivated private donors, many of them in Persian Gulf. The groups also used their resources to provide much needed humanitarian aid to the civilian population. Now听they are increasingly calling the shots in rebel-held territory.

Early this spring, Hani Halabi managed to defect from the听regime forces.听Once he made it to opposition-held areas in the north, he considered joining one of the rebel fighting groups. He鈥檇 heard rumors about the Islamist groups, but he wanted to judge the character of the jihadists for himself.

In a meeting with a mid-level leader for one of the conservative groups, Mr. Halabi says he was immediately deterred when the commander told him that if they captured Sunni soldiers from the government army, they were investigated and given a chance to defect. Alawite soldiers, members of Mr. Assad鈥檚 religious group, were immediately executed.

鈥淗e told me the revolution is not about what the people want; it鈥檚 what God wants,鈥� recounts Halabi. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that all the Islamic groups are helping Syria and the revolution. They don鈥檛 see Syria as a nation just as part of the global Islamic community.鈥�

A war after the war?

Like most Syrians, he worries that there will eventually be a war between secular-leaning Syrians and jihadis. After the meeting with the Islamist commander, Halabi decided he鈥檇 rather flee to Turkey than take a side in such an amorphous conflict with the possibility of devolving into a second civil war.

In the areas under jihadist control, a number of residents complain that conservative militants have started to impose strict rules, banning smoking and alcohol, forcing people to pray, arresting those caught breaking the fast during Ramadan, and requiring women to be completely covered.

鈥淚slam is not like this. This is basically against the freedoms that we have died and been martyred for,鈥� says Hussain Ahmed, a construction worker who left his town in rural Aleppo about a year ago. Since then he鈥檚 visited his home several times and says he鈥檚 been dismayed by what he finds each time he returns.

鈥淲e鈥檝e moved from a revolution to more repression. Now we have thousands of Assads. The situation before Assad was better than it is now. Assad was the worst leader ever, but now we have many of the worst leaders,鈥� says Mr. Ahmed, who adds that many people are afraid they might be killed for speaking out against Islamist groups.

Law and order jihad?

Inside Syria, the issue is听less black and white. The Islamists may impose strict social values, but at a time when theft, kidnapping, and crime are skyrocketing, Islamist groups have听developed a reputation as听the most honest of the armed groups.

Some Syrians who don't share their views nevertheless say that they don鈥檛 necessarily have a problem with听sharia,听or Islamic law.听 In Aleppo, Abu Ahmad Al-Tibani spent three days with Ahrar al-Sham, one of the largest Islamist groups in Syria, before deciding to join a less religious fighting group.

鈥淎hrar tries to be strict and impose shariah. This is not acceptable for everyone,鈥� he says. Though he鈥檚 not necessarily against Islamic law, he says that it must be implemented step-by-step to avoid overwhelming those who are not accustomed to it.

After a recent visit to Syria, Rajul Hour argues that Islamist groups, ISIS听in particular, haven鈥檛 been as heavy handed with social matters as they鈥檝e often been made out to be, choosing instead to take an approach closer to what Mr. Tibani recommends.

鈥淔or me what they do is not intervening in personal matters. They only advise you. They don鈥檛 force you to do anything. They tell you that instead of spending money on cigarettes, you should spend money on your family. With regard to women wearing the veil, I think this is just part of Islam,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 think ISIS is the true Islam.鈥