By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid
Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed
the general manager of Al -Arabiya television. Mr. Al Rashed is also the former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al- Awsat, and the leading Arabic weekly magazine, Al Majalla. He is also a senior Columnist in the daily newspapers of Al Madina and Al Bilad. He is a US post-graduate degree in mass communications. He has been a guest on many TV current affairs programs. He is currently based in Dubai.
Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rahi travelling to Paris and informing the French that he fears an extremist Sunni Islamist group coming to power should the Damascus regime collapse failed to aid al-Assad or his regime. If anything, his words affected Syria’s Christian community and particularly the manner it is perceived in the Arab world. This is because it appeared to everybody in the region as if the Maronite Patriarch was campaigning in defence of the brutal Syrian regime that is drowning in the blood of its own people, and attempting to incite fear against Syria’s Sunni community. It seemed as if the Maronite Patriarch wanted Catholic predominant France – which is a major player in besieging the al-Assad regime – to put the fears of Syria and Lebanon’s Christian communities above the calls for the ouster of the al-Assad regime, despite the brutal campaign of violence and suppression it is carrying out against unarmed Syrian citizens.
I do not know if the Maronite Patriarch is defending the Syrian regime because he believes that Syria’s Christian community will have a target on its back should the al-Assad regime collapse, or if he believes the false image being put forward by Damascus via the propaganda of the Syrian state media which is also sowing fear among Syria’s Alawite and Christian communities
Nobody will accept a militant Sunni regime in Syria which targets any Syrian community. Such a Sunni regime would be fought in the same manner that other extremist groups have been fought against and prevented from taking power.
It is a myth to claim that the crumbling Syrian regime is a guarantor against religious extremism. The truth is that it is this Syrian regime that has encouraged religious extremism in the region over the past few years. Were it not for the Syrian regime there would be no Hezbollah today. Were it not for the al-Assad regime, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad movement – which both have a presence in Damascus – would have been defeated long ago. Were it not for the Syrian regime, the Sunni extremist Al Qaeda organization would never have been able to establish a base in Syria from which they were able to carry out terrible attacks in Iraq, killing thousands of Sunnis, Shiites and Christians, under the pretext of fighting the US occupation of Iraq. Were it not for the Damascus regime, the Iranian mullahs would never have been able to gain a foothold in the Arab world. In which case, how can Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rahi claim that he fears that an extremist Sunni regime will take power in Syria? The greatest sponsor of extremist Islamist group in the region was, and remains, the al-Assad regime, and there is clear evidence for this.
The Christian leaders should be aware that the al-Assad regime using them to defend itself will not prevent the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad; rather they will only implicate themselves. The recent developments in Syria have made it impossible to turn back the clock, and the sinking al-Assad regime wants to drag down anybody that it can with it. This is what has confused us regarding the head of the Maronite Church defending the worst regime in the history of Syria; a regime that has spilled the bloods of Muslims and Christians in Lebanon. This is truly a dangerous political move on the part of the Maronite Patriarch. We cannot compare someone of the stature of the Maronite Patriarch with politicians like [leader of the Lebanese Marada Movement] Suleiman Frangieh Jr, who is practically subservient to the Syrian regime, nor to a fickle politician like General Michel Aoun. This is because both politicians will, immediately following the collapse of the al-Assad regime, rush to disown al-Assad and declare their allegiance to his successor. Will Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rahi tomorrow rush to repudiate his defence of the al-Assad regime? Will his followers rush to do the same?
The Maronite Patriarch claims that his approach is based upon openness and objectivity, however objectively speaking, it is clear that Syria’s Christian community must participate in the uprising in order to participate in the reshaping of Syria’s future, rather than standing with the Syrian regime that has committed grave crimes against the people of Syria and Lebanon – including Christians – over the past 40 years.
Alsharq alawsad
http://samotalis.blogspot.com/
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