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 …show more content…
A small faction making up 12% of the Syrian population, were referred to as Nusaryi, a label that emphasized their religious groups different approach to Islam, were viewed as heretics of the Islamic religion. During the Ottoman rule, the Nusaryi were the most numerous and poorest of the peasants. Of the Nusaryi who were fortunate enough to have a job, were most likely worked for the Sunni Muslim landlords in the mountain region. In 1920, the French changed their named to Alawite. The term “Alawi” suggested an adherent to Ali, the son in law of Muhammad. This was done to highlight the similarities to the Shiite branch of Islam. The Alawites thrived more than any other faction from the French mandate. The villages on the mountain range and bordering city of Latakia were composed of high amounts of the Alawite faction. The French mandate allowed the areas the govern themselves and jurisdiction over their own people (Fildis). Because the French viewed the Alawites in the mountain range area as potentially strong allies, they took exceeding measures to ensure their support and progress. They introduced schools into the villages, providing opportunities for large amounts of Alawite children to have an education and a future that leads to more than being a servant to a Sunni (MacFarquhar). Many Alawites chose to join the military, it being one of the best outcomes and ways for the Alawites to change their social condition. Over time, an Alawite military
With the end of World War One and the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the allied powers in Europe were left in control of the Ottoman territory in the Middle East. The nation of France was left in control of the area now known as Syria and Lebanon. The French Mandate of Syria and Lebanon, which was formalized in 1922, officially made France responsible for creating the two states and preparing them for self-governance (Kjeilen). By 1943 both nations had achieved their independence from France, and they agreed to a tentative mutual security agreement. However relations between the two nations remained strained. While the governments of both nations were unified in their opposition to
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
The Syrian Civil War has had a profound effect of all Syrians as well as neighbouring countries and the international community. With more than 11 million homeless Syrians comes consequences beyond what most of the world population has ever experienced or anticipated. Of the displaced, almost 5 million are refugees outside Syria and around 6 million have been displaced inside Syria, with half of all displaced Syrians being children. The main causes of displacement amongst the population is the violence committed by all sides of the war, and which often targets civilians or centres of high civilian activity (such as markets, hospitals, schools, workplaces or high density residential areas). One main group heavily affected by the conflict
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.
Ali’s son Husayn was sought out and asked to lead a revolt against the Uyammad’s. When Husayn set out on his journey to overthrow Yazid, the current caliph, his “supporters” failed to join his band. Husayn and 72 of his followers were killed on the plains of Karbala, Iraq. Thus the Shi’at Ali (Party of Ali) or Shia sect of Islam was born (Egger 2004). The Sunni sect would continue to support what they saw as the traditional path of Islam.
Sahner does not choose to relate the history of Syria necessarily in a chronological manner but instead utilizes snapshots of the past to provide backdrop to the present. The main topics that he utilizes from a historical basis are the second half of the first millennium A.D., rise of the Islamic Caliphate, as well as the modern period beginning in the mid-nineteenth century A.D. While events preceding the Islamic Caliphate in the 7th century are briefly touched upon, such as Roman
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”
In 1936 the French decided to decolonize the area. Syria and Lebanon would continue as independent states. Ironically, it is exactly where Suleiman al-Assad looked
Land between Empires. Since early history, Syria experienced Colonization, invasion and occupations. The history dictated the path that took Syria from early 1900 to the present. Below is an outline of this paper
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 has been the epicenter of wars and prosperity for many decades. Whether it’s the Syrian-Franco war that gave their independence, or the flood of Universities that entered in the 1950’s; it’s always been a mixed bag with Syria. Many people will look at the destabilize modern Syria and wonder “How did it get to this point?”, well in reality it was not one event rather a concurrency of events that all led up to Syria’s likely demise.
Have you ever taken the time to look around you at your surroundings? Or taken a moment to reflect on the experiences you have had that have had a big impact on your life? Have you ever thought about the fact that they could affect and shape the person that you are? That the only thing making you you, is your experiences and what you are exposed to everyday? Well, you may not realize it but this is the case. Everything around you and your experiences impact you, shape you and make up the person that you are.
In this day and age, we find ourselves at odds with our “identity” as we find that not only are we representing ourselves, but we also have ties to religion, sect, tribe, and family (Angrist). This shows that despite the cohesiveness and threads that attach us, it has the power to pull people, families, and in some cases countries apart. This conflict comes to a head when religion and ethnicity are interwoven. Hence when divisions occur, this can lead to violent wars that destroy trust between individuals. This can ingrain a sense of uneasiness and distrust that plagues people’s ideas and leaves a country divided. This is particularly evident in Lebanon. Ethnic and religious division led to the festering of feelings of marginalization and discrimination, which boiled over into the Lebanese civil war, a war that claimed the lives of 150,000 people (Szekely). The anger and frustration birthed from this to chaos, and conflict has in turn increased the division between ethnic and religious factions and led to the crumbling of Lebanese nationalism. This essay is specifically aimed at assessing the relationships between ethnic and religious divisions in Lebanon and explores how it contributed to the civil war. This is done by identifying and analyzing the main actors and makes an explanation of the historical divisions stemming from the National Pact, branching out to include the consequences of the civil war on the political structures and the identities of the
Islamic Law governs all forms of Legislation in Syria. The country’s religious demographic is also heavily comprised of followers of the religion of Islam. These religious followers divided into different sects with 74% Sunni. Ismailis, Alawis, and Shi’a make up 13% of the population. The Druze account for 3%, and there is a small population of Christians at 10% (Unknown, “2010 Report on International Religious Freedom—Syria”, 2010). The country has attempted to make a large push for religious freedom. Religion and state have “officially” always been separate, although Muslim code is the basis for several laws and decrees. The constitution allows religious freedom but restricts some religious matters. Some religious groups are even outlawed, Jehovah’s Witness (Unknown, “International Religious Freedom Report 2010”,
Syrian civil war started in 2011 was the outcome of the opposition against the President Bashar al-Assad regime. The uprising emerged as a response to the Arab spring movement that lead to regime change in Tunisia and subsequently turned into mass unrest rooted into the discontent with long-term dictatorship and poor economic situation in the country (Manfreda, n.d.). The number of Syrian citizens killed in the civil war reached 140000 since March 2011 (SBS 2014). The European Commission (2014, 2) reports approximately 9.3 million civilians “in need for humanitarian assistance”. The scale of armed rebellion between government and opposition that lead to an increasing number of casualties among civilians did not remain unnoticed by the