Open AccessRELIGIOUS POLICY OF HAFEZ AL-ASSAD IN SYRIA (1970–2000)
Author(s) -
Н. С. Кожемяк
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
islam v sovremennom mire
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2618-7221
pISSN - 2074-1529
DOI - 10.22311/2074-1529-2019-15-1-199-210
Subject(s) - communalism , mindset , islam , government (linguistics) , nationalism , population , political science , political economy , public administration , sociology , law , theology , politics , philosophy , demography , epistemology , linguistics
The article deals with the interaction between the secular nationalist regime of Hafez al-Assad and his Ba‘ath party and various Muslim communities of the country. The main attention is paid to the government’s policy towards the Sunni community, which makes up the majority of the Syrian population. Both measures to combat radical movements and support ‘moderate’ (pro-government and neutral) directions of Syrian Islam are highlighted. The second part of the article examines the policy of the country’s leadership towards the two main Muslim communities in Syria besides the Sunnis, which are the Alawites and Druze. The author argues that the main goal of the government was to reduce the level of separatism and communalism of these communities by combating traditional institutions of self-organization and mindset for faster integration into Syrian society.