The Syrian Jhad, Sectarianism and the Al Qaeda's Newest Affiliate

The current revolt against the Syrian regime has strong historical antecedents. The Muslim Brotherhood insurgency from 1978-1982 challenged Hafez al- Assad Baathist regime’s right to rule. The Baathists were secular Arab nationalists who borrowed from European fascistic, anti-Semitic and communist ideas. They embraced a sectarian policy of support for minorities building upon the colonial era patronage of Muslim and Christian minorities within the context of a secular socialist state. They, however, were careful not to alienate the Sunni majority and under successive regimes forged alliances with Sunni economic elites.

Assad’s 1970 seizure of power in a military coup against a party rival reinforced the position of Christian, Druze and Alawite minoritiesin Syria building upon France’s colonial manipulation of sectarian fissures.Geographically concentrated in impoverished coastal northern mountains, Druze and Alawite minorities had been exploited for generations by the dominant Sunni landed gently. They saw the Baathists state and party as a catalyst for upward social mobility.