While writing this, I have pulled some facts as it is in his own words from some articles of Adnan Khan who has written an insightful book as well named 100 years of middle east.
Syria was created after the Sykes Picot agreement (Sir Mark Sykes AND François Georges-Picot, the two men live on in the secret agreement they were assigned to draft, during the First World War, to divide the Ottoman Empire’s vast land mass into British and French spheres of influence. The Sykes-Picot Agreement launched a nine-year process—and other deals, declarations, and treaties—that created the modern Middle East states out of the Ottoman carcass. The new borders ultimately bore little resemblance to the original Sykes-Picot map, but their map is still viewed as the root cause of much that has happened ever since), after the First world war it was ruled by the French then given false independence by puppet regimes after that.
Although the initial uprisings were by the people who were sick of the tyrant Assad, but these were quickly hijacked by the West who propped up alternative groups, individuals and organisation to ensure real change did not take place. But Syria is the only country where the uprising remains a work in progress still and will in all likelihood determine if the Arab spring leads to real change and actual independence or not.
The Syrian uprising began as a popular movement demanding constitutional reform, back in March 2011. The situation escalated into a direct armed confrontation between the government forces and the rebellious factions, with varying loyalties.
The defec¬tions in Assad’s army began, the people of Syria rose up across the counntry, their Islamic call shocked the world and Assad responded with even more bru¬tal force.
Despite the brutal massacres carried out by the Assad regime and the use of chemical weapons, the West has constantly given the Assad regime cover through initiatives in Geneva and by doing little against the regime itself.
Lastly, the surrounding Muslim countries have played a central role in maintaining the Assad regime, despite their rhetoric of supporting the people of Syria. As many of the rebel groups individually are very small; the West through Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and Jordan has attempted to weaken the Islamic groups through absorbing them into larger alliances which weakens their capabilities.
As far as emergence of ISIS is concerned, people from far and wide and in the locality joined them as they initially seemed to be the ones fighting the regime and has proclaimed the caliphate, but as the time passed by the analysis have shown again and again that their existence only served the interests of west and they even didnot meet the criterion of being the Islamic state in many ways, they were found killing the rebels group within other than fighting the regime, and there is a long debate upon this issue as well as to why they are not the caliphate.
(I know this will attract a lot of criticism from the ones who still think and believe that it is a caliphate but I think enough has been written and said about it already by many experts).
Apparently, a so-called red line was crossed on the 21st August 2013, when the Assad regime forces utilised chemical weaponry, in an attack that led to close to 1500 deaths of innocent civilians. Subsequent tests revealed there were significant traces of Serin amongst the corpses, confirming the use of the deadly weapons in the outskirts of Damascus.
The red line was just another way to deceive the masses, saying again and again that if they will cross the red line then interventions will be carried out but the fact is that their selfish interventions were already there and nothing has been done in terms of practicality to stop it.
The all in all point, which is very unfortunate is that – The USA, UK, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Hezbollah have all been involved in this conflict, from the early stages. They have all played the old rules of a proxy war, attempting to gain leverage and affect the outcome to their own ends and desires and serving their own selfish nationalistic interests.
The West would like to ensure that Assad, having outlived his utility and become too close for comfort with Russia and China, will be replaced by a government of their design. The talk of regime change is not even hidden. The intentions of the western world should not be confused. The West seeks to ensure its own financial and imperial interests and hold in the Middle East, as do the Russians and the Chinese.
The need of the hour is that Muslims should wake up and find a solution to this problem.
Muslims should understand that The wolf never guards the sheep.
Prophet (pbuh) taught us to be sharp and not be duped when he (pbuh) said, “the believer is not bitten from the same hole twice.”
The Prophet (pbuh) said in a hadith narrated from Imam Muslim from Abu Sa’id al Khudri:“Whosoever sees a Munkar (an evil or wrong) let him change it by his hand, if he could not let it be by his tongue. If he could not let it be by his heart, and this is the weakest of Iman”
We have seen Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo bay and now Syria.
Allah (swt) told us in the Quran:
وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ لاَ تُفْسِدُواْ فِى الأَرْضِ قَالُواْ إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ مُصْلِحُونَ
“And when it is said to them : Do not make mischief in the earth, they say : Verily we are in fact peacemakers.” [Baqara: 11]
They are the ones who have colonised our lands and created these puppet regimes who are loyal to their agendas, and whenever the common people resisted, there were uprisings, they just hijacked it as we have seen in other cases as well.
Bukhari and Muslim narrated on the authority of Abu saeed (ra) that the messenger (pbuh) said: “Let not the fear of people prevent one of you to utter the truth when he sees it (i.e. sees the munkar) or hears it”.
Having said that all, let us understand one thing more that Syria has exposed all.
The Hizbullahs who fight well against Zionists in occupied Palestine have fought against innocent civilians and the rebels as it was in the interest of Iran and the “Saudia”Arab who always used to teach sabr lessons when it comes to Syria has send its troop and fought against Yemen as it has threat to its national interests, and Turkey who was so close to Aleppo did nothing only some rheotorics, when Aleppo was bleeding and people were posting their last salaams. Turkey was able to send its planes to Israel to extinguish their fire but it was not able to send its plane to rescue the innocents? Though,We all know how Turkey responded when one of the Russian plane entered by mistake in its territory?
So, everyone has their own share in this genocide.
The national interests and bloody nationalism has done so harm to the people, Aylan Kurdi, the little child who was washed ashore was one such example of these manmade boundaries.
Yes, some may argue that the refugees were taken in, yes by Turkey and Saudi as well but the question lies that when they can mobilise their armies then why they were doing bandage and some post relief work?
One may say, it is easy to write all this but politics is very tough and there are many things behind the scene.
Yes, indeed it must be the case, but to take a stand was always what our ancestors, our beloved heroes have inspired us, who were very little with their resources but they believed in Him and strove with their might and mains.
There is still much khair in this ummah, the individuals, the common people, they all feel the pain and they try at their levels to relieve it by sending aids, charities and making duas and raising awareness because this is that something which they can do as per their capabilities, but the authorities, the ones who have power and defence and resources are doing nothing as they ought to do, because they all are divided in many countries, each having its own national interests to fulfil. Sometimes, it is hard to contemplate whom to blame much the ones who have plotted evil against us or the ones who are our very own leaders, so many in numbers and yet like the froth of sea, doing nothing?
What is more saddening is the blind following and justification of the Saudia Arab and Iran by their respective bhakts.
The need of the hour is that we need to go back to our roots, if Allah swt has told us that for you the best example to follow is Muhammed, the messenger of Allah (pbuh) then we need to see how he pbuh united the people at his time, what was his methodology, how he established the state where the muslims and non muslims lived a life with peace.
“Help one another in al-Birr and Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression.” (5:2)