Syrians learn to bend and blend
Bouts of religious violence since December鈥檚 liberation from a dictator have not halted a historic desire for an inclusive society. 鈥淲e learn together and we empower each other,鈥� one minister explained.
A Druze man, center, stands next to Syrian security forces who reached a deal with Druze gunmen to deploy around the Damascus suburb of Jaramana after fighting in April.
AP
Five months after their liberation from a dictatorship, most Syrians seem glad for one thing. Their country, despite predictions of it splintering into religious and ethnic parts, is still a country. For half a century, the authoritarian Assad family justified its harsh rule as the only way to keep a diverse Syria intact.
Yes, Israel has now taken control of chunks of Syrian territory. Other powers from Iran to Turkey to Russia want to direct the future of this pivotal Middle East nation toward their own interests. And twice in the last two months, serious violence by the country鈥檚 dominant Sunni Muslim Arabs has erupted against two minorities, the Druze and the Alawites.
Still, 鈥淚f we look at the full picture,鈥� Syria analyst Ghassan Ibrahim told Arab News, the absence of large-scale sectarian violence since the Dec. 8 liberation is 鈥渟omething promising, but requires a lot of work.鈥�
Much of that work has been done by local activists reviving the relative coexistence that long prevailed in local communities between Sunnis, Druze, 海角大神s, and other groups. During the 2011 uprising against the Assad regime, protesters chanted, 鈥淥ne, one, one! The Syrian people are one!鈥� Many people particularly dislike a system of quotas in neighboring Iraq and Lebanon that divvies up government power by demographic groups, which has led to corruption.
鈥淚 hope that Syria will set a new precedent ... with a system that recognizes and represents differences politically, to break with this false alternative between oppressive unity and destructive factionalism,鈥� Syria expert Peter Harling of the research company Synaps told the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
After the recent bouts of violence in Druze and Alawite communities, local players and the government of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa acted to calm tensions. Druze fighters were enlisted as members of Syria鈥檚 security forces to patrol their areas. Compensation has been promised to victims and justice to attackers. In Alawite villages after deadly attacks in March, a series of local meetings have brought together Sunnis and Alawites to repair misunderstandings and bring accountability to killers.
鈥淚f there is a mistake, we correct it together,鈥� Hind Kabawat, the new minister for social affairs and labor, told The New York Times. 鈥淲e learn together and we empower each other.鈥