A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Syrian Opposition Splits

The Syrian Muslim Brotherhood has left the National Salvation Front which linked it with former Vice President ‘Abd al-Halim Khaddam, now in exile. Joshua Landis' Syria Comment, the best of the English-language blogs devoted to Syria, offers a preliminary analysis.

When Khaddam left Syria he seemed potentially a greater threat to the Syrian regime than he has actually turned out to be; Bashar al-Asad has successfully consolidated his power. The Muslim Brotherhood, crushed by Hafiz al-Asad in the 1980s, remains a potentially important force in Syria, and probably is calculating that the alliance with Khaddam was of less benefit than trying to work with elements of the regime, since contacts seem to be going on.

Bayanuni, mentioned in the article, is ‘Ali Sadr al-Din Bayanuni, the head of the Syrian Muslom Brotherhood.

1 comment:

Michael Collins Dunn said...

I'm aware of your website and will keep an eye on it. THe Brotherhood may not alwaqys be my cup of tea, but it is an extremely important force in a great many countries.