PNN – If the sanctions against Syria remain, Syria will face the risk of disintegration and retreat in the fight against Captagon drug trafficking. If the West lifts the sanctions against Syria, then by supporting a Salafist group, the Western countries will put the principles and ideas of their discourse at risk.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, Geopolitical Monitor wrote in an article: Despite the great efforts of Abu Mohammad al-Jolani in presenting himself and his friends as moderate and reasonable Islamists, there are many complications in the way of the international recognition of the new government in Syria and the lifting of sanctions against Syria. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is still on the terrorist list of the United Nations and all Western countries. Western governments face moral obstacles to remove Hayat Tahrir al-Sham from the list of terrorist groups. In any case, removing the name of a group from the list of terrorist groups will not be enough to solve the basic problems of Syria. If Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is supposed to be removed from the list of terrorist groups, naturally the next step should be the lifting of sanctions against Syria.
It is thought that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham will become a political organization in Syria by abandoning militancy, and the transitional government in Syria will probably distance itself from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham may merge with other military entities in Syria (including the remnants of this country’s army) in order to break with its history and continue its activities in a new form.
Read more:
Tahrir al-Sham’s editorial board does not have the characteristics of the Muslim Brotherhood, nor does it express hostility to Salafism like the Taliban. An important question is to what extent Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, as a Salafist movement, intends to adapt its political activities to the Qur’an and the principles of Islam. Compared to a Salafi movement like Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Muslim Brotherhood has more local conditions and capacities in Syria.
When the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan in 2021, they promised everyone that the second Taliban government would be different from their first government. They promised that the Taliban has become moderate and is ready to form an inclusive government and participate in the process of national dialogue with the participation of others, but the Taliban remains committed to jihad and has preferred the principles of jihadi Islam over the principles of democracy. Contrary to its promises, the Taliban not only refused to hold national talks and form an inclusive government, but recently it has started to repeat its former practices of violating the rights of women and minorities!
The political future of Syria depends not only on the goals of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham but also on the will of other rebel groups in recognizing the new government in this country and the position and approach of the international community towards the new situation in Syria. Based on this, all foreign parties will take a pragmatic approach towards the Tahrir al-Sham editorial board.
If the sanctions against Syria remain, Syria will face the risk of disintegration and regression in the fight against Captagon drug trafficking. If the West lifts the sanctions against Syria, then by supporting a Salafist group, the Western countries will put the principles and ideas of their discourse at risk.