The Thinking Muslim

Join our Patreon to get access to exclusive monthly calls: https://www.patreon.com/TheThinkingMuslimSyria is now free. But what does the future hold for a revolution that we believed had all but been decimated? The most recent spectacular offensive has given the rebel groups control over the country's major cities. There now is an appetite for change and unity. I have been struck by the jubilation felt by most Syrians as the tyrant fell. Many who escaped his brutality are returning. The optimism has to be maintained, and the positivity it expresses should not be replaced with the pessimism shown by some partial commentators who are wishing for Syria to fail.But challenges remain. How do we navigate these? And what of the people who are now at the centre of the new government? I have the pleasure of having Bilal Abdul Kareem on the show to help us understand the complexities of the road ahead and analyse the current players.Bilal Abdul Kareem is a video journalist who has been covering the conflict in Syria since 2012. He has produced reports for CNN, Channel 4, BBC, and Sky News and runs his own news channel, On The Ground News.Let me remind all viewers that to help us continue to engage critical thought at this time, Please consider becoming a Patron. https://www.patreon.com/TheThinkingMuslimYou can also support The Thinking Muslim through a one-time donation: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/DonateListen to the audio version of the podcast:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7vXiAjVFnhNI3T9Gkw636aApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-thinking-muslim/id1471798762Sign up to Muhammad Jalal's newsletter: https://jalalayn.substack.comPurchase our Thinking Muslim mug: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/merchFind us on:Patron. https://www.patreon.com/TheThinkingMuslimTwitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslimFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Thinking-Muslim-Podcast-105790781361490Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinkingmuslimpodcast/Telegram: https://t.me/thinkingmuslimBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/thinkingmuslim.bsky.socialHost: https://twitter.com/jalalaynWebsite Archive: https://www.thinkingmuslim.comTimestamps:0:00 – Introduction 2:30 – HTS ideology 5:55 – Justice – Islamic call8:41 – Jolani – positive?11:50 – Bilal too pessimistic?14:34 – New Syria 16:31 – Toleration of Journalists 17:49 – Capability to govern20:11 – Israel 23:30 – How far is Israel in Syria26:00 – Assad central to resisting Israel?28:06 - Where Islam fits?33:28 – New government and the West35:54 – Syrian Prisons39:38 – SDF43:35 – Iran and Hezbollah46:25 – Iran’s role in Syria49:18 – Anti-Imperialist left52:18 – Syrian Mindset Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join our Patreon to get access to exclusive monthly calls: https://www.patreon.com/TheThinkingMuslimSyria has finally been liberated after 13 years of struggle. We mourn the lives of all that have fallen and celebrate with Syrians. But the horrors of Assad’s gulags are coming to light for the world to see. The scenes from Seydnaya, the slaughterhouse, have shocked many of us. Reflecting on the horrors and looking at some of the challenges, I am honoured today to have a Syrian who has been at the heart of this struggle.Robin Yassin-Kassab is the author of the novel The Road from Damascus. He is co-author with Leila al-Shami of the Rathbone-Folio prize-shortlisted book Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War. And he is the chief English editor of the ISIS prisons museum – which may soon become the Syria Prisons MuseumLet me remind all viewers that to help us continue to engage critical thought at this time, Please consider becoming a Patron. https://www.patreon.com/TheThinkingMuslimYou can also support The Thinking Muslim through a one-time donation: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/DonateListen to the audio version of the podcast:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7vXiAjVFnhNI3T9Gkw636aApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-thinking-muslim/id1471798762Sign up to Muhammad Jalal's newsletter: https://jalalayn.substack.comPurchase our Thinking Muslim mug: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/merchFind us on:Patron. https://www.patreon.com/TheThinkingMuslimTwitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslimFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Thinking-Muslim-Podcast-105790781361490Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinkingmuslimpodcast/Telegram: https://t.me/thinkingmuslimBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/thinkingmuslim.bsky.socialHost: https://twitter.com/jalalaynWebsite Archive: https://www.thinkingmuslim.comTimestamps:0:00- Introduction2:16 – Reflections8:13 – Syria another Libya?15:20 – Prisons – Torture state22:57 – Information accessing25:13 – HTS