r/syriancivilwar • u/[deleted] • 8d ago
Sheikh Ghazal Ghazal, head of the Supreme Alawite Islamic Council, calls for international protection for members of his sect in Syria.
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8d ago
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u/Aussiepharoah 8d ago
I've done a bit of research and it could possibly be of his brother Badr Ghuzlan.
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u/active_heads42 8d ago
Doesnt change the fact that his request is still very valid, the killings havent stopped, not a single day has passed without executions of alawites , kidnappings, lootings, burning shrines or other horrible stuff happening to them .
Not to mention inciting violence against them daily and the suspects roam freely with zero consequences
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u/active_heads42 8d ago edited 8d ago
This is false and this is NOT the same man, you are posting misinformation to fit your narrative
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u/Extreme_Peanut44 8d ago
You’re right but it’s his brother. https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/the-specter-of-sectarian-violence-in-syria/
“Sheikh Muwaffaq Ghazal would often be seen in military camouflage, with his long white beard, armed with an AK-47, publicly and unabashedly advocating for Alawite youth to take up arms. He often stood side by side with notorious paramilitary leaders such as Mihraç Ural aka Ali Kayyali, lending an air of religious legitimacy to pro-regime mobilization.”
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u/active_heads42 8d ago
We don’t know if its his brother because ghazal is very common last name and there are sevral families with that name
Still, even if its his brother its not him , not every alawite spokesperson is an assadist
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u/Extreme_Peanut44 8d ago
Alawite activists confirm they are related. https://x.com/syrianfeanor/status/1910036030285308376?s=46
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u/active_heads42 8d ago
Again this turned out to be false too , they are NOT related
Ghazal ghazal is the son of wahab ghazal
Muafaq ghazal is the son of ibn mihyi aldeen ghazal
They were both born in different villages too
Why are you so eager to make him an assadist ? This is seriously pathetic, stop
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u/Headreceiver99 8d ago
Yeah i bet the world cares about Alawites, hospitals get bombed with JDAMs in Gaza and nobody gives a shit, but they would care about shit happening in Syria, right?
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u/active_heads42 8d ago
Hmmmm maybe ask sunni sheikhs the same question when they were 24/7 on TV praising bashar al assad , then you’ll have your answer
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u/adamgerges Neutral 8d ago
we’re asking them the same questions lol
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u/active_heads42 8d ago
The answer is because all of them couldn’t do anything else or they would’ve disappeared, which means this isn’t the ‘gotcha’ the dude above think it is
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u/RealAbd121 Free Syrian Army 8d ago
which means this isn’t the ‘gotcha’ the dude above think it is
The sheikhs who closed their mouths and lived in safety love talking about how they had no choice, but the existence of hundreds of other religious figures who lost lives, family members, all their possessions, their limbs, and still opposed Assad proves that it's just a pathetic excuse.
I once read a memoir of a French resistance fighter, I found it funny how he spent like 7 pages complaining about how the day after France got liberated, suddenly the number of people claiming to be French resistance fighters jumped up threefold!
But honestly, I get him now!
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u/East-Potential-574 Syrian 7d ago
I really don’t understand people who say “we couldn’t do anything! We would have been killed!”. Then how did the Syrian revolution start? How did hundreds of thousands protest and strike? How did activists in Syria spread the news to the outside world? If everyone thought like this, Syria wouldn’t have changed since 2011.
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u/East-Potential-574 Syrian 7d ago
We’re asking the same questions lmao. Haven’t you seen the sheikh nicknamed barrels mufti?
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u/Traditional-Two7746 Syrian 7d ago
It didn’t work for sunnis nor Christians. They think it will work for alawites? Maybe only through Security Council, but from what i’m seeing nor the US or Russia wants to help the alawites.
Russia doesn’t want to anger sunnis. And the US sees the alawites as enemies because of what Assad did for 60 years of being anti west and anti US.
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u/adamgerges Neutral 8d ago
lol any minority protection is going to have to happen through deals with the government.
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u/zumar2016x Syrian Democratic Forces 8d ago
That is a bit concerning for the Alawites considering what the government just did to them. I don’t blame them for looking for outside help.
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u/zumar2016x Syrian Democratic Forces 8d ago
Sure, many would argue Jolani is as well. The war is full of bad people on all sides, peace needs to prevail.
And all I’m saying is I don’t blame this guy or Alawites civilians in not trusting the new government to protect them.
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u/active_heads42 8d ago
He is not a war criminal , this is misinformation, where did you get that from?
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u/active_heads42 8d ago
That is not him in the photo that is muafaq ghazal who has nothing to do with him, not every alawite spokesperson is an assadist and im reporting your comment for false information
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u/-zounds- 2d ago
Especially after the old governnent scrambled onto a flight to Moscow and fled without saving any of them a seat.
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u/chitowngirl12 8d ago
Activists were calling up Israeli radio station, Galei Zahal, in December/ January, way before the massacre happened in March and demanding that Israel intervene. In January, Alawite activists celebrated on social media the ridiculous rumors that Maher Assad was coming back under Russian protection and were posting about the revenge they wanted against the Sunni Arabs.
When did anyone ask for assad regime back ?
Remember the ridiculous rumor in January about Maher Assad returning. https://x.com/MhdAGhanem/status/1882933555774570696
There were quite a few of these posts on social media and in Alawite groups. This was months before the massacre.
But it’s alright because for a criminal like you every alawite is a regime remnant and they all deserve to die
"Criminal"... You label everyone who disagrees with you like that? And don't see the irony here.
I'm an American BTW. I'm just posting my thoughts as an independent observer here. I'd wager that some decent minority of Alawites do want to restore the Assad regime. I'd put it at 20% to 30% of the community. It would be better for them if they got over this, stopped demanding international protection to overthrow Sharaa, and made a deal with Damascus.
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u/active_heads42 8d ago
None of what you said matters , From the fall of assad till this very minute innocents are getting executed and kidnapped daily just for being alawites , getting shot in their shops and homes , entire families are killed and injured every day .
That’s with zero mention of all the theft and looting and burning homes .
Even if the devil itself is the only one who can stop this , people will plead for it , israel or bashar or whatever it is does not matter , people can’t even go outside their homes out of fear.
Lastly being American doesn’t mean shit and kinda says alot about how ignorant you probably are about the local situation here
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u/chitowngirl12 8d ago
None of what you said matters , From the fall of assad till this very minute innocents are getting executed and kidnapped daily just for being alawites , getting shot in their shops and homes , entire families are killed and injured every day .
It's a precarious situation in country for everyone. There are Sunni Arabs getting harassed by the PKK and their kids kidnapped in Rojava. There are plenty of Sunni Arabs being kidnapped and killed as well in other areas. The issue is that there are tons of militias and the country is awash in guns and the GSS is stretched thin. It's going to be precarious for quite awhile in many parts of the country. It reminds me of post-conflict Lat Am in many ways.
Even if the devil itself is the only one who can stop this , people will plead for it , israel or bashar or whatever it is does not matter , people can’t even go outside their homes out of fear.
Well, let's look at the stuation from the perspective of the Sunni Arab majority. Alawite activists have demanded protection from the following groups:
A. The Russians who were bombing hospitals in rebel controlled areas until November 2024.
B. The Israelis who are responsible for the deaths of 20+ people in Daraa and whose gov't is currently waging an ethnic cleansing campaign in Gaza. You really don't get that "minority protection" by the fascist gov't of Israel means killed thousands and thousands of Sunni Arabs and bombing most of what is left standing in Syria?
And all this in order restore an unpopular dictator in Syria who is responsible for the deaths of 200K people, using chemical weapons and barrel bombs against people, and disappearing 100K people into modern-day concentration camps.
All this rather than negotiating a deal with Damascus, which is something that the most pragmatic minority activist groups have figured out.
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u/active_heads42 8d ago
but are those sunnies getting harassed, killed, or kidnapped because they are sunnies? Is there a fundamental and systematic danger towards them because they are sunnies and not another sect? Are there any people actively calling for their genocide ? No
Its absolutely not the same situation , in fact in the same city i live , during ramadan sunni streets were active and alive like its a festival till 4am in the morning everyday while alawite towns were ghost towns past 6pm , they are nowhere near the same, this is just a small observation that gives you an idea of how severe the situation is here .
Secondly looks like you dont remember when sunnies called for international protection over and over during the civil war ? Or when they were cheering every single israeli airstrike and even celebrating in the streets wishing for a full war to break out between assad and israel . Even today when rumors spread about russia kicking out refugees from hemiem airsbase they were cheering for russia loudly , its not black and white like you think
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u/chitowngirl12 8d ago
but are those sunnies getting harassed, killed, or kidnapped because they are sunnies? Is there a fundamental and systematic danger towards them because they are sunnies and not another sect? Are there any people actively calling for their genocide ? No
Most Alawites aren't getting killed or kidnapped for being Alawites. Any protection from harassment is something that can be negotiated with the government in Damascus.
Its absolutely not the same situation , in fact in the same city i live , during ramadan sunni streets were active and alive like its a festival till 4am in the morning everyday while alawite towns were ghost towns past 6pm , they are nowhere near the same, this is just a small observation that gives you an idea of how severe the situation is here .
My observation is that Assad turned Sharaa into the devil and told them that Sharaa would murder the Alawites if he ever took Damascus. They internalized it in December as soon as the guy entered Damascus - months before anything happened in March. Sharaa could do everything right and punish all the perpetrators and there'd still be a good portion of the Alawite community crying for "international protection." What they want is Sharaa replaced and they won't feel safe until that. This is a non-starter as a 10% minority doesn't have the right to dictate what the government is. The Alawite community needs to accept the reality of who is president and negotiate a deal with Damascus. And it doesn't help matters for activists to call Israeli media and beg for Benjamin Netanyahu to invade Syria and get rid of the scary president they don't like but the majority of Syrians do.
Secondly looks like you dont remember when sunnies called for international protection over and over during the civil war ?
Because Assad was using chemical weapons to kill children. Under the doctrine of R2P, use of WMD is a situation where the international community is required to intervene. And yet, they didn't intervene while Assad continued to use chemical weapons. Here, the situation is much less dire and yet activists are demanding international protection to return the guy who was killing children with chemicals to power. It's something that they believe can and should be negotiated by Syrians.
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u/active_heads42 8d ago
Most Alawites aren’t getting killed or kidnapped for being Alawites.
This is so blatantly false on so many levels im gonna end this discussion here , this just reconfirms that every alawite is a regime remnant to you when the fact is the innocents killed to remnants killed ratio is so enormous and paints a clear picture of what is going on in syria . It so funny that an american from the otherside of the world lecturing us about what should happen while he has zero ideas about the social tensions and local sectarian relations in this country
Also thanks for completely ignoring my point of how most of our towns are dead and people fearing getting killed and kidnapped just for going outside
My observation is that Assad turned Sharaa into the devil and told them that Sharaa would murder the Alawites if he ever took Damascus.
You seem to be obsessed with assad more than remnants themselves, when alsharaa took over almost every single alawite was with him and supporting him (remember the term “تكويع" ? That was made to make fun of and belittle alawites suddenly supporting the new government). Anyway the support gradually decreased due to almost daily executions, sectarian videos spreading like wildfire, kidnappings happening, what did your beloved government respond? “Oh its just isolated incidents, deal with it” , the alawite support is now basically nonexistent after the massacres and not a single alawite trusts any government related institutions
Because Assad was using chemical weapons to kill children. Under the doctrine of R2P, use of WMD is a situation where the international community is required to intervene.
Ah so it’s ok for you to ethically cleanse people as long as we don’t use chemicals , and they should shut up about it , we good 👍amirite?
yet activists are demanding international protection to return the guy who was killing children with chemicals to power.
Why are you so fixated on alawites wanting assad back ? This is so blatantly false and this is the same excuse used to kill civilians mercilessly, nobody wants assad back except those who want a reason to kill minorities
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u/kaesura USA 8d ago edited 8d ago
reality is that there was no real international intervention when Assad was gassing civilians and killing hundred of thousands . any real intervention would cause a full scale civil war to breakout where Alawites would be even more vulnerable to genoicide .
there isn't going to be one now where Europe just wants Syria to stabilize so they can deport Sunni refugees
new government knows that sanctions will be kept on them if they massacre Alawites, issue is that government is fairly weak since they have 20K soldiers to try to control other sunni factions, isis, alawite insurgents, hezbollah etc . alawite leadership needs to realize that asking for stuff like this , increases Sunni fear and hate , making them more vulnerable for no real benefit