Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain

Top Menu

  • About US
  • Join US
  • Videos
  • Infographics
  • Comment
  • Question and Answer
  • Watch us Live

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Viewpoint
  • Islamic Culture
  • Da’wah
  • Media
  • People
    • Sheikh Taqiuddin an-Nabahani (Founder)
    • Sheikh Abdul Qadeem Zallum (Successor)
    • Sheikh Ata Abu Rashta (Ameer)
    • Abdul Wahid
    • Abu Yusuf
    • Jamal Harwood
    • Taji Mustafa
  • Books
  • Youth
  • Covid-19
  • About US
  • Join US
  • Videos
  • Infographics
  • Comment
  • Question and Answer
  • Watch us Live

logo

Header Banner

Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain

  • Home
  • Viewpoint
    • Bangladesh Floods: farcical mantra of economic success disguising failure to provide basic ...

      June 24, 2022
      0
    • The Sectarian Card – Shia and Sunni divisions under the spotlight

      June 5, 2022
      0
    • Making Sense of Pakistan

      April 16, 2022
      0
    • How Should We View the War in Ukraine?

      March 30, 2022
      0
    • The India Hijab Issue from an Islamic Perspective

      March 24, 2022
      0
    • DEEP DIVE: The Weaponisation and Politicisation of British Citizenship Laws

      March 12, 2022
      0
    • Our Role in the Ukraine war is to Expose the Propaganda

      March 2, 2022
      0
    • Muslims Should Rejoice Over the Islamic Ruling System

      January 21, 2022
      0
    • Another Warmonger Honoured for Serving the British Elite

      January 2, 2022
      0
  • Islamic Culture
    • Reading Quran

      The story of the man who was told to “Enter Paradise” and ...

      January 24, 2022
      0
    • Significance of Rabi’ul-Awwal

      October 10, 2021
      0
    • Virtues of the Month of Muharram

      August 10, 2021
      0
    • The significance of first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah

      July 10, 2021
      0
    • The Honour of the Prophets

      April 30, 2021
      0
    • A to Z of Ramadan

      April 19, 2021
      0
    • The Dawah to Allah (swt)

      December 29, 2020
      0
    • Miracle of the Quran

      Q & A - Compilation of The Holy Quran During the Reign ...

      December 27, 2020
      0
    • Imam Bukhari: A Role Model for the ‘Ulema and Da’wah Carriers to ...

      November 17, 2020
      0
  • Da’wah
    • National Conferences : From al-Hind to al-Quds: Speak Out | Act | ...

      June 18, 2022
      0
    • Public Demonstration - Independence Not Intervention

      April 22, 2022
      0
    • VIDEO : [LIVESTREAMED] Pakistan in Crisis: The Players, Politics, and People

      April 20, 2022
      0
    • Ramadan Message: The World Needs Islam - We Must Work for the ...

      April 1, 2022
      0
    • The India Hijab Issue from an Islamic Perspective

      March 24, 2022
      0
    • Ramadhan event: Kyiv to Kabul: The World Needs Islam

      March 20, 2022
      0
    • Obituary of a Dawah Carrier Dr. Youssef Haj Youssef

      December 30, 2021
      0
    • Open Letter to Imams and Muslim Leaders

      September 28, 2021
      0
    • Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain Sends Delegation to Chinese Embassy Condemning the Inhumane Treatment ...

      June 30, 2021
      0
  • Media
  • People
    • Sheikh Taqiuddin an-Nabahani (Founder)
    • Sheikh Abdul Qadeem Zallum (Successor)
    • Sheikh Ata Abu Rashta (Ameer)
    • Abdul Wahid
    • Abu Yusuf
    • Jamal Harwood
    • Taji Mustafa
  • Books
  • Youth
  • Covid-19
News Watch
Home›News Watch›Syrian protests and state violence expected to escalate during Ramadan

Syrian protests and state violence expected to escalate during Ramadan

By Editor
August 1, 2011
698
0
Share:

It is usually the month of reflection and prayer, laying low in the heat of the day, before gathering to watch soap operas and feast as dusk falls.

But this year Ramadan is anticipated in Syria for different reasons: as an opportunity to intensify protests against Bashar al-Assad, despite fears the regime may fight back even harder.

Activists intend to exploit the increased daily attendance at mosques, which have over the past five months acted as gathering points for protests following Friday prayers. Many who do not regularly attend mosque do so during Ramadan, when prayers are believed to carry more weight that at other times of year.

