Islamic uprising in Syria
Encyclopedia
The Islamic uprising in Syria was a series of revolts and armed insurgency by Sunni Islamists, mainly 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...

 from 1976 until 1982. The uprising was aimed against the authority of the Ba'ath Party-controlled government of Syria, in what has been called "long campaign of terror". During the violent events Islamists attacked both civilians and off-duty military personnel, and civilians were also killed in retaliatory strike by security forces. The uprising had reached its climax in the 1982 Hama massacre
Hama massacre
The Hama massacre occurred in February 1982, when the Syrian army, under the orders of the president of Syria Hafez al-Assad, conducted a scorched earth policy against the town of Hama in order to quell a revolt by the Sunni Muslim community against the regime of al-Assad...

, when some 10-40 thousand people were killed in the siege of the city by regular Syrian Army
Syrian Army
The Syrian Army, officially called the Syrian Arab Army, is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It is the dominant military service of the four uniformed services, controlling the senior most posts in the armed forces, and has the greatest manpower, approximately 80 percent of the...

.

Background

The first clash between the Ba'ath party and the Islamic Brotherhood in Syria occurred shortly after the 1963 Ba'athist coup, in which the Ba'ath party gained power in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

. From the start, Islamic political groups, of which the Brotherhood was the most prominent, represented the strongest opposition to the new regime. The outlawing of Brotherhood in 1964 resulted in its radicalization. In 1964 and 1965, strikes
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...

 and mass demonstrations
Demonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...

 spread throughout Syria's major cities, especially in Hama
Hama
Hama is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria north of Damascus. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. Hama is the fourth-largest city in Syria—behind Aleppo, Damascus, and Homs—with a population of 696,863...

, and were crushed
1964 Hama riot
1964 Hama riot was the first significant clash between the newly installed Ba'ath party leadership of Syria and the Islamic Brotherhood. It occurred in April 1964, shortly after the 1963 Ba'athist coup d'état. The insurrection was suppressed with heavy military force, resulting in 70-100 mortal...

 by the military. The town of Hama in particular was a "stronghold of landed conservatism and of the Muslim Brothers," and "had long been a redoubtable opponent of the Ba'athist state."

Sporadic insurgency 1976-1979

Following the Syrian occupation of Lebanon in 1976, a number of prominent Syrian officers and government servants, as well as "professional men, doctors, teachers," were assassinated. Most of the victims were Alawi
Alawi
The Alawis, also known as Alawites, Nusayris and Ansaris are a prominent mystical and syncretic religious group centred in Syria who are a branch of Shia Islam.-Etymology:...

s, "which suggested that the assassins had targeted the community" but "no one could be sure who was behind" the killings. 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...

 was blamed for the terror by the government, although the insurgents used names such as Kata'ib Muhammad (Phalanxes of Muhammad, begun in Hama in 1965 Marwan Hadid) to refer to their organization.

It was speculated that the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq provided logistical and military support to the Brotherhood, even though the Ba'athist regimes of both countries were allied during the Iraqi-Kurdish conflict.

Local revolts: November 1979 - January 1982

In November 1979, a Brotherhood leaflet stated:

We reject all forms of despotism, out of respect for the very principles of Islam, and we don't demand the fall of Pharaoh so that another one can take his place. Religion is not imposed by force....


Widescale assassinations led up to the 16 June 1979 slaughter
Aleppo Artillery School massacre
The Aleppo Artillery School massacre occurred on 16 June 1979 in el-Ramouseh district of Aleppo province , when an officer in duty, Ibrahim el-Youssef, and a group of Combatant Vanguard implemented a massacre in Aleppo Artillery School, that left 32 cadets dead and 54 injured...

 of cadets at the Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...

 Artillery School. On that day a member of school staff, Captain Ibrahim Yusuf, assembled the cadets in the dining-hall and then let in the gunmen who opened fire on the cadets. According to the official report 32 young men were killed. Unofficial sources say the "death toll was as high as 83." This attack was the work of Tali'a muqatila, or Fighting Vanguard, a Sunni Islamist guerrilla group and spinoff 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...

. `Adnan `Uqla, who later became the group's leader, helped plan the massacre.

The cadet massacre "marked the start of full-scale urban warfare" against Alawis, cadre of the ruling Ba'ath party, party offices, "police posts, military vehicles, barracks, factories and any other target the guerrillas could attack." In the city of Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...

 between 1979 and 1981 terrorists killed over 300 people, mainly Ba'thists and Alawis, but also a dozen Islamic clergy who had denounced the murders. Of these the most prominent was Shaykh Muhammad al-Shami, who was slain in his own mosque, the Sulaymaniya, on 2 February 1980.

