The recent widespread outrage over the case of Marcel Shehwaro, a prominent opposition civil activist in Aleppo, and her mistreatment by a radical Islamist group has once again brought the issue of out-of- control armed factions into the spotlight. More so because Marcel is a Christian, the daughter of a priest in fact, and the incident in question violated her basic human rights as a member of a minority which is increasingly being threatened and oppressed as hardline Islamist groups consolidate their hold on large chunks of territory across this war-stricken nation. The incident has also put into sharp focus the contradictory and dichotomous relationship between the largely peaceful, civil and secular "branch" of the Syrian uprising, and its armed counterpart represented by a wide assortment of groups ranging from moderate to extremist. Although the revolution in Syria was inspired and instigated by the former, it was soon dominated and usurped by the latter, to the ultimate detriment of the cause as a whole. The brave civil activists who risked imprisonment and death by defying an entrenched police state in widespread peaceful protest in demand of justice, civil liberties and political rights were soon sidelined as the violence in the country spiralled out of control. Their message was drowned out by the deafening sound of guns. Their noble goals of equality and democracy under the rule of law, which most Syrians yearned for, were overtaken and mutated into a gruesome and destructive civil war with clear sectarian dimensions; a power struggle which it seems only seeks to replace one form of tyranny with another. Those tireless and courageous activists strived from the outset for a better future for all their people and they were first ruthlessly persecuted by the regime's many pervasive security apparatuses, and then quite ironically, by the very people who had taken up arms under the pretext of defending them and their ideals. The examples of iconic activists who were slaughtered or "disappeared" by both sides in the conflict are numerous and well documented, ranging from the death of Giath Matar under torture in a regime jail at the outset of the uprising, to the recent kidnapping of Razan Zaitouneh and her group from rebel-held Douma by an Islamist rebel group. In fact many activists simply disappeared both in regime and in rebel held areas, their fates unknown. Many others were intimidated into silence because of this, or simply fled the country altogether. It seems that their message of tolerance, democracy and freedom was a serious threat to both the incumbent regime which wanted to maintain its totalitarian hold on power by force, and the radical Islamists which saw such views as heresy to their ambitions of a theocratic Shari'ah state. Even the so-called moderate rebel groups went after any activists who exposed their wrongdoings and crimes. In time, the two warring sides became almost indistinguishable from each other, at least in terms of their mistreatment of the Syrian people and their rightful demands and aspirations. And so we return to the significance of Marcel Shehwaro's case, and why it touched such a raw nerve. Marcel and her group were active from the outset of the uprising in anti-government protests and actively campaigned for regime change and political freedoms, albeit through exclusively peaceful means. They were involved in a wide variety of activities ranging from charity work to social media to protest organization, which naturally made them a target for the regime's crackdown. As the rebels stormed Aleppo and took the eastern half in July 2012, they sought sanctuary there and believed they would now be free to carry out their work openly and unhindered and would no longer have to fear the dreaded regime intelligence services. Things did not go as planned however and they were increasingly harassed as the armed insurrection in the country grew more radicalized. At one point the extremist Salafist group Ahrar el Sham commandeered a volunteer run school they had set up to teach underprivileged children, but later relented and gave it back after much persuasion. Incidents of harassment grew as extremist groups like the ISIS and Al Nusra began to exert their influence in the east of the city, and many of the group fled to neighboring Turkey. Until finally, while erecting posters of martyrs at the third anniversary of the Syrian uprising in mid-March at a busy roundabout, Marcel and her group were approached by a member of the hardline Islamist group Jayish el Mujahideen. He ordered her to cover her hair with a veil (Islamic Hijab) even after being told that she was a Christian. A heated argument broke out in which she refused, after which he and his men promptly arrested her and brought her to the rebel Shari'ah courts. The Shari'ah court forced her to sign a statement promising to wear the Hijab in public from then on before agreeing to release her, and therein lays the great controversy. Coming on the heels of the recent ISIS Dhimma mandates against the Christians of Al Raqqa, this can only be viewed as systematic repression and a violation of the basic rights of Syria's religious minorities by Islamist rebels across the board. In fact, Marcel said just as much in an impassioned post she wrote on her Facebook Page just after her ordeal in which she stated "It is impossible for us Christian to live with these armed groups, I was wrong, your [Christian Community] fears were justified, leave this country, it's not ours any more". The "Arab Spring" revolution which so many Syrians had hoped would free them from the shackles of tyranny and oppression now appears lost beyond all hope, and replaced with something far more sinister. The brutal way in which the armed rebel group persecute civil activists, coupled with the impunity and open disdain with which they view Syria's religious minorities is a terrible omen indeed for the fate of this troubled land. Even as the exiled opposition abroad like the National Coalition pay lip service and condemn such acts, it's clear they are powerless to stop them or to stem the tide of the extremism that is permeating this once tolerant society. And so it would seem that Syrians are destined to continue to suffer great injustices, even at the hands of those who claim to be their salvation.
