Lol lies can never stand up to the TRUTH, if ur insults is the price of saying the truth then it is a very small price! The Rafidis just like their christian buddies will result to naming the followers of the sunnah of the prophet terrorist whenever their lies have been exposed and the glory of the truth abides!

vedaxcool: Lol lies can never stand up to the TRUTH, if ur insults is the price of saying the truth then it is a very small price! The Rafidis just like their christian buddies will result to naming the followers of the sunnah of the prophet terrorist whenever they lies have the exposed and the glory of the truth abides!

you calling the president of another country a ba$stard,a polytheist because he is alawite (as if that is not based on hearsay),and using derogatory words is all the "sunnah" you follow.what a wonderful sunni you are!you are issuing bad words based on blindness for sectarian reasons.

if you are a Sunni,stay a Sunni.but we the Shia who suffer also from wahhabi terror would not keep quiet even if you want to defend them because they are sunnis too.the fact is you are following the sunnah of no prophet at all.you follow the sunnah of tyrants and oppressors like Umar and co.stop fooling yourself.it is clear that in sunni doctrine known as the aqeedah tahawiyyah it is not allowed to topple the ruler even if he is a fasiq (perverted transgressor).but sunnis all of a sudden have deposed 4 heads of states (tunisia,egypt,libya and yemen).yet in wahhabi saudi arabia and the countries of the persian gulf,the monarchs are still thriving.the sunnah of yazeed i guess.

the ones (wahhabis aka salafis) you are defending,simply because they are a Sunni heretical movement,are being opposed by mainstream sunnis.these wahhabis are the ones preying on sunnis to brainwash them and turn them into extremists under the guise of being sunnis.the sunnis are easily preyed upon especially because the base of the wahhabis is in saudi arabia.you can see here wahhabis aka salafis being refuted and condemned by mainstream sunnis:

https://najd2./category/ahle-sunnah-united-against-wahhabi/

http://answeringwhhabismandsalafism./category/sunni-vs-salafi-debate/

http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-between-sunni-and-wahabi/

^

Rafidi, I am done talking, keep deluding yourself and prasing ur role model Assad, and we see how shia doctrine fight oppression but supporting oppressors, enuf said, all your inability to reason with whatever ur nasibi masters are telling better tells us the hypocrisy that is inherently shia! Atleast learn to say Ali bless Assad not Allah, since Ali is what u call upon when in need of help, shias must be the easiest group to brain wash, atleast my refutation clearly shows how even a child would question unsensible lies of Assad! Any way enuf said!

those that are fighting against Assad are the oppressors.they are america,the west and the wahhabi zionist arabs.these are the same people that are killing innocent palestinians and grabbing their lands.the wahhabis are the ones blowing themselves up in the midst of shia worshippers.

how do you really expect me to support them? common!

assad is a dictator and no doubt about that.don't mess with his rule and no one would offend you.we know that with all dictators.in syria,most importantly there is freedom of religion and worship for all minorities including the Shia,Druze,Alawites,Ismailis and Christians.

on what basis,should i support a revolution that is made in the USA/Israel? are you choosing one oppressor over the other and in the process killing many innocent ones through oppression? that is not justice!

aside,coming to reality,Assad is harsh on his opponents.but his rule in syria has being fairly good compared to his father's and other arab countries like saudi arabia and qatar.there is need for reform in syria.but places like saudi arabia is where you need the monarchy to go.

after a number of Shia Muslims and pro-Assad supporters were beheaded in Syria by the salafists aka wahhabis,below is a report just coming in of a christian beheaded in tunisia by the scum of the earth known as salafis aka wahhabis.this is their so called "arab sping" they are extending to Syria through a zionist/western plan to destroy syria in the interest of israel.and these are the monstrous terrorists,Vedaxcool is calling "oppressed".certainly these wahhabi monsters are not Muslims and they are the oppressors.the curse of Allah is upon them eternally! they should just stop blackmailing Islam with their jahiliyyah and backward actions like the actions of Yazid who beheaded the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad,Imam Hussain (as) in the battle of Karbala.

please the video in the below link is very graphic.

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/06/arab-spring-muslims-behead-christian-man-in-tunisia-while-reciting-anti-christian-islamic-prayer/

[b][size=14pt]Correction,take note:
[/size]
the above report and link with a video of a beheading by salafists of a man is not that of a Christian.the man being beheaded is a Shia Muslim Tunisian man.

i do not have the courage or mind to have watched the video.a friend of mine who did informed me that the man being slaughtered is Shia.the salafist terrorists were calling him "rafidi",a derogatory term used by salafists and their likes to refer to Shia Muslims.

i got the news from a friend who saw it on facebook pages that a Shia in Tunisia was beheaded by the ungodly salafists.in the process of searching for the news online,we came across the news that a christian had being beheaded.obviously,the christians misunderstood the word "rafidi" which could have been translated as "apostate";so they thought it was a christian man who was beheaded (as the report in the above link with video states).however,when my friend watched the video,he confirmed that the man being slaughtered is NOT christian but Shia.the word "rafidi" as even Veadxcool has used it here to refer to me,is a derogatory term that the terrorists specifically or exclusively use to refer to Shia Muslims and none other than them.so please take note before you spread the news that it was a christian beheaded.it was not christian but a Shia Muslim Tunisian man.

all the same,may the wrath of Allah befall them and wipe the terrorists and their sympathizers off the face of the earth.insha'Allah Bashar al-Aassad will succeed in his task to cleanse Syria of these terrorists.[/b]

Car bomb damages major Shiite shrine in Syria

AP By ALBERT AJI and ZEINA KARAM | Associated Press – 6 hrs ago.

