The Impossible Revolution

Sectarianism rarely appears barefaced, but instead cloaks itself under a thick hijab of high values, whether modern or ancient: modernity, secularism, enlightenment, or civilization; ‘authentic’ values such as Islam (represented as singular); or novelty and ‘uniqueness’. But behind the veil, there is nothing to be found but Sultanism and racial discrimination.

On the other hand, there is no escape from closing the book on the public religious sect. Alawites are not Sunni, and neither are Druze, Ismailis, or Shiites: they should not have to endure Sunni education in schools or refrain from public expression of their own identities. Similarly, the Kurds are not Arabs: they should not be stripped of their personality and language, and Arabic should not be imposed on them.

If we have no choice other than turning the page on the status quo of the public political sect, we must ensure equal rights for Alawite Syrians as individuals and as a community. We need to think about liberation from sectarianism and the Sultanic state as liberation of Alawites, not from them. The Assad Sultanate is not the state of Alawites, although it has used their labour and blood in order to rise above all Syrians.