Fida al-Sayed
Encyclopedia
Fidaaldin Al-Sayed Issa born January 15, 1985 is a Syrian political activist who lives in Eskilstuna
, Sweden
Fida is the chairman of the Youth Coalition of March 15 and former spokesperson for the Facebook page "The Syrian Revolution". Fida is together with his father and siblings, one of the founders of the Office of the Damascus Declaration in Sweden back in 2008. He has been named as infidel on Syrian TV
several times. It has also been alleged that his Syrian citizenship has been withdrawn.
According to Syrian press, Fida leads Sweden’s chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood
. Fida does not seem to dismiss these rumors. He even refers to the brotherhood in a conversation with Barada TV
in February. It has also circulated on the Internet different pictures of Fida with senior members of the Muslim Brotherhood
in Egypt.
Fida is a Swedish citizen and known as the imam
of the Eskilstuna Mosque.
Fida is currently studying Sharia
combined with studies for a PhD
in Innovation and Product Design at Mälardalen University
and is active in the NGO Sweden’s Young Muslims.
he appeared in various local media in which he renounced terrorism and said that what happened in Stockholm was an evil act and evil acts can never be justified.
.
In an interview on Nyhetsmorgon
at TV4, Fida explained that when he started the page before the "revolution," people laughed at him and said that there will never be an uprising in Syria, while others supported the initiative. He pointed several times that it is a peaceful movement for freedom and democracy. He said that they did not have to do any marketing for the page, as the situation in Syria was marketing itself. He said he no longer administrates the page alone, he only founded it, and he now have the help of hundreds of young people in Syria.
BBC Arabic
showed in a special report how Fida run the page from his apartment in Eskilstuna. Fida explained that 75% of the administrators who run the site today are from within Syria. Fida also told that it is a difficult process before a video is approved and posted on the site: the event must has to be filmed and sent by various independent sources, even sometimes needed to be confirmed by filming the date on a local newspaper, or that some of the protesters show big signs where you can clearly see the week's campaign name.
He called Sweden in interview with SVT to expel the Syrian ambassador. He said he has friends who were murdered because of an image or a video that they have sent to the page. 65% of the readers of the site are surfing from Syria.
On the question of military intervention in Syria, he replied "the people of Syria do not want military action. They want political and economic penalties on al-Assad's regime, as well as tougher statement from the UN, EU and the larger organizations. They want the EU countries to expel Syrian ambassadors and recall their ambassadors from Damascus".
He said he receives daily threatening letters in Swedish and Arabic. In response to the question of how long he intended to continue, Fida answered "until I die".
Eskilstuna
Eskilstuna is a city and the seat of Eskilstuna Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 60,185 inhabitants in 2005. Eskilstuna has a large Sweden Finn population....
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Fida is the chairman of the Youth Coalition of March 15 and former spokesperson for the Facebook page "The Syrian Revolution". Fida is together with his father and siblings, one of the founders of the Office of the Damascus Declaration in Sweden back in 2008. He has been named as infidel on Syrian TV
Syrian Satellite Channel
Syrian satellite channel is the satellite television channel owned by RTV Syria and broadcast throughout the world on various satellites, it broadcasts several programmes including soap operas, news reviews including press and interviews....
several times. It has also been alleged that his Syrian citizenship has been withdrawn.
According to Syrian press, Fida leads Sweden’s chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood
Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...
. Fida does not seem to dismiss these rumors. He even refers to the brotherhood in a conversation with Barada TV
Barada TV
Barada TV is a London-based, U.S. government-funded Syrian opposition satellite television network....
in February. It has also circulated on the Internet different pictures of Fida with senior members of the Muslim Brotherhood
Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...
in Egypt.
Fida is a Swedish citizen and known as the imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
of the Eskilstuna Mosque.
Fida is currently studying Sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
combined with studies for a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Innovation and Product Design at Mälardalen University
Mälardalen University
Mälardalen University College , or MdH, is a university college located in Västerås and Eskilstuna, Sweden. It has 13,000 students and over 1,000 employees, of which around 40 are professors...
and is active in the NGO Sweden’s Young Muslims.
Background
Fida was born in "an Arab country". He is the eldest child and has two brothers and a sister. His father Tarif was one of those imprisoned by al-Assad's security forces in Syria. Fida said in an interview that about 16 children at ages 12–13, who wrote "Go away al-Assad" on a toilet wall in his school in Syria and then was arrested by security police. "When they returned, they were raped and had no fingernails left, they had been torn away." The family moved to Sweden in 2001. Fida went to High School at Rudbecksskolan in Stockholm together with his sister Lina. After 2010 Stockholm bombings2010 Stockholm bombings
The 2010 Stockholm bombings occurred on 11 December 2010 when two bombs exploded in central Stockholm, Sweden, killing the bomber and injuring two people. Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt and the Swedish Security Service described the bombings as acts of terrorism.Taimour Abdulwahab...
he appeared in various local media in which he renounced terrorism and said that what happened in Stockholm was an evil act and evil acts can never be justified.
"The Syrian Revolution"
Fida has together with his two younger brothers Mustafa and Yasir created the page "The Syrian Revolution" on Facebook that has been identified as the most influential social networking tool in the mobilization of protestors during the 2011 Syrian Uprising2011 Syrian uprising
The 2011 Syrian uprising is an ongoing internal conflict occurring in Syria. Protests started on 26 January 2011, and escalated into an uprising by 15 March 2011...
.
In an interview on Nyhetsmorgon
Nyhetsmorgon
Nyhetsmorgon is a Swedish morning news and talk show that airs every morning on TV4. It is similar to The Today Show. Nyhetsmorgon started airing in 1992....
at TV4, Fida explained that when he started the page before the "revolution," people laughed at him and said that there will never be an uprising in Syria, while others supported the initiative. He pointed several times that it is a peaceful movement for freedom and democracy. He said that they did not have to do any marketing for the page, as the situation in Syria was marketing itself. He said he no longer administrates the page alone, he only founded it, and he now have the help of hundreds of young people in Syria.
BBC Arabic
BBC Arabic
BBC Arabic may refer to the Arabic-language radio station run by the BBC World Service, as well as the BBC’s Arabic-language satellite TV channel, and the website that serves as an Arabic language news portal and provides online access to both the TV and radio broadcasts.The radio service is...
showed in a special report how Fida run the page from his apartment in Eskilstuna. Fida explained that 75% of the administrators who run the site today are from within Syria. Fida also told that it is a difficult process before a video is approved and posted on the site: the event must has to be filmed and sent by various independent sources, even sometimes needed to be confirmed by filming the date on a local newspaper, or that some of the protesters show big signs where you can clearly see the week's campaign name.
He called Sweden in interview with SVT to expel the Syrian ambassador. He said he has friends who were murdered because of an image or a video that they have sent to the page. 65% of the readers of the site are surfing from Syria.
On the question of military intervention in Syria, he replied "the people of Syria do not want military action. They want political and economic penalties on al-Assad's regime, as well as tougher statement from the UN, EU and the larger organizations. They want the EU countries to expel Syrian ambassadors and recall their ambassadors from Damascus".
He said he receives daily threatening letters in Swedish and Arabic. In response to the question of how long he intended to continue, Fida answered "until I die".