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — A suicide bomber detonated his van packed with explosives in a Damascus suburb on Thursday, wounding 14 people and damaging one of Shiite Islam's holiest shrines, according to Syria's state-run news agency and witnesses.

Tens of thousands of Shiite pilgrims from around the world converge on Sayyida Zainab suburb every year to visit the golden-domed complex with the same name, which is believed to house the remains of the granddaughter of Islam's Prophet Muhammad.

It was not immediately clear whether the bomber intended to target the shrine or a police station that was only 15 meters (yards) away.

Car bombs and suicide bombings have become common in Syria as the 15-month uprising against President Bashar Assad becomes increasingly militarized. But most have targeted security buildings and police buses, symbols of Assad's regime.

As the violence grows more chaotic, it is difficult to assign blame for much of the bloodshed. Western officials say there is little doubt that Islamist extremists, some associated with al-Qaida, have made inroads in Syria as instability has spread.

Witnesses said the bomber detonated an explosives-packed van that he drove into a parking lot about 50 meters (yards) from the shrine despite efforts by guards to stop him. The blast shattered the shrine's windows, knocked down chandeliers and electric ceiling fans and cracked some of its mosaic walls.

Parts from the car detonated by the suicide bomber were found inside the shrine's sprawling complex.

Sheikh Sayyed Mojtaba al-Husseini, the representative of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Syria, accused "terrorists" of the bombing, echoing the government's line that the rebels are foreign agents. Iran is one of Syria's remaining allies.

"They want to turn the people against the government. This is not a revolution, it is a fake reality imported by some Arab leaders who are agents of the West," al-Husseini said.

The site is popular with Iranian and other Shiite pilgrims and tourists.

SANA news agency said 14 people were wounded by the explosion. Six tourist buses and more than 30 cars and a small police bus also were damaged.

"I worked for 10 years before I was able to buy this car," said Amin Daoud, a 35-year-old laborer at the scene of the explosion. "I parked it here last night and now it's totally destroyed."

Walid Aeda, a worker who fled Syria's battered central Homs region and was staying in a hotel near the shrine, said the explosion shattered the glass in his room, wounding his wife who had to get 18 stitches in her head.

"We fled the violence in Homs to come to Damascus and now this," he said.

Troops continued to pound rebel-controlled areas in Homs Thursday, while rebels reportedly clashed with government forces in several other parts of the country.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said three civilians were killed overnight in clashes at the entrances of the Jouret el-Shayyah neighborhood in Homs city. Another died in the rebel-held town of Rastan north of Homs, which has been under intense fire from regime forces for days.

The Observatory said troops were using helicopters and mortars to shell Rastan, adding that many rebels were wounded Thursday.

Activists say some 14,000 people have been killed since the uprising began in March 2011.

Syrian forces on Wednesday overran a mountain enclave near the Mediterranean coast, seizing the territory back from rebels after battles that raged for eight days.

State television said regime forces had "cleansed" Haffa of "armed terrorist groups" and the Foreign Ministry urged U.N. observers to immediately head there "to check what the terrorist groups have done."

U.N. observers did not go to Haffa on Wednesday and are assessing the situation to determine when they can successfully reach the town, U.N. peacekeeping spokesman Kieran Dwyer said. On Tuesday, an angry crowd hurled rocks and sticks at the U.N. mission's vehicles, forcing them to turn back. None of the observers was hurt.

Sausan Ghosheh, a spokeswoman for the observers, said they have been trying to reach Haffa since June 7.

http://news.yahoo.com/car-bomb-damages-major-shiite-shrine-syria-112539349.html

a Syrian born Saudi based Wahhabi (salafist) Sheikh,Adnan al-Ar'oor (who is known for his sectarian hatred and extremism particularly against Shia Muslims) threatened Syrians who support the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria and warned the Alawites that they would be killed and their flesh fed to dogs!!! is this a revolution in Syria or pure terrorism? you be the judge:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3lhyT3602Y

Syrian troops have intensified their shelling of rebel-held neighbourhoods in the central city of Homs as living conditions there deteriorate further, according to opposition activists.

The neighbourhoods of Jouret al-Shayyah, the Old Ciy, al-Khalidiyeh and al-Hamidiyeh have been under intense shelling and ground attacks for a week.

Activist Abu Bilal in the Old City said on Sunday that the regime's siege of several parts of Homs was "suffocating".

"They are shelling us all the time. There's very little food and water, and we're running out of medication," he said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) and the Local Co-ordination Committees (LCC), an opposition activist network, said the shelling killed at least one person on Sunday.

