Sheikh Ghazal Ghazal: Syria become arena for sectarian scores

Sheikh Ghazal Ghazal, head of the Supreme Alawite Islamic Council in Syria and abroad, issued a statement commenting on the armed attacks targeting neighborhoods in the predominantly Alawite city of Homs, emphasizing that the country has become an "arena for settling sectarian scores."

Sheikh Ghazal said that Syria has become an open field for sectarian conflicts, noting that the Alawites "have never given sectarian affiliation any weight," and have not objected to a Sunni, Kurd, Druze, or any other component of Syrian society assuming power.

In his statement, he pointed out that members of the Alawite community had previously surrendered their weapons “out of faith in the legitimacy of the state alone,” but later found themselves under “the authority of a de facto terrorist, takfiri, sectarian, and exclusionary regime.”

Sheikh Ghazal accused the interim government of using the Sunni community “as a tool in its policies,” and of resorting to inflammatory rhetoric whenever a voice is raised demanding justice or denouncing oppression, such as “Beware of the minorities” or “Glory be to Him who has honored us and humiliated you.”

Sheikh Ghazal addressed the Sunni community directly, saying:

“There is no existential war between us and you, so do not make it so,” calling on all Syrians to refrain from sectarian rhetoric and not to be drawn into attempts to sow division and discord.

This statement comes amidst escalating tensions in Alawite-majority areas and neighborhoods across Syria, including the coast, Homs, and parts of Damascus, with warnings that these practices will push the country toward further division and perhaps eventual partition.

ANHA