“It’s become a cliche to say it will be like Friday every day as people gather for prayer, but it will be,” said a former political prisoner who has strong links to the Sunni community, speaking in his house in Damascus. “Pressure on the regime will increase from more frequent protests and more people coming out.”

On Friday, the last before Ramadan, at least nine people were killed as thousands defied a heavy security presence to take to the streets, including in the eastern city of Deir Ezzor, where deaths were reported earlier in the week.

Ramadan, the lunar month when people fast and show their devotion to Allah in one of the five pillars of Islam, is usually a quiet time. Business grinds to a halt, with people struggling to get through the heat of the day without water. But they do go to the mosque more often, especially for tarawih, the the special nightly prayers.

In anticipation, protesters in the city of Hama have chanted: “Our God, help us to fast and pray … and topple the regime.” They hope sheikhs, some of whom have taken a central role in backing protesters from the early days when an imam, Ahmed Sayasna, came out against Assad in the protest hub of Deraa, may help to rally people if violence, which has left 1,600 civilians dead, escalates during the holy month.

Not only do tempers flare and people become more emotional, said one activist, sitting in front of a whirring fan in the midday heat, but the security forces will be annoyed.

“Ramadan means shorter working hours when people can rest, while the security forces and army will be tired and morale will be low because they should be home with their families,” he said.

Protesters have already started to demonstrate under cover of darkness, when the security forces cannot target them so easily. “We know our streets better than them,” said the activist.

Anger may also rise for spiritual as well as material reasons. Ramadan is a time for spending, especially for the Eid festival when decorations go up and new clothes are bought, but it is also a time of rising price. The cost of basics have shot up in the past month.

And it is a time to sit back and reflect.

“You have so much time to sit and think,” said a father of three, who has become more opposed to the regime since his wife was insulted at a security checkpoint. “I think we will all be thinking what we should do,” he said, followed with a quick prayer to God.

The country is becoming increasingly polarised. As one young professional in Damascus put it: “The friends I went out with last year are not the ones I will dine with this year.”

He adds that he can no longer discuss politics with his brother, an official. “Friendship circles have shifted.”

He added: “People are coming together but they are also being torn apart … Ramadan will test that. I can imagine families expecting their sons at home when all they want to do is go out on the street.”

Security forces have carried out more raids and arrests this week in a sign that the regime is becoming increasingly agitated, attempting to scare people into submission before Monday.

Activists report some mosques being closed for renovation and people being stopped from attending dawn prayers in the Damascus neighbourhood of Midan on Friday. Sermons by the state-backed clergy are expected to be influenced far more than usual.

Trying to prevent worshippers attending mosque will only provoke more anger, said the former political prisoner. The conflict could also take on increasingly religious dimensions. The regime is by no means solely Alawite but the majority of security forces are. Many Sunnis do not regard the Alawites as Muslims. Any killings during Ramadan could trigger a sense of injustice at the regime’s ruling and religious heterodoxy, galvanising more people to the cause.

The Guardian

Previous Article

Knife crime and gang violence on the ...

Next Article

Apple now has more cash than the ...

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +

National Conferences

Join US on Telegram

Podcast

Latest Posts

Viewpoint

Bangladesh Floods: farcical mantra of economic success disguising failure to provide basic protection

Yet another monsoon season has ravaged Bangladesh, with the existing government as ill prepared as ever. More than 4.5 million people have been totally stranded and many killed in perhaps the ...
  • National Conferences : From al-Hind to al-Quds: Speak Out | Act | Liberate

    By Editor
    June 18, 2022
  • The Champions of Free Speech Haven’t a Leg to Stand on

    By Yahya Nisbet
    June 13, 2022
  • Two July Conferences on Indian and Zionist Oppression Organised by Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain

    By Yahya Nisbet
    June 10, 2022
  • The Sectarian Card – Shia and Sunni divisions under the spotlight

    By Editor
    June 5, 2022
  • Muslims Must Condemn the Hate Filled Film and the Attempt to Divide Us

    By Yahya Nisbet
    June 5, 2022
  • Protest in London Says No To More Democracy, Yes to the Khilafah

    By Yahya Nisbet
    May 7, 2022
  • Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain to Protest American Interference in Pakistan’s Politics

    By Yahya Nisbet
    May 1, 2022
  • Press Centre