The SOHR urged the UN to intervene and evacuate more than 1,000 Homs families, including women and children. It says their lives are in danger.

The latest shelling comes a day after UN observers suspended their patrols in Syria due to a recent spike in violence.

About 300 observers are deployed in Syria, entrusted with monitoring a ceasefire and supporting the full implementation of a six-point peace plan drafted by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, which was supposed to lead to talks between the two sides.

However, hundreds of people have been killed since the first observers were deployed in April and the mission has been harshly criticised by the opposition.

Activists said that more than 50 people were killed on Saturday alone in clashes and shelling in towns close to Damascus, in the central provinces of Homs and Hama, in the seaside province of Latakia, the northern provinces of Idlib and Deir az Zour and the southern province of Daraa.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/06/2012617105828118399.html

vedaxcool: Syrian troops have intensified their shelling of rebel-held neighbourhoods in the central city of Homs as living conditions there deteriorate further, according to opposition activists.

The neighbourhoods of Jouret al-Shayyah, the Old Ciy, al-Khalidiyeh and al-Hamidiyeh have been under intense shelling and ground attacks for a week.

Activist Abu Bilal in the Old City said on Sunday that the regime's siege of several parts of Homs was "suffocating".

"They are shelling us all the time. There's very little food and water, and we're running out of medication," he said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) and the Local Co-ordination Committees (LCC), an opposition activist network, said the shelling killed at least one person on Sunday.

The SOHR urged the UN to intervene and evacuate more than 1,000 Homs families, including women and children. It says their lives are in danger.

The latest shelling comes a day after UN observers suspended their patrols in Syria due to a recent spike in violence.

About 300 observers are deployed in Syria, entrusted with monitoring a ceasefire and supporting the full implementation of a six-point peace plan drafted by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, which was supposed to lead to talks between the two sides.

However, hundreds of people have been killed since the first observers were deployed in April and the mission has been harshly criticised by the opposition.

Activists said that more than 50 people were killed on Saturday alone in clashes and shelling in towns close to Damascus, in the central provinces of Homs and Hama, in the seaside province of Latakia, the northern provinces of Idlib and Deir az Zour and the southern province of Daraa.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/06/2012617105828118399.html

so the Qatar based Aljazeera recognizes the presence of rebels fighting the government of Syria? thank God! soon they will also identify the presence of terrorist groups operating in syria and responsible for the suicide bombings and beheadings.

BREAKING NEWS:


'Iran, Russia, China to stage massive joint military drill in Syria"

Report: Iran, Russia, China to stage massive joint military drill in Syria

Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency claims plans underway for massive joint land and sea-based war games, with 90,000 soldiers and hundreds of aircraft taking part, to take place in early July.

By Haaretz | Jun.19, 2012 | 11:51 AM

http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/report-iran-russia-china-to-stage-massive-joint-military-drill-in-syria-1.437316?localLinksEnabled=false


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggn681fWNL0

Syrian military says it downed Turkish fighter jet

BBC

22 June 2012 Last updated at 22:40 GMT

The Syrian military has said it shot down a Turkish plane "flying in airspace over Syrian waters", according to state-run news agency Sana.

"[The jet] was dealt with in accordance with the laws that govern such situations," a military spokesman said.

Turkey had earlier said it believed that one of its F-4 fighter jets had been shot down by Syrian forces.

A search for the two crew members is under way, involving Turkish and Syrian coast guard ships.

The F-4 Phantom disappeared over the Mediterranean, south-west of Hatay province, near the Syrian coast.

A military spokesman told Sana that an "unidentified target" had broached Syrian airspace from a westerly direction at 11:40 local time (08:40 GMT) on Friday.

The target was flying at high speed and at low altitude, the spokesman said.

Anti-aircraft defences had hit the plane with artillery, bringing it down in the sea 10km (6.2 miles) off the coast of Latakia province, he added.

"It later became clear the target was a Turkish military plane which had entered our airspace," he continued.

'Decisive response'

Earlier on Friday evening, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a two-hour emergency meeting with his interior, defence and foreign ministers and the Chief of the General Staff, Gen Necdet Ozel.

Mr Erdogan's office said that Turkey would respond decisively once all the circumstances were established.

Given the breakdown in relations between the two countries over the Syrian conflict, this incident has the potential to provoke a serious crisis, the BBC's Jonathan Head in Istanbul reports.

Relations between Nato-member Turkey and Syria, once close allies, have deteriorated sharply since the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011.

Tens of thousands of Syrian refugees have fled the violence across the border into Turkey.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18561219

Saudis forces mass on Jordanian, Iraqi borders. Turkey, Syria reinforce strength

DEBKAfile Special Report June 29, 2012, 11:02 AM (GMT+02:00)

The Syrian crisis was Friday, June 29, on a knife edge between a Western-Arab-Turkish military offensive in the next 48 hours and a big power accord to ward it off.

debkafile’s military sources report heavy Saudi troop movements toward the Jordanian and Iraqi borders Thursday overnight and up until Friday morning, June 29, after King Abdullah put the Saudi military on high alert for joining an anti-Assad offensive in Syria. The Saudi units are poised with tanks, missiles, special forces and anti-air batteries to enter Jordan in two heads:
One will safeguard Jordan's King Abdullah against potential Syrian or Iranian reprisals from Syria or Iraq.

