Quote Originally Posted by Showtime View Post
The issue here is that the Democrats you are thinking of are more constrained by their non-Syrian (western, Kurdish) side than it is with its homegrown side. This undermines the plurality that Assadists latch onto.

I can accept that the Arab Muslim problem is mostly true, but it makes no sense here. First, Syria is a secular Arab republic. Second, living in Damascus you would have little to complain about the regime. The reality is that there is no free speech but this is the dynasty that the Syrian people are accustomed to. Any attempts at reform with respect to the constitution would involve a secular Syrian movement, not a western-backed proxy. You should start by questioning who is more in line with the Syrian constitution and what Assad has actually done to warrant being toppled by outsiders.

Have you ever asked someone in Moscow what they think of Putin? Ask about Assad in Damascus you’ll get the same answer. These people simply do not care for what you have to say, they have their own thing going on.
Well, first of all Syria is not a Secular Republic, it's a Tyranny where the current ruling Dynasty is not particularly concerned with the religion of its subjects so long as they're quiet. In such a circumstance religion tolerance is more a question of benign neglect that respect for Freedom of Conscience. Such tolerance is dispensed with as soon as it ceases to be expedient.

Such regimes are also inherently unstable - because there is no democratic way to change the regime economic misfortune usually leads to revolts and the regime responds with slaughter - as in Syria.

Absent a generally recognised Caliph or democratic states the Arab world will continue to move through circles of war, destruction, recrimination, and recovery dictated by the economic cycle.

My Uncle believes the Arabs are doomed so long as they continue to follow Islam because they will always look for "strongman" rulers, rejecting democratic reform or pluralism because it is seen as counter to Islam.

I'm not convinced he's right but on the other hand the only actual Secular Republic in the Middle East is Lebanon, and it's roughly 50% Christian with the largest Christian denomination being almost as large as the Sunni or Shia population.