MENA Minorities

“The Assyrians of Syria: History and Prospects”   by Mardean Isaac, Syria Comment

What are the implications of Russia's intervention for Hizballah? Here you will find some interesting answers: Hezbollah’s New Ally In Syria  by Nour Samaha, Newsweek Middle East Russia’s involvement has also seen an increase of Hezbollah fighters on the ground. Sources close to the party confirm that approximately 2,000 fighters have been added to the battlefield, specifically in the areas around Aleppo and Idlib, in the immediate aftermath of Russian airstrikes, adding more foot soldiers to the thousands already present there.   “For example, before Russia’s [involvement] there were around 200 fighters in Aleppo and Idlib, predominantly advisors,” said one source. “Now there are between 1,500 and 2,000.”(…)

I have a problem every time read that Beirut's southern suburbs are something like "Hizballah territory". Of course this is true to some extend in a way that the southern suburbs is their power base and there Hizballah is in a league of its own. However, neither are all inhabitants (of whom many are not Shia) followers of the "Party of God" nor are they the only powerful party here. The so far 43 victims of the bombing last Friday in Burj al-Barajna deserve a more nuanced approach. Here you can clearly see the funeral of a supporter of the  Amal-party. The corpse is covered by a green (the color of Amal) flag and the funeral procession is guarded by uniformed Amal-militiamen.

F ormer Druze Knesset member Sa ʿ id Naffaʿ beg an his one year long prison term on Sunday ( see here for a video of the rally in front of the prison) . He was senteced for illigally visiting Syria in 2007 along with 282 Druze clerics and meeting the deputy head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Command (PFLP-GC) - a terrorist group according (not only) to Israeli law. in Syria 2007 The details of the affair, which has led to the conviction of Naffaʿ and to none of the 282 c lerics , are well known but this is also an opportunity to shine some light on his career and the political tendencies inside the Israeli-Druze community he repre sen t s . Naffaʿ is the most profiled politician the non-Zionist Druze faction has produced so far.  Sa ʿ id Naffaʿ Saʿid Naffaʿ was born in the all Druze Upper Galileein village of Bait Jann in 1953. Mandatory conscription was introduced for all male Druze except the religious ʿuqqal in 1956 and...

Prominent proponents of the Eastern Orthodox church in Lebanon come out in strong opposition against the declaration of the military intervention of Russia as a 'holy war' by the Russian Orthodox church. Good, but remember the seat of the patriarch of Antioch is Damascus, not Beirut. Syria's 'holy war' by Sami Nader, Al Monitor

Likewise rumors have been circulating for a while but it was officially announced earlier this week: Sheikh Rafat al-Bal'us (Abu Yusuf) is the successor of his assassinated brother Wahid as leader of the autonomous minded Syrian Druze dignity movement. Sheikh Rafat, who was wounded at the bomb attack in September, is obviously still not in best shape. However, the movement is alive despite the elimination of most of its leadership. Even the formation of a new unit,  bayraq al-maqdad,  was announced. On the same occasion Fahad, the oldest son of Wahid al-Bal'us, also gave a speech in full combat dress, indicating that he might play a leading role in the future. Rafat al-Bal'us speech bayraq al-maqdad insignia   Druze figure takes up assassinated brother’s mantle, Now BEIRUT – Rafaat Balaous has taken over the leadership of Suweida’s Druze Sheikhs of Dignity movement, issuing a fiery statement blaming the Bashar al-Assad regime for the assassi...

A new chapter in the (not so) clandestine relationship between Iraqi Kurdistan and Israel. Keep in mind, that there are tens of thousand Kurdish Jews living in Israel today, who might still feel attached to their Kurdish heritage. A Land With No Jews Names Jewish Affairs Rep by Judit Neurin, Haaretz

An article titled "The Druze of Israel: Hope for Arab-Jewish Collaboration" by Jonathan Adelman appeared in the Huffungton Post on October 8. Adelman, a professor for International Studies at the University of Denver and frequent contributor to the Huff Post, argues that the Druze should serve as a role model for coexistence with the Jewish state. To some who are familiar with the actual situation of the Druze in Israel this might be a controversial point of view, but everyone is entitled to his/her opinion and it is a valid approach. The article is not problematic because of its line of argumentation or a certain bias, the problem is the accumulation of errors. The Druze of Israel: Hope for Arab-Jewish Collaboration by Jonathan Adelman, Huffington Post In the war-torn Middle East, it is rare to find two groups with different religions, nationalities and histories working together and developing a flourishing relationship. Yet, in Israel the strong relationshi...

