Speaking to Today's Zaman, Mohammad Riad Shakfa, the head of the Syrian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, said, “A system that includes everyone, in which nobody would feel ostracized, needs to be established,” noting that Syria is composed of people from various ethnic and religious backgrounds.
The Muslim Brotherhood is known to be the best organized political group in Syria. Leaders of the organization, who, for many years, were active in Syria, had to leave the country because of oppression and persecution in the 1980s. Shakfa, who, as the leader of the organization, is sure to be one of the leading actors in the post-Assad period, made clear that they would prevent any negative actions taken against Alawites following the revolution in Syria. “Alawites are also our citizens. We will never permit anyone to take revenge on Alawites for what happens today,” he said, adding that at the moment, the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood is also talking with Alawites in Syria to get their opinions about the new Syria.
Noting that Christians are one of the major minorities in Syria, he spoke of the tolerance the organization has shown with regards to non-Muslim groups, citing cases in their history. “During the period when the Muslim Brotherhood participated in the national elections, one of our candidates was a Christian. And before the Ba'ath Party, a Christian country ruled Syria,” he stated, also adding, “Christians should also set up a party and be represented in politics.”
Though he stressed that the Ba'ath rulers who are responsible for the killings should be held accountable in the post-Assad period, Shakfa was also clear that not all of the people in the current administration should necessarily be held responsible for the present regime's wrongdoings, saying: “At the moment, there are people in the regime who can't raise their voices against the Ba'athists because they are afraid. The position of such people needs to be assessed in view of the circumstances they are in.” Shakfa also doesn't want Assad to be lynched, as was the case with Muammar Gaddafi in Libya. “Assad should be fairly judged in court,” he stated.
The 71-year-old politician was the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Hama when a massacre was carried out in the city by the Ba'ath regime in 1982. Comparing the two periods, he said: “The violence resorted to at that time in Hama is now prevalent in every city in Syria. The only difference is that the world is more aware of what's going on [today].” During the 1982 massacre, Shakfa, having been informed that he was on the wanted list, went to Iraq while some other dissidents fled to various neighboring countries, as is the case today. Talking about his days in Iraq, he said: “I used to meet people coming to Iraq at the border. But today, the government in Iraq acts as if it were the caliph and an aide to the Ba'ath [regime in Syria],” he stated. According to official figures, 25,000 civilians were killed in the Hama massacre of 1982 when Hafez al-Assad, Bashar's father, was in power, but the real death toll is believed to be much higher than that.
People from Hatay joined Shabiha
The leader of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood also touched upon the issue of “foreign fighters” in Syria, a topic frequently raised by some Turkish media, and maintained that the stories of foreign fighters were exaggerated. “Syria doesn't need foreign fighters,” he said, also adding that there are armed youths coming to Syria from Turkey, with some supporting the regime while others are fighting against it. “We have definite information there are people from Hatay who have joined the Shabiha,” Shakfa claimed, also asserting that such assistance was also present during the Hama massacre in 1982.