Mohammad Qutub – Syria After Assad – A Conversation
AI: Summary ©
The segment discusses the current political backlash in Syria and the potential for the conflict to lead to a global conspiracy against the Syriaian people. The segment also touches on the controversy surrounding Jolani's connection with Iran and the potential for the conflict to benefit Iran. The segment ends with a discussion of the fall of previous ruler and the reasons behind his success. The conversation also touches on the history of the previous ruler and the potential for future generations to face similar struggles.
AI: Summary ©
Assalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
Okay, so sorry for the slight delay.
So without further ado, we will just start
straight away with our program today.
So inshallah today we will be talking about
the latest development that's happening in Syria and
probably the future.
With us today, I don't think I have
to introduce our sheikh, Dr. Muhammad Qutub.
Better known to us as Mufassireen.
He gave us a tafsir darsah, right?
But today we will be talking about the
Syrian issue.
He is a Syrian and this issue is
very close to him.
He has been active in this cause since
2011.
So inshallah he will be able to clear
some misconceptions and explain to us what is
really happening.
Ahlan wa sahlan, sheikh.
Welcome.
Walaikum assalam.
So let's just get started straight to the
hot topics, yeah?
So since the last three, four weeks when
Bashar al-Assad fell, okay?
So the name that we hear the most
in the news everywhere is Jolani.
And before this we knew him as Abu
Muhammad al-Jolani.
Now we will know him as Ahmad Shah,
right?
So this guy is seen as the leader
of the current rebel movement, the main movement
that topples, that managed to topple the regime
militarily.
Is that correct, sheikh?
Yes.
Okay.
But the thing is that people are saying
that he is actually Al-Qaeda or he
was ISIS.
And if you look at the history, he
actually fought, he went to Iraq in 2003,
he fought the Americans, he joined Al-Qaeda
there and he was jailed by the Americans.
And then he was released.
In 2011 he went back to Syria and
he formed Jemaat al-Nusra, which at that
time was affiliated with Al-Qaeda.
Is that correct, sheikh?
Yes.
And then somehow along the way he broke
away from Al-Qaeda and ISIS.
He had disagreements with Zaqqawi previously and also
al-Baghdadi.
And fast forward 10-13 years, he managed
to control a state in Idlib, right?
And he managed to develop the state and
he developed his army and he united the
rebel factions and they started the attack and
what happened happened and we know.
But the thing is people are saying now
Syria is under Al-Qaeda.
Is that correct, sheikh?
And is there any truth to it?
Okay.
Bismillah, alhamdulillah, wassalatu wassalamu ala rasool Allah.
Thank you, Dr. Ashraf, for this important question.
Of course, just to make one point very
clear.
While we admit that Hayyat al-Tahrir al
-Sham, which is what it eventually became, that
he was responsible for, is the one that
mobilized and started what we call the battle
of Rada al-Adwan, deterring aggression.
But as they started that battle, more and
more of the Syrian people started joining.
So, even during the battle, during those 11
days, yes, there were some people who were
trying to say things like, Oh, but this
is Qaeda and you are against Hayyat al
-Tahrir al-Sham and you know who Hayyat
al-Tahrir al-Sham is.
But I would say most Syrians and people
who are knowledgeable of the Syrian situation, even
though they might not have been completely, let's
say, in agreement with Ahmad al-Sharaq, formerly
usually known as Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, but
despite that, they realized this is not just
Hayyat al-Tahrir al-Sham.
This is slowly now * into the rest
of the Syrian people joining the fight and
going after city after city, as we saw
from Aleppo, Idlib, and Homs, and so on.
So, it is not just Hayyat al-Tahrir
al-Sham, though it would be unfair to
say, to not give it credit as well.
So, we say, yes, it was, but it
slowly started transforming into and metamorphosizing into something
else.
And this is why you find that even
now, most of the Syrian people, they're not
really discussing that part, right?
Because ultimately, it was that battle, through the
efforts of the Syrian people in general, initially
mobilized by Hayyat al-Tahrir al-Sham, which
brought the regime down.
Now, everything you mentioned about the history is
correct.
And he was asked these questions quite clearly
in his BBC interview.
You were essentially part of Qaeda, and at
one point, you were looked at as part
of ISIS as well, right?
So, he said very clearly that, you know,
at the time, there was a certain situation,
and he mentioned, of course, the Americans in
Iraq, the invasion in 2003, and so on.
And later on, what happened in Syria.
But he said that when he saw the
way some of those groups were, some of
the extremism, and so on, this is why
he chose to move away.
