• Muslims in the UK, like many others, are horrified by the atrocities of the regime of Bashar al Assad in Syria towards his own people. We stand with our brothers and sisters in their uprising, adding our voices to theirs.

• We believe the only safe future for the people of Syria is the removal of the whole regime, not simply the Assad family – which has a history of decades of persecution, including the massacre of over 20,000 people in Hama and elsewhere in February 1982.

• We fear that the regime will try to provoke sectarian divisions between Muslims and non-Muslims in Syria, in order to preserve itself and we want people to be aware and resist sectarian conflict.

• We do not support UN or NATO intervention. Sadly, the Assad regime, which has oppressed people for so long, has been supported by Western governments for many years and their long colonial history means they cannot be trusted to act in the people’s best interests.

• Practically Muslims must ensure that we do the following actions:

1)      Act as the voice of Muslims in the region.  Muslims are openly calling for Shariah and Islamic rule to replace the tyranny and oppression of the last four decades of Ba’athist repression.  Don’t let their voice go unheard

2)      Stand with the Muslims in their moment of need. While the world has forgotten the Muslims of Syria, Muslims in Britain need to stand with them, as an act of solidarity and brotherhood.

3)      As we speak we are witnessing the defection from within the Syrian army of those who have sincerity in their hearts.  It is the army that can deal with this issue decisively. We are marching to help motivate them and show them that the broad support from the ummah is with them.

• Indeed, the city of Homs, recently under relentless bombardment by the regime, was once governed by a companion of Prophet Muhammad [peace and blessings be upon him] called Umayr ibn Saad who said: “Islam will remain strong as long as the authority is strong. And the strength of the authority does not come by the killing by the sword and lashing by the whip but by judging with the Truth and the upholding of justice.” This is the system of Islam that people yearn for today.