The second will cut north through Jordan to enter southeastern Syriam, where a security zone will be established around the towns of Deraa, Deir al-Zour and Abu Kemal – all centers of the anti-Assad rebellion. The region is also the home terrain of the Shammar tribe, brethren of the Shammars of the Saudi Nejd province.
The Saudi units deployed on the Iraqi border are there to defend the kingdom against potential incursions by Iraqi Shiite militias crossing into the kingdom for reprisals. The Iraqi militias are well trained and armed and serve under officers of the Iranian Al-Qods Brigades, the Revolutionary Guards’ external arm.
Western Gulf sources report that Jordan too is on war alert.
Following the downing of a Turkish plane by Syria a week ago, Turkey continues to build up its Syrian border units with anti-aircraft guns, tanks and missiles towed by long convoys of trucks.

A Free Syria Army officer, Gen. Mustafa al-Sheikh, reported Friday that 170 Syrian army tanks of the 17th Mechanized Division were massed near the village of Musalmieh northeast of Aleppo, 30 km from the Turkish border. He said they stood ready to attack any Turkish forces crossing into Syria.
As these war preparations advanced, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in St. Petersburg Friday for crucial talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. They meet the day before the new UN-sponsored Action Group convenes in Geneva to discuss UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan’s latest transition proposal for Syria. He hopes for a political settlement that will ward off military intervention.
Invited to the meeting are the five veto-wielding UN Security Council members plus Turkey and Arab League envoys from Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq.

Annan proposes forming a transitional national unity government in Damascus that includes the opposition and excludes unacceptable regime members.
It was widely reported Thursday that Russia had agreed to this formula, even though it entailed evicting Bashar Assad from power. However, Lavrov stepped in to correct the record, stressing in reference to the Annan proposal that Moscow would not lend its support to “any outside interference or imposition of recipes in Syria.”
This position is doubly aimed at the intensive military movements afoot around Syria.
Clinton and Lavrov are therefore expected to go at the Syrian issue hammer and tongs. The outcome of their meeting will not only determine the course of the Action Group’s discussions but, more importantly, whether the Western-Arab-Turkish alliance goes forward with its military operation against Syria.

US-Russian concurrence on a plan for Assad’s removal could avert the operation. The failure of their talks would spell a worsening of the Syrian crisis and precipitate Western-Arab military intervention, which according to military sources in the Gulf is scheduled for launch Saturday, June 30.

http://www.debka.com/article/22145/Saudis-troops-on-high-alert-for-Syria-war-move-up-to-Jordanian-Iraqi-borders-Turkey-Syria-reinforce-strength

the brutal assasination of a Syrian citizen by the "Free Syria Army" group of terrorists fighting the Syrian government with support from the West and the Arab League.silence is indeed betrayal.now we see who is carrying out the terror attacks and suicide bombings,beheadings and killings of innocent Syrians:

(content is graphic)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4GEW87KI9Y&feature=youtu.b

A Syrian general and personal friend of President Bashar al-Assad has reportedly defected and fled Syria ahead of "Friends of Syria" talks in Paris between Western and Arab leaders.

Opposition activists have told Al Jazeera said that Manaf Tlas, a brigade commander in Assad's Republican Guard, has fled to Turkey and will soon announce that he abandoned Assad because of anger at civilian deaths.

The sources said Tlas had left his official position and was traveling to Paris, where some of his family lives, on Friday
Tlas, who attended military college with the 46-year-old Assad, throws his support behind the opposition, he would be the closest member of the Syrian leader's inner circle to switch sides during the 16-month uprising.

Tlas is the son of Mustafa Tlas, who served as defence minister for 30 years under former president Hafez al-Assad and briefly under his son, the current president.

A witness in Damascus said by telephone that Tlas' house in Damascus was ransacked on Thursday by security agents after these reports.

Riad al-Asaad, a well-known commander with the Free Syrian Army, told Al Jazeera from Turkey: "Our people picked [Tlas] up from the borders with Syria”. Asaad said on Thursday that he had not yet met with Tlas.

Ankara did not immediately confirm the reports. Syriasteps, a news website close to Assad's security services, quoted a Syrian official as saying Tlas was in Turkey.

Syriasteps wrote: "His desertion means nothing. If Syrian intelligence had wanted to arrest him it would have."

'Apparent decision'

A source in the opposition said a relative of Tlas had confirmed his defection.

"It's a very important defection," the source said. "His brigade is very attached to their general, so we can say the true defection has started."
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity from Washington, said, "General Tlas is a big name and his apparent decision to ditch Assad hurts, even though it probably didn't come as a surprise".

"Tlas lately seems to have been on the outs, but he's got charisma and some smarts. If he joins the insurgents, that could be significant," the official said.

