Bashar Assad has swallowed the Iranian Bait – Hook, Line and Sinker!
November 11, 2006
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
It might be in order to discuss the “big four” that govern in Syria today.
Hafez al-Assad, the strong man dictator over Syria from 1971 until his death in 2000, had four children: three sons, Basil, Bashar, and Maher; and one daughter, Bushra. The soap opera begins with Bushra falling in love with a divorced man with five children, one Asef Shawkat.
The plot thickens as both her father Hafez and older brother Basil violently oppose her marrying Asef.
The serial saddens as Basil dies in a vehicle accident linked to drug traffic in Lebanon. And, after his death in 1994, Bushra and Asef elope, and Hafez does not have him killed. He may be the only man who ever stood up to Hafez and was not thrown into prison or killed. The couple stayed together, and Asef Shawket became second in power only to Hafez.
When the soap opera patriarch Hafez died in 1971, the power shifting began among the star players, and developed into the tight little circle of the four Assad guild players Bashar, Asef, Bushra, and Maher. There is a growing question in Syria as to who really makes most of the decisions in government, Bashar or his brother-in-law Asef.
The spirit of the Islamic Mahda Messiah is sweeping through Islam, and the fire of Jihad is being fueled by it.
The Shiites are gaining religious and political footholds in Syria, which I believe will eventually lead to the downfall of Bashar Assad. The man who will replace him is the one in whom I am most interested. Things are moving rapidly in the Middle East and some changes will be abrupt and surprising.
Begin IRMA Article
Iran buying ‘Whole Villages’ of Converts in Syria; Assad gives ‘Cart Blance’
IRMA – Independent Review and Media Analysis
Geostrategy-Direct, www.geostrategy-direct.com,
November 8, 2006
WASHINGTON – Iran is moving in on Syria to the point of encouraging Alawis and Sunnis to convert to Shi’ite Islam.
Syrian opposition sources said the regime of President Bashar Assad has given Iran “carte blanche” in Syria. Unlike his late father, Bashar has allowed Iranian clerics to spread the Shi’ite religion in Syria.
“Syrians have been observing over the last year a dangerous phenomena mostly witnessed by an alarming number of non-Shia turning to Khomeini-style Shia in return for financial rewards,” the opposition Reform Party of Syria stated.
“Whole villages and urban areas are adopting the Hizbullah model whereby clinics, schools and social services are provided by Iran in return for Syrians to convert to Shi’ism.”
In August 2006, RPS stated, Iran opened two centers in the Syrian port of Latakia. The centers, which teach Farsi, have been converting Sunni Muslims.
“Assad is logically calculating that if Hizbullah, with its 15,000 fighters and a God-like following of its figurehead Sheik [Hassan] Nasrallah, can achieve with $100 million a year the military prowess it exhibited against Israel then why not turn all of Syria into a larger Hizbullah laboratory in the hope of attaining the same results?” the Syrian opposition party stated.
Sunnis comprise 70 percent of Syria. About 11 percent of the country consists of
the ruling Alawite community, with the remainder Christians and Druze.
Opposition sources said the spread of Shia in Iran has angered many Sunnis, particularly those aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood. Sunni clerics envision a backlash against Iran and its representatives.
“Many [Sunni clerics] have voiced the following logic: We see the next confrontation in the Middle East along the lines of Israel vs. Iran and we have no choice but to stand by Israel to protect our religion,” RPS stated.
“This logic emanates from the fact that no Sunni Arab country has the military competence to stand-up to the Iran-Syria-Hizbullah axis and also because Israel, unlike Iran, is not interested in converting Sunni Muslims,” it said.
IMRA – Independent Media Review and Analysis Ends
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