Later on, of course, he completely disavowed al
-Qaeda, right?
And that was the formation of Hayyat al
-Tahrir al-Sham, right?
And that was their break with al-Qaeda.
And now, yes, ultimately, like I said, some
people still have their issues.
But if you look at the Syrian people
overall, the most important thing that happened under
his leadership was removing the regime, deposing the
tyrant.
And this is the biggest achievement that we
were looking for in the first place.
Yes, so I think it's quite clear that
whatever ties he had is actually broken now.
And he actually fought in Idlib, I think.
Al-Qaeda tried to regain Idlib by forming
Huras al-Din.
So, Huras al-Din is another group formed
by al-Qaeda trying to topple al-Jolani,
but Jolani fought them.
So, he actually fought al-Qaeda, fought ISIS.
Everyone in Syria fought ISIS, by the way.
Yes.
So, that's the story.
So, Sheikh, you can see the transformation of
Jolani's image.
If you look at his previous pictures, he
was a very turbulent man.
So, but now, currently, he's wearing a Q.
So, I mean, is this a real transformation?
I mean, is it trying to show that
he is fit to be…
I'm not trying to say that he wants
to be the leader of Syria, but to
show to people that they're actually moderate and
there's nothing to be scared about them.
Is it real or is it just, you
think it's just lip service or is it
just, you know, smokescreen?
Again, notice that people are not really discussing
this, right?
Even though they might have their issues with
Ahmad al-Shara' and with the way he
ran Idlib and they had their criticisms and
so on.
But yet, some of those people said, despite
all of that, now that they have achieved
what they have achieved and they are making
some good decisions, then we stand with him,
right?
Changing his image and so on and so
forth.
I mean, these things, yes, might affect some
people.
They may not be so important to others.
The fact that, you know, is he trying
to please or show that they are moderate?
Maybe.
Islam is always being maligned, especially those who
are performing the jihad.
They're going to be maligned.
They're always going to be put in a
negative light.
If, you know, wearing a suit makes him
look more positive, so be it.
Wearing clothes, right?
Clothes is an issue.
It's not an issue of sunnah or not
sunnah.
This is a common misconception amongst people that,
oh, you are wearing according to sunnah.
These are issues which are subject to cultural
norms, even at the time of the Prophet
ﷺ.
So, it's not so much of an issue.
Is he trying to change his image?
I think he is, absolutely.
And that's why he's going with the name
Ahmad al-Shara' now.
And that's, you know, there's nothing wrong with
that.
Especially if he is more in the limelight
now, then, you know, making some changes is
not a big deal.
It's about the fundamentals, right?
And believe you me, if he starts to
compromise on the fundamentals of the thawrah, the
revolution, because this whole 14 years, every time
someone came up, and maybe, you know, became
popular somehow, or was popularized by a certain
organization or country that didn't want the revolution
to succeed, every time that happened, and then
we notice that they are slightly now veering
away from the fundamental principles for which we
came out in order to depose this thawrah
in the first place, immediately that person was
considered persona non grata by the Syrian people,
and eventually, probably fell into oblivion.
The same will happen with him if he
starts to do something like this.
But personally, I don't think this is what
he's trying to do.
It's just that, right now, yeah, everyone wants
to come and meet with him, the British,
and the French, and now the Americans, and
everyone wants to come, because everyone now remembers,
oh, Syria, yeah, of course, the Syrian people,
the Syrian catastrophe over the last 14 years,
but now that Assad is deposed, and there's
a new administration, of course, we need to
get in on this, just like everyone wanted
to get in on the revolution from the
very beginning.
Everyone wanted to advance their own interests.
In the end, unfortunately, it's all about political
interests, doctor.
Thank you, Sheikh.
So, thank you, doctor.
Okay, I think enough about Jolani.
Can I say something else about Jolani?
Because there's the issue of the image now.
So some people are saying, oh, subhanAllah, all
of a sudden, the Western media as well
is painting him as a moderate, and no,
no, no, he's severed all of his ties.
Why does it seem now that the Western
press is impressed with Jolani, with Ahmed Al
-Sharra, and almost helping to rebrand himself in
one way or another?
And the answer to that, I will tell
you honestly, is it's actually the same position
with regards to the Syrian revolution itself.
Why does it seem that the West in
general, and maybe America in particular, or America
and the UK in particular, were supportive of
the Syrian revolution, but when there's another genocide
happening right next door in Gaza, they don't
want to have anything to do with it,
and they're completely with the Zionists, right?