In the days leading up to 8 March 1980 (the seventeenth anniversary of the Ba'thist coup), nearly all Syrian cities were paralysed by strikes and protests, which developed into pitched battles with security forces. Many organisations, both religious and secular, were involved, including the most notable 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...

. The events escalated into a widescale crack-down
Siege of Aleppo (1980)
The siege of Aleppo is a military operation conducted by forces of the Syrian regime led by Hafez al-Assad in 1980 within the armed conflict between the Muslim Brotherhood and the ruling authority.-Souk al-Ahad massacre:...

 in Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...

, where the regime responded with overwhelming military force, sending in tens of thousands of troops, supported by tanks and helicopters. In and around Aleppo, hundreds of demonstrators were killed, and eight thousand were arrested. By April, the uprising
Siege of Aleppo (1980)
The siege of Aleppo is a military operation conducted by forces of the Syrian regime led by Hafez al-Assad in 1980 within the armed conflict between the Muslim Brotherhood and the ruling authority.-Souk al-Ahad massacre:...

 in the area had been crushed.

On 17 June 1980 an estimated 1,152 Islamist inmates at the prison in Palmyra
Palmyra
Palmyra was an ancient city in Syria. In the age of antiquity, it was an important city of central Syria, located in an oasis 215 km northeast of Damascus and 180 km southwest of the Euphrates at Deir ez-Zor. It had long been a vital caravan city for travellers crossing the Syrian desert...

 were massacred
Tadmor Prison massacre
The Tadmor Prison Massacre occurred on 27 June 1980, the day after a failed attempt to assassinate Syrian president Hafez al-Assad. Members of the units of the Defense Companies, under the command of Rifaat al-Assad, brother of the president, entered into Tadmor Prison and massacred about a...

 by the alawi
Alawi
The Alawis, also known as Alawites, Nusayris and Ansaris are a prominent mystical and syncretic religious group centred in Syria who are a branch of Shia Islam.-Etymology:...

-ruled government Defense companies
Defense companies
The Defense Companies were a paramilitary force in Syria that were controlled by Rifaat al-Assad. Their task was to defend the Assad government, and Damascus, from internal and external attack...

 troops. Less than a month later, membership in 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...

 became punishable by death with a month grace period given for members to turn themselves in.

On 26 June 1980 the president of Syria, Hafez al-Asad, "narrowly escaped death", when attackers threw two grenades and fired machine gun bursts at him as he waited at a diplomatic function in Damascus. The attack prompted a series of deadly retaliations by the government troops. In August 1980, after an attack on soldiers stationed in Aleppo, the army executed nearly 80 residents of a block of flats that happened to be located nearby. In April 1981, after a failed terrorist attack on an Alawite village near Hama
Hama
Hama is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria north of Damascus. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. Hama is the fourth-largest city in Syria—behind Aleppo, Damascus, and Homs—with a population of 696,863...

, the army executed
April 1981 Hama massacre
The April 1981 Hama massacre occurred after a failed terrorist attack on an Alawite village near Hama. In return, the Syria army killed about 400 of the terrorists who attempted the attack.-Background:...

 about 400 of Hama's inhabitants, chosen randomly among the male population over the age of 14.

Later in 1981, during a 50-day moratorium on the application of the 7 July law, over a thousand Muslim Brothers turned themselves in, hoping to escape the death penalty; information published about them in the official press may give some insight into the composition of the Brotherhood's membership at that time. Most of those, who gave themselves in, were students under twenty-five years of age, from Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...

 and other large cities; others were schoolteachers, professors or engineers.

In August, September and November 1981, the Brotherhood carried out three car-bomb attacks against government and military targets in Damascus, killing hundreds of people, according to the official press.

Hama massacre - February 1982

The insurgency is generally considered to have been crushed by the bloody Hama massacre
Hama massacre
The Hama massacre occurred in February 1982, when the Syrian army, under the orders of the president of Syria Hafez al-Assad, conducted a scorched earth policy against the town of Hama in order to quell a revolt by the Sunni Muslim community against the regime of al-Assad...

 of 1982, in which thousands of insurgents, soldiers and residents were killed, "the vast majority innocent civilians". On 2 February 1982, the Brotherhood led a major insurrection in Hama
Hama massacre
The Hama massacre occurred in February 1982, when the Syrian army, under the orders of the president of Syria Hafez al-Assad, conducted a scorched earth policy against the town of Hama in order to quell a revolt by the Sunni Muslim community against the regime of al-Assad...

