There is no denying the fact that Syria's Alawite community has stood behind the regime led by President Bashar Al-Assad through the last three years of conflict. Except for a vocal minority of intellectuals who believe in a non-sectarian and modern state for all citizens, the Alawites have not only allied themselves with the regime politically, but many of their young members have also fought in pro-regime militias, now blamed for atrocities. The question arises of what will now happen to the president's clan in the event of the collapse of the Al-Assad regime. Since the early days of Syria's political conflict and even before the confrontations took on a military form, Al-Assad made sure to implicate his clan in the battle against the country's Sunni majority. In the early weeks of the confrontation, one of Al-Assad's advisors said that the aim of the protests was to undermine the power of the Alawite community in Syria. Some thought the comment preposterous at the time, but it may have been prophetic. Since then, the regime has hired irregular combatants from the Alawite clan, giving them a license to kill, detain, torture and loot. Alawite companies such as Al-Mortada and Al-Bostan have also offered financial support and arms to Alawite civilians, urging them to fight for the regime. The country's official and semi-official media have tried to give the impression that what is happening in Syria is a fight against Sunni terrorists. But so far no massacres have been committed against the Shiites or the Alawites in Syria, despite the fact that opposition combatants have had ample opportunity to enter Alawite villages. In fact, the Syrian opposition has gone out of its way to reassure the Alawites that they are not the target of the violence and that the aim of the revolution is to create a country that treats all its citizens equally. The opposition has asked the Alawites to stop fighting alongside the regime. But such demands have largely been ignored. Over the past three years, the regime has brought in thousands of Hizbullah fighters to help it in battle. It has also used hundreds of Iranian military experts, thousands of Iraqi Shiite mercenaries (including the Abul Fadl Al-Abbas Brigades) and hundreds of Huthi combatants from Yemen – all Shiites – ostensibly to help guard Shiite holy burial sites in Syria. In dozens of videos released by sectarian combatants, fighters demanding vengeance for the death of Hussein, the Prophet's grandson killed in battle in the late seventh century, can be seen. Shiite politicians abroad have also shared the sectarian vision of the regime. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki, a Shiite, has for example said that “the conflict is still ongoing between Hussein and Yazid in Syria,” a reference to the historical Umayyad-Shiite confrontation just over 1,300 years ago. The Lebanese Shia group Hizbullah's Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah has said the same thing on more than one occasion. Riyad Darar, a member of the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change (NCCDC) in Syria, believes that the regime is using sectarianism to conceal its true intentions. Speaking to Al-Ahram Weekly, Darar said that “the conflict in Syria is not sectarian. It is a conflict against a backward authoritarian regime that has robbed Syria of its spirit and status. The country has been caught up in the whirlpool of violence, summoning instincts that are inspired by the wartime edicts of olden times. The regime is hiding behind the Alawite clan because it wants to use it as a bastion for its power.” Arab and non-Arab jihadists have been waiting for this kind of opportunity to throw themselves headlong into the confrontation. The Al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have had no problem recruiting combatants to fight a holy war against the Shiites in Syria. The country's largely-moderate Sunni community has abhorred this turn of events. The Sunnis on the whole have demanded the departure of these organisations from the country, accusing them of collaboration with the Syrian regime. Differences between the Alawites, who make up 10 per cent of the population, and the Sunnis, who make up 70 per cent, have their roots in the lopsided power structure that has developed in Syria over the past four decades. Following former president Hafez Al-Assad's accession to power in 1971, he made sure that his Alawite clan controlled the security, intelligence and army commands. As a result, more than 90 per cent of the country's army commanders are Alawites. Using such advantages, the Alawite army and police have exerted immense influence over all aspects of life in the country. The Alawites have controlled the economy, run the largest companies, and been the main beneficiaries of the regime's favouritism. It is true that the cities that rose up against the regime were mostly Sunni, but the uprising was about justice for all and not for the Sunni community alone. Syrian independent opposition figure Fawwaz Tallo believes that Alawite loyalty to the regime is born out of fear. Speaking to the Weekly, he said that “the fact that Syria has Alawite and other minorities is because this country has been ruled in a non-sectarian way for the best part of the last 1,400 years.” Today, “criminals” among the Alawites fear the consequences of their deeds, he said. “They thought at first that they would win the conflict. But now that they understand the odds against them, they are asking for guarantees to escape from justice. But we will not offer guarantees for criminals.” However, supporting the regime was not a crime, and Alawites who have not taken part in the fighting should be part of the country's future, Tallo said. “The Sunnis are not murderers, and they have no intention of persecuting people because of who they are. No one will harm the supporters of the regime.” But the Alawites “must not be allowed to rule Syria in the future,” he said. Darar was convinced that the Alawite clan was being held hostage by the regime. “Al-Assad's family has taken the Alawite community hostage, although historically most of them have been adversaries of Al-Assad's family,” he said. Both Hafez Al-Assad and his son had thrown many of their Alawite opponents into prison, he added. The best thing the Alawites can do now, according to the opposition, is to disassociate themselves from the regime and call for the creation of a democratic Syria in which all citizens are equal regardless of sect or clan. Some opposition figures have suggested that the Alawites should stage a coup against the regime and bring all clan members who have committed crimes to justice.
