The Syrian Refugees Crisis – The Big Picture

As 2015 drew to a close, and many nations burnt their wealth in celebrating the loss of time, the cycle of violence and destruction continues in Syria. In the past few months, the media has spent a lot of time talking about the waves of refugees that are entering Europe or North America. In fact, the term refugee crisis has come to describe a purely western problem, as if there are no Syrian refugees displaced internally, or in other Muslim lands. And while it is easy for the agenda-driven, elite-controlled media to color their ‘analysis’ with words like “civil war”, and to focus heavily on the ‘refugee crisis’, it is much harder for them to provide some perspective on what is really happening. There is a larger picture within which everything fits.

The Numbers

To put the numbers in perspective, the population in Syria in 2010, prior to the uprising, was 22 million. Approximately 13 million of those people are now refugees. Of those, 7.6 million are internally displaced. This means that while they have been uprooted from their homes, these people have not left Syria. Rather they continue to suffer from aerial bombardment, and live under the threat of the regime’s violence and destruction.

Of those who have managed to leave Syria, just fewer than 4 million are in refugee camps in Muslim lands surrounding Syria, mostly in Turkey, some in Lebanon and Jordan, and a few in Iraq and Egypt. Most of these refugees have been forced to live in camps which provide them little protection from the elements, and many have been forced into abject poverty and begging has become rife amongst them.

The remaining 900,000 or so have gone to Europe or North America in an attempt to settle there. These refugees have become the focus of all the media attention. And as a Muslim community, we have been focused as well on ensuring that those refugees who enter the West are treated with dignity and respect. We should open our hearts, homes and wallets and do our best towards our brothers and sisters, and this concern is a blessing from Allah (swt), and should be encouraged.

However, if we are going to talk about the Syrian refugee crisis, we have to discuss the overwhelming majority of refugees still suffering in Syria and in the lands surrounding it, and not let the media distract us from the true refugee crisis, studying its causes and solutions, as opposed to exclusively worrying about anti-refugee xenophobia in Europe and North America.

Who are they running from?

The agenda-driven media has a continuous focus on correlating the refugee crisis with the rise of the militant group Islamic State in Syria (ISIS). The narrative presented in the media is that Syrians are desperate to leave their country because they are fleeing ISIS has become very dominant. 

Even though (ISIS) is part of the problem, what this “official” narrative conveniently ignores is that the majority of the destruction and misery in Syria has been caused by the Assad regime, and its Western colonial backers, by virtue of aerial bombardment and targeted destruction. It is the Assad regime that has dropped 22,000 barrel bombs on its own people; these are dirty bombs which are filled with shrapnel. It is the regime that has been targeting doctors and medical professionals in liberated cities, so much so that many doctors have to practice in secrecy so as to not get targeted. And it is this same regime that is backed by both the US and its regional ally, Iran, who are ever visibly thawing their relationship with each other. Additionally, Russia, who has been officially included in the US military coalition to fight ISIS, has had 85% of its aerial bombardment not striking ISIS-held territory, but rather raining destruction on the civilians on the rebel-held cities.

It is this violence, destruction, loss of infrastructure and deprivation of basic services and necessities that has made the people of Syria leave their land, not the rise of an armed militant group that for the most part controls large swaths of unpopulated land.  So why would the Western colonial powers be so complicit in the destruction of Syria, but not want to talk about their involvement? To understand their position, it is helpful to delve into a brief history of this uprising.

A History of Patience

The Syrian uprising was a natural response to the Arab Spring in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Syrians were living under one of the most brutal regimes in the Middle East, here Hafez Assad was known for his brutality. He routinely massacred his own people, killing more than a thousand people in Tadmor prison, as well as putting down anywhere from 25,000to 40,000 people in the town of Hama. Hafez was succeeded by his son, Bashar, who has roved no better than his father.