, rapidly taking control of the city; the military responded by bombing Hama (whose population was about 250,000) throughout the rest of the month, killing between 10,000 and 30,000 people. The tragedy of Hama marked the defeat of the Brotherhood, and the militant Islamic movement in general, as a political force in Syria.

Aftermath

Having suppressed all opposition, Hafez al-Assad released some imprisoned members of the Brotherhood in the mid-1990s. After his death in 2000, Assad was succeeded by his son, Bashar al-Assad
Bashar al-Assad
Bashar al-Assad is the President of Syria and Regional Secretary of the Ba'ath Party. His father Hafez al-Assad ruled Syria for 29 years until his death in 2000. Al-Assad was elected in 2000, re-elected in 2007, unopposed each time.- Early Life :...

, who initially signalled greater openness to political debate. In May 2001, encouraged this new political climate, the Muslim Brotherhood published a statement in London rejecting political violence, and calling for a modern, democratic
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...

 state. Many political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....

s, including Muslim Brothers, were pardoned and released. However, this "Damascus spring" was short-lived; in the same year, the few political freedoms that had been granted were abruptly revoked.

Although its leadership is in exile, the Brotherhood continues to enjoy considerable sympathy among Syrians. Riyad al-Turk
Riyad al-Turk
Riyad al-Turk is a prominent Syrian opposition leader, former political prisoner for about 20 years in Syria, and supporter of democracy, who has been called "the Old Man of Syrian opposition." He was secretary general of the Syrian Communist Party since its foundation in 1973 until 2005...

, a secular opposition leader, considers it "the most credible" Syrian opposition group. The Brotherhood has continued to advocate a democratic political system; it has abandoned its calls for violent resistance and for the application of shari'a
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...

law, as well as for Sunni uprisings against Alawites. Al-Turk and others in the secular opposition are inclined to take this evolution seriously, as a sign of the Brotherhood's greater political maturity, and believe that the Brotherhood would now be willing to participate in a democratic system of government.

In a January 2006 interview, the Brotherhood's leader, Ali Sadreddine Bayanouni
Ali Sadreddine Bayanouni
Ali Sadreddine Bayanouni is a a Muslim Brotherhood leader in exile in London. He was born in 1938 in Aleppo and brought up in a religious family, where his father and grandfather were both well known Muslim scholars. He joined the Muslim Brotherhood while in secondary school, in 1954, and went on...

, "said the Muslim Brotherhood wants a peaceful change of government in Damascus and the establishment of a 'civil, democratic state', not an Islamic republic." According to Bayanouni, the Syrian government admits having detained 30,000 people, giving a fair representation of the Brotherhood's strength.

List of assasination victims 1976-1979

  • the commander of the Hama
    Hama
    Hama is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria north of Damascus. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. Hama is the fourth-largest city in Syria—behind Aleppo, Damascus, and Homs—with a population of 696,863...

     garrison, Colonel Ali Haydar, killed in October 1976
  • the rector of Damascus University, Dr. Muhammad al-Fadl, killed in February 1977
  • the commander of the missile corps, Brigadier 'Abd al Hamid Ruzzug, killed in June 1977
  • the doyen of Syrian dentists, Dr Ibrahim Na'ama, killed in March 1978
  • the director of police affairs at the Ministry of the Interior, Colonel Ahmad Khalil, killed in August 1978
  • Public Prosecutor 'Adil Mini of the Supreme State Security Court, killed in April 1979.
  • President Hafez Asad's own doctor, the neurologist Dr. Muhammad Shahada Khalil, who was killed in August 1979.

Individuals assassinated between 1980-1982

  • Salim al-Lawzi, publisher of al-Hawadith, in Lebanon killed by Syrian assassins in March 1980.
  • Riad Taha, head of the journalists' union in Beirut killed in July 1980.
  • Wife of guide of Muslim Brothers Isam al-`Attar, (Bayan al-Tantawi) killed in Aachen
    Aachen
    Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...

    , Germany as she opened the front door to assassins in July 1980. (p.329)
  • Salah al-Din Bitar, co-founder of the Ba'ath Party killed in Paris on 21 July 1980.

While the involvement of the Syrian government "was not proved" in these killings, it "was widely suspected."

See also

  • Terrorism in Syria
  • Human rights in Syria
    Human rights in Syria
    Human rights in Syria have been described as "poor". Since 1963, emergency rule has remained in effect which gives security forces sweeping powers of arrest and detention....

  • 2011 Syrian uprising
    2011 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...

  • List of modern conflicts in the Middle East
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