The father of Tlas, who served as defence minister between 1972 and 2004, was in office during the 1982 Hama Massacre, which reportedly left between 20,000 and 48,000 people dead.

Many opposition activists accuse the older Tlas of complicity, and have called for him to be prosecuted for war crimes.

Family ties

The Tlas family is from Rastan, in central Homs province, a town that has seen large anti-government protests since the uprising began in March 2011.

Rastan later witnessed heavy fighting between regime forces and members of the Free Syrian Army. It is now mostly under the control of the opposition.

Another member of the Tlas family is Abdul Razzak Tlas, a popular commander of the FSA in Homs and a former First Lieutenant in the the Syrian army who defected last year.

Ahmet Davutoglu, foreign minister of Turkey, said defections proved that the Syrian government is crumbling.

"There are soldiers escaping, they are reporting to us that they are being instructed to attack people and because of that they had to escape in order not to kill civilians," Davutoglu told France 24 television.

"Every day, generals, colonels, officers are coming, and we have, I think, around 20 generals and maybe 100 high-rank officers, colonels."
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/07/201276533461952.html

Syria's opposition factions engage in fist fight in Arab League meeting

Reuters
Jul 5, 2012

CAIRO // A brawl at a meeting of the Syrian opposition this week in Cairo put on display the divisions among those struggling to oust president Bashar Al Assad.

The row that spilt into the marble-lined corridors of a five-star Cairo hotel on Tuesday came during a two-day meeting sponsored by the Arab League.

There was little sign of solidarity from the outset as the 200 members of Syrian opposition groups and activists, ranging from Islamists to secularists, most of them living in exile, haggled over the shape of a post-Assad Syria.

"Such disputes will tarnish the image of the opposition and destroy the spirits of our rebel fighters inside," said the activist Gawad Al Khatib, 27, who watched in disbelief when Kurdish activists stormed out after trading blows with rivals. Opponents shouted abuse as they left.

After two days of meetings, the groups agreed broadly that any transition must exclude Mr Al Assad and support the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA).

The Syrian regime has long blamed terrorists for the violence in the country. The FSA deny having links to terrorism, and say they do not have the desire or the capabilities to carry out suicide attacks.

On Tuesday, the SITE monitoring group, which tracks extremist chatter on the internet, said the Al Qaeda-inspired group Al Nusra Front released statements on websites in late June claiming the attacks were to avenge the killings of Syrians by the government.

One of the attacks targeted a pro-regime television station in the town of Drousha on June 27. Seven people were killed in the attack on Al Ikhbariya TV.

Al Nusra said the station is an arm of the regime and the attack sought to make the station "taste from the cup of torture" and force every member of the regime to wonder: "When will my turn come?"

Other attacks in the latest claim of responsibility include dozens of armed raids and bombings - including suicide bombings - in Syrian cities.

The Cairo meeting, meanwhile, had been boycotted by the FSA, which criticised the talks for "rejecting the idea of a foreign military intervention to save the people ... and ignoring the question of buffer zones protected by the international community, humanitarian corridors, an air embargo and the arming of rebel fighters".

On Tuesday, the Syrian Revolution General Commission pulled out of the conference, saying it refused to "engage in political disputes".

Russia, meanwhile, denied holding talks with the US yesterday about offering Mr Al Assad exile as a way out of 16 months of bloodshed, which the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says has claimed more than 16,500 lives.

Yesterday, a Syrian general and a number of soldiers defected and crossed into Turkey, the 15th such high-ranking officer to flee the conflict-wracked nation, a Turkish diplomat said. The diplomat, who requested anonymity said a total of 66 people fled into Turkey from Syria yesterday, including the general and two colonels as well as soldiers and their families.

The chief UN observer in Syria criticised the international community yesterday for talking too much in luxurious settings, and for failing to find a solution to the crisis.

"There is this feeling that it's too much talk in nice hotels, in nice meetings and too little action to move forward and stop the violence," Maj Gen Robert Mood said in Damascus.

In Syria, troops pounded several districts of the central city of Homs yesterday and clashed with rebels as at least 19 people were killed in violence across the country, said the Syrian human-rights group.

* Reuters with additional reporting from Agence France-Presse

http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/syrias-opposition-factions-engage-in-fist-fight-in-arab-league-meeting

The 'secretive sect' in charge of Syria
Considered by some Muslims a heretic sect, this small Levantine minority have survived persecution and the Crusades to rise to the top and take over the Syrian establishment.

Alawite practices, which are said to include celebrating Christmas and the Zoroastrian new year, are little known even to most Muslims.

They account for 12% of Syria's population, or just under 3 million people, and yet have been in tight control of a Sunni-majority country, for more than 40 years.

After a coup in 1970, led by President Bashar al-Assad's father Hafez, Alawites consolidated power over Syria's main institutions and security apparatus.

Hafez's identity as an Alawite helped him gain the loyalty of other minority groups in Syria, to whom he promised rights and protection.

Alawites are seen by other Muslims in the Middle East as very liberal or even secular. In Syria women are not encouraged to wear hejab and many choose not to fast or pray.

