Hezbollah Leader Vows to Fight on Behalf of Syrian Regime

[nikhil25]

Re: Hezbollah Leader Vows to Fight on Behalf of Syrian Regime

@Ma_Mooli

No, not coincidental at all, but nothing to do with sects either. It is purely strategic; self defence, mutual benefits; corridor of arms, friendly neighbour in a hostile region, similar enemies; lots of places of interest in syria for ziyarah etc. But this was established a long time ago, back in the 70s and not a recent ‘decision’,to support assad.

The fact that alawite are not even considered shias, muslims even by ulemas should make that much obvious, that this is hardly a sectarian alliance, no matter how much the media bleats it. The sectarian issue is coming purely from the opposition, but the msm has twisted it around 180.

Its not really two sided; it wouldn’t have made a difference if assad was a sunni; the relationship would have been the same. iran has relations with plenty of sunni countries incl. egypt, turkey, pakistan, etc.it is not hostile to them on a sectarian basis; unlike its arabs neighbours.

Its important to realise that this was never a sunni vs shia issue, because that narrative has deliberately been played over and over and divided the muslim community world over. That is exactly what the axis of evil wanted to achieve, and arming al nusra is helping them to do just that.

the idea that sectarianism is only about religion or theology is a strawman. sects provide political identities and allegiances as much as they do religious ones. the only four shia power centers in the middle east are de facto military allies in this conflict without a single sunni ally from the huge pool of sunni states in the neighborhood. this is not coincidental by any stretch of the imagination. iran merely having relations with some regional states doesn’t impact this dynamic. frankly it’s rational and expected so i’m not sure why you are uncomfortable calling a spade a spade here. given the broader anti-shia hostility across the region it makes perfect sense for shia leaders to support each other especially in times of struggle.

there is nothing criminal or shameful in such alliances. the problem is defense of brutality on the basis of sectarian allegiance. there is nothing stopping iran (or you for that matter) from expressing unequivocal condemnation of assad’s atrocities. this doesn’t mean the rebels are angels - you are free to condemn their behavior as well.