And the reason for that is the connection
with Iran, Bashar's connection with Iran.
Had Bashar severed that connection with Iran, they
could care less about the Syrian people or
the Syrian revolution, let him continue torturing them
inside Naya, and Tadmur, and Fira' Palestine of
Damascus, and everywhere else.
The only thing that bothered them was this
connection with Iran.
It's lip service, to be honest, this whole
thing about human rights, because this is what
Gaza is teaching you now, that it's not
about human rights, right?
It's not about justice, but it's about state
interest.
So, because he had that connection, so that's
why they were generally supportive, generally underlined, generally
supportive of the Syrian uprising.
Nothing about, oh yeah, they're the ones who
gave them the weapons, and they couldn't have
won without baloney, my dear brothers and sisters.
From the very beginning, they said, give them
non-game-changing weapons.
In other words, toys, just to keep the
thing going.
Just to keep it going, not to topple
the regime.
Don't give them anything that would allow them
to topple the regime.
So, their support was, to a large extent,
just about that.
And because of the issue of Iran.
And now, their slightly more positive look upon
Ahmad al-Sharia is also because of this.
It's similar to that.
That's the only reason that they look at
it a little bit better.
Because, okay, they fought Iran.
They got rid of Iran.
They got rid of the Iranian militias.
And now, let's try to make Syria another
candidate for normalizing relations with Israel.
So, that's more what it's about than anything
else.
So, very interesting.
So, following up from your point, there's not
many people, actually, especially this leftist leaning or
anti-Zionist or pro-Russian or pro-Axis
or resistance people.
They say that this revolution, the fall of
Assad, only benefits Israel.
And it's actually, some of them actually say
the whole revolution, from the start, from the
beginning, is actually a foreign conspiracy, which serves
only their interests.
As if the Syrian people, they don't have
agency.
They don't have their own will.
I mean, they're just easily gullible, manipulated.
But then again, the events that happened right
after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, I
mean, less than one, 24 hours after Bashar
fell, Israel, I think they launched 200, 300,
more than…
Almost 800 now.
Targeting military installations of the Syrian army.
Up until Aleppo, up until Latakia, Latakia and
the whole of Syria.
And they started entering Syrian land, Benidra, right?
And they actually displaced people from Syria.
And then again, initially, we see maybe absent,
no direct response from the government at that
time.
So, probably these kind of things emboldened people
to say that, ah, actually this is how,
you know, it benefits Israel.
And after that, Netanyahu said, Golan Heights will
be Israel forever.
And they're planning to build more settlements and
so on and so forth.
So, how do you see this situation, doctor?
Yeah, this is a very important point, to
be honest.
And there's a lot of spin.
There's a lot of these spin doctors who
are trying to portray the whole thing as
some kind of a conspiracy, an Israeli conspiracy.
And in that, they are parroting the accusations
of Bashar al-Assad himself.
He has been calling the Syrian revolution a
conspiracy, right?
A global conspiracy against him from the very
beginning.
And of course, that we are all terrorists,
all the Syrian people are terrorists, and they're
all in cahoots with the Zionists.
And this is all the work of Israel
and all of this garbage.
By the way, he was saying this in
the beginning of the Arab Spring, if you
remember.
When the Arab Spring happened, Tunisia and Libya
and Egypt, so they immediately started saying, oh
yeah, this is all the Camp David countries,
all of the countries that agreed to Camp
David, who agreed to a peace with Israel,
the people are now protesting against them because
of peace with Israel.
And here we are, he thought, of course,
that they are immune now to the Arab
Spring because we are the axis of resistance.
And then immediately the Syrian revolution started.
So it was laughable that this is what
they were saying on state TV.
People were protesting peace against Israel, and he
thought that he was going to be immune
from it.
So it's just more of the same in
that way.
But part of the problem with all of
these spin doctors is that they clearly have
no respect for the Syrian people.
So you are telling me now that hundreds
of thousands and maybe millions of Syrians who
are celebrating the fall of one of the
most tyrannical regimes are all, they don't understand
politics, and they don't know what's going on,
and they don't realize that now Qaeda is
going to rule them, and this and that,
subhanallah.
Before you say anything so idiotic, think about
the fact and look at, you are watching
live, the hundreds of thousands of Syrians going
out and celebrating the fall of the regime.
Maybe they know better than you do, they
are Syrians, right?
Or are they all agents of the Zionists?
So this is why the Syrian people realize
this is not an issue of Qaeda or
non-Qaeda now.
