this post was submitted on 08 Dec 2024
56 points (96.7% liked)

GenZedong

4326 readers
71 users here now

This is a Dengist community in favor of Bashar al-Assad with no information that can lead to the arrest of Hillary Clinton, our fellow liberal and queen. This community is not ironic. We are Marxists-Leninists.

This community is for posts about Marxism and geopolitics (including shitposts to some extent). Serious posts can be posted here or in /c/GenZhou. Reactionary or ultra-leftist cringe posts belong in /c/shitreactionariessay or /c/shitultrassay respectively.

We have a Matrix homeserver and a Matrix space. See this thread for more information. If you believe the server may be down, check the status on status.elara.ws.

Rules:

founded 4 years ago
MODERATORS
GrainEater@lemmygrad.ml
Elara@lemmygrad.ml
ComradePupIvy@lemmygrad.ml
American_Communist22@lemmygrad.ml
56
Genuine Question. How and Why are so many Arabs, Muslims, and Middle eastern diaspora so glad to see the Syrian "Rebels" take power? (lemmygrad.ml)
submitted 2 weeks ago by commiewolf@lemmygrad.ml to c/genzedong@lemmygrad.ml
20 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I have seen no end of Muslims, almost exclusively Sunni, online and in real life, celebrating the fall of the Syrian Arab Republic. Even where I live, there are Syrians celebrating it. I don't know if it's just sectarianism, brainwashing, or ignorance, or some combination of it, but almost all of them I have seen are celebrating this.

Be it in comment sections, social media posts, cheering in the streets of European cities, etc. How have so many of these people consistently sided with Gaza from the start, but celebrate an Israeli backed terrorist takeover of Syria?

The reaction to stories from Al Jazeera revealing the reality in Palestine were unanimously celebrated by these same people as standing up for the truth, meanwhile, when the same Al Jazeera peddles anti-Syrian propaganda, they are happy to welcome it as equally good news.

I don't want to lose faith in the Muslims and Arabs of the world, but if they're so mixed up in sectarianism and willing to lap up the propaganda in support of a Jihadist regime, I can't see how we'll ever know peace or stability in the Middle east.

top 20 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Shaleesh@hexbear.net 49 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The war in Syria has gone on for about 13 years now and a lot of people see this as a possible end to a conflict that killed roughly half a million people and made refugees of about 14 million more. That, and Assad is not a particularly well-liked figure. The geopolitical implications are a little grim to say the least and it is likely that the formation of the new Syrian government will lead to an entirely new set of nightmares but right now the average person probably doesn't see that.

[–] Beat_da_Rich@lemmygrad.ml 43 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

It's literally the same emotional reaction that critics of the Iraq War were receiving. If you were against the Iraq War that meant you apparently loved Saddam Hussein and "weren't listening to Iraqis." Apparently only Syrians are allowed to have an opinion on Syria because they're Syrians -- irregardless of their ideology.

Bad faith actors on social media are using this as an opportunity to divide the anti-imperialist movement by, once again, appealing to identity politics.

[–] Idliketothinkimsmart@lemmygrad.ml 32 points 2 weeks ago

It’s literally the same emotional reaction that critics of the Iraq War were receiving. If you were against the Iraq War that meant you apparently loved Saddam Hussein and “weren’t listening to Iraqis.” Apparently only Syrians are allowed to have an opinion on Syria because they’re Syrians – irregardless of their ideology.

It's like watching people fail an open book test

[–] porcupine@lemmygrad.ml 46 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

online and in real life

where I live

“How come everybody else on the Death Star seems so happy Alderaan got blown up?”

[–] commiewolf@lemmygrad.ml 13 points 2 weeks ago

I suppose what astounds me is the lack of ideological or moral consistency. They shed all the tears and show all the outrage that anyone should when it comes to Palestine, or Lebanon. Yet are cheering alongside the very people they were loudly disagreeing with over those same issues when it comes to Syria.

This is in stark contrast to the western liberals, who's worldview is 100% consistently aligned with western imperialism. They oppose everything they are told to by their leaders, and support everything they are told to.

With these Muslims and Arabs I mentioned, they are somehow capable of seeing through this narrative, but somehow inexplicably susceptible to be blinded by it in this instance. I guess it just shed a light on how hollow the anti-imperialist movement worldwide really is, and that not nearly as much consciousness has been built by the genocide and wars over the past years. It's disappointing, and sobering.

[–] davel@lemmygrad.ml 8 points 2 weeks ago

I use the analogy so often: USians blissfully unaware of being life-long Death Star passengers.

