America's Role In The Syrian Independence Movement

The French’s mandate over Syria after World Ware One had an irrevocable impact on the nations’s communal factions. The mandate lasted from 1920-1946 and they begun their rule with intentionally made sectarian divisions. They were made in order to prevent Arab nationalism and stifle national independence movements. The divisions were made my religious and national minority. Granting the minorities independent status locations where they make up the majority. For example, there was a large population of Alawites in the mountain range behind Latakia, the French declared them a separate state. The Druze were granted the right and ability to govern themselves in the city of Jabal, just south of Damascus. The one religious group that did

The Arabs took this opportunity to start an uprising. The fighting continued for twenty years until France, in 1936, agreed to let go of their political influence, but they would keep a military presence there and could benefit economically, which meant they controlled the oil. Four years later France fell to the Axis powers and consequently so did Syria. Since the, now Free French, troops needed support along with the British, they agreed to leave the region completely if they helped them win World War 2. After the Germans were defeated, the French, reluctantly, kept their word and left the region. This, however, did not subside the fighting; what was once a battle for freedom turned into an ideological battle between Shias and Sunnis. Eventually some stability was gained and a proper government was set up. In 1971 Hafez Al-Assad was elected president and the country went from being a democracy to a monarchy. He groomed his first son to take over the country once he died but his son passed away in a car accident before he did. Hafez’s second son, Bashar Al-Assad, took control of the country in 2000 and he has remained in power ever since. Prior to the Arab Spring, there were outbursts, but none significantly affected his regime. Once the Arab Spring began, however, the people of Syria, mainly Sunnis, revolted against Assad. At the same time, The United States pulled troops out of Iraq leaving them without any structure or

Even before Syria became France’s under the mandate system, France asserted a degree of influence over the region while it still sat under the Ottoman Empire. While the Ottomans ruled over Syria, France had established a protectorate for Catholics and even had ties to the Uniate churches in that area7. In addition to having religious ties to the region, the French government before the First World War also had invested in Syria financially, and one company formed by the Comte de Perthius built the railroad that ran from Beirut to Aleppo and Damascus8. France put a lot of money into assisting the development Syria and the surrounding areas, so it seems to be only natural that France would want to mandate over Syria after World War I.

The Syrian Congress was not fit, in the eyes of the French government, to act as a fully autonomous state. This despite the fact they constructed their constitution on a westernized democratic style, made up of a parliamentary republic with a "single Chamber to be elected, for four years, by universal suffrage exercised in two stages." Although it certainly appeared to be setting the nation on the right track toward what would have been a democratic, and possibly even prosperous society, the French government denied their path to democracy at that time, and instead implemented their own constitution over Syria a year later. This instance made it terrifyingly clear that the loaded, Eurocentric Mandate-language of permitting “circumstances”

During World War I Syria as part of the Ottoman Empire engaged in the murderess of the Christians as part of the Armenian Genocide. After World War I for a short period of time King Faisal I of the Hashemite family ruled Syria. However, King Faisal I was removed from Syria and Syria was put under the French mandate. Syria was able to gain its independence from Franc in 1946. Syria was involved in the Arab-Israeli war that was trying to prevent Israel form becoming its own independent country.

Syria was granted de jure independence from the French in 1941. However, the country was not truly independent until 1946. For the next twenty-five years, the country would be launched into extreme political instability and

Syria capital Damascus along with Aleppo is the country largest cities, and is widely known as the most ancient continually occupied cities in the world. The country’s official language is Arabic however, English is widely understood. The population is mostly Muslims and a small percentage of Christians. The people of Syria have endured many changes in the past and still continue to do so today.

“The panicked reactions, fanned by right-wing politicians in the United States and Europe, to ‘declare war’ on the Islamic State are mostly just noise. None of those proposing that kind of response offer the slightest idea of how it would be done; all they have is an understandable desire, which we share, to obliterate the terrorist group also known as ISIS,” wrote the New York Times editorial board. Syria fell under a French Mandate after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire following World War I, and then struggled to achieve independence. The Assad family used repressive police state measures to ensure a stable government in Syria. An increase of opposition caused Bashar al-Assad to inflict more brutality and dictatorship.

Islam plays a very important role to the Syrian history, the people are very proud of their ancient history. In the current Syria 90% of the population is Muslim and a 10% is Christian, among the Muslims 74% sects divide are Sunni and the rest. Thru the years conflict has grown between these various Muslim groups and sects, their fighting is mostly about how to rule the country and who has the upper hand as it is seen in the recent “civil war” as we call it, many groups have turn their sect into extremist cells with the excuse to form a new way of ruling, causing havoc and ruining the live of innocent people

Before I start this essay I wanted to know more about Syria its self. First off Syria is a country smaller than the state of Washington in the U.S. and has the same population amount as Australia (which is about 22.5-23 million). Syria also borders Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Israel, and Lebanon. Syria seems to have small crowded places then lots of space between them.

    First, understanding the way in which the community in Syria was set up and how it worked during the time of modernization is essential. At the beginning of modernizing Syria, was a failed revolution against the French military. This failure morphed popular opinion on how to progress forward as a nation. Rather than attempting to dispel the French from Syria, Syrians decided it was their only option to work side by side with the French through diplomacy. This new found group built strictly on forming diplomatic relationships with the French government became called

As early as 1516, Syria has been known to be ruled under Ottoman Turks Empire for well over several centuries. In 1916 Arabs and British military collaborated together and rebelled against Turkish rules. This allowed independence over the Turks for Arab countries and ending 400 years of supreme political power of the Ottoman Empire. After many years of restructuring Syria economics, social, and political fields, they combined the Ottoman, French, and Islamic laws up until the 1980’s. The criminal, civil, and commercial codes were mostly based on the French way of practicing laws. In 1949, they had certain provisions that they had to follow due to religious minorities. Now the Islamic still had power in some parts of Syria but they were restricted to others due to personal issues, such as marriages, divorcees, paternity, inheritance, and custody of children. In 1955, they went ahead and made changes to codes pertaining to personal issues, modifying and modernizing the Sharia. This allowed improvement for the status of women and adding clarity to the laws of inheritance.

The Syrian Arab Republic is an Arab country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the North, Iraq to the East, Jordan to the South, and Israel to the Southwest. In March 2011, the Syria conflict has begun due to various reasons and is still going on today. This outbreak is one of the key factors which resulted the Arab Spring (Arab Uprising). Arab Spring refers to the democratic uprisings that arose independently and spread across the Arab world in 2011. The protest originated in Tunisia in December 2010 and quickly took hold in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. In these countries, the citizens intiatied the protests as the ruling families have been

It too encompassed mostly desert, but has the Euphrates river running through most of the province. Both Damascus and Aleppo were made up of Muslims, mainly Sunnis but also Shi’ites. In the southern most part of the mandate was the Jabal al-Druze, used by the French to control the Druze living in Greater Syria. While on paper the French partitioning of the mandate looked great, the long term consequences still affect us today. By dividing up the different minorities into provinces where they would no longer be minorities, the French began to kill the nationalism that had be so fervent before during and after the First World War. Nationalism works because people are adopting a new identity and casting off an old one. Although the mandate’s purpose was to groom the people to rule themselves, the French actions in Syria seemed to be opposed to the stated goal.

Syria, also officially known as Syrian Arab Republic, is located in West Asia. Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Israel and Iraq are its immediate neighbors whereas Mediterranean Sea is on its west. The country's capital and largest city is Damascus ("Syria," 2012).