The speech by the Mufti of Syria (a tool of the regime, really) may serve as a watershed in the history of the Syrian uprising. I think that the speech (which was forcefully and effectively delivered by the Mufti, and without notes) would serve the regime and would provide a narrative that fits into the Syrian propaganda story: about armed groups. Of course, the narrative of the regime is fictitious: it does not concede that most deaths are from regime troops' gunfire and it talks about roaming "terrorist criminal gangs". But the speech and accusations of takfir by Saudi-based clerics (a reference to the kooky Shaykh `Ar`ur, hosted by Saudi Arabia), and the murder of the son of the Mufti (an act that can't be blamed on the regime no matter how hard Ikhwan's propaganda strives), will serve to make some Syrians switch into opposition to the Ikhwan role and the armed segment of the uprising. The speech by the Mufti came around the same time when the New York Times published an article about the armed segment of the uprising. Remember that many Syrians switched against the Ikhwan back in the late 1970s when they started murdering innocent `Alawites.
PS Like a Syrian asked me yesterday: he sincerely wanted me to provide a solution to the Syrian problem. I said: who am I to offer a solution? But here it is: I think that we should call for the overthrow of the regime and work for that goal, while also forming a secular opposition group that would adamantly exclude the Ikhwant, the Salafites, the reactionary tribal elders, and the tools of Saudi regime. Short of that, there is a danger that we replace a detested regime by a Saudi-modeled regime.
PS Like a Syrian asked me yesterday: he sincerely wanted me to provide a solution to the Syrian problem. I said: who am I to offer a solution? But here it is: I think that we should call for the overthrow of the regime and work for that goal, while also forming a secular opposition group that would adamantly exclude the Ikhwant, the Salafites, the reactionary tribal elders, and the tools of Saudi regime. Short of that, there is a danger that we replace a detested regime by a Saudi-modeled regime.