[–] pinguinu@lemmygrad.ml 45 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Yeah, it should make you stop and think when Netanyahu celebrates the same thing you do

[–] unmagical@lemmy.ml 22 points 2 weeks ago

One man's toppling a regime and an opportunity to build anew is another man's civil unrest and opportunity to seize more land.

[–] deathtoreddit@lemmygrad.ml 39 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

First off, majority are Sunni, and Sunnis were kinda disenfranchised in Baathist Syria, kinda like how Shias were in Baathist Iraq

2nd, Al Jazeera is funded by Qatar, which itself has funded Syrian rebels

[–] supersolid_snake@lemmygrad.ml 30 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Al jazeera and mid east eye may as well be radio free America. Thwir whole pro palestine feint is a sleight of hand.

[–] commiewolf@lemmygrad.ml 12 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I know all about Al-Jazeera, I am well aware that Qatar have funded Syrian rebels, what I cannot wrap my head around is how many Muslims and Arabs have the total lack of political awareness to take what they say at face value. How much of the Palestinian solidarity from them is equally thin and motivated by sectarianism rather than genuine humanitarian outrage? It's deeply disappointing and reveals that we have all failed as supporters of Palestinian freedom to educate enough people as to why the cause matters.

[–] deathtoreddit@lemmygrad.ml 16 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

How much of the Palestinian solidarity from them is equally thin and motivated by sectarianism rather than genuine humanitarian outrage? It’s deeply disappointing and reveals that we have all failed as supporters of Palestinian freedom to educate enough people as to why the cause matters.

Divide and conquer. The Qatari comprador capitalist hegemone have their own interest. The Saudi-UAE-led Khaleej too. The Turks too. Which all align with the interests of the Western American-European clique, in regards to Syria.

Using the cudgel of fighting for Syrian Democracy against Syrian Baathist 'authoritarianism', then later "Iranian influence" and Political Shia'ism, they reason and condition with their local populations that they have a stake to behold in such endeavors, and thus in funding them, sending in foreign fighters and guns, sanctioning them and so forth

After all, the Shia and Baathist ideologies are often anti-western imperialism, socialist-oriented, and all revolutionary, threatening the spoils of empire for the following Sunni hegemones.

As you can see, in 'The Assassination of Julius Caesar, A People's History of Rome, by Michael Parenti'

But ideology is not merely a promotion of class interest. The function of ideology is precisely to cloak narrowly selfish interests, wedding them to a more lofty and capacious view of society. These might be summarized as follows:

First and foremost, the oligarchic clique represents its own privileged special interests as tantamount to the general interest -

[–] supersolid_snake@lemmygrad.ml 6 points 2 weeks ago

This is a great summary of the forces at play in the gulf states.

[–] supersolid_snake@lemmygrad.ml 28 points 2 weeks ago

Sectarianism. A lot of people in the gulf states are happy too, for the same reason. They are cool with a boot on their neck as long as it's a sunni foot inside. There is going to be a purge in europe of Syrian refugees but a not insignificant chunk will voluntarily go back now that an alawite isn't in charge.

[–] sawne128@hexbear.net 27 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

It makes sense to me that people who fled Assad's Syria generally don't like Assad. Maybe Syrians in Syria think differently?

[–] Dolores@hexbear.net 24 points 2 weeks ago

Maybe Syrians in Syria think differently

based on how little the army and militias fought--theoretically stronger supporters of a government--the mood must've been quite sour in Syria itself too

[–] BurgerPunk@hexbear.net 26 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

This reminds me of how self professed "leftists" in the West can be supportive od one AES (almost always Cuba) but then still have state department brainworms on PRC, DPRK, and Venezuela

[–] ZWQbpkzl@hexbear.net 24 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Its really not that hard. As much as the alternatives were worse, the average Syrian still hated Assad. They may regret his departure in time but for now they're celebrating. Its not like the masses are thinking about international geopolitics at the moment and its absurd to expect this from a country that's been war torn for over a decade.

[–] commiewolf@lemmygrad.ml 11 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I wasn't rereferring exclusively to Syrians. Sure they may believe this means an end to the war (which is still highly bloody debatable), but I meant specifically diaspora as well as Arabs and Muslims who are not Syrians. I've seen, Egyptians, Moroccans, Algerians and all manner of gulf state Arabs celebrating this. I even know Palestinian, Lebanese, Pakistani and Indonesian expats in my own town who were gladly cheering this on. These people should know better, as they're third parties to the whole thing and should remember that this same pattern has played out in Libya and Iraq within their lifetimes.

[–] ZWQbpkzl@hexbear.net 12 points 2 weeks ago

Almost all of those groups (sans Palestinians) are under repressive regimes that they too would want to depose. It sounds like your just confused that most of Arabic world aren't historical materialists.