This is deposing the regime, and then there
are issues that maybe we will discuss amongst
ourselves.
But the most important thing is the fall
of the regime, deposing the regime.
When it comes to the Zionists, of course,
and Israel, I can understand the confusion.
I won't say that it's completely unwarranted, especially
in lieu of the incapacity of many of
the countries, Arab and Muslim countries, who seem
to be doing absolutely nothing, right?
Except maybe giving speeches about how Israel should
do this and shouldn't do that, right?
So then you see Iran actually firing at
Israel, the Houthis, Hezbollah, and all of these
things.
So I can understand the confusion to a
certain extent.
However, again, there's a lot of spin there.
Because we, as Syrians, we call Bashar al
-Assad, sorry, his father, Hafez al-Assad, the
one who sold the Golan, Ba'i al
-Jolan.
That's his title, the one who sold the
Golan.
Because it is well known to us now
that actually he commanded the Syrian army at
the time to retreat.
There was clearly an agreement between him and
the Zionists that the Zionists will take the
Golan.
Of course, what was the price?
Keeping Hafez al-Assad in power.
So he told them to retreat.
And the soldiers were like, but we've already
taken the territory, we're here.
No, no, no, come back, retreat.
Subhanallah.
So he is known as the one who
sold the Golan.
We know the Assad regime is the last
one that will do anything to hurt the
Zionists, right?
And this is why as soon as the
regime fell, Netanyahu said the 1974 agreement is
null.
The 1974 agreement which essentially guaranteed that the
kind of engagement that there would be, which
is to say none, right?
And this is why Bashar, Hafez and then
his son Bashar kept the borders so peaceful
across those decades.
More peaceful than even the border with Egypt
and the border with Jordan.
They were some of the most peaceful borders
with Syria, right?
That's why even, I believe it was a
Jewish professor in the beginning of the revolution
who said, we are witnessing a peace agreement
now coming apart.
And he said, and people would say, what
peace agreement?
He said the peace agreement between Syria and
Israel.
But there is no peace agreement between Syria
and Israel.
There's no peace agreement written on paper.
There's a non-verbal peace agreement.
And this is why he kept the borders
peaceful and they were happy with this.
And that's why they kept him in power
and they weren't interested in shooting and destroying
all of the weapons that he had.
Because he was the guarantor at the time.
As soon as he fell, the Zionists went
berserk.
Now these weapons can fall into people who
really genuinely are against us.
And that's why they went on that destruction
spree where they destroyed everything all over the
country.
This is not to say they were not
hitting Syria before.
My brothers and sisters, Syria became a free
for all for everyone.
For the Iranians and the Russians and the
Americans and the Kurds and the Turks.
Bashar al-Assad made it a free country
for all.
Do whatever you want.
And the Zionists ultimately.
They were bombing all the time.
You just don't hear about it.
They would bomb as close as the place
where he is meeting with his ministers.
And all they would say, sometimes they wouldn't
say anything at all.
And sometimes they would say that we will
respond in the right time and the right
place.
But that never came, subhanallah, over decades.
So a lot of these people, subhanallah, you
really touched on an important point.
The anti-Zionist activists.
The anti-imperialist activists.
The one who are ready to speak against
Israel or against the imperial ambitions of the
West in general.
They dare to speak about these things.
And that's why when they speak about Israel,
yes, a lot of what they say seems
to be very palatable and genuine.
But once it came to the Syrian revolution,
subhanallah, they just seemed so misguided.
And I noticed this from the very beginning,
from 2011.
People like George Galloway.
I mean, when George Galloway speaks about the
Arabs and Palestine, everyone signs on, right?
And I was one of them.
But then once it came to Syria, subhanallah,
he spoke as if he almost supported the
tyrant himself.
Went completely astray.
And I wondered about this.
What is happening with these people?
Robert Fisk, same, but these are older names.
The names you see now are Scott Ritter,
Richard Medhurst, Max Blumenthal.
Many of these people you might have heard
or read articles for.
They are all part of this clique.
The anti-Zionist, anti-imperialist clique.
But when it comes to Syria, subhanallah, it's
almost like they're defending Bashar al-Assad.
And to be honest, it seems like most
of the people who got it right are
Muslims and Arabs in general.
I have found this confusion more amongst the
non-Arabs than the Arabs themselves.
The Arabs seem to understand it.
And these people, they are completely, almost like
they are spokesmen for the regime.
And it turns out that Russia and Iran
were actually paying them money.
They were on the payroll in order to
spew this kind of venom against the Syrian
people.
And to be honest, it is not only
a crime against the Syrian people, it's a
crime for the whole pro-Palestine movement.
Because now they are showing that they are
not good defenders of the Palestinians at all
when they condemn one genocide but support another.
Do you have a question?
Do you have a question?
Okay.
Just a question.
Shall we keep the questions to the end
after we finish?
Then we'll have the questions.
Yeah.
Inshallah.
We'll keep the questions to the end, inshallah.
Are you just going to add?
Whatever you guys are offering is almost at
the end.
Almost at the end.
Okay.
Okay, Shaykh.
So that's a very good point.
Now, since you have a question, so I'll
just move on with the questions that we
have now.
So, of course, we know that the Syrian
people have achieved a great victory in the
last few weeks.
But, of course, that is actually only half
of the battle.
Because another half of the battle still lies
ahead.
Yes.
How to develop Syria, how to keep the
victory.
Yeah.
And as we all know and as we
all have seen, as with any revolution, there
will always be the threat of counterrevolutions.
As we saw in Egypt, how Morsi was
deposed.
The whole Arab Spring.
The whole Arab Spring.
The counterrevolutions affected the whole Spring.
Exactly.
And if you go back, even the French
Revolution had counterrevolutions.
Yes, absolutely.
The Catholic counterrevolution.
Exactly.
Yes, you're right.
So how, I mean, that's one of the
challenges that is facing the new Syria now.
On top of the economic challenges, you know,
you still have sanctions.
And as you have mentioned yesterday, the social
fabric of Syria.
Yeah.
It's a mosaic of religion, of races.
And also, we see people with different ideologies
are now competing for place in the new
Syria.
And we have seen yesterday, there were a
couple of hundred people demonstrating in Damascus.
Yeah.
Asking for secularism and liberalism.
I mean, it's just how many weeks after
Bashar fell and they're already protesting.
But Alhamdulillah, there's no Bashar, so they were
in a…
They had the freedom to speak.
Exactly.
So the question is, this is a very
fragile time.
So how do you think the Syrian people
will manage to navigate through these very critical
moments?
Yeah, this is a very important point.
And actually, I think it highlights some of
the hypocrisy.
When you have these diplomatic visitors and delegates,
delegations visiting and already asking about what kind
of state will Syria be, and will they
allow this and will they allow that.
Subhanallah, we're not out of the woods yet.
We just toppled one of the most tyrannical
regimes less than two weeks ago.
What are you talking about?
You're already talking about what kind of state
and this and that.
It's really irritating.
And we faced this, by the way, during
the revolution as well.
So people would come to some of the
Mujahideen here and there and they would ask
questions like this.
What kind of state are you after?
The regime is still in power and it's
still killing people on a daily basis and
you're asking what kind of state?
Of course, because support then would be conditional
on what kind of state that you want.
Are you going to build a secular state
that we want to see or something a
little bit different that we don't want to
see, right?
But these questions were coming even then.
Questions like, are you going to allow women
to participate in the parliament?
Subhanallah, people are being killed on a daily
basis, men, women and children.
They are asking, are you going to allow
women to be in the parliament?
What is it to you?
Leave us be.
Let us deal with it.
Just like we dealt with the regime.
We'll deal with it.
We'll deal with our differences.
But this is happening even now and technically
this is not the time for it either.
Do you think Assad is just going to
leave us?
If the statement that he made is authentic,
and Allah knows if it is because it
seems like they deleted it.
But he said something to the effect of,
I didn't step down.
So he is still going to try to
terrorize the Syrian people and move his cronies
and his cells wherever they are.
So there is still a lot of work
to do.
There is still a lot of danger to
the revolution.
So you mentioned Egypt.
Egypt democratically elected their president after thousands of
years.
And then less than a year later, subhanAllah,
the counter-revolution happened.
So we are not out of the woods.
It is not the time to say, will
you allow alcohol in the country?
These kinds of questions are almost like they
are purposely instigatory.
And they should not be answered in any
way.
I am more concerned about keeping the peace
now for the Syrian people.
We have things to deal with.
We have all kinds of enemies that want
to ruin our happiness now.
That are talking about us as if we
are Zionist agents.
That are talking as if we are all
part of Qaeda or something insane like that.
So you see these kinds of things, these
kinds of accusations.
Right now, we need to concentrate on some
of these challenges.
There are still many of the Assad cronies
and supporters who have blood on their hands.
We have to bring them to justice.
These things talk about what kind of state
and all of this.
This is a transitional period.