Shia roots
Nusairism, as Alawism was originally called, emerged in the 9th and 10th Centuries in Syria.

The word Alawite, or Alawi means "follower of Ali", who was a cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad.

Shia Muslims also venerate Imam Ali and like the Alawis believe he was the true heir to the Prophet and should have succeeded him.

The perception that Alawis regard Ali as a deity or God in human form is what provokes disdain from some orthodox Sunni Muslims.

They regard the Alawite notion of Ali as heretical and a challenge to the fundamental belief that there is only one indisputable manifestation of God.

But some scholars argue this is a misinterpretation and Alawis actually believe Ali to be an essence or form, rather than a human being, through which followers can try to "grasp God".

In addition to the main tenets of Islam, Alawis observe two others, "jihad" or struggle and "waliya", the devotion to Imam Ali and his family.

Traditionally, many Alawi practices are carried out in secret, in line with the Shia custom of taqiyya, which is the practice of hiding one's beliefs in order to avoid persecution.

Alawites and the uprising
Syria's Alawis are concentrated mainly on the country's Mediterranean coast, in the port towns of Latakia and Tartous, spreading north across the Turkish border into the province of Hatay and south into northern Lebanon.

In recent weeks, sectarian tensions have spilled over into northern Lebanon, sparking fatal clashes between the Alawi minority there, and the surrounding Sunni population who are angered by Bashar al-Assad's brutal crackdown of the uprising.

The Syrian government accuses Sunni Islamist groups in Lebanon of supporting anti-government fighters and of planting a series of car bombs in Damascus.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18084964

^

it is really very difficult to know what the alawites truly believe in after centuries in isolation and dissimulating their beliefs to escape persecution and save their lives from Sunni oppression like all other minority groups in the middle east,christians and Shia Muslims inclusive.their adoption of certian rites or celebration of holidays of others can best be seen as an attempt to blend and not look different than religious belief or obligation to celebrate those occassions.perhaps if alawites were found in India,they would join hindus to celebrate divali as well!!!

from your BBC article you can see it is very clearly written that it is "the perception of others" that alawites worship Imam Ali (as) that provoke the disdain of Sunnis.in other words,Sunnis or the extremists among them (wahhabis) would accuse and attribute particular un-islamic beliefs to the alawites,and then use their own allegation to demonize them.that is also part of the persecution i earlier mentioned.nonetheless,we cannot either confirm or deny whether or not they worship Imam Ali (as) since it is an allegation.but from experience myself as a Shia Muslim,the Sunnis and particularly the wahhabis among them have used lies as tool to revile even the Shia Muslims.they accuse us of being "grave worshippers" among other lies.so lying isn't something new or unfounded when it comes to the Sunnis particularly the wahhabis aka salafists.

the issue surrounding alawite beliefs is politicized.their opponents want to use this as means to discredit them.what am i saying? in the syrian constitution it is stated that only a muslim is fit to be president of the republic.by accusing or making the alawites "unbelievers" (not even "heretics" ),they have simply made the assad family unfit to rule syria and illegal.

when Hafez al-Assad staged his successful military coup and gained power,this was used against him.he was out-rightly described as a "kaffir" by his Sunni opponents.it was the prominent Shia Muslim Lebanese cleric,Sayyed Musa Sadr in neighboring Lebanon that passed a fatwa accepting and regarding alawites to be Muslims,and an offshoot of Shia Islam.that brought an end the to heightened wave of Sunni politics to use the beliefs of alawites against them.

from a Shia Muslim point of view,the alawites can be described as "ghulat"."ghulat" means people that exaggerate in their beliefs and in order words heretical.however,or technically they are not "unbelievers" or "kuffar" because they believe in Allah and the messengership of Prophet Muhammad (sa) which constitutes the shahada (testimony of faith) that makes one a Muslims upon believing and declaring it.in the view of the Shia Muslims,the alawites are no less "bad" than the people who are opposing or criticizing them.alawites could be seen to the Shia Muslims,as what wahhabis (or even ahmadiyyas) are to Sunnis.in order words they are all heretical so why try to promote or disguise one over the other? the wahhabis have blend well among sunnis inspite of their heretical and extemist ideology and beliefs,partly because of their political grip in saudi arabia (which houses Makkah and Madinah) and also because of the enormous petrol wealth they use to propagate their deviant and un-islamic beliefs into mainstream Sunni populations around the world.

regardless,what is happening in Syria is political and should be viewed as such.the wahhabi kingdoms have used religion to incite sectarian strife in Syria.in fact bashar al-assad is a secular politician.during eid-prayer you see him praying with Sunnis in congregation and folding his hand across his chest-an act Shia Muslims do not do in salat.Shia Muslims place their hands straight down on their sides while doing salat;placing the hands across the chest is seen as a bid'ah (heretical innovation) in salat Sunnis do thanks to Umar who copied it from the polytheists style of worship.