The revolt in Syria began over youth drawing anti-government graffiti on the wall of a school, and being tortured for it. This led to massive peaceful protests. However, the events rapidly escalated and, a few months later, the Syrian army started to witness defections from officers and soldiers who refused commands to shoot at the peaceful protestors. This phenomenon escalated to the point where army defectors formed the Free Syrian Army (FSA), for the purpose of protecting the people from the brutality of the regime. This also led to the formation of numerous armed brigades that were independent of the FSA.

Unlike other nations affected by the Arab Spring, the call for Islam has been clear and pure in Syria, and has remained free from slogans which the Western colonial powers quickly coopt and impose secularism through. The people of Syria have not been fighting for simply a change in leadership or empty slogans; rather it is clear that the demands of the Muslims of Syria stemmed from their Islamic creed and high political awareness. They realized that the root cause of the problem began when the Capitalist-colonial powers imposed their way of life in the area after World War One, and everything that happened since have been mere symptoms of the greater problem. They also realized that only through Islam would they find a solution to their crisis. Hence, numerous protests across Syria called for the restoration of the Khilafah, from Deraa in the south, to the capital Damascus, to Homs in the west, to Aleppo and Idlib in the north, and Al-Raqqa in the east. Indeed this was the first time since the destruction of the Islamic Khilafah that masses in the Muslim world rallied - in tens of thousands - demanding the return of the Khilafah.

It is this commitment to principle that the Capitalist colonial nations are punishing Syria for. They believe if they can destroy enough infrastructure, hospitals, and villages, the people of Syria will become desperate and be ready to accept a compromise. The US is working through its allied regimes of Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran to coerce the Syrians to compromise. However, the patience of the people of Syria, and their commitment to the political ideals and systems of Islam, has made it impossible for the US and its cronies to find any traction in Syria.

Aiding the refugees

As aforementioned, the Muslim community in Canada must continue to ensure that the brothers and sisters who are coming in from Syria are welcomed and have their needs met. We must spare no expense to ensure their care. However, if we want to make a true difference in the lives of all Syrian refugees, the majority of which will not have the chance to come to a safer place, we have to support the Syrian people demands to rid themselves from the regime with all its apparatus and let themselves be ruled by Islam.

We have to understand the importance of what our brothers are doing in Syria, by refusing to compromise and raising the banner of Islam, regardless of what any worldly power do to them in return. We have to abandon compromise in our own thinking, and organize ourselves to clearly call for a resumption of the Islamic way of life in the Muslim lands. We need to engage in the intellectual work of convincing Muslim leaders and masses that a return to the Khilafah upon the method of the Prophethood is the only way to stop the hemorrhaging of life and wealth that we see in the Muslim lands. And before that, we need to have hope in Allah (swt) that if we take up His call, and unite under His banner, He  (swt) will grant us victory.

Future of the Syrian Uprising

Unlike all the other uprisings that took place in the Arab world, the Syrian uprising stands as a unique uprising that is proving to be a decisive point in the history of civilization. The land of Al-sham (Syria and its surroundings) and its inhabitants have been mentioned in numerous Ahadith narrated by the Prophet (saw) highlighting its blessed nature and the steadfastness of its inhabitants. Also, in the history of the Muslims, it was in this particular region, that the Muslims had regained their power and revival after defeating the Crusaders and Mongols.

Therefore, the decisive question is: will history repeat itself by the Muslims of Al-Sham once again by leading the revival of the Ummah, after a century of colonization, humiliation and tyranny?

As we noted above, we must work to resume the Islamic way of life on the method of Prophethood. This must also be accompanied by sincere dua to Allah (swt) to shower His Mercy on the people of Al-Sham and that He (swt) grant the sincere amongst them the victory over the Assad regime.

May Allah (swt) support the people in Al-Sham and make them the leaders of the revival of this Ummah. May Allah (swt) make them steadfast, may He have Mercy on them  and grant them victory. Ameen.

“And We wanted to confer favor upon those who were oppressed in the land and make them leaders and make them inheritors.” [TMQ 28:5]