French Syria expert Fabrice Balanche published a very informative paper about demographics in the province of Latakia including a couple of great maps via the Washington Institute: Latakia Is Assad's Achilles Heel by  Fabrice Balanche

Mazen Ezzi, editor of the Beirut-based Al Modon online newspaper and author of a series about the early days of the revolution in Suwaida , provides a full length analysis about the situation of the Druze community in Syria. The Arabic version has already been published in July, so the assassination of recently emerged Druze leader sheikh Wahid al-Bal'us (Abu Fahd) is not featured. Nevertheless, Ezzi provides some  interesting points especially regarding Bal'us and his "men/sheikhs of dignity" movement, making it more plausible why the regime might have perceived him as a threat. The Druze of Suwayda: The Embers of Dissent by Mazen Ezzi, Al-Jumhuriya English (...)Al-Balaous accused the Syrian regime of betraying the Druze and then he continued, talking about al-Assad, “If he cannot protect us, we do not want him. We will go to the presidential palace to topple him down.” A few days later, a statement by the three Sheikhs was issued, excommunicating al-Balao...

Syria's Druze reject calls for anti-government uprising by Nour Samaha, Al Jazeera English On September 5, Balous, a popular anti-government Druze leader, had just finished eating lunch in a village in Syria's southern Sweida governorate. A short time later, an explosion hit the convoy Balous was travelling in - killing him, his right-hand man, and several others.   As the victims were arriving at the government hospital, there was another blast at the hospital's entrance. More than 25 people were killed and several dozen more were wounded in both bomb explosions. According to SANA, a Syrian state news agency, someone has since confessed to being responsible for the explosions and to belonging to the Nusra Front, one of the rebel groups fighting to end the rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.(...)   According to Tobias Long, a researcher and analyst on minorities in the Middle East, the Druze have limited options moving forward. "It's too early to tel...

General Antoine Lahad, the former head of the South Lebanon Army (SLA), died already a few days ago in his Paris exile. A retired Maronite general of the Lebanese army from Southern Lebanon, he took over the command of the SLA in 1984 following Major Saad Haddad's death from cancer. As debate re burial of Antoine Lahad heats up, reminder of how his predecesssor Saad Hadda was buried #Lebanon http://t.co/xkRWqZiKus — Nadim Houry (@nadimhoury) 14. September 2015 The SLA was for the most time of its existence widely perceived as nothing more than a proxy of Israel and even disliked by many members of the rightist Christian Kataeb and Lebanese Forces. During Lahad's command the secterian composition of the SLA changed from mostly Christian to a more diverse membership with many - often forcibly conscripted - Shiites and Druze within its ranks but the leadership remained mostly Christian. The SLA also operated the prison facility of Khiam , which was notorious for heavy tortur...

Leon T. Goldsmith from the Sultan Qaboos Unuversity in Oman is the author of a recently published monograph on the Alawites of Syria (I've ordered already). A worth reading piece by him about the current crisis of the Alawites in the light of history can be found on the publishing house's homepage. Is Alawite Solidarity Finally Breaking? by Leon T. Goldsmith On 8 August 2015 large crowds of Alawites demonstrated in Latakia in western Syria , with many demanding the execution of Suleiman Hilal al-Asad, a relative of Bashar al-Asad who murdered—mafia style—the Alawi Colonel Hassan al-Sheikh during an apparent road rage incident . While the regime ordered the arrest of Suleiman, who at the time of writing remains defiant and at large, this incident reflects rising Alawite discontentment with the narrow Asad clique which has been at the centre of Syrian and Alawi power since 1970. Alawites have paid a heavy price in lives in the struggle to preserve Asad rule, a...