to conlude,all the beheadings that wahhabi aka salafi terrorists have perpetrated in syria and their suicide bombings and violence are part of a plan to destabilize syria.the syrian regime is anti-israel and a close ally of Iran,america and israel's worse enemy in the middle east.taking down the regime of bashar al-assad is a step closer to breaking down hezbollah in lebanon,isolating iran and possibly going for regime change in tehran and replacing the islamic republic in iran with a regime subservient to america and israel like that of the shah pre-1979.revolutions are staged and made by the people.in iran,there was no internet,facebook,twitter or aljazeera,yet in 1979 the iranians in their millions successfully overthrew their very brutal monarchy and replaced it with an islamic republic led by Ayatollah Khomeini.so really,if what is going on in syria is a revolution,then let the syrian people in their millions conduct their revolution.the enemies of bashar al-assad should leave the UN security council alone.democracy and revolution are not achieved by NATO bombs or wahhabi beheadings,suicide bombings and terrorists.let the syrian people in their millions go to the streets like iranians and lately egyptians have done.that brings us to the point of support.the protests we have seen in syria in the millions have all so far being pro-bashar and anti-foreign-intervention rallies.the opponents of bashar al-assad do not hold one square of opposition populated by syrians.the syrians in their majority (it could be as low 51% majority) support their president.the foreign powers and the wahhabi kingdoms and terrorists wanted to use the "arab spring" as a launch pad,and pretext to carry out their plans for syria.their plan leads to tehran;and that is the plan that failed in lebanon in 2006 when israel launched its war and failed and in iraq recently when america had no choice but to withdraw.all the sanctions against iran,the excuse of nuclear weapons and assasination of its nuclear scientists and many more is aimed at regime change in iran-syria is just a stepping stone to reach that objective.

the earlier people see what is going on in syria led by foreign countries and terrorists is not a revolution,the better for this our world and peace.russia's foreign minister-sergei lavarov-have put it plane and straightforwardly.he said if what is going on in syria is a revolution then they should stay clear of the UN security council.in other words they should stop agitating for the UNSC to permit the use of international force in syria led by NATO and repeat the libya scenario;and let the syrian people manage their revolution.

They are getting closer to assad now...It is probably the beginning of the end!

Lagoshia check out this thread and watch the atheists trip over themselves for just ayah of the Quran..

https://www.nairaland.com/990238/conversation-atheist

It is so funny...

tbaba1234: Lagoshia check out this thread and watch the atheists trip over themselves for just ayah of the Quran..

https://www.nairaland.com/990238/conversation-atheist

It is so funny...

thanks.may Allah bless you.

@LagosShia, you actually typed that epistle? If the bolded in my post is true, definitely Alawites are not Muslims. Simple as ABC. We cannot confirm that, abi?

maclatunji: @LagosShia, you actually typed that epistle? If the bolded in my post is true, definitely Alawites are not Muslims. Simple as ABC. We cannot confirm that, abi?

clearly,from the report itself,you ignored the other part in it.this is what the report stated in sequel to the allegation they worship Imam Ali (as):

"But some scholars argue this is a misinterpretation and Alawis actually believe Ali to be an essence or form, rather than a human being, through which followers can try to "grasp God".

the strongest i have heard is that they believe Imam Ali (as) and even Prophet Muhammad (sa) are not mortals but some form or essence to be seen as the manifestation of God.but whatever that means,i as a Shia Muslim do not believe in that.what we believe is that both Prophet Muhammad and Imam Ali (as) are created by Allah (swt) from a pure form of nur (light) and they were the first to be molded by Allah (swt).

really,you should let go of the habit of calling anyone who declares the shahada a "non-muslim".you do not have the power to do that.it is people who declare what they are and what they believe.if they believe in the shahada and believe they are muslims,so be it.Shia Muslims and Sunni Muslims have differences in beliefs yet we all believe in the Unique Oneness of Allah and the prophethood of Muhammad (sa).that does not give me or you right to call or label each other "kaffir".this takfir business or passing fatwa to call others names and label them is a dangerous business that is being promoted by the takfiri wahhabi/salafists.they even use it to justify their suicide bombings of Shia Muslims.and when they are done with the Shia if their wish would ever be reality,they will surely start with Sunnis and show their true distinct colors that separate them from mainstream Sunnism.in fact in iraq,wahhabi alqaeda is killing sunnis who disagree with it.so the wahhabis are truly part of sunnism,but they remain one with you so long as the main body of sunnis accept them and what they impose.

[size=18pt]Syrian defense minister killed in suicide blast[/size]

By BASSEM MROUE and ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY | Associated Press – 1 hr 17 mins ago.

BEIRUT (AP) — A suicide bomber struck the National Security building in the Syrian capital Wednesday, killing the defense minister and wounding the interior minister in a brazen attack on the seat of government power, state-run TV said.

Defense Minister Dawoud Rajha, 65, a former army general, is the most senior government official to be killed in the Syrian civil war as rebels battle to oust President Bashar Assad. Interior Minister Mohammed Shaar was in stable condition, state-run TV said.

Although it was unclear who was behind the attack, the high-level assassination could signal a turning point in the 16-month conflict as the violence becomes increasingly chaotic.

The capital also has seen four straight days of clashes pitting government troops against rebels — an unprecedented challenge to government rule in the tightly controlled capital.