And I think to a certain extent, Ahmad
al-Sharia may have answered some of those
things in a positive way.
Saying that, look, this is something the future
administration will deal with.
This is not something I am going to
pass judgment on.
But these are the main challenges really now,
doctor.
And you mentioned the secularists already.
Subhanallah.
They came out, right?
Again, claiming that it was a huge protest
even though it was quite small.
And it's so ironic that you couldn't have
ever come out and done a protest like
this during the Assad regime.
But you come out and you are insulting
the administration because they are quote-unquote Islamist.
And you say we want secularism and we
don't want to go back to that which
belongs to the ancient times.
Because this is how the secularists talk about
Islam.
Oh, an ancient religion and it's not suitable
for the times and this and that.
So they call it, they give it these
terms.
Raj'ia and takhaluf and all of these
things.
Backwardness, we are not going to go back
to backwardness.
We want a secular state.
Well, I hate to tell you, it's this
backwardness you are criticizing, which gave you the
freedom to come out here and do the
protest in the first place.
And I think it is very disingenuous for
them in all cases.
Not just because I completely disagree with them
and it's disrespectful to the whole Syrian people
who are very proud of their Muslim identity
despite decades, decades of the Assad regime trying
to obliterate Islam from the hearts of the
Syrian people and he failed, right?
The whole regime failed at that.
Despite that and despite the fact that I
am against them, it's not so much that
we are against your opinion, but it's very
disingenuous when we are dealing with all of
these things now, that you are coming now
and starting to talk about, we want a
secular state and we want this and that.
Go and work.
Do the necessary work now to keep the
peace administratively.
A lot of things need to be done.
You are coming out and protesting and saying
we want a secular state.
By the way, these secular liberals, are they
the ones who brought freedom?
Are they the ones who deposed the tyrant?
How many secular liberals fought to bring down
the regime?
It's hypocrisy and it's extremely disingenuous to do
something like this.
So the counter-revolution has already started, doctor.
The counter-revolution has already started.
And we need to be very careful and
there's a lot of work to be done.
Otherwise, God forbid, they will try to bring
the regime back through the window after we
kicked them out of the door.
Let's pray for the best for the future
of the Syrian people.
So last question before we open to first
coach.
So as an outsider outside of Syria, after
hearing all this, obviously Syria is in need
of help.
All the help it can get to rebuild,
to recover from this war, the long war.
So as an outsider, what's the best way
to contribute to the development of Syria?
Thank you, that's an important question.
Ultimately, it's about awareness.
It's about building awareness.
The administration has also said that eventually it
will be a technocratic government.
It will be a quote-unquote professional government
made of professionals.
We need all the help we can get.
We need that professional expertise.
I was asked a question similar to this,
talking about professionals and professionalism.
I said, brother, if you're a professional, please
come and help.
If you have that expertise, we will welcome
it.
So there are things we can do.
If you have a special expertise, you may
be able to help them.
Maybe from where you are.
Maybe you don't have to actually go there.
But from where you are, you can try
to help.
And of course, awareness.
The importance of awareness is critical.
You are seeing with the genocide in Gaza.
You're seeing the effect of spin now.
Victims now of chemical weapons attacks by the
Assad regime are now able to speak.
At one time, they were labeled by all
of these anti-Zionist activists as theatricians and
actors.
As if they made up and they staged
the whole chemical attacks.
I mean to say, awareness is very important.
Creating that awareness.
Social media now is the go-to media,
I think, for most people.
Spreading that kind of awareness will help.
Because public opinion will be important as well.
I have a question.
Not just myself.
We're a little bit confused.
It's been very difficult years on the Syrian
people.
The Assad regime.
And first of all, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar.
He's a big demon of the Hellfire.
Alhamdulillah.
And he deserves the punishment coming to him
in this life.
Alhamdulillah.
But what we're confused about is that Russia
has always sort of backed the Syrian for
their own personal understanding of natural gas.
Yeah, state interest.
I'm a very layman with knowledge.
Our confusion is, why has it been so
easy to topple the government just like that?
And my question is this.
We're finding it confusing why it's been so
easy to take Assad out of his chair.
Run out of his country.
When you have Russia on the border.
Golan, I think it's Golan.
You mean Israel?
Israel next to the Golan?
Russia also has Golan.
Okay.
Okay, I mean on the coast.
Yes, on the coast.
Like I said, I'm a layman.
No issues.
So you've got Russia on the border protecting
Syria.
Yeah.
This belongs to Syria, not Israel.
Okay.
So they send all their troops there.