I'm cited in the leading French daily Le Monde about the situation in Suweida : Le dilemme de la minorité druze de Syrie Par Laure Stephan et Piotr Smolar Mais pour le journaliste et opposant Fadi Dahouk, réfugié à Beyrouth, cet alignement sur le régime pourrait changer, avec l’essor des Cheikhs de la dignité, une autre milice, formée en 2014 par un religieux druze, cheikh Ouadih Al-Bal’ous.  « Nous sommes contre tous ceux qui nous attaquent.  (…)  Si l’Etat nous attaque, il sera notre ennemi »,  affirme le cheikh, qui a pourtant combattu aux côtés du pouvoir. A Soueida, il a obtenu le retrait de points de contrôle militaires. Il a aussi réclamé le retour de prisonniers.  « Le fait qu’il ait eu gain de cause et qu’il puisse ouvertement critiquer la corruption ou les services de renseignements indique  qu’il a acquis une certaine notoriété, et que le régime ne veut pas se mettre à dos les forces druzes » , analyse le politolog...

Wladimir Glasman, one of France's leading Syria-experts passend away. A former diplomat born in Rabat, he was a devoted and outspoken researcher with a strong passion for the Syrian people. Over the last year he occasionally used to sent me links of videos via Twitter, which I later featured on this blog. To a wider audiance he was propably best known for his great Syria blog on Le Monde using the alias of Leverrier Ignace. May he rest in peace.  Wladimir Glasman 1942-2015 Edit:   Disparition de Wladimir Glasman, compagnon de route de la révolution syrienne par Christophe Ayad, Le Monde Disparition de Wladimir Glasman (1942 – 2015) , ifpo

I'm cited in a report about the Druze in the Israeli occupied Golan Heights featured on Qantara.de, the great online magazine run by Germany's international broadcaster. Squeezed between occupation and civil war   Ylenia Gostoli, Qantara.de (...)Apart from the protest mentioned above, however, most Golanese Druze have distanced themselves from the position of their co-religionists inside Israel. "Over the last decades, the relationships between the Druze in Israel and those in the Golan has been very cold and distant," said Tobias Lang, a political scientist who wrote a book about the Druze minority (...) "The majority of the Druze in Israel serve in the army and accepted a particularistic Israeli-Druze identity, whilst Golani Druze stayed loyal to the motherland." "We don't share most of their demands," said Salman Fakhr Edeen, a resident and researcher at a local human rights NGO. "I myself am against the war. To increase killi...

The Knesset election took place already five month ago, but the traditional paper about the Arab voting behaviour from Tel Aviv University's Konrad Adenauer Center is a welcome opportunity for a supplement. The great thing about the paper is, that you don't have to compile the data of Arab villages from the election commission yourself (not fun at all if you are not literate in Hebrew). Bayan-The Arabs in Israel Issue no. 5, June 2015 (ed. by Itamar Radai & Arik Rudnizky) Let me just highlight a few numbers: The Joint (Arab) List led by Aymen Odeh reached 82.4% in the whole so called Arab sector (i.e. Arab villages and towns including Druze and Circassians - mixed cities with Jewish majority like Haifa or Akko not counted ). If we add the 0.8% of the minor Arab parties who were not part of the Joint List, the Arab parties achieved 83.2% in the Arab sector. This is a rise of 5% compared to the 2013 election. If we have a comparative look at the 2009 election, wh...

Miscellaneous Syrian Druze : A Druze Divided: Can Walid Jumblatt Hold the Group Together? by Noam Raydan, Foreign Affairs The Syrian Druze at a Crossroads by Ibrahim al-Assil and Randa Slim, Middle East Institute Ismailis: When minorities become pawns in a power game by Haid N. Haid & Bente Scheller, Qantara.de Maj.-Gen. Muhammad Nassif 1937-2015: Who Was Mohammad Nasif? By Mohammad D., Syria Comment Mohammad Nassif: The Shadow Man of the Syria-Iran Axis   by Mohammad Ataie, Syria Comment

Last week I was cited by a couple of media about the current situation between Israel and the Syrian Druze (in English, French & German): Syrian Druze plight tests Israel’s policy of avoiding involvement in civil war Sean Savage, Jewish News Service “The Druze in Idlib and in the Golan/Hermon-region are in a very precarious situation and such a possibility [of massacres] exists, especially in Idlib. Here the Druze are totally at the mercy of Nusra, even though they have already twice declared their conversion to Islam,” Tobias Lang, an Austria-based political analyst and author of the book “Die Drusen in Libanon und Israel” (“The Druze in Lebanon and Israel”), told  JNS.org . (...)   “With the recent dynamic [of the] the massacre in Idlib, the growing Islamic State activity in eastern Sweida, the pushing of other rebels towards Sweida from the west, and the siege of the Druze town of Hader [in the Golan Heights], the Israeli Druze started to get involved on a...

