Murad sent me this:
"
"
I would like to point out 2 things:
1) For
Akram from Syria, he (and other readers) should be reminded that the
so-called "independence flag" was actually adopted in the 1930's, well
before independence. Syrian state TV is actually more correct when it
describes it as the "French occupation flag", because that is what it
really is. Also, the current flag of Syria is not the Baathist flag. It
is the United Arab Republic flag. Just a fundamental history lesson.
2) This is old, but it related to your series about
bigotry against Alawites. I am sure you heard of Joshua Landis, who is
supposed to be a really good "Syria expert" and someone who I used to
respect. Here is what he said after the Syrian Army uprooted the
terrorists from Midan in Damascus (he has an unfinished sentence in
there, but the point should still be understandable):
The Midan is a downtown Damascus
neighborhood that FSA had taken under its control on Thursday.
Government troops now claim that they have The soldiers we made this
video seem to all be Alawites based on their accents. Those that speak
all pronounce the “qaff” in the manner of the coast. They stick out in
the Midan, the heart of Sunni middle-class and religiously conservative,
old Damascus. Older Damascenes used to speak of the Alawites who came
to Damascus with the Baathist takeover in the 1960s as “muwaffidiin” or
alien interlopers. Today, they undoubtedly seem more alien than ever
This is a renowned "Syria expert"! Since he
announced he has a book on the way over the subject, he has been
becoming more and more bigoted and narrow-minded.
Use the above as desired."