They're there now as we speak to combat
Israel.
How is it possible to topple the Assad
regime with the Russian army there in Syria?
And why has it been so, why has
it seemed to be so easy after so
many years?
And the reason we say this is because
there's been murders, suffering, rapes, tortures over a
period of years upon years upon years of
Assyrian people.
And it's been divided.
Now they've had the Zionists, the Russians, the
Iranians, and Hezbollah helping the Syrians in every
aspect of the world.
Helping the regime.
The regime of Assad.
Now, all of a sudden, this is my
question, all of a sudden you've got Iran,
Hezbollah, Russia, and whatever other, Turkey, Erdogan, we
all know, it's not even getting to that
one, helping Assad's regime.
All of a sudden a group in Syria
has managed to topple the regime with all
the extra help around.
My question is how is that possible?
Well, so, so I think the gist of
the brother's question is how is it with
Russia, with all the support that the regime
had, that he was toppled so quickly?
Well, so my first response would be, he
wasn't toppled that quickly.
It took 14 * years.
He wasn't toppled that quickly.
It took 14 * years of revolution.
That's my question.
Yeah, I'm getting there.
I know exactly what you're saying, brother.
But what I'm trying to tell you is
the 11 days that it happened in, in
lightning speed, is part and parcel of the
sacrifices of 14 * years.
You cannot disconnect that.
So keep that in mind, right?
And this is why he's been in power
for all those 14 years, because of his
backers.
Otherwise he would have lost long time ago.
We said that before, that at the end
of 2012, beginning 2013, we almost succeeded in
toppling him.
And people were actually threatening him because they
were that close to his palace.
Yeah?
2015, end of 2015, Russia interferes militarily to
save the Assad regime, saying if we hadn't,
Damascus would fall in two weeks.
Right?
So, they have been supporting him throughout the
14 years.
Yeah?
Almost 14 years.
Exactly.
I'm getting there now.
So, the reason he didn't fall throughout all
of this time is because of those propping
him up.
Otherwise, this lightning fall that you saw of
the regime may have happened many, many years
ago with a lot of lives saved.
But it was because of his backers.
Because of the Russians.
Because of the Iranians.
Because of Hezbollah.
Now, what happened now?
What was so magical now in these 11
days?
Number one, we are Muslims and we know
Allah willed it and that's why it happened.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is in
charge.
Allahu Akbar.
It is something on another level and people
are still marveling at how quickly he fell
and cannot believe that they are rid of
the Assad regime finally.
People who only know the Assad regime in
their whole life.
So, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala willed it.
Allah is in charge and Allah is almighty.
Number one.
Number two, Turkey did a lot to help
the opposition and we admit this.
And they also had an important role apparently
in deterring aggression these 11 days.
Now, if you are looking for a worldly
explanation for why he fell, the most common
one would be that his backers said enough
is enough.
We are not supporting him anymore.
They lifted their support.
They got sick of it.
They got sick of it.
Iran, of course, Gaza.
It's related to Gaza as well.
I don't think it's right to completely not
make that connection to Gaza as well.
The genocide in Gaza also had an effect
because the genocide in Gaza is changing the
geopolitics of the region.
Of course, Iran may have been weakened to
a certain extent.
And I think they are beginning to realize
also that their interests no longer lie with
Assad.
And in fact, in an article, apparently, Hakan
Fidan of Turkey said something to the effect
that we were able to convince the Russians
and the Iranians that enough is enough.
And they pulled the plug on him essentially.
And that's why you saw the apocalyptic fall
whereby they just completely retreated.
And even some of their, they are not
exactly supporters, but they were part of the
regime in one way or another as civilians.
So, they are saying like, he just ran
away.
He just fled.
The military didn't do anything.
They just completely retreated.
Where did they go?
We feel completely betrayed and so on and
so forth.
So, yeah, the decision was to pull the
plug on him.
Even though, subhanallah, just up to a few
weeks ago, he was being whitewashed.
His crimes were being whitewashed and he was
being prepared to rule again and to be
invited now to the world's capitals again as
the president of Syria who was able to
get rid of the terrorist threat that has
plagued this country for 14 years.
So, ultimately, it seems that that's what it
is.
Once they pulled the plug on him, brother,
that was it.
It crumbled before our eyes.
Now, in terms of resources, yeah.
So, for a long time, Russia felt that
their interests lay with him.
But, after everything that happened, the country was
a failed state in all cases.
Even though he was able to take back
a lot of the country and a lot
of the land and the opposition was now
restricted to the northwest in Idlib.
Despite that, the country was a failed state
and the Russians and the Iranians could see
this.
And, I think at one point, they just
said, yeah, this is no longer serving our
interests.
And, they just gave up on him.
And, ultimately, keep this in mind.
These are the criteria for states and countries,
brothers and sisters.
It's not human rights, unfortunately.
Welcome to the world of realpolitik.
It's not human rights.
It's not morality either.
It's not morality either.
Just a minute, let me just finish this
point.
So, it's not morality either.
It's state interests.
It's how that particular country or state can
further its interests.
And, once they realize that this is no
longer in their interest, of course, Russia is
bogged down with the war in Ukraine, as
you know, and what's happening in Iran and
Lebanon.
So, all of these things led to his
final demise.
And, now they're harboring him in Russia.
They're harboring him in Russia, but it seems,
until now, Putin hasn't actually communicated with him.
It's been a while.
He hasn't even communicated with him yet.
So, he's probably going to be persona non
grata there as well, inshallah.
He's living like a refugee.
Now, he knows and he tastes what the
Syrians maybe have tasted for many, many years.
Is that what it is?
Any other questions?
Sorry, just to carry on.
So, it wasn't really out of choice.
Like you said, Iran was getting exhausted in
Lebanon and Russia is getting exhausted in Ukraine.
So, it wasn't really out of choice.
What do you mean out of choice?
At all.
Oh, you mean they wanted him to continue?
No, not necessarily, but you said when they
realize…
It doesn't serve their…
I think their interest was being exhausted elsewhere.
They had no choice to exit.
Well, with time, we will discover more and
more about what were the real intentions, right?
But for now, what seems to be coming
to us and leaked from here and there
is that they felt that he was more
of a liability now than someone who served
their interest and the interest of the country
as a whole.
Would they have liked for him to stay?
Absolutely, but mainly Iran even more than Russia.
I was mentioning this in 2012.
For Iran, brothers and sisters, it is a
battle for life and death.
It is the battle against the arch enemy.
Who's the arch enemy?
The Sunnis, not Israel.
The Sunnis are the arch enemy of Iran.
And this is why the Iranians have said
it quite clearly, even to the Zionists.
Our enemies are the Arabs.
They don't mind putting their hands in the
hands of the Zionists if it is against
the Arabs.
So for Iran, yes, they would have liked
to stay with him, absolutely.
And in fact, in their ideology and eschatology,
this is part of eschatology, what happened in
Syria.
What happened in Syria from 2011 is part
of Iranian eschatology.
These are part of the end times.
They would talk about an earthquake that happened
in Harasta, that this is what their hadith
foretold, right?
So these kinds of things, for Iran, this
was a religious war.
And they were going to go to the
end.
For Russia, it was more about state interests.
So once they decided he's a liability, that's
it.
And they probably got, because you know Turkey,
Iran, and Russia have had the whole Astana
axis for all this time.
So Turkey probably told the Russians, look, we
will convince the opposition not to completely destroy
your Hmeymim air base or your naval base
in Tartus.
So pull the plug on Assad and we'll
convince them to have some kind of dialogue
with you about how you can kind of
preserve your interest in Syria, because that's what
Russia wants.
Russia wants a port on the Mediterranean.
This is geopolitically, this is their dream for
centuries.
The warm waters of the Mediterranean.
Is there a possibility that China is hiding
behind everything?
China is behind everything?
China is behind everything.
I said, do you believe that China is
behind the lease in the background, making sure
that when there's business to be done, they're
there?
Well, when it comes to business, brother?
Every country that the USA has destroyed in
military wise, Iraq, China is now building the
infrastructure.
China's after the money.
And yeah, they're doing so in many places
as we know.
Mind you, but I mean, look at the
Americans.
Immediately they went into Syria.
Why?
For the oil, right?
The oil fields in the northeast.
So everyone wants business, brother.
In the end, you don't think these delegations
are also coming to discuss business and business
deals and we can give you this and
we can give you that and we can
develop this and develop that.
It's all about business in the end.
It's all about the pie.
You know, how much of the pie can
you take?
So China, like anyone else, wants part of
the pie.
And China, we know, it seems cares more
about the pie than maybe global hegemony, right?
Okay, we ended there.
Okay, I think time is running out.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, doctor.
Very theory and enlightening session.
JazakAllah khair.
I hope you all learned something today.
InshaAllah, looking forward to hear from you next.
JazakAllah khair.
JazakAllah khair.
Thank you.
JazakAllah khair.