The news are allover: The Druze in Syria are said to face an existential crisis. This is of course not fully true but it is undeniable that during the last weeks some extremely worrying developments have occurred: 1. ISIS has increased its activity in the East of Suwaida’. They attacked the village of Huquf on May 15, killing six inhabitants including 18 years old Mariana as-Sman. True or not, on Druze social media massive allegations circulated blaming the regime for allowing ISIS into the province. Later ISIS entered the Lajah area between Suwaida’ and Dar‘a and started to fight against rebel forces. 2. This brings us to the next hot spot, the West of Suwaida’ which is currently penetrated by different rebel groups including Jabhat an-Nusra. Especially around the Thula-airbase a fierce battle is fought. Here Druze militiamen are also involved, who had refused to fight in Dar‘a during rebel-offensive earlier this year. 3. The massacre of 23 Druze villagers by Jabhat an-Nusra...

Former Druze rebel dies in car accident   The Daily Star A former Druze rebel commander in the suburbs of Damascus was killed in a car accident this weekend in Austria, his friends said. They said Hussam Dib was en route to Germany when the accident occurred. Supporters of the uprising against the Syrian regime praised Dib as the founder of the Bani Maarouf Commandos militia, which attracted rebel fighters from the Druze community as well as other sectarian affiliations in the eastern Ghouta suburbs of the capital. However, Dib’s group, which later changed its name to the Youssef al-Azmeh Brigade, was unable to continue fighting due to funding problems and pressure from Islamist militias. (...) Hussam Dib announcing the establishmen of the Bani Ma'ruf Commando in late 2012

Swedish Journalist Carl Drott provides a fascinating account of the Dawronoye , a Christian guerrilla force, operating in Turkey, Iraq and Syria. Read all about its roots in the Turkish far left of the 1980s, its relationship with the Kurdish PKK and how its caders helped to set up the Syriac Military Council. Noteworthy is how the fighters interviewed were annoyed by the ongoing argument in the diaspora, whether they should call themselves Syriacs, Assyrian or Aramean. The Revolutionaries of Bethnahrin  by Carl Drott, War Scapes

Syrian Ismaili town rejects regime militia by Now BEIRUT – An Ismaili-populated town that lies on the edge of the Syrian Desert has rejected the presence of the pro-regime National Defense Force (NDF) amid the growing threat of an ISIS attack. A pro-government militiaman in Aqarib al-Safia, which is located some 45 kilometers east of Hama,  said  that residents had formed a self-defense unit “after [locals] lost faith in the National Defense Force.” “They lost faith in [the NDF’s] intentions after [the militia’s] transgressions and acts of theft against civilians in the village increased,” he told  Alaraby Aljadeed  in an article published Wednesday. “The regime offered to fund us [and provide] weapons on the condition that the unit was led by a person who was a commander in the NDF,” the militiaman added. “He is known for his bad conduct and aggression, so we refused the offer.” “We accepted armament by the regime as long as the self-defense ...

Fabrice Blanche from the University of Lyon and one of the leading French experts on Syria published a great overview about The Alawite Community and the Syria Crisis explaining also the basics of the Alawite religion.  The author has done extensive in-deph research on Syrian Alawites see e.g. his book La région alaouite et le pouvoir syrien.

During a talk show on Qatari channel Al Jazeera the host Faisal al-Qasim asked the suggestive question, whether if it's permissible to kill Alawite civilians. The irony: al-Qasim himself is not Sunni, he is a Druze native of Suwaida'. On the same subject (but a bit more suffisticated) read an interesting posting by Sam Heller at Jihadology .

Mein Buch "Die Drusen in Libanon und Israel" wurde in der April Ausgabe (Band 110, Heft 2) der Orientalistischen Literaturzeitung von Dimitry Sevruk (Uni Bamberg) besprochen: