Latest news with #Ahmedal-Sharaa
Euronews
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Euronews
Islamists sent here to 'islamise' Europe, says female imam in Germany
German authorities filed criminal charges against dozens of participants following weekend protests in Berlin and Düsseldorf, where demonstrators celebrated violence against Syria's Druze minority and clashed with Kurdish counter-protesters. Hundreds gathered Saturday outside Berlin's city hall, waving Syrian flags and chanting slogans, including "Today we liberate Suwayda. And we will bend the Druze," according to observers. Protesters also directed hostile chants against Christians, Alawites and Israelis while displaying support for Syria's new Islamist leadership under Ahmed al-Sharaa, formerly known by his nom de guerre Mohammed al-Jolani. The demonstrations coincided with ongoing violence in Syria's Druze-majority Suwayda region, where human rights organisations report hundreds were killed in attacks by Bedouin militias and government-aligned forces. Entire villages have been burned and civilians, including women and children, assaulted and summarily executed. Similar protests in Düsseldorf drew approximately 300 participants who displayed large posters honouring al-Sharaa. Videos showed demonstrators dancing while glorifying attacks on Druze communities, with footage later posted to TikTok featuring scissors symbols representing the cutting of Druze men's facial hair. Violence erupted at Düsseldorf's central train station when Syrian protesters clashed with Kurdish demonstrators. Participants threw bottles and stones, injuring five police officers before authorities separated the groups. Police filed roughly 20 criminal charges, including breach of peace, assault and property damage. 'Sent to Europe to cause unrest' Seyran Ateş, founder and imam of the Ibn Rushd Goethe Mosque, issued a stern warning about the "protesters" who openly show their radicalism on the streets. "They were sent to Europe to cause unrest here, to recruit people for their ideology and to work on the big idea of Islamising Europe," Ateş told Euronews. "A liberal society like Germany cannot and will not close itself off to radical views as long as they do not threaten the constitution." "If right-wing extremist Germans are allowed to demonstrate, then Islamists can demonstrate too. Yet more tolerance is often shown towards Islamists so as not to be seen as Islamophobic," she explained. Ateş's liberal mosque had to close temporarily in 2024 due to threats of extremist attacks. She was the target of an attack by a member of the Turkish right-wing extremist group Grey Wolves in 1984. Ateş has been under police protection for almost 18 years - yet she continues to campaign for gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights. "Syrian Islamists who celebrate massacres of minorities and attack Druze and Kurds on our streets have just as little place in Germany as foreign antisemites," anthropologist focusing on Islam Susanne Schröter told Euronews. "Those who belong to the Islamist opposition to al-Assad should be returned to their home country as quickly as possible", she explained. "They no longer pose a threat there (but) when they come here, they pose a threat to internal security," warned Schröter. Mehmet Tanriverdi of the Kurdish Community of Germany (KGD) noted many demonstrators originally fled Syria's al-Assad regime a decade ago but now support the Islamist forces persecuting minorities including Kurds, Alawites and Druze. He called on the German government to "absolutely correct" its current Syria policy. "In addition to the criminals, Germany must also deport all others who are Islamist-minded, promote the dictatorship and are against the constitution." CDU politician Christopher Förster questioned why supporters of Syria's new regime remain in Germany, arguing they should be encouraged to leave voluntarily or face deportation since Syria is now "obviously a safe country" for Islamists. "Nobody should be given a German passport for taking part in such a demonstration," Förster said. "I seriously wonder why these people are still here at all."
The Hill
13 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Syria fighting intensifies sanctions debate: Repeal or go slow?
An outbreak of brutal, sectarian violence in Syria has intensified debate in Congress over whether to follow President Trump's directive to lift all sanctions on the country. While Trump has put his support behind Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who with his allies was responsible for overthrowing Syrian dictator Bashar Assad in December, some Republicans and Democrats are skeptical that al-Sharaa has completely shed his terrorist past. The violence in Sweida, located in southern Syria — which included the reported killing of an American citizen — cast a harsh light on the enormous challenges facing the new Syrian leaders in exercising control over warring militias and minority groups. Still, there's also bipartisan support for advancing Trump's directive, in particular repealing the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019 — landmark legislation that imposed a harsh sanctions regime meant to isolate Assad and quicken his downfall. 'There are a number of different ideas on where and how far to go, and that's a debate that we're having right now,' Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told The Hill on Tuesday. Mast held back from taking a position on repealing or taking a more calibrated approach to sanctions relief. That divide was on display Tuesday at a meeting of the House Financial Services Committee. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) introduced legislation advanced by the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday to amend the sanctions legislation to allow the administration to waive sanctions beyond the six-month period currently allowed, and to give the president more flexibility to lift sanctions when certain conditions are met. Lawler's bill was backed by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), who offered an amendment calling for the government to demonstrate its commitment to protecting minorities. 'We cannot expect perfection, we are not looking for Jeffersonian democracy in Syria, but we are also looking for a government to do all it can to prevent seven Druze, including one U.S. citizen, from being executed,' he said, referring to the violence last week. Sherman told The Hill he was not in favor of repealing the act completely. Israel intervened in Syria last week, launching strikes on the capital Damascus and the southern Druze-majority city of Sweida last week, in what it said was in defense of the Druze community. The move frustrated and reportedly surprised the Trump administration. The U.S. last week helped put in place a ceasefire between the Druze, Bedouin, Israel and Syrian government forces after days of fighting resulted in the death of approximately 300 people. Nearly 100,000 people are displaced because of the fighting. On Tuesday, the State Department confirmed that Hosam Saraya, a Syrian American citizen of Druze descent, was murdered alongside dozens of other men held captive by local forces in Tishreen Square, located in the center of Sweida. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that despite the recent violence, she is still supportive of legislation she introduced in June to repeal the sanctions legislation. 'Part of what we've got to do is show Syrians that there is an opportunity for a better life,' she said, adding she wants Israel to stop bombing the country. 'That would go a long way towards providing peaceful conditions under which people can negotiate,' she said. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), a member of the House Foreign Affairs and Finance committees, has introduced legislation in the House for a full repeal. 'To give Syria a chance, the best way to do that is we repeal,' he told The Hill. Wilson was backed by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), ranking member of the Financial Services panel, who introduced an amendment to Lawler's legislation directing the legislation's full repeal. 'We in the African American community know, when we are trying to do business, we get just enough resources to fail, and that's what you're doing here,' Waters remarked to Lawler. 'There will be great expectations of the government — they cannot fulfill with your little bitty partial removal of sanctions,' she continued. 'It's got to be full, it's got to be meaningful, it's got to be done in a way that ensures.' Trump's special envoy for Syria and Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, has also called for a full repeal. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the state of the debate. Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he is comfortable keeping the six-month waiver in place and is cautious in dealing with the al-Sharaa government. 'Whether it's a complete repeal or whether or not we move into it slowly, that's up to the president,' Risch said. 'I want to give Syria the opportunity, this is a real opportunity for us, I want to make that happen. Having said that, I also want to be cautious as we move forward,' he added. 'I think they've got enough in place with the waivers to do what they need to do,' Risch continued, responding to arguments that investors and businesses are discouraged from working in Syria over uncertainty about whether the country will remain free from financial penalty. Trump issued an executive order last month directing the State Department to review the specially designated terrorist label on al-Sharaa and the group he led to oust Assad, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). While the Biden administration lifted a $10 million bounty on al-Sharaa, it's not clear if his terrorist designation has been fully lifted. Secretary of State Marco Rubio removed HTS's terrorist designation earlier this month. Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, is another advocate for limited sanctions relief and backed Lawler's bill on Tuesday. That position has put him at odds with a community he has worked closely with for years, in particular on the original passage of the Caesar Act. The Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF) is an Arkansas-based humanitarian organization that was responsible for bringing before Congress the whistleblower, code-named Caesar, testifying to Assad's torture and murder of Syrian citizens, and that served as a basis for the Caesar Act. On Tuesday, the SETF put out a statement rejecting Lawler's legislation. 'President Trump's administration has a clear policy on Syria to lift sanctions and give Syria a chance, this bill does the opposite,' the SETF said in a statement. 'It is the moral obligation of Congress to fully repeal Caesar, which was about punishing Assad and not the Syrian people.' Stephen Rapp, a member of the board of trustees for SETF who served as ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice during the Obama administration, said the Caesar Act served its purpose in ushering in the fall of Assad, and that repealing the law would not harm the president's ability to wield sanctions on the al-Sharaa government if necessary. 'I don't think we need the Caesar sanctions, and it's important to send a symbolic message to Syria that you've overthrown a dictatorship and did something that most of us never dreamed as possible,' he said. 'And now we want to, certainly work with you to achieve justice, and certainly enforce human rights. And we do that by engagement, by doing what the administration has done so far, suspending the Caesar sanctions and lifting these others.' Michael Rubin, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington, argues that calibrating sanctions relief ensures crucial leverage in deterring against violence toward civilians and minority groups. And he warned against a double standard when it comes to relations with al-Sharaa's government. 'The atrocities under Assad were so grave, that it is crucial to keep the legal mechanism in place, especially as the change in the Syrian regime might allow for some investigation breakthroughs,' he said. Assad's atrocities include leading the regime charged with killing more than 200,000 civilians, disappearing more than 96,000 people, torturing to death more than 15,000 people, and carrying out grievous attacks against civilians using chemical weapons, cluster munitions, and incendiary bombs. But Rubin also pointed out that al-Sharaa's terrorist background — with ties to al Qaeda and the Islamic State group — should not be swept under the rug. 'It is equally important, however, to recognize that al-Sharaa and his cohort have engaged and increasingly engage in equally atrocious human rights violations. If the United States selectively prosecutes and sanctions some violators but not others for the same crimes, then we delegitimize the entire human rights mechanism.'
Euronews
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Euronews
Is there place in Germany for supporters of radical Islamism?
German authorities filed criminal charges against dozens of participants following weekend protests in Berlin and Düsseldorf, where demonstrators celebrated violence against Syria's Druze minority and clashed with Kurdish counter-protesters. Hundreds gathered Saturday outside Berlin's city hall, waving Syrian flags and chanting slogans, including "Today we liberate Suwayda. And we will bend the Druze," according to observers. Protesters also directed hostile chants against Christians, Alawites and Israelis while displaying support for Syria's new Islamist leadership under Ahmed al-Sharaa, formerly known by his nom de guerre Mohammed al-Jolani. The demonstrations coincided with ongoing violence in Syria's Druze-majority Suwayda region, where human rights organisations report hundreds were killed in attacks by Bedouin militias and government-aligned forces. Entire villages have been burned and civilians, including women and children, assaulted and summarily executed. Similar protests in Düsseldorf drew approximately 300 participants who displayed large posters honouring al-Sharaa. Videos showed demonstrators dancing while glorifying attacks on Druze communities, with footage later posted to TikTok featuring scissors symbols representing the cutting of Druze men's facial hair. Violence erupted at Düsseldorf's central train station when Syrian protesters clashed with Kurdish demonstrators. Participants threw bottles and stones, injuring five police officers before authorities separated the groups. Police filed roughly 20 criminal charges, including breach of peace, assault and property damage. 'Sent to Europe to cause unrest' Seyran Ateş, founder and imam of the Ibn Rushd Goethe Mosque, issued a stern warning about the "protesters" who openly show their radicalism on the streets. "They were sent to Europe to cause unrest here, to recruit people for their ideology and to work on the big idea of Islamising Europe," Ateş told Euronews. "A liberal society like Germany cannot and will not close itself off to radical views as long as they do not threaten the constitution." "If right-wing extremist Germans are allowed to demonstrate, then Islamists can demonstrate too. Yet more tolerance is often shown towards Islamists so as not to be seen as Islamophobic," she explained. Ateş's liberal mosque had to close temporarily in 2024 due to threats of extremist attacks. She was the target of an attack by a member of the Turkish right-wing extremist group Grey Wolves in 1984. Ateş has been under police protection for almost 18 years - yet she continues to campaign for gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights. "Syrian Islamists who celebrate massacres of minorities and attack Druze and Kurds on our streets have just as little place in Germany as foreign antisemites," anthropologist focusing on Islam Susanne Schröter told Euronews. "Those who belong to the Islamist opposition to al-Assad should be returned to their home country as quickly as possible", she explained. "They no longer pose a threat there (but) when they come here, they pose a threat to internal security," warned Schröter. Mehmet Tanriverdi of the Kurdish Community of Germany (KGD) noted many demonstrators originally fled Syria's al-Assad regime a decade ago but now support the Islamist forces persecuting minorities including Kurds, Alawites and Druze. He called on the German government to "absolutely correct" its current Syria policy. "In addition to the criminals, Germany must also deport all others who are Islamist-minded, promote the dictatorship and are against the constitution." CDU politician Christopher Förster questioned why supporters of Syria's new regime remain in Germany, arguing they should be encouraged to leave voluntarily or face deportation since Syria is now "obviously a safe country" for Islamists. "Nobody should be given a German passport for taking part in such a demonstration," Förster said. "I seriously wonder why these people are still here at all."
Irish Independent
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Hope of a new era for Syria shattered as sectarian conflict continues in southern city of Sweida
Fighting has engulfed Sweida, a southern city with a majority Druze population. Neighbouring Israel, facing pressure from its own Druze population, has taken a violent stand. Missiles have rained down on government forces in Sweida and in central Damascus. In this whirl of shrapnel and shelling, hopes for a new era of peace in a nation long torn apart by dictatorship and a 14-year civil war are quickly fading. Instead, Syria appears on the brink of being dragged into yet another civil and international conflict. 'Eighty per cent of the population are now refugees in the surrounding villages. It's a disaster,' said Samer, (not his real name) a Druze journalist who spent years clandestinely reporting from Sweida during Syria's bloody civil war. Samer spoke to The Independent from a partially functioning hospital in Sweida, where he said hundreds of the injured and dead were taken. He asked to remain anonymous for fear of his life. Samer described how bloody battles have raged between Syria's Druze fighters and local Bedouin armed factions. Damascus sent troops to quell the fighting, but they were drawn into the violence and accused of widespread violations against the Druze. The Independent has repeatedly reached out to multiple branches of the new government for comment and has yet to receive a reply. The authorities keep making the wrong choices Residents of the area claimed that Druze citizens had been shot at close range in their homes or in the streets by troops who appear to be government forces – videos shared online show people in military fatigues shooting men on their knees. In one video, which fact-checking website Verify Syria said it has verified, a group of men in fatigues forced three men to jump off a balcony of a multi-storey building as they are shot. The death toll is still climbing. Outside of combatant deaths in battle, the Syrian Network for Human Rights said more than 320 people have been killed in summary executions, other forms of violence, and Israeli strikes. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, another monitoring group, has reported a total death toll of at least 940 people. The UN says at least 87,000 people have been displaced within Sweida governorate and towards neighbouring Daraa. Much-needed humanitarian and medical aid is unable to enter the region due to ongoing clashes. ADVERTISEMENT The surge in violence underlines the challenges facing interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa. He has struggled to assert control over the south and areas near the Israeli border. While Mr Sharaa has been buoyed by rapidly improving ties with global powers, the violence has highlighted lingering sectarian tensions and widespread distrust among minority groups towards his Islamist-led government. 'Instead of pursuing an inclusive, reconciliatory approach to reintegrate Sweida into the Syrian state … the authorities keep making the wrong choices,' said Armenak Tokmajyan, non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Centre. He said that, while there had been rounds of dialogue with powerful Druze leaders, the discussions were largely focused on disarming them. 'Despite divisions within the Druze community, most … were unwilling to hand over their weapons without clarity on the future shape of the state. Then came the recent escalation, which I think could have been averted had the authorities exercised self-restraint and not immediately resorted to violence.' We want to live as citizens, without fear of others. That's it Amid this chaos, Israel has entered the fray. 'The Israelis took all the weapons from the people,' says Ahmed Hassoun, head of the municipality of Hader, a Druze town less than 5km from the border with Israeli-occupied Golan. 'Most days they are here. It's become a fact for us. We can do nothing. Their forces are coming in and out. We are helpless. We are just civilians. What can we do with this reality?' In Sweida, Samer said that Israel's claims that it has come to the 'rescue' of the Druze has only stoked pre-existing sectarian tensions that have simmered and flared throughout the 14-year civil war. 'Just a few months after liberation, Israel has mixed the cards in the south,' he added. On Friday, an Israeli official said it had agreed to allow Syrian forces limited access to the Sweida area for two days. But many fear that this is just temporary and that Israel is trying to leverage internal domestic turmoil in Syria to keep it weak. In Sweida, where a tentative ceasefire is fast collapsing, the biggest fear is yet more massacres. 'There is a ceasefire in place, but five minutes ago government forces attacked one area by drones,' says Samer, with desperation. 'The Druze people just want safety. They don't want to be afraid of other factions and sects. They don't want to separate from the rest of Syria. We want to live as citizens, without fear of others. That's it.'
Time of India
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Syria crisis: Chaotic scene in Sweida as armed men open fire on evacuation efforts
A group of armed men opened fire in the direction of a convoy evacuating civilians from Sweida on Tuesday (July 22) as it passed through T'ara. Footage showed crowds of people surrounding Red Crescent buses carrying civilians and shots being fired in their direction. Hundreds of Bedouin civilians were evacuated from Syria's predominantly Druze city of Sweida on Monday (July 21) as part of a U.S.-backed truce meant to end days of bloodshed in southern Syria, state media and witnesses said. With hundreds reported killed, the violence in the southern province of Sweida has posed a major test for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, drawing Israeli airstrikes last week and deepening fissures in a country fractured by 14 years of war. Show more Show less