discipline31:48 – Syrians re-migrating35:02 – Israelis in Syria41:47 – International community crippling revolution Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join our Patreon to get access to exclusive monthly calls: https://www.patreon.com/TheThinkingMuslimThis episode was filmed on Saturday, before Damascus fell.The Syrian revolution began in 2011 as a grassroots, civil society uprising against one of the most tyrannical rulers in the Muslim World. Bashar al-Assad like his father before him, presided over a state of terror, with disappearances, secret police repression and a punitive state machinery that governed through fear. Assad styled himself as an anti-imperialist when in reality he had colluded with the West in past conflicts and after 9/11 Syria became a favourite place for the Americans to render suspects for horrific torture.Today we have Moazzam Begg who is the senior director of CAGE and author of enemy combatant – a book about his time as a detainee first in Bagram and then in Guantanamo. He also spent time in Syria during the revolution, as part of his investigation into the Assad regimes complicity in the CIA torture programme.Let me remind all viewers that to help us continue to engage critical thought at this time, Please consider becoming a Patron. https://www.patreon.com/TheThinkingMuslimYou can also support The Thinking Muslim through a one-time donation: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/DonateListen to the audio version of the podcast:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7vXiAjVFnhNI3T9Gkw636aApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-thinking-muslim/id1471798762Sign up to Muhammad Jalal's newsletter: https://jalalayn.substack.comPurchase our Thinking Muslim mug: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/merchFind us on:Patron. https://www.patreon.com/TheThinkingMuslimTwitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslimFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Thinking-Muslim-Podcast-105790781361490Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinkingmuslimpodcast/Telegram: https://t.me/thinkingmuslimHost: https://twitter.com/jalalaynWebsite Archive: https://www.thinkingmuslim.comTimestamps:0:00 - Introduction1:41 – Assad anti-imperialist?7:07 – Syria’s torture campaign12:42 – The Left on Syria16:24 – Why dismiss Syrians?19:05 – Russia 22:48 – The opposition27:33 – ISIS vs Opposition 31:59 – Post-Assad Syria34:36 – Minorities 36:40 – Assad against Israel?39:17 – Palestinian resistance on Syria42:48 – Islamic activism 45:26 – Will we be able to visit Syria Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join our Patreon to get access to exclusive monthly calls: https://www.patreon.com/TheThinkingMuslim The demands of the people were snuffed out by a deranged dictator who decided he would burn his country, before giving up power. We thought the revolution had ended, and the millions of Syrians dispersed around the world were never to see their homeland again. This all spectacularly changed this past week, where, to everyone’s surprise, the opposition was able, for the first time, to take over Aleppo and are now fighting to expand their territory. Many questions remain, and a deliberate propaganda campaign waged by Iran and Russia with the help of their social media proxies has confused many who had not followed the events.They hope to throw out false news to make us believe its all too confusing. To help us untangle the political realities I have back on the show Sami Hamdi who joins us today from the US.Let me remind all viewers that to help us continue to engage critical thought at this time, Please consider becoming a Patron. https://www.patreon.com/TheThinkingMuslimYou can also support The Thinking Muslim through a one-time donation: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/DonateListen to the audio version of the podcast:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7vXiAjVFnhNI3T9Gkw636aApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-thinking-muslim/id1471798762Sign up to Muhammad Jalal's newsletter: https://jalalayn.substack.comPurchase our Thinking Muslim mug: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/merch Find us on:Patron. https://www.patreon.com/TheThinkingMuslimTwitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslimFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Thinking-Muslim-Podcast-105790781361490Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinkingmuslimpodcast/Telegram: https://t.me/thinkingmuslim Host: https://twitter.com/jalalaynWebsite Archive: https://www.thinkingmuslim.comTimestamps0:00 - Introduction 1:50- Rebellion – Why now?8:48 – Turkey – did they know?17:29 – Is HTS moderated? 24:37 – Division in rebellion groups30:30 – Is this another Libya?43:45 – American policy on Syria 52:20 – Kurdish role1:02:02 – Syria undermining Gaza?1:10:03 – Did Hezbollah fail? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.