Rajha was the most senior Christian government official in Syria. Assad appointed him to the post last year. His death will resonate with Syria's minority Christian population, who make up about 10 percent of Syria's population and have generally stood by the regime.

Christians say they are particularly vulnerable to the violence sweeping the country of 22 million people, and they are fearful that Syria will become another Iraq, with Christians caught in the crossfire between rival Muslim groups.

Wednesday's attack struck the National Security building in Damascus during a meeting of Cabinet ministers and senior security officials. State-run TV said some of the officials were seriously wounded.

Damascus-based activist Omar al-Dimashki said Republican Guard troops surrounded the nearby al-Shami Hospital where some officials were taken for treatment.

The blast came on the same day the U.N. Security Council was scheduled to vote on a new resolution aimed at pressuring the Syrian regime to comply with a peace plan.

But Russia remained at loggerheads with the U.S. and its European allies over any mention of sanctions and Chapter 7 of the U.N. charter, which could eventually allow the use of force to end the conflict in Syria.

Besides a government crackdown, rebel fighters are launching increasingly deadly attacks on regime targets, and several massive suicide attacks this year suggest al-Qaida or other extremists are joining the fray.

Activists say more than 17,000 people have been killed since the uprising began in March 2011.

The state-run news agency SANA reported that Wednesday's blast was aimed at the National Security building, a headquarters for one of Syria's intelligence branches and less than 500 meters (yards) from the U.S. Embassy.

Police had cordoned off the area, and journalists were banned from approaching the site.

Earlier Wednesday, SANA said soldiers were chasing rebels in the Midan neighborhood, causing "great losses among them." The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said army helicopters attacked the neighborhoods of Qaboun and Barzeh.

Diplomacy so far has failed to stop the bloodshed, and there appeared to be little hope that the U.N.'s most powerful body would unite behind a plan.

The key stumbling block is the Western demand for a resolution threatening non-military sanctions and tied to Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter, which could eventually allow the use of force to end the conflict in Syria.

Russia is adamantly opposed to any mention of sanctions or Chapter 7. After Security Council consultations late Tuesday on a revised draft resolution pushed by Moscow, Russia's deputy U.N. ambassador Alexander Pankin said these remain "red lines."

Russia has said it will veto any Chapter 7 resolution, but council diplomats said there is still a possibility of last-minute negotiations.


http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-defense-minister-killed-suicide-blast-103306510.html

wahhabi aka salafist suicide bombers fighting for democracy in syria-joke of the century.

The FSA say it was not a suicide bomb but a 45kg bomb planted in the meeting room

Profiles of Syria defence chiefs Assef Shawkat and Daoud Rajiha

Syrian state media are reporting that President Bashar al-Assad's brother-in-law, Deputy Defence Minister Gen Assef Shawkat, and Defence Minister Gen Daoud Rajiha, have been killed in a suicide bomb attack at the headquarters of the Baath Party Regional Command's National Security Bureau (NSB) in the Rawda area of central Damascus. Below are profiles of the defence chiefs.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18889030

LagosShia:

clearly,from the report itself,you ignored the other part in it.this is what the report stated in sequel to the allegation they worship Imam Ali (as):

"But some scholars argue this is a misinterpretation and Alawis actually believe Ali to be an essence or form, rather than a human being, through which followers can try to "grasp God".

the strongest i have heard is that they believe Imam Ali (as) and even Prophet Muhammad (sa) are not mortals but some form or essence to be seen as the manifestation of God.but whatever that means,i as a Shia Muslim do not believe in that.what we believe is that both Prophet Muhammad and Imam Ali (as) are created by Allah (swt) from a pure form of nur (light) and they were the first to be molded by Allah (swt).

really,you should let go of the habit of calling anyone who declares the shahada a "non-muslim".you do not have the power to do that.it is people who declare what they are and what they believe.if they believe in the shahada and believe they are muslims,so be it.Shia Muslims and Sunni Muslims have differences in beliefs yet we all believe in the Unique Oneness of Allah and the prophethood of Muhammad (sa).that does not give me or you right to call or label each other "kaffir".this takfir business or passing fatwa to call others names and label them is a dangerous business that is being promoted by the takfiri wahhabi/salafists.they even use it to justify their suicide bombings of Shia Muslims.and when they are done with the Shia if their wish would ever be reality,they will surely start with Sunnis and show their true distinct colors that separate them from mainstream Sunnism.in fact in iraq,wahhabi alqaeda is killing sunnis who disagree with it.so the wahhabis are truly part of sunnism,but they remain one with you so long as the main body of sunnis accept them and what they impose.

I laugh in Chinese, see how subtly LagosShia is ascribing divine essence to the Prophet (SAW) and Ali (RA). Dude, you are knocking the doors of Shirk with a very heavy sledge hammer.

These things you seek to propagate might destroy your faith, call yourself to order.

Assad first you defence minister and his deputy, now your interior minister then who next? where will you run to? The war you wage against people have finally come to hunt you!

I wonder how people reject when the evidence is so clear...

vedaxcool, the case is closed with the atheists ....